Killzone 3 Beta Breakdown & Impressions

The Color of Truth is Gray

by exterminat

©2010 Nicholas Laborde

At E3 2005, Sony unveiled many trailers for PS3 titles. Sony became infamous for passing them off as in-game gameplay, but they turned out to all be CG. Killzone 2 was one of those games; Guerrilla tried to cover it up later on by saying it was a “target” video, versus an actual marketing trailer.

Killzone 2 released on February 27, 2009, and surprised many (including myself) that it looked so similar to the trailer, and that a sequel to a title that was in the lowly gaming ranks of Superman 64 could turn out to be so excellent.

As we always do with my various looks at titles of late, let’s fast-track forward to the year 2010 once more, and take a closer look at the latest iteration of the franchise, Killzone 3. But more specifically, the closed beta for the game.

Plus let’s all remember, that the beta is still only in Alpha code, so nothing is final (as with all beta testing) and any discrepancies that may show up will no doubt be ironed out by release date in 2011.

We are presented with a multiplayer snippet that takes place on three different maps, and with three modes of play available. There’s also an upgraded, full-blown class system and a whopping forty-five (45) ranks available to us.

• Check out our Killzone 2 review Raising the bar in FPS.

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Environments

1) Frozen Dam

Frozen Dam is, as it’s name implies, a massive frozen dam somewhere far North in the seas of Helghan. It’s an absolutely gorgeous display of what the PlayStation 3 is capable of, from tiny snowflakes in the air that dynamically change with the wind, to a roaring river below that showcases some of the most beautiful water that I’ve ever had the pleasure of viewing.

The map features a clandestine military facility that has many nooks and crannies. One moment you’ll find yourself carefully watching your corners as you maneuver the interior areas, and the next you’ll be sprinting across bridges and walkways in an attempt to traverse to the other side of this spacious spectacle of a map.

Team Deathmatch features a slimmed-down version of the map, to provide a more direct approach for the basic mode, but Operations features the full size of the map, from the exposed ISA invasion area below all the way to the Helghan command post at the tip-top.

2) Corinth Highway

Corinth Highway takes place on and around a massive highway, and is the largest map in the beta. Every time that I play it, I still catch myself saying “Wow!” at the sheer size of the map. The primary mode for this map is Operations.

It’s a slightly symmetrical map that features the mechs we’ve seen recently, called Exo Suits. Two spawn at each starting area, and shenanigans ensue.

A side note regarding the Exo Suits is that I experienced a small bug with them. When you approach them and press the Circle button to get in, you do an animation of climbing into the suit. After the animation, for a split second, the half-way point of this animation stays on your screen, and THEN you are finally inside it. It’s something that needs to be addressed, but is nothing that directly affects the gameplay.

The entire map is absolutely incredible: jets from the ISA and Helghast armies constantly fight in the skies above (and are dangerously close, proving that they are in real time) in a massive battle.

Broken pieces of the highway provide cover, but the huge expanses between areas leaves little room for cover. Movement needs to be plotted carefully, else a sniper will easily pick you off.

You don’t simply feel as if you’re on a standard multiplayer map: it’s quite the contrary. You feel as if you’re in a real warzone, and that the actions you participate in are not the only things going on in the universe (this sense of isolation is a common plague of multiplayer these days, and ruins the atmosphere).

3) Turbine Concourse SE-6

Turbine Concourse SE-6 is about the size of Corinth Highway, and features one of the main new additions to Killzone 3: jetpacks. Because what else makes combat more entertaining than a good jetpack!

These can be found in spawn, and anyone can grab one and get to flying. They’re fairly easy to control, and provide for great fun, although the chaingun on the jetpack feels underpowered (most likely for the sake of balance).

TC SE-6 is a map designed for vertical or multi-layered combat, since it’s a showcase of the new jetpacks. In the center of the level sits a large EMP generator that constantly recharges itself. Periodically (but with no set interval) throughout sessions, your controller will vibrate if you’re near the generator.

When this happens, if a person is too close, they’ll be fried instantly when a huge EMP pulse is sent out. Anyone near the area that is outside of the blast radius will lose radar and jetpack functionality for around thirty seconds.

It’s always entertaining to see the jetpack whores flying around, mocking you, and then suddenly dropping out of the sky when the EMP pulse is sent out. Overall, it’s an interesting map that is a fresh take on how Killzone is played.

Modes

1) Guerrilla Warfare

One of the new, more basic modes featured in the Killzone 3 beta is Guerrilla Warfare. It’s your standard Team Deathmatch mode. Helghast and ISA forces fight to reach a team score of around fifty points. Frozen Dam is the spotlight for this mode.

2) Operations

The second new mode is Operations. Operations is an objective mode that plays out like a campaign mission, but with players assuming roles on both sides of the conflict.

Frozen Dam is the only map available to play Operations on, but it’s more than enough. It features the entirety of the map, and it’s something to behold.

At the beginning of each Operations round, you are treated to an alliance-specific cinematic from different points of view. The ISA point of view is told from the view of invading soldiers.

You’re on those infamous travel vehicles, and flying towards the Frozen Dam. Immediately, on the Helghast side, the ISA are spotted and the facility is locked down in different phases, to make the lives of the ISA that much easier.

The vehicles quickly come under fire, and you make a hot landing at the very bottom of the map. The camera zooms in to the players on the ISA role as they jump over the side of the ships, and immediately assume first-person view, which is a nice touch. Helghast players are treated to the facility being locked down by one soldier and then sprinting to take up defensive positions.

An interesting thing about these cinematics is that they show the names of players above the heads. When you see the cinematics that occur during the session itself (when the ISA blow open an objective door, for example) everyone immediately sees the cinematic, but the names above the heads of the soldiers are those of the best players on the ISA team. It’s a very unique way of rewarding players, and gives everyone that special spotlight moment.

3) Warzone

Lastly, we have the only mode from Killzone 2, Warzone. It’s a dynamically changing multiplayer mode, featuring everything from a Capture the Flag (CTF)-esque variant, to Bodycount (team deathmatch), all the way to Assassination, where one team has a leader they must protect, and the opposing team must kill them.

It’s the definitive multiplayer mode to experience a little bit of everything, and Killzone 3′s iteration stays true to the name.

Classes

Killzone 3 continues the class-based system introduced in Killzone 2, but minus two classes (Soldier and Assault, for balancing and popularity).

1) Engineer

The Engineer is your go-to guy for team-based support and heavy duty defensive weaponry. His primary weapon is a heavy machine gun, with the possibilities of an SMG and an even heavier machine gun to unlock, with the standard pistol, shotgun pistol and “battle pistol” (which is essentially a grenade launcher in pistol form) as secondary unlockables.

His abilities stretch to repairing ammunition dispensers and mounted/automated turrets and setting up a sentry. All these abilities and attachments can be upgraded two more times from the base level (this applies to every class).

2) Marksman

Marksman is your man for long-range combat. He sports a semi-automatic rifle as the default primary weapon, and upgrades include an SMG and then a full sniper rifle. His secondaries include the standard pistol, shotgun pistol, and silenced machine pistol.

3) Tactician

The Tactician is the class of team-based players. He sports a typical SMG as his primary, with upgrades to the heavy machine gun featured by the Engineer as the second weapon, and finally the semi-auto rifle of the Marksman as the final primary unlock.

Tacticians are the more pro-team members of the group. They can make captured areas spawn points for team members, and provide enemy positions on the mini-map for teammates for limited amounts of time. This reconnaissance ability evolves into a Sentry drone that follows you around and serves as a floating automatic weapon.

4) Infiltrator

Stealthy players will be pleased to know that the Infiltrator is designed specifically for a sneaky, back-stabbing play style. His abilities range from disguising as a member of the enemy team to sprinting faster than normal. Upgrading his second ability to the third tier reward with 50% faster objective arm/plant speed.

Infiltrators can get the standard pistol, the Battle Pistol, and a rocket launcher as secondary weapons.

5) Field Medic

Lastly, for the players such as myself that don’t necessarily want to dominate the playing field, we have the Field Medic. The Medic does as his name implies. His first ability is to give revived players full health and ammo, and upgrades to give revived players better stats.

His secondary ability is called Triage, and it emits an aura of health in the area surrounding him, which encourages teammates to stick together through it all. It upgrades into a sentry drone that can finally be upgraded to revive the Medic when he goes down (if he chooses not to respawn).

His loadout consists of an SMG, shotgun, and finally the definitive Killzone weapon, the ISA’s very own M82 Assault Rifle. The secondary options available to him are a standard pistol, a revolver, and the silenced machine pistol.

Other Features

1) Clan system

Killzone 2 featured a robust clan system, and it returns in Killzone 3 (surprisingly enough, it makes a full appearance in the beta!). You can create and manage a clan with whatever name and clan tag you want, and manage a roster for it as well. Once you do that, you can search for tournament games, which are clan-based matches.

It’s a fun and simple way of keeping track of your clan without having to go through the process of external sources such as GameBattles.

2) Leveling system

Another feature that received a huge overhaul from Killzone 2 is the leveling system. The UI for the system itself has been redone in favor of a more simplistic style.

You can now receive Ribbons for actions like getting a certain amount of kills with a weapon, getting the most melee kills, first blood, et cetera. You also get a bonus for simply completing the game, even if your team loses (unlike that of Killzone 2, where you only got a bonus if your team won).

After you rank up to each level (of which there are 45, as mentioned at the beginning) you receive a single unlock point. This point can be applied to unlocking or upgrading a weapon or ability in each class.

The start of each is 1 point, the middle tier being 2 points, and the final iteration being three points. It’s a simple way of unlocking things, and teaches players to pace themselves and think about if they want to spread their classes evenly or focus on a specific class alone.

And Everything Else

By this point, you’ve heard me go completely gaga over how gorgeous the game is. Well, I’ll reiterate it just once more: the game is astonishingly ravishing.

Character models are ultra high definition, environments are next to life, and the weapons are incredibly well detailed. Unlike its predecessor, the game has a true color pallet this time around!

It is no longer a culmination of grays, browns and blacks, but now features many other colors in the spectrum! It brings out the absolute beauty of the engine, and makes it the game it’s supposed to be Apart from what you see at first glance, it is also full of hundreds upon hundreds of little unique touches.

My personal favorite little thing is the smoke off of some weapons, such as the M82 Assault Rifle. When you shoot, smoke is emitted from the chamber.

The most amazing part of it is if you back up from that spot after shooting, the wisps of smoke are still in the environment, and are not merely a first-person tacked-on effect.

The sound, from what we can experience in this limited iteration, is that of elegance. Weapons were completely re-recorded, and they all sound unique. The only game series with weapons this realistic is the Battlefield: Bad Company series. Every single weapon has it’s own distinct, powerful sound that is likely to send chills down your spine.

The overall game itself is an extremely unique and an incredible take on the multiplayer FPS genre.

From the absolutely jaw-dropping visuals, to the unique maps and modes, and to all of the little changes it makes to established traditions, Killzone 3 is shaping up to be on the road to perfect success.

Now those of us lucky enough to also own a PS3 must agonizingly wait for February 22, 2011, so that we can get our hands on the campaign…

©2010 Nicholas Laborde

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Filed under: 1st Party Titles, Console gaming, Game Impressions, Gaming Videos, PS3 Reviews, Steal It For The 360 Tagged: | Deathmatch (gaming), games, Guerrilla Games, Helghast, Interplanetary Strategic Alliance, ISA, Killzone, Killzone 3, killzone 3 beta, killzone beta, Playstation 3, Software release life cycle, Sony