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Killzone 2 was an achievement for Guerilla Games. Despite the title being in development for years in an attempt to match the graphical integrity of the impressive E3 2006 trailer, it managed to succeed with critics and gamers alike. After only a couple of years Killzone 3 boasts better graphics, 3D and Move support, jetpacks and I’m sure there’s a kitchen sink in there somewhere. While these new features are perfect to throw on a retail box, the real question is does it live up to Killzone 2’s overall quality? In terms of multiplayer, absolutely, campaign, not so much.

Killzone 3 picks up right where the previous title ended, so if you’re big on avoiding spoilers you’ll want to complete the previous title first. On the plus side, each game’s story is relatively self-contained so if you want to avoid KZ2’s brutal last boss feel free. Sev and Rico once again find themselves on the front line of the ISA’s (Earth troops) assault on rival planet Helghan. Native troops, the Helghast, resemble science fiction’s version of Nazis, complete with glowing orange eyes and proud uniforms slathered with Helghast symbols. The story unfolds in the background as Sev and Rico make their way across Helghan, complete with a predictable twist, and ultimately it’s nothing you haven’t seen before. Opportunities to expand on the characters like the dynamic between the two soldiers or Rico’s apparent issues with his superiors don’t get fleshed out but given it’s a military shooter I didn’t really care.On the plus side there was no lack of large explosions and war-torn battles that would make Michael Bay proud.

Killzone 3 takes an interesting direction in terms of gameplay and level design. Gone is the basic formula of enter an area, shoot everyone in the killbox, move on and repeat. In its place is a more Call of Duty-centric format that includes operating an armored snow vehicle, a sneaking mission in the jungle and thwarting waves of enemies in the middle of a large battle. This new format brings with it more breaks in the action. You may only progress a few steps and batches of enemies before getting one of the game’s cutscenes, which total more than 70 minutes. It’s not as bad as Metal Gear Solid 4 by any means –– each scene is brief enough that I never found myself looking at my watch. Most of the areas are wide open spaces, a contrast to the endless corridors and tight quarters of the previous title, which allows you to be more creative with how you dispatch enemies. Melee kills have also been changed.

Instead of toting around a knife that made you all but invincible in the previous title you now get in close and press the “brutal melee” button to execute a Helghast in various grizzly ways. If you liked running up to enemies and slicing them down in KZ2, beware that you can’t take anywhere near as much damage with a frontal assault this time around. To replace the overpowered melee weapon you will now get tons of ammo boxes scattered throughout the campaign that allow you to fully refill all ammo.For a typical assault rifle this is no big handicap, but once you’ve got the bolt gun (my favorite from the previous game) or the new WASP weapon that has homing missiles it can be a huge advantage. This allowed me to progress through most swarmed areas with ease, especially because the ammo boxes refill your grenades as well.

All in all Killzone 3 is easier than the previous title, assuming you remained conservative, however aggression usually resulted in death now that most enemies also fight more conservatively. There is also an offline co-op campaign option (the lack of online is a missed opportunity for sure), which allows you to take control of whatever partner Sev happens to have with him. It does enhance the gameplay albeit at the expense of making the game much easier. I recommend a tougher difficulty, especially if you’re both experienced. That doesn’t mean the computer isn’t cheap at times, unleashing a brigade that only spawns when you’re completely exposed or having an enemy with a drawn gun around a tight corner, but it’s now a rare occurrence. Boss battles still have the same sense of scale, you’ll be taking on some big and strong enemies, but they don’t take nearly as many tries to figure out how to overcome thanks to ammo boxes and a slew of weapons wherever one appears.

I was also a bit displeased with the locations. Sure, you’ll traverse across a dense jungle, war torn city, arctic base and junkyard, but it all starts to look the same despite the developer’s attempts to switch it up. There’s also been some controversy over the length of the campaign, one site boasting only 4.5 hours, but this isn’t really the case. I clocked nearly six hours to complete the campaign, but those less experienced or under-aggressive may spend up to eight hours getting to the credits. I was very pleased to see that the formula for the end of Killzone 2 wasn’t repeated, those that completed it know what I mean. When it’s all over, however, I can see the experience feels shorter given that none of the locations seem all that different from one another.

On the other hand, multiplayer has been updated and tweaked to make it a more dynamic experience. For those that haven’t played Killzone 2 multiplayer, there are basically two choices: “Guerilla Warfare”, which is a team deathmatch for up to 16 players or “Warzone”, a game mode that rotates between seven different objective types (including team deathmatch) every five minutes or so and supports up to 24 players.There is also a bot mode, which allows you to get acquainted to the slightly unique style of Killzone multiplayer and get you better acquainted with the maps.I’m personally a huge fan of Warzone, which is great for those that aren’t dead set on perfecting a certain class and racking up kills. With the objective constantly changing you can focus your skills where they will work best. There are five classes to pick from, ranging from the assault-heavy Infiltrator to the supportive Medic, and each has its fair share of strengths and weaknesses.

Some of the minor changes to your characters from the campaign translate over to multiplayer, with a lighter feel to the controls and a more nimble sprint. Brutal melee is also integrated, making for a quick solution when you turn a corner to find an enemy with a shotgun charging your way, a much better solution than the knife was. I also noticed that shooting from the hip deals some impressive damage, an attribute that definitely didn’t come from Call of Duty. Don’t worry if you’re a devoted fan of the previous title, none of these tweaks will turn you off too much since each change is minor. Most classes now have bots integrated into their character –– the Engineer can now deploy turrets and the medic has a helper bot that follows him around –– that can greatly assist you in given situations. When you earn enough experience or kills to level up, you will be awarded with a certain amount of unlock points that you can either spend or save. If you wish to spend your points you can buy various upgrades for any of the classes. This removes the previous format, which leveled you up based on the class that you were using, and now allows you to customize how your character develops. These additions and tweaks, as mild and simple as they sound, make for a much faster paced and improved multiplayer environment.As much as I don’t like that Killzone is starting to lean towards Call of Duty, the multiplayer changes are an improvement.

Killzone 2 released with a lot of pressure to perform as well as the infamous trailer that preceded it, which it did with impressive success. Killzone 3 attempts to improve on the solid formula but instead improves on the multiplayer while taking the campaign a step back. It’s not that the changes are necessarily the flaw, more that there just isn’t enough meat to the campaign. Opportunities in level design and character development aren’t quite there, but this doesn’t change the fact that it’s still a great shooter.If your interest in KZ3 is purely multiplayer, you can pick this up without any hesitation and have a blast with it. On the other hand, if you’re more of a campaign player, like I am, just be prepared for the fact that it doesn’t quite live up to its predecessor. On the plus side, at least there wasn’t another ridiculous and frustrating final boss.

Overall: 8.5

Move Controls

For those that are hoping to experience Killzone 3 with the Playstation Move, I can personally vouch it works well. That doesn’t mean it isn’t without a learning curve, but thankfully my ability to aim with the move improved at the same pace as the difficulty of each level. The biggest change you’ll notice is that you can be quicker and more precise with your aim when you’re moving. In multiplayer this can give those extremely accustomed the move controller a slight advantage, but you can rarely watch an online player and tell if they’re using move or not. While it doesn’t make or break the game, Playstation Move is simply what it was advertised as –– a new way to play.