Killzone 3 (2011)

I am going to be bashing Killzone 3 and comparing it to Killzone 2 a lot. Killzone 3 just isn’t as good as Killzone 2 and the direction that was taken with it is really disappointing. Killzone 3 is where the series started going wrong. They started moving away from the identity that was established and messed up what they had successfully built. There is a list of other problems too. However, I should make it clear right at the start that Killzone 3 is still a good game and I enjoy it. There are plenty of positive things carried over from previous games. It is very technically impressive, one of the most impressive of the generation, it sounds fantastic and there are new additions. Let’s get into this mess.

Killzone 3 is different right from the start and you can feel the changes within seconds of your first engagement with the Helghast. Killzone 2 had a very swift walk through an ISA ship before dropping you into a beach landing where you learned how to play quickly by blasting Helghast. Killzone 3 has a longer slower start and walking tutorial section with restricted control. This ends in a shooting range tutorial and there are still more instructions in a following section. Why did we have to do this to videogames, teach players by properly letting them do things, trust players, create natural early game sections that function as tutorials but don’t overtly feel like it or at least don’t make it look like feeding instructions to a preschooler. You also can’t skip it, even on a second play through and even on elite difficulty. To make things worse you find out later that it doesn’t cleanly fit into the events of the game. Wait I’ve already gotten ahead of myself, I forgot to say that before you even start playing the menus and loading screens are a big downgrade. The initial opening cutscene is less epic too, okay back to the action.

Immediately you’ll notice the changes to the movement, aim and speed which reduce the weighty feel. I can’t talk about shooting the Helghast yet because they start you off stealth killing, yeah that’s right, I’m just going to say again remember how Killzone 2 started. These stealth kills are a new addition along with melee execution kills from the front too. They are graphic and fitting for Killzone but it comes with the cost of losing the knife. You can no longer equip the knife and go around slashing; it just comes out for kill animations. Weapons have changed in another way too. You can now carry one main weapon, one large one and a side arm. It definitely makes you feel more powerful and changing the weapons you are carrying becomes less frequent. In addition to this there is now ammo boxes regularly placed to keep you topped up. This further discourages weapon changing and often means you don’t get forced into using whatever the Helghast have dropped. These ammo boxes also give grenades meaning you can spam them more and be less strategic and careful with their use. The guns have lost some recoil, so spray more and don’t concern yourself with controlled bursts. This might be the reason that the Helghast now go down a little quicker but I think they had a slight health drop too. Getting shot feels less impactful to your aim and visibility seems less affected by everything going on. On top of all these changes whenever Rico is with you he can revive you at least a couple of times before you die and have to restart the checkpoint.

So they have stripped away a lot of Killzone’s identity to make it more in line with other first person shooters of the time. They made it easier and simpler and less about consideration and commitment. I know a lot of people are cheering for that. There are people that just wanted Killzone to play more like what they are used too and comfortable with; they don’t want to meet a game on its terms or embrace friction or uniqueness. There are people happy with homogenisation and... I’m getting sidetracked, at least Killzone 3 tried to make up for it in other ways. They did increase the scale. The enemy count is a little higher in some shootouts and the Helghast picked up some new tricks. They can now move out of cover into a prone position to fire at you and I could see them actually jumping out of the way from grenades. There are some new enemy types too like these tough elite soldiers that rush you with a blade and the robots which look fantastic. This is something I really should have praised already in the Killzone series. The machines, robots, vehicles and space ships look incredible. The way they look, sound and are animated is just so good. It is no surprise that Guerrilla ended up creating something like Horizon so they could indulge in that.

Some of the pressure and intensity lost with the changes is brought back through just taking things to another level. This can be seen in the opening chapters after it picks up the pace from the slower start. Killzone 3 delivers on destruction and over the top action with a good mix of variety early on. As I said at the beginning, this is still a good, enjoyable game. Fighting the Helghast, vehicle sections, set pieces, it is all a blast and it is accompanied by an exceptional sound track and sound design. There are new weapons thrown into the mix and a good assortment of locations. It runs better than Killzone 2. Loading times are the about the same or less and don’t interrupt things the same way. It was really impressive to watch as the generation unfolded how much more could be pulled from the PS3 as developers got more experienced with it. The whole lot isn’t lost as well. They still have the first person animations, camera movement, long reloads and everything else throughout the world and during engagements still has heaviness and impact. Killzone 3 didn’t fully lose that weightiness and it is still brutal and gritty. They even kept the motion controls for turning things although they did ditch it for sniper steadiness. I should also mention that Killzone 3 supports the PS Move control option. I never got around to buying this (I will eventually) so I have no idea what that experience is like.

Unfortunately after those opening chapters when you’re approaching the midway point things change up and some issues become apparent. Killzone 3 has a campaign that feels a little disjointed, it also feels like there are too many short cut scenes interrupting gameplay and like the game is more ‘on rails.’ It jumps ahead in time near the midway point and delivers a section that stands out to me for the wrong reasons. It is a stealth mission. You are teamed up with some guy and it has the whole ‘you take the one on the right I’ll get the left’ shit. It’s Killzone and you are creeping about in dark spots and long grass, getting knife kills, headshots and shooting colourful plants in this dull, crap stealth section that feels ripped from Call of Duty or something. I can’t believe I’m saying this but I wish Rico was here to do something stupid and turn this into a shit show. You can just start blasting but this section was very strongly designed to be played a certain way. At least shit does eventually hit the fan and you need to fight it out. This section also really highlights another issue.

They changed the look and tone from Killzone 2. Killzone 3 is a much brighter, cleaner, lighter game that uses bright colours a lot more often. This can even be seen in the case and manual to some extent too. Some of the effects used seem gone or at least really toned down as well. This stealth section is the most obvious example and it looks completely out of place for Helghan and this series. Helghan was presented as this dark, desolate, harsh place with regular storms that was initially hard to just survive in. Killzone 2 was a dark, oppressive game with a thick atmosphere that used a particular colour palette. This was heavily shifted away from towards something more generic but to be fair it is still usually recognisably Killzone. Killzone 2 also had this great contrast. A lot of places looked very deprived with some areas looking like they were put together with scrap metal and others looking like slums with a lot crammed in one place. This was right next to these grand opulent government and military buildings. Killzone 3 moves away from showing this too. Killzone 3 also has a less grounded, less hard sci-fi style. Killzone previously had technology, vehicles and weapons that were grounded, futuristic versions of what we have now. Killzone 3 starts going too over the top. I don’t mind the next snowy, icy location; it was refreshing and works for this series. The scrap yard and whole section up to beating the epic MAWLR was great but the labs and late game stuff just doesn’t seem Helghast to me. There are smaller nitpicks as well like the blood effect on screen when you get hit is worse and the muzzle flash was toned down. The Helghast solider designs are a bit worse and then there are the new Helghast characters.

The new Helghast leaders have designs that are too on the nose even for something as unsubtle as Killzone. And these guys, how did they exist under Visari, how were they allowed to survive with Radec around? How did I write a whole bloody Killzone 2 review and not talk about Visari and Radec? Visari is incredible and just completely the character he needs to be. This is in huge part thanks to the exceptional voice acting from Brian Cox. Radec, despite not having a massive amount of screen time, is one of the most chilling game characters. He is the type of military leader that wants to meet his enemies on the battlefield rather than hide behind defences and he executes soldiers for uniform violations. There’s no long silly villain monologue with him, he just starts putting bullets in people. He is cold, ruthless, and efficient and again is exceptionally voiced (by Sean Pertwee). At least the new character Stahl does have some presence entirely due to the performance from Malcolm McDowell. This is what Killzone 3 is about on the Helghast side. After the events of Killzone 2 there is a power vacuum situation while the Helghast are scrambling to deal with the ISA and figuring out future plans. On the ISA side they want to survive and get off Helghan, while their leaders also want out of this mess. They introduce a female character, Jammer, and do nothing with her. Natko is only present for co op. Rico keeps on being Rico and they even make Sev and Narville worse. The whole thing is more goofy and silly too. It is a lot less grounded than previous games. It is a missed opportunity to flesh out this cast, universe and location. Killzone 3 just stumbles in the wake of Killzone 2. It stumbles its way to put a full stop on things, only to then have a short end credits scene. The end of Killzone 2 had enemy waves and a boss fight. Killzone 3 ends with an on rails shooting section. The end is so abrupt too. It quickly cuts to the credits which have a completely inappropriate, tone deaf music choice. I guess the ending is still very fitting for Killzone being about the never ending, repeating mistakes throughout the history and future of human conflict.

The combination of less grounded and less interesting visuals, story and gameplay and a campaign that is simply just not as good results in, not just a worse game than Killzone 2, but also a more generic game. One that changes things in a way I really don’t like, is more on rails, has less challenge, has a weaker identity and sets the whole series down the wrong path. I don’t want to undersell or undercut how disappointing that is but on the other hand Killzone 3 delivers spectacle and shoot outs, one after another, continually escalating to the end. It’s still a short, fun, action packed ride. It has a co op campaign that I enjoyed playing with my brother back in the day and the bot zone is great. The online multiplayer was further expanded from Killzone 2 and again well loved by many. Similar to Killzone 2 my experience with it was limited but I do remember playing this a bit more and having a great time. The co op, multiplayer and sheer quality level of the visuals and sound, along with it just being fun, is why, despite all my complaints, I’m still going to slap four stars on this when maybe I shouldn’t be. Killzone 3 is worth picking up for PS3 owners but it is not essential like Killzone 2.

Guerrilla Games, like many other developers, spent the 7th generation making bland, aggressively macho shooters and action games that have not exactly aged gracefully. Killzone still has the distinction of being a very pretty PS3 game (Guerrilla has always been talented in that regard) but there's little else to say about it. It's a well-produced Space Nazi murder simulator. At this point in the "console wars", if you were playing an FPS, you were probably playing on Xbox 360. The PS3 controller just never felt quite right for the sensation of pulling a trigger, at least to me.

But Guerrilla carried on with a sort of quiet confidence from here, resulting in the mega-hit Horizon: Zero Dawn, a success that came from lessons learned the hard way through years and years in this business. Games have grown up a lot since 2011, and it’s always good to look back, taking stock of where we've come from.

Is Killzone 3 méér dan een Call of Duty-kloon in een science fiction wereld? Het is dat het spel uitkwam voordat CoD zelf deze setting probeerde. Mag je de zoveelste first-person shooter eigenlijk nog een kloon noemen? Er is toch genoeg diversiteit in het fps-genre? Nou... dit spel is de zoveelste shooter met een verhalende, actievolle achtbaanrit als singleplayer en ieder jaar komen er meer bij. Of kwamen, zo bijtijds ben ik qua games ook niet meer.

Nee, ik ben geen fan. Toch heb ik in mijn leven van zo'n zes Call of Duty campaigns genoten. Ze zijn heerlijk over de top, gaan volledig voor het spektakel en brengen in een paar uur veel afwisseling. En: het speelt lekker weg, zelfs als je zo slecht bent als mijn vader. Ik had wel weer zin, dus ach, ik probeerde Killzone 3.

Het spel ziet er nog best prima uit op de PS3 en speelt zich af op een alien planeet. Als aardse militairen vecht je tegen de Helghast, een ras futuristische Nazi's, die leven onder een dictatuur met communistische en fascistische invloeden. Veel Sovjet-referenties passeren de revue, zoals de naam van badguy "Stahl" en zijn collega die fysiek op Stalin lijkt. De missies geven een goed beeld van de militaire kant van de planeet, maar hoe 'normale' Helghast vrouwen en kinderen leven blijft onduidelijk. Van een strakke oorlogsbasis, alien jungle tot vieze vuilnisbelt; de omgevingen zijn divers en best leuk. Alleen, ja, het heeft allemaal dat blauwgrijze futuristische kleurtje waar ikzelf al heel snel klaar mee was.

Ondanks die coole wereld was het echt niet fijn om te spelen en ergerde ik mij regelmatig. Ik geniet van Call of Duty-campaigns door de nuchtere houding in de gameplay; ren, schiet en gaan met die banaan. Ja, ik ga wel een keer dood, maar vaak is dat door een stomme fout van mijzelf. Op Normal blijft het tempo hoog en heeft het net genoeg uitdaging waardoor ik mij een echte actieheld voel. In Killzone 3 is dit ook de bedoeling, met de 'twist' dat je ook achter muurtjes kan verstoppen en daar vandaan schieten, zoals in third-person shooters (Gears of War) gewoon is.

De echte twist is dat je Killzone 3 niet fatsoenlijk op Normal kan spelen. Waarom? Keer op keer ga je dood en dat ligt niet aan jou; het spel is onvergeeflijk. Zo'n shooter kun je namelijk op twee manieren spelen: aanvallend en verdedigend. Je zou, DOOM (2016)-stijl, als speler naar voren kunnen rennen en vijanden zo snel en agressief mogelijk omleggen, of wat voorzichtiger spelen door meer achter muurtjes te verstoppen - iets wat Killzone 3 met zo'n achter-muren-zitten-systeem duidelijk aanmoedigt. Beiden stijlen werken hier niet.

Hoe dan? Vlak nadat ik geraakt ben, ga ik netjes achter een muurtje zitten om mijn gezondheid op te laden. Maar ik word alsnog geraakt. Zoek ik een andere veilige plek, is die nauwelijks te vinden. Dan speel ik maar aanvallend, om binnen een paar seconden te sterven. Gelukkig rent een teamgenoot naar me toe met een soort reanimeer-laser, maar de helft van de missies is die er niet en als die er al is, heeft hij meestal geen zin om je te helpen. Willekeurig roept hij dan: "Ik kan nu niet bij je komen", "Je bent té gewond" of andere bullshit waar ik kwaad van werd. Het was een geruststelling dat die teamgenoot zelf ook wel eens doodging en ik hem moest redden. Uiteindelijk moest ik frustrerend genoeg steeds weer opnieuw beginnen en bidden dat ik de missie dit keer op magische wijze wél zou halen.

Dan nog de wapens. Heel toekomstig zijn ze niet en ze doen ook maar weinig schade. Alle vijanden lijken op elkaar, met uitzondering van een aantal speciale soldaten. Waarom er granaten in het spel zitten is mij een raadsel. Ik heb er geen vijand mee dood gekregen, als ik hem al op de goede plek kreeg gegooid. Maar piepte er eentje naast me, wist ik haast zeker dat ik dood zou gaan.

In een aantal missies schiet je on-rails vanuit een voertuig, maar ook dit begon op mijn zenuwen te werken toen ik keer op keer doodging terwijl ik oprecht wel snel was met schieten.

Als laatste heb ik nooit echt begrepen waarom games proberen Hollywood-films te imiteren. Maar oké, als je dat wil, waarom doe je dat dan met cutscènes? Het complete, onwijs voorspelbare verhaal van de badguys krijg je alleen te zíén. Die tussenfilmpjes vertellen het verhaal met best prima camerahoeken en spanningsopbouw. Alleen, waarom kan ik die momenten niet gewoon spelen? Uiteindelijk is dit spel en deze setting toch vooral een excuus om in verschillende omgevingen futuristische Nazi's af te knallen?

Ik ben geen fan van Killzone 3, maar ik heb me wel dom vermaakt.