Killzone 3 reviewed for PlayStation 3 reviewed by Allan Walsh. Game supplied for review by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe

For me, Killzone 2 was a good but very repetitive FPS. After the initial wow factor wore off I began to get fed up of the same old regurgitated (albeit very detailed) backgrounds, repetitive enemies and stuttering screen as it accessed the hard drive; not to mention the lack of any discernable plot. Then I tried the multiplayer portion, was impressed by how good it was and it saved the game from being just ho-hum.

I desperately hoped Killzone 3 would be better.

Well, it's here at last and follows on directly from where the last game finished. The same location and the same graphics, but nicer somehow. More crisp, detailed and at the same time it runs smoother than before. But like I said, it was the same at the start. I was disappointed. Then the game began to improve. The controls are more responsive and the plot is better than before. Still fairly basic, but because of better script writing and more vocal characters, there is much more depth to the proceedings. Then, to my surprise, the location changed from city to wilderness and the wow factor I felt at the beginning of Killzone 2 was back with a vengeance.

It seems that Guerrilla Games has listened to its fan base and improved upon just about every facet of the Killzone franchise. The graphics are some of the best I have seen, and I don't just mean on the PS3. The initial urban setting is more detailed than before with some superb level design, which is carried throughout the whole game. From the cavernous wilderness with its gaping drops into steaming sludge, shattered rock faces festooned with a riot of alien plant life and crawling creatures scurrying about their daily business, to the tumultuous arctic-like coasts with ice filled waves crashing against the shore. Every area is unique and believable. Some of the enemy armour is absolutely huge and very imposing, yet plausible and full of detail. The team in charge of the visuals have really surpassed themselves.

Animation is also top notch and married with a very well implemented Havok physics engine giving everything a highly polished feel. There is so much detail and movement with so little performance hit that at times I sat, slack jawed and just stared at the backgrounds.

The sound is of equally high quality, with Hollywood action blockbuster style music racing behind the great digital sound effects. Ambient sound is exemplary (the wilderness sections in particular with their strange swamp-like noises and unknown indigenous life forms calling out from every direction) with booming distant explosions and guttural cries of pain or fury. Each weapon is distinct, authentic sounding and deafening. In fact, everything in Killzone 3 has its own sound so if you listen hard (and try not to get killed) you will learn what's coming before it gets to you.

Something I am glad of is the fact that the game is just as difficult as the last instalment. The team has obviously worked hard at creating a challenging shooter with first-rate design instead of resorting to infinite respawn points. Instead you need to quickly learn the layout of your current area and adapt as quickly as possible because the Helgast (the enemy) don't much like the ISA (the good guys) and give no quarter. They can be quite brutal in their pursuit of you, so hiding in one place and trying to pick them off one by one will not always work. They will lob grenades, use state of the art energy weapons, flank you or just try a simple but effective suicide run.

Of course, you can be brutal in return. Killzone 3 has some of the most vicious melee kills in any FPS. I won't describe the visceral violence here but I loved them. Trying them out in the split screen Co-op mode is also bound to be an experience for many and a great source of verbal abuse as you get killed in front of a friend yet again whilst trying to reload your heavy machine gun.

There are many weapons at your disposal so you should have no trouble finding a favourite and sticking with it if that's what you prefer. Additional weapons range from mounted miniguns and multi rocket launchers that can be removed and carried for as long as their ammunition lasts, to tanks and flying troop carriers. There are plenty of opportunities to drive a myriad of vehicles and they break up the gameplay beautifully. Some slow and heavily armoured - others fast and prone to sucking up bullets like a sponge soaks water.

Of course one of the newest toys is the jetpack which you get the chance to don for a short while in the single player game and as much as you like in certain sections of the multiplayer maps. I did have a slight issue with this addition though and it had to do with the cursed invisible walls. Everyone hates them and I know they need to be there at times but at one point in the single player game on an oil rig they seem to be in abundance when just blocking the gaps that you could obviously fit through would have been less frustrating.

I left the multiplayer critique for last because it's what seems to interest most people out there and now I understand why. It is even better than the single player experience (and even the multiplayer from Killzone 2) for nothing other than the sheer adrenaline highs you get from what is far and away the best online experience I have had in any console shooter to date.

If you want to practice first you can take a spin in the Botzone and swap lead with bots of your chosen difficulty level to give you a taste of what's to come. When you feel ready you can begin with one of three multiplayer game types. Guerrilla Warfare is a team based deathmatch affair and a great blast. Warzone is a team based, fluid, random battle killing spree where the first team to complete an objective gets a point up to a set number that wins the whole game. What's great here is that when you complete (or fail) an objective the game switches to another on the same map without taking you away from the fun. The final game type is Operations which is similar to Warzone in that it's again team-based and has multiple missions. The twist is that it has a mini plot with objectives that carry you on to the next part of the plot which is seen through cut scenes using you and your team to make it more personal.

The more you play online, the more points you get according to how clean your kill was or how the objectives were reached. At the end of each playing session your points are added up and become a part of your levelling up process. Each time you level up an upgrade point is handed over for use in upgrading your skills, or opening up new weapons to slake your thirst for blood.

I have never been so excited about wasting other human beings online. From the single player games' atmospheric theatrics on a biblical scale to the constant fluidity and stimulation of the online battles I would have no compunction in screaming from upon high, if you have a PS3 you need Killzone 3.

Update:
Due to unforeseen circumstances of the most technical nature I had to omit any mention of Move functionality from this review until the problem was resolved and I could give the controller a fair go. Now, I have had the chance to further immerse myself in the gritty beauty of Killzone 3 using nothing more than the Move motion controller (MC) and the navigation controller (NC), although you can use the six-axis controller in place of the latter.

Once calibration of the MC is complete you can begin the game as you would normally, moving forwards, backwards and from side to side with the NC. The MC allows you to look around as you would using the right stick on the six-axis. A dead zone in the middle of the screen allows you to move your target reticule around without shifting your view, but once you move it nearer an edge of the screen your character will look automatically in that direction, bringing the current weapon to bear. This seems a little twitchy at first and each person will have to open the options screen and tweak the dead zone distance from the top and sides of the screen along with the sensitivity of the controller to personalise the settings so that they feel comfortable.

As odd as this may feel at first, once you get to grips with traversing the levels and approach your first kill you will have to stab forward as if holding the knife in your hand to silently take out your foe. Reloading weapons take a twist of the wrist as does opening gates or arming explosives. It all becomes quite immersive and works very well. During your first fire fight you may well have some trouble shooting the enemy as you flail around the screen madly spraying bullets like confetti. Using the trigger button on the NC will zoom in, whilst holding it down a little longer when pointing on or closely at an enemy will zoom in and highlight them allowing for very satisfying head shots. This really saves you from struggling with the new controller but at the same time does not feel like the game is in any way holding your hand.

Using the Move controllers in multiplayer games will boost reaction times if you practice enough. Whether or not people take it up as an replacement to the six-axis will rely on personal preference. That goes for the single player game also. Move works a lot better than I would have thought in Killzone 3. It's fast, accurate and different isn't always good, but sometimes it's refreshing.