The latest futuristic first-person shooter series to roll out another installment is “Killzone 3,” featuring the same grizzled good guys trading heavy fire with the same grizzled bad guys in a gripping battle over Earth.
True innovation in shooters is rare, and if a series is already a winner, any chapter can get by with being simply sufficient. And that’s what “Killzone 3” (Sony, for the PlayStation 3, $59.99) is: solidly sufficient.
Gamers will get more of what they know and love: more sniper shots, more melee attacks and more skulking through alien worlds with a team of ragtag comrades.
To recap, the Interplanetary Strategic Alliance (good guys) continues to battle the Helghan army (bad guys) and its never-ending legion of glowing-eyed goons. I played primarily as the protagonist, Sev, a strong-willed special forces operative for the ISA.
Let’s begin with the graphics: The vistas and battlefields are impressive, fading into the mist and smoke as gunfire pelts the surroundings. But up close, during the in-your-face encounters, it’s underwhelming. There are too many jagged edges on the plants and rocks as Sev creeps through the glowing jungles, scoping out Helghast foes to frag.
Hand grenades are hard to see when you throw them. It would be nice if they had a better visual trajectory trail, like smoke or a glow of light. My body moved when I threw them and something exploded in the distance and I’m pretty sure I did it. But there wasn’t enough of a visual connection there to help me aim if I wanted to throw another one.
The same goes for some alien plants called “bursters.” When I shot at these glowing orange bits of vegetation, they exploded and shot deadly nettles into nearby Helghast soldiers. But I couldn’t see any of the carnage in detail. The plant explodes and the…