Killzone 3

The gameplay strongly resembles that of Killzone 2 albeit with several tweaks and changes. Similar to the first Killzone, the game takes place in various harsh environments such as Arctic landscapes, a lethal alien jungle, nuclear wastelands as well as space battles rather than only the city-scape environments which were present in Killzone 2. Another notable new feature is the ability to use jet packs in the game, which were also used in Killzone: Liberation.

The game also features a revamped close combat melee system (called Brutal Melee) which includes new brutal melee attacks as well as the ability to string together multiple attacks in a combo. A new weapon called the WASP has also been added, which acts as a multi-firing rocket launcher firing in spiral formation.

In the climax of Killzone 2, Emperor Scolar Visari is assassinated by ISA forces, triggering a full-scale attack by the Helghan First Army. Overwhelmed, ISA commanders order a full withdrawal, leaving thousands of their own soldiers to die on Helghan. With the Helghast now driven to seek revenge for Visari's death, the survivors must join forces to find a way home.

After failing to save Visari's life, Sgt. Tomas Sevchenko and Rico Velasquez regroup with Captain Jason Narville outside the imperial palace. With Helghan cruisers preparing to attack their fleet, they are forced to fight their way through the ruins of Pyrrhus, sacrificing most of their remaining armor and manpower in order to reach an extraction point near the edge of the city. Admiral Orlock, commander of the First Army, is pressured by Jorhan Stahl, the chairman of arms manufacturer Stahl Arms, to either ensure the total destruction of the ISA or turn over control of the army to him.

The game was unveiled by Sony Computer Entertainment on May 24, 2010, through the PlayStation.Blog. The game was leaked on May 21 through an early release copy of the June issue of gaming magazine GamePro alongside a leaked screenshot. Rumors about a new entry in the Killzone series have been around shortly after the release of Killzone 2. On March 20, 2010, Sony confirmed that they were working on Killzone 3. President of Sony Computer Entertainment America, Jack Tretton, confirmed its development in an interview with GameTrailers, but at that point of time could not yet say when the game would be announced.

Guerrilla's managing director, Herman Hulst, has stated Killzone 3 would use close to 100% of the PlayStation 3's power. The rumors of the intervention of Naughty Dog in the development were denied by Guerrilla: "Guerrilla is working on Killzone 3's graphics engine all on its own, confirming Naughty Dog has no hand in its development". The first teaser trailer for the game was released on June 3 and features the new brutal melee combat system. The cinematic trailer shows Sev battling a Helghast ending with him taking the Helghast's helmet and putting it on himself. The single player demo reveals that this is part of the game as Sev and Rico dress as Helghast to infiltrate a Helghast facility at Stahl Arms.

Killzone 3 received "generally positive reviews", according to review aggregator website Metacritic. The first English review of the game was published by PlayStation Official Magazine – UK, which gave the game a 9/10. The review stated "on a visual level, as a 3D breakthrough, this feels like a watershed moment in a revolution affecting all of gaming". The review also stated on gameplay terms, "Black Ops is the only [first-person shooter] on PlayStation 3 that can match this". The voice acting, however, was criticised as not being perfect, thus lacking "emotive punch" and the reason for not receiving a perfect 10/10.

IGN gave the game an 8.5, praising the atmosphere, graphics and multiplayer. Destructoid gave the game a perfect 10/10, with reviewer James Stephanie Sterling stating: "I don't think the PlayStation 3 has ever had quite such a rounded, satisfactory package as this, with this level of polish, refinement and pure, simple, unpretentious action". PlayStation Lifestyle awarded it a 10/10 as well, calling the game "the ultimate ending to a new form of sci-fi epic".