14 DAY TRIAL // Killzone 3 might have been launched officially just one whole week ago, but it seems that the people at developer Guerrilla Games are already letting their minds wander over to the fourth installment in the series, saying that the PlayStation 3 has the power to sustain another Killzone game.
The statements could also suggests a fast turn around game, possibly even a title set for late 2012, to compete directly with other probable fall shooter, like a new Call of Duty, a new Halo game and the mystery new project from Bungie.
The Diaries I have written and my review are pretty positive when it comes to the core of the most recent Killzone, the actual shooting bits, and a bit disparaging to the way they have been packed.
So, the fact that the team is talking about a new game under development, although in the early stages, is a bit of a letdown, suggesting that Guerrilla Games is being pressed to create a PlayStation 3 exclusive equivalent to Halo or Call of Duty, which has the potential to bring the whole series down.
I see both Killzone 2 and 3 as actually benefiting to some extent from the fact that they were not actually in the same space as the franchises mentioned above, even if Sony wanted them to be.
The game's always paid much more attention to the actual combat mechanics, to the impact of the weapons and to the intelligence of the Helghast combatants than to the packaging, the big wrapper that brings players in with cinematics and supposedly deep narratives.
Making Killzone a quasi annual release is a good way to drop the unique aspects and make it just one more face in the first-person shooter crowd.
I would very much like Killzone 4 to take four years, have great set pieces, more physical close quarter battles and smarter enemies than to see it arrive next year.