But the annoyance of this training level Is soon forgotten when you’re dropped right into the action.  Killzone is essentially – and I’m probably about to piss off three separate camps of fan-boys with this next statement – a mash up of Halo and Gears of War.  Fortunately it takes all the good parts and mixes them with some sweet hi-def visuals, presenting a first person shooter experience about as far from the bog standard Call of Duty style games that I’m comfortable with.

It’s the games grounding in some type of near future reality, which is almost plausible, and the scenarios that see you humping it through destroyed cityscapes with a band of hardened grunts, that makes Killzone, IMHO, a bloody good shooter.  The guns are pretty standard, with none of the Halo pink crystal shooting alien blasters to jarringly make you realise you’re only playing a game.

The action is ferocious, with enough action to keep any hyperactive, gun running junkie happy and has enough variety so that it doesn’t get boring.  Even though everything pretty much falls back to the basic principle that has worked for first person shooters since the dawn of their creation; you’re there to shoot things, the variety will see you going from leading a running gun battle through destroyed city streets, to providing sniper cover, to riding in mechs and shooting the crap out of everything you see, to stealthily sneaking and making one shot kills through some stinky alien swamp.

It’s all too easy to get lost in Killzone 3, forgetting that you’re playing a very linear game, believing instead that you actually have been left behind on a hostile planet.  The level design and graphical grunt all combine to make Killzone 3 one of the most immersive shooters I’ve played since Call of Duty 4.

Then of course there’s the little things, the things that you often don’t notice, but would stick out like a sore thumb if they were done wrong.  The enemies react well to being shot at, seeking cover and returning fire.  But when you do manage to clip them with some lead, it’s pleasing to see them fall off the ledge they were on like an abandoned rag doll falling to the ground.

Killzone 3 is more than the story driven missions however, and more increasingly these days, a first person shooter is judged by it’s online play more than by the offline missions.

As beautifully rendered and full of intense action as the single player game was, the multiplayer component was just as good, if not better.  My fears that Sony might just drop the ball with online play were shoved to the side as I connected to a number of games where lag was non-existant.

Of course, being a Call of Duty junkie, the leveling system was a little unusual, though you had some pretty decent guns to start out with, and a number of pre-selcetd classes to choose from.

All in all, Killzone 3 was an addictive blast to play online, and this coupled with an enjoyable single player game will make Killzone a hard game to beat this year.

Related

Killzone 3 is my first taste of this Playstation 3 exclusive series, and is the first FPS I have played on Sony’s console, so I don’t have the history, which will probably men I approach it from a different angle from fans of the series.  THis is quite possibly truest when it comes to the story line.

I don’t really give a crap about the red-goggled Helghast, or why they hate me so much.  All I really care about is that I’ve been abandoned on an unfriendly planet and if I see someone with red eyes, I’m gonna blow his freaken head off.

Fortunately I’m not alone, I have a small squad, though they are only there it seems to help drive the story and add variety to the missions.

The game itself kicks off with a lengthy and ever so slightly irritating training level, where for some inexplicable reason, you actually get to play as one of those red eyed freaks – only you’re not, as it turns out. 

But the annoyance of this training level Is soon forgotten when you’re dropped right into the action.  Killzone is essentially – and I’m probably about to piss off three separate camps of fan-boys with this next statement – a mash up of Halo and Gears of War.  Fortunately it takes all the good parts and mixes them with some sweet hi-def visuals, presenting a first person shooter experience about as far from the bog standard Call of Duty style games that I’m comfortable with.

It’s the games grounding in some type of near future reality, which is almost plausible, and the scenarios that see you humping it through destroyed cityscapes with a band of hardened grunts, that makes Killzone, IMHO, a bloody good shooter.  The guns are pretty standard, with none of the Halo pink crystal shooting alien blasters to jarringly make you realise you’re only playing a game.

The action is ferocious, with enough action to keep any hyperactive, gun running junkie happy and has enough variety so that it doesn’t get boring.  Even though everything pretty much falls back to the basic principle that has worked for first person shooters since the dawn of their creation; you’re there to shoot things, the variety will see you going from leading a running gun battle through destroyed city streets, to providing sniper cover, to riding in mechs and shooting the crap out of everything you see, to stealthily sneaking and making one shot kills through some stinky alien swamp.

It’s all too easy to get lost in Killzone 3, forgetting that you’re playing a very linear game, believing instead that you actually have been left behind on a hostile planet.  The level design and graphical grunt all combine to make Killzone 3 one of the most immersive shooters I’ve played since Call of Duty 4.

Then of course there’s the little things, the things that you often don’t notice, but would stick out like a sore thumb if they were done wrong.  The enemies react well to being shot at, seeking cover and returning fire.  But when you do manage to clip them with some lead, it’s pleasing to see them fall off the ledge they were on like an abandoned rag doll falling to the ground.

Killzone 3 is more than the story driven missions however, and more increasingly these days, a first person shooter is judged by it’s online play more than by the offline missions.

As beautifully rendered and full of intense action as the single player game was, the multiplayer component was just as good, if not better.  My fears that Sony might just drop the ball with online play were shoved to the side as I connected to a number of games where lag was non-existant.

Of course, being a Call of Duty junkie, the leveling system was a little unusual, though you had some pretty decent guns to start out with, and a number of pre-selcetd classes to choose from.

All in all, Killzone 3 was an addictive blast to play online, and this coupled with an enjoyable single player game will make Killzone a hard game to beat this year.