PS3Vault: Killzone 3 Hands-On

Killzone 2 remains one of the best first person shooters of this generation, so naturally, I was eager to get my hands on the ambitious sequel. Seconds after picking up the controller it’s abundantly clear that Guerilla Games is working hard to hush the critics.

[eggbert]

I personally didn't mind the weight on the controls of KZ2. It was different than most other FPS's, but it didn't really break the game for me (Like it apparently did to so many others). I guess in a way, this will make the game more accessible because all of the people who are accustomed to only COD controls will be able to play the game without a stark contrast between the two games (controls-wise).

As for graphics, I'm pretty sure everyone realizes this game will be superior to Kz2. They've had a year (almost two years by time of release) to optimize the engine and add in more content to the game itself. I already thought the scope of KZ2 was impressive, but if this game is really as big as they are making it out to be, this is going to be a pretty amazing experience. Hopefully the local bestbuy will have a 3D setup of this game so I can at least experience it for the moment.

I'm also loving the new melee kills. Hopefully they changed the feature where your knife would always swing twice when you pulled it out though. That got kind of annoying when I was playing through the SP campaign.

I actually will at least be trying Move with this since I'm planning on picking up a bundle later this year.

I'm stoked.

[maskedwarrior]

There was nothing wrong with Killzone 2 control whatsoever.

[Unicron]

Except the awful lag and deadzone.

The acceleration was a design choice, one I wasn't a fan of.

People need to drop the whole "weight" argument, because if that was true, there's no reason an SMG should be as heavy as an RPG.

I for one welcome the improved controls.

[TheAwesomessMan]

You ever used an RPG before?

[despair]

"improved" is debatable, just because it hasn't followed the popular choice ala COD, people say its worse instead of spending the 5 minutes it takes to get used to the new feel.

[Unicron]

I own and love KZ2. But the aiming just wasn't up to snuff. No I don't want it to become CoD either, but giving a game more accurate and lag free control does not mean its instantly becoming a CoD clone either.

[mal_tez92]

The movement, aiming and shooting all felt so good. I wish they left it the same for KZ3.

After playing KZ2, all other shooters feel the same. Call of duty feels like game for 5 year olds after playing KZ2, so twitchy and unskillful.

[skwidd]

Okay people, what are you talking about? You mention lag and acceleration. What in the world does that mean? What lag? What acceleration? There is no more input lag from when you push the stick to seeing a visual response. They fixed that with High Precision. Second, what acceleration you talking about? I get the feeling you guys never updated the game. Gee wiz!

There is something in Killzone that many aren't aware of and it's the weight system that GG refers to. Its when the crosshairs are moving on screen and the gun "follows through", because of weight, that makes your fired shots hit behind the crosshairs. Meaning the shots dont hit dead center of the crosshairs when you are tracking a moving target. Rather it hits behind. It's a drag that I think is cool of GG to implement. I like it not because it's realistic but because it's another learning curve you need to master which is what makes it appeal to the hardcore more. Funny, I mention hardcore yet those who play COD can't accept it for what it is. It's not broken!!! It's how it's designed and in it's design it's perfect!!!

Having said that, the learning curve limits the audience for GG so they're going to dumb it down for all. Good job all! I hope they just don't upset it's strong supporters.

[skwidd]

"One of my biggest complaints with Killzone 2 was the inability to crouch, aim, and reload smoothly."

^^ What's he talking about? What's wrong with reload? You want reload to happen in 1 second??! Gawd, I'd hate it if they change anything with reload! It is just bliss! Having reload take time makes it a strategic decision you need to make on the war field. There are so many right things about it taking some time that it just cannot be changed! You can't just spray the entire clip like a madman and not suffer consequences. Every bullet counts and you'd need to be behind cover enough time to reload. I'd even want them to push this strategy thing more so if anything and have the game less stupid looking with Assault classes just RPGing everyone after the silly Boosting. Dumbing down KZ is not needed. It needs to be refined for what it's intended to be. An intense and strategic fun game.

[Rainstorm81]

there was nothing wrong with reloading, You could run and reload try that on COD. KZ2 is a far more realistic game than COD and its sci Fi.

Forget the controls......Fix the damn Multiplayer Lobbies...If i play Radec Academy one more time i swear, i bought the map packs and unfortunatly how the MP lobbies are i will never play them again unless i create a room. KZ3 needs a matchmaking system and created rooms should be for Clan matches and private matches only.

Damnit and i love Beach Head one of the most visually stunning MP maps ive played on any game, too bad there isnt a single match online with anyone playing the map

[shadow2797]

I believe the "reload complaint" he was referring to has to do with emptying a clip while looking down the sights. Which, I admit, can be fairly annoying. If you're looking down the sights and shooting, when you run out of ammo, you're character won't reload until you completely exit the sights. Sometimes you can get stuck in this stuttering movement where the game is trying to reload but is interrupted by the sights animation. It tends to happen in the Alternate 2 method.

Most modern shooters will automatically pull you out of the sights and begin the reload animation immediately. Though, in Killzone 2's defense, in real life reloading is a conscious action. So having to realize that the clip is empty and let go of the aim button does add a bit of depth to the gameplay. Though, I could do without the stuttering/interrupting animations.

[skwidd]

@shadow2797

I never noticed that because I almost never let the game reload for me. I always account for the bullets, always strategically am close to cover and my thumb ready to hit the square button. It's like shifting gears.

[ivant]

The Move forced GG to get rid of the lag.

Nobody is asking for CoD controls. But when great games like Socom 4, BFBC2, MAG, Halo, Resistance, Dead Space, Gears , etc don't have noticeable controller lag - and still maintain their uniqueness - then it seems pointless continue with something that will clearly alienate the majority of shooter fans.

Just like holding a pistol, holding a move means very fast aiming....and if KZ3 had the same controller lag as KZ2, there'll be a lot of pi55ed off gamers saying WTH is up with this...lag.

And remember all the careful examination of the latency/lag/responsiveness of Natal & Move when games were being demoed. Lag does make a difference to the gaming experience.

You SHOULD NOT have to get use to it.

[DJexs]

I do not think developers should change something unique about a game because a bunch of babies cry about it not being like an arcade shooter that is totally lame *Cough*COD*Cough* I also do not think they should waste time adding 3d to games like this right now because of how small the percentage of gamers out there that actually own a 3d tv I mean those things are super expensive give us a couple years. The last thing I hate is when hardcore games are getting support for the move (socom 4) when there is much more important stuff going on. To sum it up Do not change a good thing and do not waste time on features that are not going to be capitalized on by the majority of the population. And I really hate the changing of the controls.

[xyxzor]

We have some hands-on impressions of Socom 4 with Move support, you should check them out.

[DJexs]

I have I do not like them It is wasted time in my opinion. That is the sole reason why I removed the 60 dollars I had down on it and Allocated it somewhere else. That and the fact it is a 5 man squad and you do not even look like a navy seal.

[Incognegro]

all of your "beefs" that you mentioned are just options. They are there for the minority or, in some cases, majority of players that'll utilize it. None of those will detract from the experience if you want to play it your way. How a player plays with move will not effect someone playing with DS3, although 3D will give a better feeling of depth, it shouldn't give others that much of boost.

If they released those two games as is without the adition of move, 3d, and/or both you wouldn't even complain despite you saying you wish they'd focus on other aspects, when clearly none of these features took too much time out that they had to take anything out. It doesn't make sense that you're willing to put $60 into a pre-order, but take it out because it "supports" move. By all means, if that's what you wanna do go ahead, but it's pretty senseless.

[shadow2797]

You remind me of those people that complained when Uncharted 2's multiplayer was announced. Apparently, it was going to detract from the single player experience somehow. Seems a bit silly in retrospect, doesn't it?

I'm all for Move in hardcore games, because, honestly, that's the only time I'd ever use Move. If a company is going to do motion controls, I'd prefer it if they support the games I like to play. As long as motion controls aren't required, I love it.

Also, it's very likely that one day you'll have a 3DTV. Wouldn't you like to already have some media to try out after you buy it? Not to mention how pointless it would be to sell 3DTV's if there isn't anything that supports them. That would be a bad move for Sony. 3DTV's have to sell for them to become mass market and lower in price, after all.

[HopSkotch]

If they tweaked the controls, thats fine...but if they went to COD controls...bad move

[Colonel-Killzone]

I never had a problem with it. Honestly I had so much fun I never even notice what people complained about. Anyway I will enjoy this 1 just as much as I did the the 2nd installment.

[ALFAxD_CENTAURO]

I assume they change the controls because it will have Move Support.

The control is more similar to BFBC2 movement, maybe a little more heavy.

Good thing they added better gameplay, like crouching and reload.

The multiplayer is gonna be so awesome, that this will come a must have for every PS3 Owner.

[maddhatter123]

i have no problems with the controls changing at all, but i have a problem with the cod and halo trash(arcade shooter noobs who do nothing but camp) that will end up in kz3. if we are lucky they will have a hardcore mode for real players to actually have a good game.

[ivant]

Causes campers and ridiculous frag fests when placed on a target zone. Must mean there's a lot of noobs playing Kz2.

The Spawn flare needs to be eliminated from Kz3. Apart from Rico, it ruins the game.

[DoomeDx]

Awesome!

[xyxzor]

The controls are just more responsive, they still retain their sense of weight.

[Genki]

I'm in the crowd that wasn't bothered by the controls at all, but better responsiveness is better responsiveness.

Otherwise, the graphics look largely the same to me(aside from the MLAA), but with a noticeably bigger scale.

This is fine, a true testament to the horsepower of the PS3 without question, but I felt that the action and scope of KZ2 was fine where it was at. The firefights were fierce and the set pieces were beyond words. I would have preferred that they bolstered the overall texture quality and left the scale roughly the same, but in a case, Killzone 2 looked incredible, as does this one.

I only hope they don't have to make any compromises to their lighting model. KZ2 has, and by a very wide margin, the best lighting I've seen to date on any console game.

[xyxzor]

The demo we played was pre-alpha. There will be a large jump in visual quality by the time K3 ships.

[Genki]

To be honest, I think the "pre-alpha" footage of KZ2 looked a bit better in a few ways than the final product. The hit-response system was more fluid and believable, the blood effects were otherworldly, and the PP filter was better on the whole.

I've really come to despise this pre-alpha term that's been liberally thrown about ever since then, because gamers take it for granted that a game will automatically and magically improve based on the time left to finish said game.

History has proven this thought process false time and time again, yet I always hear people saying that game X, Y or Z will look astronomically better since there's 18 months development time left. Hell, Just look at Alan Wake, Motorstorm 2, and nearly any number of franchises from any console. It's not exactly uncommon.

What people don't seem to realize is that with any sort of closed platform, compromises are bound to made, and often times unexpectedly.

I'm all about getting hyped for a game I'm excited for, but let's not count our chickens before they hatch, because we never know what sort of bumps in the road lie ahead.

[ivant]

I just want a variety of gameplay in SP and the freedom to use all the weapons and vehicles.

[GARBAGE LICKER]

Will there be a party system this time around...That was my only complaint in an otherwise great game...I am hoping for matchmaking too but thats because Im lazy

[xyxzor]

All they were showing was singleplayer. Expect MP related news in the coming months. Given how well GG are listening to the fans I would suspect that's in the realm of possibility.

[awesomeperson]

Lol, some one should compare Reach and Killzone 3, pre-alpha screenshots :)

[boysenberry]

I can't wait until Killzone 3 drops in 2011. I still can't believe that KZ3 will be bigger and better than KZ2.

[frankymv]

stunning