Killzone 3 In 3D!
The Eurogamer Expo had a few exciting upcoming releases for people to get their hands on, Fable 3, Vanquish and Castlevania, to name but a few. The highlight of the show for me had to be Killzone 3. Not only was it the first time I got to see some extended footage of the game, but also – it was my first time seeing a Playstation game in 3D.
The Demo we played sets the player on an oil platform in an arctic sea, waves crashing amongst huge ice bergs, the sound of the chill wind whistling past your head. You’re thrown right into the action, with Helghast immediately attacking you from sneaky little hidey-holes within the rig itself. After quickly dispatching them however, the real fun begins.
One of the more publicised additions to KZ:3 is the Helghast rocket pack. Rather than allowing you to fly, the rocket pack provides a boost to your normal jumps, allowing you to jump across large chasms or quickly lifting you off into the air in a firefight. You don’t stay up for long though and what comes up must come down, as Pat found as he slowly plummeted into the frigid water below the rig, much to the glee of the on-looking crowd. The short jumps add a new, slightly frantic dimension to the combat and should make for some interesting new multiplayer games. The Helghast use jetpacks too, making them tricky to kill when out in the open. I found luring them into a tunnel worked well but the AI isn’t easily tricked in this way. The new melee combat is brutal and dispatching an unlucky Helghast trooper who got too close by ramming a massive hunting knife into his eye is the perfect way to end an encounter.
The 3D works very well so far. What we were looking at this weekend was only an early alpha build, but it was already obvious how the PS3 3D was going to work. For Killzone, it made the HUD and blood spatter effects on screen appear to hover just above the rest of the game. The first time I took some bullets to the face was really impressive to see.
A good basis for comparison would, of course, be Avatar. If you went to see Avatar in 3D at the cinema, you’ve probably already experienced the type of 3D that Playstation will be offering with their games. For me, this seems to work best on the little nuances that make up the background, rather than the main action itself. For instance, I used the example of the blood on the screen or the HUD working really well in 3D, as does snow and ash falling in the air around you or smoke wreathing from an explosion. I didn’t at any time feel the urge to duck out of the way of bullets but the 3D effect did definitely enhance the experience. 3D gaming is still in its infancy but as long as it doesn’t end up being a flash in the pan, I think we can look forward to some very creative and immersive experiences.
