Review: Killzone 3

Killzone 3 is a first-person shooter for the PlayStation 3. It was developed by Guerilla Games.

The story picks up right where Killzone 2 left off. Armed forces of the Interplanetary Strategic Forces, led by Tomas "Sev" Sevchenko and Rico Velasquez, are stuck behind enemy lines on the militaristic planet Helghan and have to escape. The Helghast forces have quickly recouped from the assassination of their leader Visari and rallied behind two new leaders, Admiral Orlock and Chariman Stahl.

Killzone 3 is a regular first-person shooter. You, as Sev, and possibly a second player, go through levels fighting Helghast soldiers. Sev can hold one small weapon, one medium weapon, one heavy weapon, and three grenades, which are usually taken off of dead soldiers. Ammo can also be taken off of dead soldiers, but is more often found in bottomless ammo crates around the levels, which refill all weapons. Sev’s health regenerates automatically if he is left alone for a bit.

The enemy AI is very good. Helghast soldiers know how to hide behind cover, spam grenades when appropriate, melee attack when you get close, and have very good aim. It is very easy to die if you are not careful. Luckily, your teammates can revive you three times, as long as you are not surrounded by enemy fire.

                                                

Sev can also use cover. If you hold down the L2 while pressed against a chest high surface, Sev will duck behind it. Pushing forward on the left analog stick will make Sev pop out from behind. It is a bit difficult to hold down the L2 button, push the analog stick, and fire at the same time though, especially when the Helghast are shooting at you with their excellent aim. It is easier to just look around the corner.

Most of the weapons you find are rifles and machine guns, except for two creative weapons that appear in a couple of levels. I used one machine gun through the entire game for my main weapon. I was not even sure if my character had a different weapon when we started a new level half the time.

Most of the levels take place in dull grey military installations or brown wastelands. The only exciting one was the first level that takes place in the middle of a warzone.

I liked the setting, because you do not normally see a science fiction setting that combines modern and futuristic aesthetics, and is not focused on some ancient alien weapon or futuristic technology, though the game does have the occasional super weapon.

The story though was dull. The first half was about rescuing some guy who was not worth the effort, and the second half is just about the getting off Helghan and stopping Stahl, the latter of which is more of an afterthought.

The characters are all forgettable military jerks; it took me a while to remember who Sev was. Rico goes through some character development and becomes slightly less of a jerk, but I still did not care about him. The only entertaining one is the over the top hammy Chairman Stahl, played by Malcolm McDowell. I also find it hard to believe that Helghan is still any threat after losing so many fights in previous games. It is like they magically pull new weapons out of nothing.

Killzone 3 has multiplayer, naturally. There is standard team deathmatch, and apparently a second mode where you and the rest of a team are randomly signed an objective to complete. I tried to do the second one, but the game could never find a match to join, so I could only play the standard deathmatch.

You do not merely play a soldier in multiplayer; you choose a special type of soldier every time you spawn, like a medic or an engineer, each with their own special abilities. When you kill people in deathmatch you get skill points which can increase your abilities and unlock new weapons.

I would have preferred the multiplayer had a matchmaking system, so I would be set up with people with the similar levels of skill, and not people who had unlocked everything and were unstoppable killing machines. I would have also liked it if the sniper rifles were less powerful, because every level, which continued the same brown and grey color themes as the single-player levels, had points where someone could hide with a sniper rifle and pick off the opposing team as they spawned.

Killzone 3 is a fun first-person shooter, but it does not do much that is unique. It is okay, nothing really bad, but nothing special either.