PREVIEW: Killzone 3

The following is an account of my time spent with PlayStation's very own Halo-killer, Killzone 3. Does Guerrilla Games' latest impress, or does its orange-tinted Helghast goggles obscure its vision of greatness?

Admittedly, this is only my second experience with a Killzone game, the first being with the awesome PSP title Killzone: Liberation. So to be honest, I wasn't completely sure what to expect going in. Imagine my surprise when I discovered Killzone's multiplayer to be a fair balance of Halo: Reach, Modern Warfare, and Team Fortress 2. Those are strong titles to take influence from. 

The beta allows you to toss it up on three different game modes; Guerrilla Warfare, Warzone, and Operations. Guerrilla Warfare is your standard deathmatch, where your objective is to kill the other team as efficiently as possible. Warzone gets a little more interesting, by adding switching objectives in the ongoing match. You may have to terminate as many ISA soldiers as possible for the first three minutes, then you'll suddenly be asked to bomb strategic base locations, only for that to lead into a good old bout of capture the propaganda speaker. Great touch having the objectives swing mid-match, to keep all parties on their toes.

Operations is somewhat similar to Warzone, but it seems like the objectives are all static. From what I played, the ISA must push it's way through the Helghast base, destroying strategic points to continue the flow of the match. Cool little addition is the cinematic cut scenes after every completed segment, which shows your team, complete with player IDs, either succeeding or failing their task. It's a nice touch that could be very awesome if the full version of Killzone 3 will allow deep character customization for appearance. 

I seemed to never find a match that was more than 5 on 5, often finding unbalanced matches of four ISA soldiers against two Helghast. I hope the retail version includes some sort of team balancing property. The three available maps, a snow facility, a run down town, and an industrial plant, were home to plenty of beautiful detail and entrancing ambiance. It's good to see the maps have so much personality, because the character models exude none, outside of the always bitchin' looking Helghast. ISA agents are dull and bland looking, and both factions are guilty of fighting too quietly. Even when I had my eyes gouged out, my soldier did little more than sigh as his lifeless body collapsed. Not even a scream of agonizing pain? Geez. 

New to the Killzone game experience is the addition of jet packs and mechs, neither feeling too overpowered. Jet packs lift you in short bursts, but have a sort of reverse thruster function that allows you to glide, effectively lengthening your airborne time as well as cushioning fall damage. The jet packs, aside from looking cool, can be activated whenever you see fit, but once activated you're relegated to using the on-board SMG, even when not in flight. So if you plan on using that big ass shotgun, you're going to have to deactivate your jet pack. A great balancing idea. 

The Exo Mechs are strong as hell, armed with both missiles and a machine gun. They can easily turn the tide of a skirmish, but thankfully they're not invincible. They are huge metal skeletons after all, agility isn't their strongest suit. A smart and tactical team of two or more can easily take out a mech or it's pilot if he's not careful. 

All in all, the Killzone 3 beta is a heap of fun, and a great introduction to the FPS roots of the series for a newb like me. With multiple classes, each with their own skills and strengths to balance a well oiled team, a ranking and leveling system, and plenty to unlock along the way, Killzone 3's multiplayer seems like longevity will be on it's side. The gritty, visceral action is most definitely on the right track thus far. 

Killzone 3 drops on February 22rd, 2011. For $129.99, you can secure the loaded Helghast Edition, which includes a replica Helghast helmet, 6.5" exclusive action figure, soundtrack, PS3 Dynamic Theme, retro multiplayer map pack, making of the game video, art book, and more.