This may contain mild story spoilers.
Here at TSA we often berate those that only pick up on a review’s final score rather than reading the text, but recently, as the reviews for Guerrilla’s Killzone 3 continue to roll in, there’s been a few low scores in amongst the mean that stand out from the crowd. Indeed, even as Metacritic has the game locked at a superb 86% just now, seeing those sevens at the bottom of the list has prompted me into writing this brief blog.
There are three such reviews bubbling down there, at the time of going to press: two from UK magazines Edge and gamesTM and another from US website Joystiq. Thankfully, as far as I can tell most of the reviews from these publications use the ‘full’ 10/10 scale, so a ‘seven’ is two marks above average – and I’m fully aware of the subjective nature of writing reviews (and don’t claim to always get it right myself) but a seven, to me, seems off.
How off? Well, during our own review the final score swayed a couple of times between an eight and a nine, not least because I found the single player campaign, whilst much better than Killzone 2’s, followed very familiar paths and personally at least I was hoping for a little less linearity. But in the grand scheme of things, this tunnelling of the player isn’t unique to Killzone, having been seen in pretty much every FPS since Doom.
[boxout]But is this lack of originality in the level design really enough to call the single player’s narrative a “travesty”, Joystiq? Sure, it’s not going to win any awards for scriptwriting and plot but as far as I can see it’s tailored precisely to the game’s audience, something Braben was discussing last week. It’s simple, narrowminded and needs a little bit more editing towards the end (unless that was just my copy) but it’s fun, and at least offers a few little twists to keep things interesting.I also didn’t find the game “dumb” – in fact, although I initially avoided the tougher levels in order to actually get through the game for the embargo, I did test the water on Elite mode and found it actually quite intelligent for a game featuring space marines in space shooting people with space guns. I’m not apologising for Guerrilla’s design choices here, this is personal opinion, but I actually liked the beefed up cover mechanics and constant pacing, and the AI on Elite is brutal.
I also thought there was enough variety in the game’s levels throughout the story mode to keep things more than fresh – the ice level you’ll presumably all have played by now is a good example but the other eight or so sections revert to the typical Helghan urban sprawl only occasionally, with the sneaky stealth mission we mentioned in our review a distinct diversion. And besides, it all ends up somewhere quite different indeed.
So is it all “predictable” as gamesTM say? A little, perhaps, but that’s really a constant of the genre isn’t it? And to call the single-player the “biggest disappointment of the year so far” seems like an unfair appraisal, at least to me. I liked the plot development with the two main Helghast bad guys (the outcome of that surely wasn’t obvious) and thought the increased buddying up of Sev and Rico actually worked quite nicely, and I’m sure there’s been worse single player games this year.
Yes, some of the cut-scenes were a little bit ‘gung-ho’ and some sections of the game didn’t work as well as others, but you’ve then got to factor in the multiplayer, which is bigger in every way over Killzone 2. The current beta might have upset a few of the hardcore but the new Operations mode is neat and the fully realised Botzone mode is the perfect training ground when you’re not quite ready for online. It’s more accessible, more friendly and easier to get a game.
Obviously, reviews of a game are generally one person’s impressions and thoughts, and a big title like Killzone 3 is going to sell like hot-cakes regardless, but surely it’s worth more than a ‘seven’. Guerrilla have become the flagbearer for PS3 tech – proper Move support, 3D gaming, split-screen co-op, and even if some reviewers don’t think the third game is quite as good as Killzone 2, we can only urge you to check it out for yourselves.
Killzone 3 is out next week, and scored a 9/10 in our review here. We’d love to hear what you think about the single player experience once it’s out – why not pin this topic and come back to it then?
Update: although it’s not mentioned in the title, the gamesTM review is a single-player only review, which goes some way to explaining the score awarded. gamesTM will carry a multiplayer review in due course.
cc_star
Hated the multiplayer demo with a passion, really hated it.
was quite thankful for being able to save £40, then I played the single player demo… holy cow it was freaking amazing, so it is the £40 gone after-all :(
and I can’t wait :)
Dr_mohannad
what did you hate about it?
DR-DAVROS
I’d be interested in the answer to this to.
I played the BETA when it was on PS+ but only played it twice as I found it quite dark and couldn’t see and was basically not doing very well. I then played the open beta and found it to be much much better after giving it some time. The operations mode is excellent and the edition of being able to use move which I’ve now mastered im having a blast. Ordered the sharpshooter which I think again might add another slight learning curve but now quite excited to get my hands on the full version.
With time it will be a 7 in my books but from a day 1 im expecting more.
(What keeps me buying these generic FPS games ???)
DR-DAVROS
Averna
I know, right? I said to a mate of mine that I wasn’t getting any more shooters over a year ago… and since then I’ve bought them all :(
They never really dig their claws into me as much these days. I haven’t dumped as much time into anything as much as Cod4 (the good ‘ole days). I’d rather play something like Assassins Creed or something else with a good story.
Truth be told. I’m hanging out for Disgaea4 most of all.
Dr_mohannad
@DR-DAVROS
I think the move support is really great, and yes, it has a learning curve but once you master it, you’re ready to have a blast.
Watchful
The multiplayer convinced me to give it a miss too.
If the single player is really that much better I’ll give it a try this week.
Averna
I had the exact same reaction. Multiplayer really didnt hook me, to the point where I was really regretting my preorder and considered cancelling. Then the single player demo came out and really blew me away. Looks like there is a far more engrossing story there and the set pieces are amazing. I cant wait to get my grubby little mitts on it now!
makibah
Howdy. I have been coming to this site for ages and it’s awesome and gives a relatively untainted point of view. However, you all go week at the knees for Killzone. I just think the reason you took personal offence to the lower scores is because this site loves Killzone so much. I liked the single player aspect of Killzone 2, but the multiplayer was not brilliant, it was distinctly average. That’s my opinion. You have yours, but maybe Killzone 3 does deserve a 7. We will all find out soon enough.
BG123
and 99% of other websites goes all weak-kneed for halo, geow and pretty much any old tat that’s xbox exclusive. It’s about time someone was a little bit PlayStation biast IMO. (I don’t mean this site is btw)
topshot09
To tell the truth I think halo reach is a generic piece of thrash IMO. I fail to see how people like it although I did enjoy the first one very much on the xbox.
colossalblue
and for the record, I didn’t personally like Killzone 2 very much, I much preferred Reach on the 360. That’s not to say that I can’t see why KZ2 was so popular or what made it a great game, it’s just that my preference lay elsewhere.
Not disagreeing with you, as this article goes to lengths to point out, there is a lot of opinion and personal taste involved. Just trying to let you know that we’re not all salivating Killzone fanboys ;)
Dr_mohannad
but you can’t deny that the multiplayer aspect of killzone 2 is its strongest point, can you?
kevatron400
I only ever played KZ2 in single player. Like many others, I don’t fancy the idea of going online to be blown to bits by children every 15 seconds.
djhsecondnature
@kevatron400 – That is where Killzone is different than Halo, it’s not littered with teens.
KeRaSh
It kind of feels that way when TSA puts out an article to justify a short single player campaign and then another to point out flaws of other sites reviews that are lower than the score of TSA.
While most of us know how it’s meant it sure could feel like you are going out of your way to defend the game to some of the newer TSA followers.
topshot09
The funny thing I heard that reviewers had a very short time to play the online portion of the game, I think it was between 20-30mins. I don’t really see how someone can give a valid opinion in that short amout of time, as we know these days online you actually have to spend hours to reap the full benefits.
At first when I tried the online beta I didn’t like it much because i couldnt spot enemies as their icon would make it seems like their on your team to my surprise it turned out to be a infiltrator class,but it slowly grew on me just like BC2 I didn’t like it at first but now it’s the best fps shooter this generation. I might give killzone 3 ago seeing as I have move and a 3dtv.
monty2k
I fully agree with you.
The multiplayer beta didn’t “click” with me until after an hour or twos worth of play. Now I can’t wait for the game and playing on some different levels!
Dr_mohannad
What are you talking about the putting off players..!!
I think it’s awesome.
aphex187
I will never buy another copy of Edge again, i just do not like the way they review and score games. And to say that the SP is disappointing from GamesTM is quite a shock, because what i played of the demo looked and played like a dream!
MP for me is just awesome and for Edge to give it a 7 really confuses me with their reviewing methods!?
nofi
Edge is a brilliant magazine, the best one out there and I’m a subscriber. You can’t decide not to buy a mag based on one review.
SlapnutzUK
I don’t think the score is the real issue for gamers, I think it is more how the arrived at the score. Lambasting a game for a poor story yet never really mentioning it for others comes across as perhaps the reviewers going out of the way to find fault.
One common theme that has been true since the PS3 has launched is that if there is a PS3 exclusive title certain sections of the media will find away to bash it for some unknown reason.
I’m looking forward to this myself, not a big fan of the last games multiplayer but the beta and demo have me sold.
OneShotWook
Edge reviews games like the oscars review movies,it’s never been a game fans mag moreso a review fans mag.
As a huge Kz2 mp fan the games a given,the only thing that concerns me is the inclusion of the mechs into Mp,fun but cheap and very similar to Reachs jetpacks in impact i found,still i havn’t got the game yet so i’m hoping the maps will be varied enough to counter it.
acridweasel
“…the ice level you’ll presumably all have played by now..”
Not if you can’t justify shelling out for PS+ yet…
Just sayin’.
YOURMUMANDME
From what I’ve tried out on the open & closed multiplayer beta KZ3 seemed quite lacking in some senses. Putting aside the fact that the alpha/beta codes are obviously unfinished, it was quite a boring experience with little equipment/skills to play around with and it lacks the community side of things that I’d hoped to have been strengthened from KZ2.
That said, I’ve not tried out the single player on PS+ yet and a 7/10 is more of a cop out review score, it’s that easy to award it that most readers will just nod their heads and click/turn over to another page. In fact, I’m sure it’s that easy to award that you wouldn’t even need to play the game past the first few levels….”seven out of ten, they’ll swallow that”.
I’ve n
AG2297
..unfortunately YMAM was assassinated while writing this comment and was unable to complete the comment.
;)
JesseDeya
No no, he’s just at the Castle of arrrggghhh…
YOURMUMANDME
…*BREATHE* …ot stopped craving KZ3, roll on 25th !
I just randomly decided to hold my breath ; )
jacklum
FPSs are the main beneficiary of inflated review scores. It’s about time they started getting marked down for being predictable or lacking innovation. One of my main peeves regarding shooters is canned turret/on rails segments and it sounds like KZ3 is loaded with them. Wohoo.