This is all gameplay, not cut-scene, although scripted sequences weave seamlessly in and out. It's empowering stuff, this death from above malarkey, and a tangible essence of vengeance permeates the scene.
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As you'll see in the interview with Guerrilla's lead producer published tomorrow, feedback from the series' vocal community has been a very important part of the development of Killzone 3. Guerrilla has taken on board a lot of the difficult and sometimes cutting responses from its audience, and made sure that the same criticisms cannot be levelled again.
Variation in gameplay is key. For example, my fears about the uniformity of the environments are quickly allayed. We're told that this is a game where you'll be "exploring terrific, truly alien jungles", running the gamut of challenges which Helghan has to offer instead of just reliving the destroyed urban environments which we've seen so far. The finale, we're informed, will take place in orbit above Helghan - in zero-G space.
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Working your way through these sections is more familiar territory, much more like the street-to-street fighting from the last episode. On more even terms, the red-eyed foes soon exact a bit of revenge on my rusty gunplay, catching me in a pincer movement. The red mist comes down, accompanied by a smidgeon of professional shame. I'm just about to try and give up my pad to the next journo without making eye contact when the developer manning the demo pod pulls me up. Trusty Rico is at my side, reviving me. Suddenly I'm back in the fray. A second chance, and a welcome gameplay addition.
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Encounters have lost much of their predictability. More open design gives the AI more options, as well as freeing the player from the necessity of hide and peek. This means that's it's now a much more viable option to get up close and personal with the Higs, unleashing the multi-stage and context sensitive CQC kills with rifle butts and the trusty knife. Hit a trooper standing next to a low wall and he'll stumble over it, presenting the perfect opportunity for a finishing back stab. Engage him out of cover and you're likely to be treated to a gruesome eye-stabbing move, accompanied by a wrenching twist of the knife and a sound like a goose hitting a jet turbine.
We're shown a variety of these new moves in a third-person montage, to illustrate both their scope and the subtleties of the new and improved hit-zone system. Rifle butts land crunching blows in the back of knee-caps, knocking troopers from their feet; frontal kicks smash gas masks, stunning opponents to allow the deadly knife to work its stabby magic. We hear the word brutal used so often that it begins to lose meaning.
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It's a W.A.S.P., which MD Herman Hulst describes as a "portable weapon of mass destruction". This missile launcher spits multiple, homing projectiles, swarming from the barrel before zoning in on hapless targets with devastating results. The secondary fire is even more spectacular. Switching briefly to a green-screen zoom of the battlefield, we paint a target in the distance, one of the Helghan APCs. Release the trigger and there's a split-second's pause. Nothing's left the barrel. A misfire perhaps? The answer comes soon enough - a Javelin-like strike from above, fired by a aerial drone linked to the launcher, which obliterates the target area, using a whole clip in the process.
Killzone's weaponry still retains the sense of weight, impact and effect established in the second chapter, with the hardware feeling suitably futuristic without losing its solid military credentials. It's not quite gun-porn, but chattering away with the armaments we're given is a satisfying experience. From what I can tell, most of the arsenal from KZ2 makes a reappearance, although we're told that the behind-the-scenes numbers have undergone substantial tweaking.
For stage three of the hands-on we're introduced to perhaps the most exciting piece of new hardware - the jetpack. Initially only coming attached to a Helghan shock trooper, this insectoid assault platform is a four-winged, one-man affair, complete with a unlimited supply of ammunition for the attached large-calibre machine gun. Fighting them from the ground puts you in a precarious situation, putting you on the backfoot as you balance the necessity of looking upwards with the dangers of the sheer ice-cliffs around you.
Taking them down with brute force is a matter of pumping the requisite number of rounds into them, but a canny sharpshooter can drop a couple of slugs into their fuel packs, bringing everyone nearby together in a cosy Saving Private Ryan-style barbecue. Do this whilst they're airborne and you'll get the added satisfaction of seeing them pinwheel across the sky before impacting with a meaty explosion.
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It gives us an excellent chance to appreciate the scale of the new level, which has a footprint around ten times larger than the average Killzone 2 equivalent. It's not all there to explore, this particular example is largely comprised of open sea and fractured ice, but the expanses offer a welcome respite from the rat-tunnel claustrophobia of Pyrrhus.
Killzone isn't moving into open world territory, however. As Hulst is keen to point out, "To make sure it's spectacular we've also loaded it up with lots of epic cinematic moments and explosive set-pieces. So aside from the sheer scale, the first three minutes of this level contain more set pieces than the entire first level of KZ2."
It's a sentiment borne out in our first dogfight. Coming across three Helghan Jetpack troopers, a nearby ice-arch provides valuable cover, offering protection from the withering fire of the three guns above. Soon, however, the improved AI kicks in and the troopers bracket me. Hopping in and out of view on either side of the arch, they have me spinning wildly in the centre of a circle of gunfire - the cover which had been my saviour rapidly becoming a trap.
Fade to red, and time for another go.
This time I embrace my new-found aerial abilities, jetting upwards to take on the Helghan on their own terms. By doing this I'm able to keep a trooper in my sights at all times, using the boost to dart out of their firing lines. The controls prove to be simple to master, and two of the shock troops spiral into the frosty abyss below. Number three puts up a bit more resistance but before long he joins his companions in an icy grave, leaving me free to jet-jump my way up the crumbling iron facade of the rig.
