My post from the official thread:
I just finished the story mode, and it was a lot better than I expected it to be, given all the reviews. I usually get annoyed very quickly at cheesy banter and asinine plot points (don't get me started on FFXIII), but it all seemed to flow pretty well, if you're able to look past the ludicrousness of the overall plot. On the whole I really enjoyed it, though the end was stupid. Everything from the jungle to the space elevator was pure, unadulterated awesome.
Overall, the game does a lot of things better than Killzone 2, but it also does many things worse and/or removes features entirely, so I'd be hard pressed to say whether it's the better game or not.
It definitely lacked polish compared to the last game, and I think an extra six months to a year would've both tightened up the experience considerably, and allowed them to implement many of those mysteriously absent features (proximity chat in multiplayer, online co-op).
I will say that I loved the new controls, and the basic gameplay (shooting brutal melees) is as good as you can get in a console shooter. Actually, I think for that reason alone I'd put this over its predecessor.
Short list off the top of my head of improvements over Killzone 2:
- Much improved textural and polygon detail
- Better post processing effects
- Switching QAA for MLAA, providing a cleaner look compared to the somewhat blurry KZ2
- Tighter controls (they're really spot on, imo)
- Improved sound design for the weapons - and I thought the weapons sounded great last time! Between the sound and the controls, this game plays so damn well
- Brutal melees
- Slightly improved AI - They'll go prone more often and play tricks with you when behind cover
- Much larger environments with the occasional branching path or sandbox design
- The game actually has a story! And it's kinda enjoyable.
- Jorhan Stahl is a badass. Truly the star of the game.
- Co-op
- Revamped class system in multiplayer
- Operations
- Matchmaking - Some people like it, and it can't hurt to have it!
Short list of downgrades from Killzone 2 or things that just weren't good or didn't make sense:
- Way more pop-in - could've been fixed with more time
- MLAA implementation causes more jaggiez than seen in KZ2 and other MLAA titles - could've been fixed with time
- Lots of random graphical bugs, and even a glitch where Rico completely disappeared! - more time!
- Transition to and from cutscenes is weird. Why must it always fade to black? Uncharted 2 handles this much better.
- No online co-op??
- Custom games having to be patched in post-launch?
- Along with this is the complete removal of all basic options in multiplayer. We went from having friendly fire on by default in the KZ2 beta, to off when KZ2 hit retail, to not being an option at all in KZ3. SMH.
- No proximity chat in multiplayer?
- The complete gutting of the clan system? I can't even add officers right now! Supposedly that's being patched in, but betting is gone for good.
The game definitely could've used an extra six months to a year in development time. It's a great game as it stands, but that extra time would've allowed them to tweak things like pop-in, jaggiez, bugs, and cutscenes, while also allowing them to add in features like online co-op and proximity chat.
Edit:
Totally forgot about the music! It's the best in the series so far, and it really helps to set the mood of certain battles. Probably the best original score for any Sony game save Shadow of the Colossus.
