Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

20 to 40 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Best in series"

Killzone 3 is set immediately after the events of Killzone 2. With the death of Emperor Visari at the hands of your good buddy Rico, the ISA decide it's time to pull out of their attack on Helghan and retreat back to Earth. Things don't go according to plan however when the Helghast initiate a huge counter offensive against the few remnants of human marines left on the planet. New devastating weaponry and defences are revealed and Sev and Rico must rally up the ISA and get them off the planet ASAP.

The story of Killzone 3 is actually very competently done considering it's a shooter; with an interesting, complex villain and an inner struggle amongst the Helghast taking centre stage. Their council is attempting to figure out who should take over for the Emperor (now that he's dead) and destroy the last vestiges of ISA scum left on their home world all the while. The story of survival involving the humans is also interesting to watch play out, though whenever the only female in the entire game, Jammer, comes on screen you can't help but wince. She's so forced and the only reason she seems to be there is to be a girl. My only gripe with the characters actually.

Moving on to the gameplay, which is what you'll want to focus on anyway, Guerrilla Games has finally gotten it right. The first Killzone was a bit lacking in gameplay and even 2 had some flaws to speak of but obviously the third time's the charm because movement and gunplay are now perfect. Shooting feels like it has real impact and the guns all feel like they have a certain weight to them that just doesn't appear in other shooters. The new Brutal Melee system allows for some gruesome CQC if any Helghast foolishly gets in your way and each sequence is incredibly satisfying to dish out, especially in the games multiplayer.

Online, a balance between teams has also been maintained, with each kill always seeming fair and not cheap. Each class has their own set of special abilities and I had much more success because of this combination of powers working as a team in this game than I have in many other shooters.

The graphics must be spoken about I guess and to put it simply, they are just amazing. There has been no better looking game on any console before. Ever (except PC of course). But graphics don't ever make a game so that's simply a bonus.

Killzone 3 is the last game in the main series of the franchise for this generation of consoles and I definitely think it's worth giving a try. The incredibly polished gameplay, interesting story and balanced multiplayer add up to some great times to be had with friends, as well as by yourself. All in all, I applaud Guerrilla for making such a fun game and interesting universe.

They really have earned a reputation of top quality for themselves over these past few years.