Those Glowing Orange Eyes Are Back. And We Couldn't Be More Excited About It.

But certain magazines have forced developers Guerrilla Games' hand. Hence the bringing forward of a massive embargo, and the release of some early hands-on impressions (they are glowing like a Helghast's blinkers).

Sony's not really saying anything about the game that wasn't already noted over the weekend, stating that "Killzone 3 picks up picks up where its predecessor left off and it’s a much grander experience in terms of scale and ambition". Good start. "There will be more variety, more enemy types, massive environments and a broader vision of the planet Helghan and its many terrains. The presentation closed with a beautifully violent video montage of the Brutal Melee attacks, which are the new close range attacks."

And of Killzone's flawed narrative?

“We recognise how important the story is in Killzone games,” he replied, “and we’re making great leaps forward with character development and the quality of the dialogue and the writing. We’re going all-out to make Killzone 3 a rounded experience on all fronts.

"So with Visari gone, there’s a power vacuum on Helghan where figures like Stahl, the head of the Helghan weapon producer, are vying for power. Essentially, the surviving ISA soldiers are caught in the middle of a catfight when what they really need is to get the hell off the planet and return to Vekta.

"On the ground, this political situation changes the nature of the conflict. The Helghan are now in the ascendency and they are bringing a great deal of new technology to the fray. The result for the player is that you’ll be encountering new weapons and enemy types with their own distinct behaviour.”

Oh, and if you didn't know, Killzone 3 will work in 3D. Now before you go off and grumble about how pointless 3D tech is and how it's a fad that no-one can afford, we'll leave you with this quote from Eurogamer's 3D preview of the game. No doubt this will have PushSquare reader Jas-N salivating — he's the only person locally we know to be splashing out on Sony's new 3D tech and he's making us very jealous.
[quote]
I manage to plumb the centre seat, which apparently gives the best impressions of the 3D magic at work, but the appreciative noises emanating from the journos either side of me are reassuring. We play through the same section again, although the pad remains firmly in the hands of the studio representative.

Straight away there's an immediate impact. The weighty, long-barrelled minigun has a real presence in-screen, highlighting the fact that the majority of Killzone's 3D trickery is done via the impression of depth rather than projection. Shuffling behind cover emphasises the effect superbly, each vanishing line and focal reference point making the illusion ever more real.

The game's particle effects really come into their own under the influence of the active shutter glasses too. Snow seems to swirl very distinctly in front of the screen, its fluttering hypnotism starkly punctuated by the bullets which zip and zing towards you. We're told there's a lot of work to be done on the perfection of the 3D yet, and in certain effects that's obvious, but generally the whole effect is a mesmerising one, drawing you into the screen and surrounding you with it, generally just in time to recoil from a projectile or ten. It also adds a competitive advantage, allowing players to judge the jetpack jumps with much greater accuracy. How that will skew the playing field between 3D enabled multiplayer users and their dimension-poorer counterparts remains to be seen.

In one of the more static moments, our demonstrator places a D-charge on the AA battery, the focus and lack of movement allowing a more advanced 3D technique to be used. It's startling how much depth is added to the scene. This is a fairly strenuous technique in terms of brain capacity, though, and we're informed that it's something which won't be happening too often. "If we were to do this during a combat scenario, your eyes would tire, your brain would malfunction. This is a game we want people to be able to play for hours at a time."</blockquote>

So properly amazing then? No doubt we'll see more of this at Sony's E3 press conference, which we personally believe will be presented in 3D on one of those massive TVs Sony's accustomed to bringing along to the show.

We're excited. You can catch some screens through here. They are actual screens. Y'know, from the game. Just in case anyone wanted to pull that CGI stunt.