Killzone 3 is an upcoming 2011 first-person shooter 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 3D and the first to include motion controls using the PlayStation Move. It is due for release on February 22, 2011 in North America.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DH7_ym6LEiw
HISTORYLINE
The game picks up immediately after the ending of Killzone 2 and follows the previous games’ main protagonist, Sev, a Special Forces operative fighting for the Interplanetary Strategic Alliance against the Helghast Empire. The game continues shortly after Sev successfully defeated Radec and Rico having killed Visari, the Helghast dictator who leaves them to a fleet of Helghast ships approaching them destroying ISA vessels.
The death of their dictator has left the Helghast Empire in a state of internal struggle. Now, Sev and his comrade Rico are trapped in the cross-fire between the various political factions without any reinforcements and are left to fight alone in order to escape as the ISA struggles to regroup its forces and stop a Helghast invasion of Vekta. The game will also give players a deeper look into Helghan culture such as their language and showcase whatever humanity they have left within them.
Killzone 3′s story will also be more light-hearted compared to its predecessor, which Guerrilla felt suffered from an overly serious and
dark story which was one of the major complaints of the original, though they mentioned that it would not be too light-hearted as it is still a war. In addition, Guerrilla Games has hired an external writer to focus on only writing the storyline so as to give a fresh perspective to the story as well as hiring a lot more Hollywood actors to elevate the level of storytelling within the dialogue of the game.
Guerrilla Games has also mentioned that the game’s story will be an integral part of the game with dialogue and character development being greatly improved from its predecessor. In addition, Guerrilla Games has also said that they are curtailing the swearing in Killzone 3, which many felt was unnecessary in the dialogue of Killzone 2. They mentioned that the dialogue in the game should be focused on advancing the story rather than “gratuitous” swearing.
The Killzone 3 “Justice Trailer” reveals new characters: the resourceful female ISA member Jammer, as well as the hopeful heirs to Visari’s throne, Jorhan Stahl (voiced by Malcolm MacDowell) and Admiral Orlock (voiced by Ray Winstone).
Killzone 3 is an upcoming 2011 first-person shooter 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 3D and the first to include motion controls using the PlayStation Move. It is due for release on February 22, 2011 in North America.
GAMEPLAY
The gameplay will strongly resemble that of Killzone 2 albeit with several tweaks and changes. Similar to the first Killzone, the game will take 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, however, these new jet packs will be used in a different manner than that of those in Killzone: Liberation.
The game will also feature a revamped close combat melee system (called Brutal Melee) which include 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 revealed, which acts as a multi-firing rocket launcher. In the July 2010 edition of Game Informer, it was revealed that the WASP rocket launcher will have a primary fire and a secondary fire, which leaves to speculation that secondary fire for various weapons will return as seen in the original Killzone. The multiplayer beta has disproved this, though it’s possible for secondary fire to be present in the single player or co-op campaign.
Multiplayer
Killzone 3 supports offline split-screen co-op for two players, a feature not present in Killzone 2. With this mode, two players can play the campaign of Killzone 3 offline. This is the only offline split-screen mode available in Killzone 3, and the co-op mode is not available online.
Online mutliplayer 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. “Warzone”, returning from Killzone 2′s multiplayer, is a mission based game, such as Capture and Hold or Assassination, that supports up to 24 players per map. “Operations” is a new game mode that features cinematic scenes and supports up to 16 players per map. In Operations, one team will try to infiltrate the other teams base. For example, on the Frozen Dam map, the Helghast must defend the dam from the ISA forces. The ISA must first make it past the first barrier by planting explosives, they must then capture and hold areas in the next portion of the map, and then they must plant three more explosives. Cinematic scenes are featured at the beginning of the match, between destination points, and at the end of the match. If the Helghast are successful at defending the dam, they take the ISA forces as prisoners.
There is also a “Botzone” mode available where players can set up a multiplayer match, but against AI bots and is offline.
There are a total of eight multiplayer maps on disk, including Corinth Highway, Pyrrhus Crater, Bilgarsk Boulevard, Turbine Concourse SE-6, Frozen Dam, Akmir, Snowdrift, Mawlr Graveyard, and Kaznan Jungle. The Kaznan Jungle map only supports the Guerilla Warfare game mode, while the other seven support Warzone. Pyrrhus Crater, Bilgarsk Boulevard, Frozen Dam, and Akmir Snowdrift also support Guerilla Warfare. Operations is only available on the Frozen Dam, Akmir Snowdrift, and Mawlr Graveyard maps. The jetpacks are exclusive to the Turbine Concourse SE-6 map while the Exos and WASPS rocker launcher are only available on the Corinth Highway map. Mortar Beacons are found on Corinth Highway, Pyrrhus Crater, Bilgarsk Boulevard, Frozen Dam, and Mawlr Graveyard maps. Miniguns can be found in the Pyrrhus Crater, Bilgarsk Boulevard, and Turbine Concourse SE-6 maps. A snowstorm is featured on the Akmir Snowdrift map and a crusher 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 have their 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 abilites 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 additional secondary weapon, and one heavy weapon (e.g. rocket launcher). Other abilites, such as armor or silent footsteps, are earned based on obtaining a certain rank in multiplayer and can be used on any class.
Downloadable content
The first downloadable content announced for Killzone 3 is the “Retro Map Pack” which consists of two of the most popular maps from Killzone 2. The maps are the “Salamun Market” and “Blood Gracht” maps, which have been updated for Killzone 3. Saluman Market features the Warzone game mode while Blood Gracht features the Guerilla Warfare game mode. This pack will be available to purchase from the PlayStation Network. The map pack is also available as a pre-order bonus from various retailers and can be obtained from 7-Eleven’s promotion of Killzone 3 for 10 Slurpee rewards points. It is also included in the Helghast Edition.
The game was officially unveiled to the public by Sony Computer Entertainment on May 24, 2010 through the PlayStation.Blog. The game was first leaked to the public on May 21, 2010 through an early release copy of the June issue of gaming magazine GamePro alongside a leaked screenshot. Rumors about a sequel to the Killzone series have been around since just shortly after the release of Killzone 2. It was not until March 20, 2010 that Sony officially 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 officially announced.
Guerrilla’s managing director, Herman Hulst, has stated Killzone 3 will use close to 100% of the PS3′s power. The rumors of the intervention of Naughty Dog in the development were denied by Guerrilla: “Guerrilla is working on Killzone 3′s 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, 2010 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.
On June 11, 2010 on Killzone.com and the US PlayStation Blog, Guerrilla Games released a pre-E3 gameplay video. Guerrilla said the gameplay video is made of gameplay footage pulled straight from the game’s fourth mission called “Frozen Shores.” It featured the new brutal melee system, the jet packs, the new weapon (the WASP missile launcher), and it featured Sev, as well as Rico, with Sev’s hair a bit longer than in Killzone 2. At E3 2010, it was confirmed that Killzone 3 will support the PlayStation Move and will be released in February 2011. A pre-alpha code gameplay video was also shown at E3 in 3D; a special screen was lowered and the audience had 3D glasses available to them. The E3 gameplay video featured the jet packs as well as the player riding on a craft using a turret.
Guerrilla Games game director, Mathijs de Jonge, has been chatting about the merits of swearing in games, and with Killzone 3 he feels the studio have got just the right amount. “In Killzone 2 we ended up with too much of it, Killzone 3 swearing ‘a lot more impactful’.” he told Edge. Tommy de Roos, principal programmer at Guerrilla Games, who headed development for Move with Killzone 3, has said that he thinks “Most FPS games will be played with motion control in a few years.”
Killzone 3 takes up a full dual-layer Blu-ray disc.
REVIEWS
Critic: Destructoid | Score: 100
As close to perfect as online shooters get, and I do not say that lightly. The single-player could still use a little bit of work, but its faults pale in comparison to the amount of entertainment that the multiplayer provides, not to mention that the story mode itself really provides some greatness when it needs to. I don’t think the PlayStation 3 has ever had quite such a rounded, satisfactory package as this, with this level of polish, refinement and pure, simple, unpretentious action.
Critic: GameTrailers | Score: 94
The revamped controls result in the best Killzone experience yet, and the thoughtfully-conceived multiplayer elements will keep you in the game until you’ve maxed out and mastered its finer points. Killzone hasn’t forgotten its roots–it’s just improved its fundamentals in every way that matters.
Credits: Wikipedia.org
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