Sony's flagship first-person shooter provides a nice illustration of the PlayStation 3's progression to maturity: the original Killzone was delayed and, frankly, a bit ropey in technical terms, the next iteration vastly improved, and Killzone 3 is a mighty impressive beast indeed.
It picks up the story exactly where Killzone 2 left off, before flashing forward six months, chronicling the efforts of Sevchenko and Velasquez to escape Helghast, after their assassination of Scolar Visari (which, initially at least, aren't exactly helped by the officious Captain Narville, although he redeems himself later).
The nuked ruins of Pyrrhus set a magnificent graphical tone which the rest of the game sustains, and Killzone 3 addresses a criticism of its predecessors by employing varied locations – including a colourful alien jungle, a space-station and a polar outpost.
The gameplay is satisfyingly varied from the off, with plenty of vehicles to pilot (including a spacecraftand an exoskeleton), great machine-gun-equipped jet-packs, some monstrous Helghast weapons (such as multiple-rocket-launchers that can be ripped from their mounts) and even a touch of stealth at one point.
There are some highly memorable boss-battles, particularly the one that involves taking down a 20-storey-tall super-mech called a MAWLR. Guerrilla Games clearly set out to create something as cinematic as Call of Duty, and this time around, it succeeded impressively.
Story-wise, Killzone 3 also towers above its predecessors, with plenty of cut-scenes depicting the hubris and arrogance of the Nazi-like Helghast (whose leading protagonists are voiced by the likes of Ray Winstone and Malcolm McDowell). Sevchenko and Velasquez still aren't going to win prizes for their profundity, but the spiky dynamic between them and Narville at least lets you glimpse the personalities they previously lacked.
The only criticism you could level at the game's single-player campaign is that it's a bit short, which is very much the modern way, but need not be so – as Dead Space 2, for example, ably demonstrated. Technologically, though, there's no doubting that it's a tour de force, an impression enhanced by the fact that it works in stereoscopic 3D and can be played using the Move and Motion Controller.
This is precisely the stuff for which Move was invented, so it's pleasing to report that it works beautifully with Killzone 3, adding some well thought-out tweaks to the control system, such as twisting to reload and a melee attack which is launched with a stabbing motion.
Online, Killzone 3 isn't going to cause mass outbreaks of tumbleweed on CoD and Battlefield servers but, once again, it improves on Killzones 1 and 2. The objective-based Warzone mode is back, with a number of improvements, such as five classes which give you special abilities at a much earlier stage, and quicker access to heavy weapons, vehicles and, especially, jet-packs. It also adds a Team Deathmatch mode, which should prove popular.
Overall, Killzone 3 proves to be the top-notch first-person shooter that we hoped versions 1 and 2 would be. The PlayStation 3 is now reaching the middle of its life-cycle, and thanks to games like this, it should end up being just as legendary (and successful) as the PlayStation and PlayStation 2.
• Game reviewed on PS3
