From the Vault — originally published June 17, 2010. Some links, videos or prices may be out of date.
The playable Killzone 3 content at E3 this year included three main sections. The first is what begins as an on-rails ride on one of the ISA hovercrafts. You man a gun turret as you glide around Helhast bases destroying everything in your path. The explosion effects are great as expected and blowing up things is always fun.
After a bit of fun with the turret you land and your on foot in some shootouts with Helghast soldiers as you rush one of their bases. This is where Killzone 2 players will immediately notice the improvements to the controls. Killzone 3 is still great looking but with a few changes. Most noticeably are the changes to the controls. The movement seems much faster than Killzone 2. Much of the weight feel present in the first game has been removed allowing for much faster movement, aiming and shooting. rushing a Helghast base you have the opportunity to use the new melee kills. The melee animation triggered depends on our position in relation to the enemy. Anything from stabbing Helghast through the eye to stabbing them. Moving forward you attack Helghast soldiers on jetpacks which explode when enough bullets are pumped into them.
The other demo sequence puts you in control of a jetpack as you glide or what could be more accurately called super glide jump from one iceberg platform to another. The game soon begins to feel like a platformer and before you know it you are being shot at by Helghast with jetpacks and the dynamics change again. The third demo put you in control of the WASP a new auto lock targeting and multi-target rocket launcher. How can you go wrong with that?
I also tested the game in 3D and while the game seemed not as crisp visually in 3D the added effect was still enjoyable though I found it hard to see the dot at the center of my zoomed in gun scope. Killzone 3 is less vibrant in 3D though thats just an issue inherent with the technology as all stereoscopic 3D games I tested had this issue. With Killzone 3 it did appear that some visual crispness was being traded for the added dimention but after a minute in 3D mode is was a sacrifice I could not complain about. The bottom line is that the 3D works well and while I do not think it warrants running out to buy thousands in new equipment I do think it will be a reason to keep these games and give them another spin in 3D when the 3D televisions and glasses eventually drop in price. Killzone 3 was great and was one of my favorite games of E3 this year.
