I have now finished the single-player campaign and spent over 10 hours playing online multiplayer (all modes). I played through the campaign using the Move controller. I played through part of the campaign again using the standard controller. I played through the entire campaign in 3D and through part of it in 2D, to compare.
So I’ve pretty much blown every whistle and rung every bell Sony’s including with this game (the only thing I haven’t tried is the offline co-op). Here’s what I thought of the entire thing:
Online Multiplayer. It’s incredibly fun. Using the Move controller gives you better accuracy, which usually lands me in first or second place. It almost feels like cheating, but this is the direction Sony took.
Single player campaign. Ignore the bitter critics who are crying because they didn’t get a chance to play it in 3D or they’re rendered incapable of praising any FPS that doesn’t star Master Chief or have someone Calling for Duty. This is in the top 10 best FPS titles ever made. Its set-pieces are similar to early Lucas or Spielberg movies in how EPIC they are. Think Raiders of the Lost Ark or any of the first 3 Star Wars’ films. It’s a really well put together game with more jaw-dropping moments than the last 3 Halos combined.
The Move Controls. They work better than you could imagine. They work better than the dualshock itself. It’s the closest you’re going to come to the keyboard/mouse experience on a console, without literally using a keyboard and mouse on a console. Very accurate. Very fun to play.
The graphics. Pure awesomeness. Thought Killzone 2 looked good? This one looks better.
As much as I loved it, the campaign is way too short (7 hours to finish on medium difficulty) and may be just a little too disjointed. There were a few times where they went overboard making scenes that would stand out in 3D and leave 2D gamers scratching their heads. If the single-player campaign ran 10-20 hours, I would have given Killzone 3 a 5 out of 5. I’m sure they’ll have more of the game to sell us later (there’s a “6 months later” moment that feels created for DLC).
Lack of maps. I’m not sure how many maps the game comes with, but with 10+ hours of play time, I haven’t seen more than 6 or 7. Not to mention, everyone memorizes one map and then keeps voting to play it over and over again, which is really annoying. Again, I’m sure they’ll have plenty more maps to sell us later as DLC. Am I the only one noticing that to get a “full” game, you have to shell out around $120? Seems like sort of a scam.
The Ugly … er … “Helghast”:
The 3D. The 3D worked well enough. Some parts were worthy of pure amazement. One section had me screaming out to my girlfriend, “Now THIS is what 3D gaming’s about!” Then I felt like a geek. A geek wearing $100 3D glasses. Thinking back on it, it’s hard to believe she’s stayed with me this long.
The problem with the 3D is the nonstop crosstalk (it’s worse in darker areas and cutscenes). If you’re not all that familiar with 3D, crosstalk basically looks like you’re having double (or even triple) vision. This can be pretty problematic when you’re staring at three crosshairs, when there’s only supposed to be one. I just kept the, “hit the one in the middle” line from Rocky IV in mind. It’s the worst crosstalk I’ve seen in a game or in a movie. Which sucks, because, had it not been wrecked by the crosstalk, it would have easily been the best 3D ever put into a game.
That said, if you have the chance, I’d recommend playing in 3D. At least a few of the scenes (feel free to ask me in the comments, which parts work best in 3D — I don’t want to give away spoilers in this review). But for all the 3D hype, the game looks and plays just fine in 2D. I wouldn’t invest in that 3DTV just yet — at least not if you’re doing so just for this game. On the other hand, I’d definitely invest in this game. If you’re a fan of shooters; you won’t be disappointed!
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