Guerrilla Games started as Lost Boys games, they had middle school hits like “SpongeBob SquarePants,” “Tiny Toon Adventures” and the sixth grade classic “Rhino Rumble.”
When they moved to a more teen demographic, they failed to abandon their elementary beginnings. From Shellshock to the Killzone series, there has been one common theme in all the games Guerrilla releases, the games have graphics to drool for but gameplay that fails to fill the pallet.
The Killzone franchise since its inception was labeled the “Halo Killer,” the game that would help Sony dethrone the mighty green empire that is Microsoft. Sadly, through three installments, Killzone has never been able to live up to the hype. Killzone 3 failed to deliver anything other than disappointment and regret.
How can a game have more than 70 minutes of cutscenes and not have anything that resembles aplot? The story is so horrible, gamers will think it was written by M. Night Shyamalan.
The story begins right after the events of Killzone 2. Before a gamer can shoot a round, gamers will come across multiple cutscenes that give an “Inception” type of feeling. Tomas Sevchenko and Rico Velasquez are the heroes of the game and both tout a poor mans Marcus Fenix feel. The villian is Jorhan Stahl a chairman with ambitions to destroy earth. Gears of War much? This might be Killzone 3 but the story has been told a million times before.
Campaign mode is boring, with cutscenes that add no emotion to the gameplay. There are a few bright spots here and there, but not enough to keep gamers awake the six hours it will take to pass the game.
Everyone would agree that by far the third installment is the best of the series, but that really isn’t saying much. Sony tried to do everything possible to get gamers into Killzone 3. They made the game more compatible, which is cool, but otherwise it fails miserably.
Moving your character side to side and aiming becomes a hassle instead of a joy. Sony even included a free copy of Killzone 3 with a purchase of a new Playstation 3 console.
According to Marc Saltzman, a staff writer for USA Today, Killzone 3 is so packed with features that it barely fits on a Blu-ray disc. Of the 50 GB of space, there is only 10 percent available. Without Blu-ray, the game would fill nine DVDs.
Where are all the features? Where did all the space go? Graphics and immense levels are not enough to justify 40 GB.
The multiplayer mode is simple. Gamers get to choose from basic classes that carry basic guns. One would interpret the feeling of nostalgia playing this type of basic game, the nostalgia is from the feeling that this type of multiplayer experience belongs in a Nintendo 64 not a PS3.
The few guns in the game are only worsened by the fact that all the guns are similar. Gamers will find themselves frustrated by the lack of weapons and lack of modes in multiplayer mode. It is the generic version of Halo with not one ounce of tactic involved in gameplay.
The fun of blowing everything up and the awe factor of watching everything blow up in cutscenes after the first three minutes. There is no strategy in holding the trigger button until everything in the screen blows up. The developers of Killzone 3, Guerilla, must have put most of their efforts on visual effects, that is the only part of the game worth a nickel. Style over substance won’t cut it in today’s first-person shooter market.
It might be a thrill for toddlers, but post adolescence gamers will find this game boring and a waste of time.
The one cool thing about Killzone is that you can play it from a 3-D TV. Sadly this feature is useless to most gamers. Nielsen’s State of the Media survey showed that only 2 percent of Americans own a 3-D TV.
In the end, shiny graphics and gimmicks couldn’t save this boring action game. Killzone should change its name to “Waste of Money Zone” or maybe “Blatant Rip-off Zone” or “Snooze Zone”.
Killzone receives 1 out of 5 stars.
