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(contains SPOILERS for Killzone 1 and 2)

The story of the Killzone franchise is that of a struggle against mediocrity and excessive hype. The original game promised the world so of course it turned out disappointing, and Killzone 2 became controversial before it even released due to deceptive advertising, on top of being aggressively dull and riddled with technical issues. Killzone 3 defied the odds by, at long last and with great toil, finally elevating the series to the glorious heights of averageness.

To be clear, I don't hate the original Killzone. I think was a victim of ambition and marketing, but for its time it was playable and actually provided a different experience from the competition rather than just copying it. Killzone 2 unfortunately learned the wrong lessons and removed all the distinguishing features other than cockney space Nazis, and I'm also less forgiving of a sequel. It aged very poorly but at least served as a stepping stone to greater things. Killzone 3 still relies on a lot of conventions from the height of Call of Duty mania, but it actually has some personality and memorable moments, which I can't really say for the previous games.

It's fascinating how some minor tweaks improved the experience so profoundly. I can only wonder if Killzone 2 was rushed to market because the third game is functionally almost identical but works so much better. Hitting targets with your gun isn't as much of a pain now (fairly crucial in a game about shooting dudes), and though they didn't bring back the first game's secondary fire options you can at least carry three guns again: a primary, a pistol and a heavy weapon. This instantly encourages you to actually experiment with the arsenal rather than constantly leave you with no ammo, and running around with a massive laser cannon that makes baddies explode into green goo is a joy. Even better though, there's even a smegging jetpack with a built-in machinegun, which is just a beautiful microcosm of how the franchise was finally allowed to have fun with its setting.

After the plot of Killzone 1 boiled down to "the ISA stop a traitor general from helping the invading Helghan", and the plot of Killzone 2 was basically "accidentally kill the bad guy", Killzone 3 immediately gets off to a better start by showing us the power vacuum left after your useless, incompetent and annoying comrade Rico turned Scholar Visari into a martyr. The franchise desperately needed something like this and it's gratifying to get some idea of how Helghast society works under all the propaganda. The usual stylish intro cutscene is present and accounted for, but now we also get regular glimpses of the Helghast high command bickering at a table. None of them are nice people but at least some of them want to pursue peace talks, whereas the rest are opportunists or just flat-out crazy. Even the hero characters have slightly more going on now, with Rico (understandably!!!) feeling guilt for killing an unarmed political prisoner, and Sev having a sense of humour. I particularly liked when he put on a cockney accent to pass as a Helghast. It's not much but it's something, which at the risk of repeating myself is more than I can say for Killzone 2.

The Helghast really are relentless, though. I was warned to play on the easy mode and honestly that's good advice for anyone who doesn't have the patience to get stuck on a level for an hour. Killzone 3 still has the low framerate and narrow field of view that infested a lot of console shooters at the time, and I don't mind regenerating health but even on the medium setting you'll die before you have time to see who's shooting you in the arse. I personally get frustrated with games easily, because I have so many of the buggers demanding my attention these days, so would rather blast through on a comfortable setting then maybe come back for a real challenge if I like it enough. I learned this lesson after playing Bioshock Infinite on hard mode made the experience absolutely insufferable.

In a shocking twist, the Helghast have been spotted outside their natural habitat of brown and grey landscapes. After a tense opening in some snowy mountains and an escape through a flaming city, you sneak through a wonderfully alien forest with striking red flora, then later you have a Wolfenstein-esque disguise sequence where the enemy always seem on the edge of realising who you are. Nothing here is revolutionary but it represents a newfound understanding of pacing and variety. Helghan feels like an actual place where people actually live, as opposed to a rollercoaster of cardboard cityscapes with the Saving Private Ryan soundtrack blasting tinnily, and the narrative has some actual tension and surprises.

Killzone 3 isn't brilliant, but it's not bad. And that's honestly all it needs to be.