PS3 Informer

Killzone 3 Could Be Sony's 3D Killer App

Sony says that it expects to sell around 2.5 million 3DTV sets this year. While that sounds like an impressive number, it is still just a small percentage of the total number of regular displays that will be sold alongside the flashy new stereoscopic sets. These standard TVs will also be cheaper and will not require expensive and dorky-looking special glasses to be purchased with them. What 3DTV needs if it is going to take off is what technology geeks call a Killer App. The big studios would have us believe that the killer app is already here, in terms of animated features like Avatar 3D and the upcoming Toy Story 3. But we think that what will really lead the consumers toward this new display technology are 3D enabled games.

Sony will be showing a number of new titles at E3 this year; some of them will make use of 3D displays, while others will not. What the company really needs to showcase the advantages of stereoscopic displays is a game that takes full advantage of the extra dimension to provide a knock-out gaming experience that cannot be duplicated.

That game could very well be Killzone 3. Rumored for a long time but only officially announced this week, Killzone 3 will be specifically developed from the ground up to make the most of the new 3D display technology. That's not to say it won't also look great in regular old 2D, but the type of people who crave the highest visual fidelity possible and the most bang for their buck in terms of excitement will obviously want to experience the game in this new way. Driving games look good in 3D because they benefit from a greater perception of depth as the player streaks down the road. But first-person shooters and action games reach an entirely different audience of gamers, so they need to succeed in 3D as well in order for the format to be successful.

More than a million people have bought Killzone 2 for the PS3 since its release. If at least that many people are interested in Killzone 3, that's a whole lot of potential customers for Sony's new 3DTV sets.

Developed by Guerrilla Games with assistance from Naughty Dog, there is a lot of potential in Killzone 3. The game picks up immediately after the ending of Killzone 2 and once again follows the story of the series' main protagonist, Sev, a Special Forces operative fighting for the Interplanetary Strategic Alliance against the Helghast Empire. The new game will expand the filed of battle considerably over the last game, including combat stages set in the Arctic and even in outer space. for the first time, players will be able to maneuver on the battlefield using jetpacks, a feature we can't wait to try out. The whole package will becoming our way sometime in 2011, and let's hope the developers do a better job of keeping to schedule this time.

Killzone 3 will feature much more expansive battlefields set in different environments.

You can find out more information about 3DTV sets, including feature comparison and prices in this interactive guide to everything 3D.