Gameplay video.

When I first saw this, I wasn't overly excited. Sure, I was definitely looking forward to playing through the game and having a kickass time, like I did with Killzone and Killzone 2, but I was not expecting to be addicted to KZ3 like a heroin addict.

And then I played the open beta.

30 minutes, not even with real players, but with bots, was all it took to convince me that this will be one of the best first person shooters ever. The immersion is mind-blowing, from realistically behaving guns to blood that will slowly pour out of a dying enemy and turn white in the freezing weather: I actually stood over an enemy soldier after I shot him and watched him writhing on the ground and moaning in pain (another immersive detail) as blood began to come out of the wound onto the snow, where the dark red liquid turned light and began to frost up. The graphics are amazing all around; no shoddy textures, no immersion-breaking glitches, no cookie cutter effects covered up with smoke and mirrors (literally).

Later, running through a darkened corridor behind one of my teammates, I was again shocked by the level of detail put into character actions and reactions. I watched as he sprinted down into a junction of the corridor, then stopped and smoothly brought his gun up to check the coast, slowing down and then speeding up realistically. Not that choppy Call of Duty bullcrap where the sloppiness of the animations are covered up by playing them ridiculously fast. The characters look, feel, and sound real.

The shooting itself is superb. There aren't hundreds of guns available, but there are plenty to make the game feel streamlined yet versatile- you don't have 12 assault rifles that do the same goddamn thing. One of them might be in burst fire, another might have a reflex scope, another could be silenced, a fourth could have a higher rate of fire, and so on. Every weapon feels distinctive and unique. There may be less customization than a game like CoD, but that just adds to the immersion- you feel as though you're part of the ISA or the Helghast, not some random rebel/guerilla/terrorist/special ops/soldier who has a completely different weapon set and cosmetic appearance than anyone else on his team.

This is a quality shooter, unlike the many pasty clones that the industry has been serving lately. I'm not saying it's a completely new experience or a radical change in the genre- I'm saying it's a shooter done right. Brilliant game thus far. Tomorrow I'll definitely have to try out multiplayer with human players. The beta is open and free to download from the Playstation Store.

I just got the beta yesterday and I have to say, not too different than the second, Graphics are similar but more detailed and refined, Characters don't seem to be as flexible than before but the amount of weight you carry with your equipment sure makes it feel more realistic. Its nice to say that whatever wasn't done right in Killzone 2 was definitely done right in this one.

Very well done in my opinion.

I'm going to blatantly and openly state ♥♥♥♥ YOU PLAYSTATION.

I bought an xbox for compettitive multiplayer, but I really think that the killzone series is the best shooter series ever created. Perhaps not the most fun, because that's an unwinnable award that goes to Halo 2, but the Best. Way beyond anything on the market.

I might buy a ps3 just for this game.

Well hey, at least you can test Crysis 2!

(Which will later release for PS3 as well <_<)

THe campaign looks pretty freaking awesome too.
Do want.

KZ3, just in time for the 3.55 firmware jailbreak.

The Killzone 3 Singleplayer demo is now out on PlayStation Store. Played through it and I love it. There's a co-op version of the campaign, too. Graphics are beautiful. Weapons feel Killzone-y; you have your standard assault rifles and pistols in there, but you'll also get to use some nice shiny stuff, including a minigun and a micro rocket launcher which holds 9 rockets that can be fired in bursts of three or all at once. The cover system is amazing- getting into and out of cover feels very natural, and its easy to get used to. Definitely recommend this for anyone who can download it.

Wasn't there a minigun in the first one?

Not sure since I never played the original, just 2 and now 3

Killzone 1 has been in my shelf for a few years now without anyone playing it. From the few minutes I did use it I vaguely remember a minigun, two classes of pistol and riffles, as well as a grenade launcher.