Killzone 3 is a 2011 first-person shooter video game for the PlayStation 3, developed by Guerrilla Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. It is the fourth installment in the Killzone series, the first game in the series to be presented in stereoscopic 3D, and the first to include motion controls using the PlayStation Move. It is a direct sequel to Killzone 2. It was released worldwide in February 2011 to positive reviews.
Gameplay
The gameplay strongly resembles that of Killzone 2 albeit with several tweaks and changes. Similar to the first Killzone, the game takes place in various harsh environments such as Arctic landscapes, a lethal alien jungle, nuclear wastelands as well as space battles rather than only the city-scape environments which were present in Killzone 2. Another notable new feature is the ability to use jet packs in the game, which were also used in Killzone: Liberation.
The game also features a revamped close combat melee system (called Brutal Melee) which includes new brutal melee attacks as well as the ability to string together multiple attacks in a combo. A new weapon called the WASP has also been added, which acts as a multi-firing rocket launcher firing in spiral formation.
Multiplayer Online multiplayer of Killzone 3 supports three different game modes: Guerilla Warfare, Warzone, and Operations. "Guerilla Warfare" is a classic team death match style game that supports up to 16 players per map for each map that supports this mode. "Warzone", returning from Killzone 2's multiplayer, is an objective based game (seven objectives: "Body Count", "Capture and Hold", "Search and Retrieve", and two rounds of "Assassination" and "Search and Destroy" respectively) that supports up to 24 players per map for each map that supports this mode. What sets "Warzone" apart from other games in the genre is the way that each objective is used. Rather than having each game type be its own separate mode, the objectives cycle randomly during the course of gameplay without ever interrupting the match. Each game type comes up with a timer, and when the timer ends or the objective is completed the winning team is awarded that "round" and the match continues until all 7 rounds have been completed. Each warzone match is decided in a "best of 7" manner and since players continue to play and fight for control of strategic points on the map, there is a substantial continuous metagame of territory control present throughout every match. This is exemplified further by the addition of "Tactical Spawn Areas" in Killzone 3 (a change from the spawn grenades of Killzone 2) where certain spawn locations need to be fought over and are better for some of the objectives than they are for others so a teams tacticians must decide which ones are needed for the current objective, as well as weighing the possibility of what future objectives may come up and the risk involved with capturing and maintaining them.
"Operations" is a new game mode that features cinematic scenes and supports up to 16 players per map for each map that supports this mode. In Operations, the ISA and the Helghast battle for control of specific objectives – the ISA on the offensive and the Helghast on defense. The best players are featured throughout the match in cutscenes depicting their successes.
Killzone 3 also supports offline split-screen co-operation for two players, which allows two players using the same console to play the campaign of Killzone 3 offline. This is a feature not present in Killzone 2. This is the only mode that supports offline split-screen multiplayer in Killzone 3. There is also an offline multiplayer mode named 'BotZone' in which players can play against computer bots. There are a total of eight multiplayer maps on the disk.
A new feature to Killzone multiplayer for Killzone 3 is the ability to use vehicle-like mechanisms: the jet packs and Exos (each available on one game disc map respectively). The jet packs are exclusive to the Turbine Concourse SE-6 map while the Exos, as well as the WASP rocket launcher created by the Engineer, are only available on the Corinth Highway map. Another new feature is the ability to use Mortar Beacons, which can be used if a Tactician captures a tactical spawn point from which the Mortar Beacons are found. Mortar Beacons are featured on the Corinth Highway, Pyrrhus Crater, Bilgarsk Boulevard, Frozen Dam, and Mawlr Graveyard maps. Miniguns can be created by the Engineer on the Pyrrhus Crater, Bilgarsk Boulevard, and Turbine Concourse SE-6 maps. A snowstorm is featured on the Akmir Snowdrift map and a crusher (which the player can control) is featured in the Mawlr Graveyard.
There are a total of five classes for players to choose from: Marksman, Engineer, Field Medic, Tactician, and Infiltrator. Each class has his own special abilities and weapons, such as disguise for the Infiltrator or cloaking for the Marksman. Unlike Killzone 2, players may choose any class from the start, however, they must earn Unlock Points to upgrade the abilities and to gain more weapons for each class (Unlock Points are awarded by ranking up). Each class's abilities can be upgraded twice, and they can unlock two additional primary weapons, one or two additional secondary weapons, and/or one heavy weapon (e.g. rocket launcher) depending on class. Other abilities, such as armor or silent footsteps, are earned based on obtaining a certain rank in multiplayer and can be used on any class. Ribbons (e.g. Faster Reload, Faster Aim, Double XP, etc.) are earned in-game based upon a certain achievement required by the ribbon and only apply to that particular match and must be re-earned each match.
The points system has also been updated where one kill equals 100 points, as opposed to one kill equaling 1 point in Killzone 2. Other updates to the points system include Assist kills (25 points), destroying Bots (50 points), Explosive kills (150 points), objective based points (e.g. 600 points for completely assassinating the assassination target in Assassination), Double and Triple kills and kill streaks (3, 5, 10, etc.).
Plot In the climax of Killzone 2, Emperor Scolar Visari is assassinated by ISA forces, triggering a full-scale attack by the Helghan First Army. Overwhelmed, ISA commanders order a full withdrawal, leaving thousands of their own soldiers to die on Helghan. With the Helghast now driven to seek revenge for Visari's death, the survivors must join forces to find a way home.
Story After failing to save Visari's life, Sgt. Tomas Sevchenko and Rico Velasquez regroup with Captain Jason Narville outside the imperial palace. With Helghan cruisers preparing to attack their fleet, they are forced to fight their way through the ruins of Pyrrhus, sacrificing most of their remaining armor and manpower in order to reach an extraction point near the edge of the city. Admiral Orlock, commander of the First Army, is pressured by Jorhan Stahl, the chairman of arms manufacturer Stahl Arms, to either ensure the total destruction of the ISA or turn over control of the army to him. Meanwhile, Rico receives a transmission from Jammer, a sniper whose platoon has been cut off by the Helghast. Against Narville's orders, he goes to assist them. The rest of the force attempts to link up with the fleet, but enemy interference leads to several ships being shot down, forcing the remainder to leave without Narville's men.
Six months later, Stahl calls for a vote in the Helghan Imperial Senate to remove Orlock for incompetence, but his request is denied. Furious, Stahl ends his company's cooperation with the First Army and organizes his personal guard to hunt down the ISA, who have set up a base in a remote jungle near one of their destroyed cruisers. While working to restore the base's communication uplink, the soldiers learn that the UCN has agreed to a ceasefire with the Helghast, effectively abandoning them. The transmission is intercepted by Stahl's men, who subsequently attack the camp and kill everyone aside from Tomas and Narville, who are taken captive.
Rico and Jammer's platoon, now calling themselves the Raiders, ambush the convoy and free Tomas. They carry out several attacks against Helghan facilities in the area, eventually reaching the main campus of Stahl Arms. Learning that Stahl plans to publicly execute Narville, Tomas and Rico don Helghast uniforms and rescue him and his fellow prisoners. Accessing the company's mainframe, they discover that Stahl has built his own armada armed with weapons powered by irradiated Petrusite, powerful enough to tear living organisms apart. Believing himself to be Visari's rightful successor, Stahl intends to win the favor of Helghan by conquering Earth itself.
Fed up with Stahl's arrogance, the senate grants Orlock the title of Autarch, giving him Visari's throne instead. Stahl is ordered to surrender his ships to the First Army's fleet above Helghan so they may be used to attack Earth. The ISA comes under attack from a massive Helghan assault mech, and though they manage to defeat it, their numbers are reduced to just 60 men. Nevertheless, they deactivate the perimeter defenses around Pyrrhus's spaceport, allowing them to access the imperial orbit command center.
Aware of Orlock's plans to murder him after securing his weapons, Stahl double-crosses and kills him before launching an attack on the First Army, giving the ISA a desperately needed opening to steal several Helghast transports. Stahl orders his flagship to warp to Earth, but Tomas manages to destroy its warp coil, causing the ship to plummet towards Helghan's surface. A direct nuclear strike ordered by Narville obliterates the vessel, causing it to drop its Petrusite arsenal on Helghan. The resulting fallout destroys what remains of the Helghast, leading Tomas to comment on how many innocent lives must have perished as a result of their actions. With the war over, the last of the ISA returns to Vekta.
Around the same time, two Helghast soldiers recover an escape pod from Stahl's ship. Though the occupant's identity is not revealed, it is implied that Stahl is still alive, which is confirmed by the sequel.
Development The game was unveiled by Sony Computer Entertainment on May 24, 2010, through the PlayStation.Blog. The game was leaked on May 21 through an early release copy of the June issue of gaming magazine GamePro alongside a leaked screenshot. Rumors about a new entry in the Killzone series have been around shortly after the release of Killzone 2.Official PlayStation Magazine Australia Issue January 3, 2010, pg 12 On March 20, 2010, Sony confirmed that they were working on Killzone 3. President of Sony Computer Entertainment America, Jack Tretton, confirmed its development in an interview with GameTrailers, but at that point of time could not yet say when the game would be announced.
Guerrilla's managing director, Herman Hulst, has stated Killzone 3 would use close to 100% of the PlayStation 3's power. The rumors of the intervention of Naughty Dog in the development were denied by Guerrilla: "Guerrilla is working on Killzone 3s graphics engine all on its own, confirming Naughty Dog has no hand in its development". The first teaser trailer for the game was released on June 3 and features the new brutal melee combat system. The cinematic trailer shows Sev battling a Helghast ending with him taking the Helghast's helmet and putting it on himself. The single player demo reveals that this is part of the game as Sev and Rico dress as Helghast to infiltrate a Helghast facility at Stahl Arms.