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Killzone 3

Guerrilla Games' Steven Ter Heide.

Dan Pearson avatar
Interview by Dan Pearson Contributor
Updated on
30 comments
EurogamerKillzone 2, although it had different ways of approaching situations, and some different routes, was quite linear; has that changed at all?
Steven Ter Heide

Well, as Hermen mentioned in the presentation, the footprint of the levels is much bigger - today's level is about ten times the size of a typical Killzone 2 level - so not only do you have these great viewing distances and these incredible vistas, you also have multiple routes and new ways of dealing with situations. You don't even always have to engage enemies, some of them you can sneak past. Obviously the jetpack opens a whole new realm of possibilities as well, you're on these oil rigs and whatever way you want to attack these guys, you can do that.

Given our AI and the way we've set up the game, it's not scripted, in the way that you'd see in other games - our AI is much more responsive in terms of what is the current situation, where is the player and how should I behave? So we've taken that from Killzone 2, but rather than having confined spaces we now give them a lot more space to breathe in so now you start to see them do a whole host of new things because they've got a lot more room to play with.

So rather than you always being able to sidetrack them, they'll be able to hunt you down and find you, a whole new kind of encounter set up. So however you take it, however you play it, it's going to be different.

EurogamerKillzone 2 was very much sold as a cover shooter, with a big emphasis on that, but a lot of people played it in a more run-and-gun style. What we've seen today seems much less cover-based, less static cover and potshot taking, it's much more pro-active, getting involved with close combat. Was that a conscious decision you made because of the way people played Killzone 2 or was that something you wanted to change anyway?
Steven Ter Heide

Well, we wanted to make the game a lot more accessible this time around, and make sure that different types of player can enjoy it. So, whether you're run-and-gun or a more tactical player, however you want to play it, you can find that in Killzone. So that was a conscious decision.

Obviously the melee system means that you'll want to get up close and personal rather than being 20m away with you both behind cover. We wanted to give you the opportunity to get into close combat with these guys, so the combat distances are much shorter. Also there are situations where it'll work really well to use the melee kills. With the introduction of the new weapons you feel a lot more powerful.

With something like the mini-gun you can take out rows and rows of enemies really quickly. There's a lot different options now. The cover's still there, so you still lean and peek, all those things that you're used to, but at the same time we didn't want to stifle the run-and-gun players. One of the things we're playtesting a lot at the moment is to make sure that there's a really broad range of gamers that can enjoy the game.

We felt that the original Killzone was aimed at the hardcore, a little too much, and it should be opened up a lot more so that everyone can enjoy it.

EurogamerHow long do you expect the single-player game to be?
Steven Ter Heide

It's going to be, I think, longer than Killzone 2. So whatever you're play time was on Killzone 2, it'll be more.

EurogamerAnd do you have a release date?
Steven Ter Heide

Yes. 2011.

Killzone 3 is due for release exclusively on PlayStation 3 in 2011, Steven Ter Heide is the game's senior producer. Check out our Killzone 3 hands-on preview elsewhere on the site.

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