Killzone 3′s Game Length: The Truth

4-5 hours, or 8-11? TSA finds out the truth.

[ugo]

i just want to play the game finishhhhhhhhhhh

[Anon1974]

I'm also very much looking forward to this title. For me, Killzone 2 was a breath of fresh air in the shooter market, a shooter that finally felt and played differently from all the Call of Duty games and those shooters that want to be Call of Duty. It's funny, because while I was loving Killzone 2 I had two friends that tried it and didn't like it. Their main criticism was the way the character moved and the button layouts. They weren't like Call of Duty. I told them at the time "That's why I love the game. Because it's not COD. If you want COD, just stick to that. Not all gamers like auto aim and floaty controls."

More to the articles that we're talking about here, it was bound to happen. Some sites just have a sick need to hate Sony for the hits, and the truth be damned.

Just like we saw plenty of articles nitpicking Gran Turismo 5 like it was some massively flawed game, or Uncharted 2, or complaining about Little Big Planet sales, or too many cutscenes in MGS4, etc...etc, there has been an unprecedented number of articles this gen that aren't there to inform gamers - they're their to blow things out of proportion for the simple reason of hating on Sony.

It doesn't happen with the Wii, it doesn't happen to the 360 (outside of a few small blogs), but for whatever reason Sony's just had a big target on them this gen and sites fall all over themselves to try to convince gamers that they're not having nearly as much fun on the PS3 as they think they are.

Well, we are and no amount of hating, misleading articles is about to convince us otherwise. It's nice we're seeing a common sense backlash from other sites like what this article did against the type of hate mongering, flamebait articles we see whenever a highly anticipated Sony game launches.

[FunAndGun]

The best are always critiqued the hardest.

The expectations are always higher.

The 'target' on Sony is only there because they are the best at what they do.

The smartest kid in class is expected to get straight A'a

The best athlete should make the most important plays.

With all the hate, Sony still manages to bring it.....like a true pro should.

[nix]

what's even more sad is, lots of people will listen to media n miss out great games.

[mega BIG time]

someone's in love with their ps3!

[TheGameFoxJTV]

No idea why darkride's comment way buried, it wasn't trolling at all. Everything he said is true. The CoD kids complained about the game and made them casualize(To make more like CoD, the sims, or Farm Vile) the game.

[Dnied]

why the hell was that marked as trolling...

how do you become a mod here? that's ridiculous..

[BattleAxe]

I was wondering the same thing. Probably a 360 fanboy with multiple accounts.

[nnotdead]

i have no clue either. his comments had to do with KZ and Playstation, so it was relevant to this article.

i also agree with Dark's overall argument. though i do think that a lot of Sony fans have become over sensitive to the matter. there has been a standard for what a 7 game is, and i have trouble believing KZ 3 is in that range. still need to play to make my own opinion though.

[deafwing]

the social system on this web site is somewhat broken, the creators of n4g should look into changing this whole comment rating thing ... it's getting out of hand.

[thereapersson]

Actually, one of the main moderators on this website is a huge 360 fanboy. I'm not going to name names, but just know that Darkride's comment was marked as trolling for all the wrong reasons.

[FACTUAL evidence]

I never get why people think length is about the 60$. TBH, I'd rather play an epic 5-6 hour game than an "ok" 15-20 bore fest. On top of that multiplayer is endless....Do you know how bored I'd be if I wanted to complete campaign before MP, and Campaign would be like 17 hours? Lol imagine going through 15 hours 2 times for your first playthrough, and vet playthrough just for two trophies....lmao....

[TheGameFoxJTV]

Exactly, and people who worry about stupid shit like this make developers worry about it. A game they designed to take 6 hours to complete gets alot of extra stupid extra puzzles, turret shooter levels, and etc to beef the time to complete it.

[VenomProject]

@darkride66

Why was that post marked as "trolling?"

Are people insane?

+bubbles

[BABY-JEDI]

Darkride's comment in my view is not trolling. I have experienced the same points that he's raised. I would like to hear why this is trolling please.

[seinfan]

I havent bubbled him up or down, but I'd suspect some considered it "trolling" because he continues to play the conspiracy theorist card, much like almost every other nutcase on this site.

[BABY-JEDI]

Hi seinfan, I just find it difficult in he case of KZ3, that GG have taken on board a lot of the issues that reviewers have had with KZ2 & they have improved upon the game greatly. However, certain reviewers now seem to be deducting more points because of KZ3 story, or that there is too many points in the game where you have to fire a gun. It is a FPS, it has a story arc Ect.. & what about adding points for the MOVE implementation or 3D?
Just doesn't seem fair. : (

[DEagle-izer]

This a real honest opinion comin from Alex C in TheSixthAxis.

The length of a game is not always important as the player's skill and play speed can justify how long it takes them to get through the game.

It really is all about story in Single Player games. Similar to a movie, if it has a damn good story with memorable characters and events, it feels longer despite the actual length. A poorly told story with plenty of action (for good measure) feels like a short experience. In the end, it's not about the Hrs, it's about the experience.

[miyamoto]

Yeah, so what if the game is long or short?
Games like these are meant to be played on-line.
As long as its fun to play over & over again ... that's what makes it valuable.
So what's the problem?

[ps3rider]

when i finished KZ2 on elite it took me 20 hours, dam its too hard with youtube tips. i have played the camping 5 times. and more than 200 hours in multilayer and i have killed over 50'000 player. awesome, nah

[MarcusFenixITA]

elite is hard ...

[ps3rider]

i will tell you how hard its, in Call of duty WAW, MW2, black ops, there is something called auto lock when you zoom. in KZ2 wasnot there,

secondly, in all FPS the middle cursor which is look like plus sign when you are in non-zoom mode is removed is not removed in veteran difficulty. but KZ2 elite is removed so they force using zoom which has no auto lock on target

[MarcusFenixITA]

I played KZ2 on hard and it was very heavy for me.

[stevenhiggster]

I got all the way through the game on elite, but just could not beat Radec, so sadly I have never completed it on elite. Radec is bastard hard to beat, no wonder there is a trophy for beating him in under 20mins!
Personally I hope it is a bit longer than the reported 4-5 hrs, but even if it isn't, as long as its 4-5hrs of pure awesome sauce I'll be happy.

[Afterburn]

@higster. Fill up a flamethrower. Light hin on fire. keep hitting him with it when u can. Stay away from him and eventually hell just die.

[HappyGaming]

Although I liked KZ2 and UC2 I really didn't like how powerful this guys were just to make it a challenge.

Oh and in Uncharted 1 the final enemy could take a couple of sniper bullets in his chest and his only special power was being a gang leader.

On Elite it took me about 2 hours to get to the balcony and than when my friend came to play he loaded a different level and I lost my checkpoint so I too just let it go I didn't even get to Radec on Elite :'(

[chazjamie]

if you say so

[Inzo]

Elite is f*^# hard, recommended players, only the very skilled and very patient.

[starcb26]

I tried it on hard first, but I kept dying, so I switched to easy.

[Clarence]

I think whoever reviewed the game had it set on easy. I like to play all the games on the hardest setting when I start out. I feel you get your moneys worth when you do that way. KZ3 is going to be amazing. It me 10hrs to beat KZ2 on hard. I really think some reviewers are looking for anything to keep people from purchasing KZ3.

[BABY-JEDI]

You should pat yourself on the back for being such a formidable player. Wait a minute, I think you already have LoL. Anyway, I am impressed. Elite is soooo tough

[XxPURExX]

I got up 2 Radec on elite but then i got a corrupted HDD :(

[Nate-Dog]

I'm glad someone realises it's down to the individual player (for the most part, and to a certain degree) to decide how long a game is. For me I was a little worried at the times being reported for the SP but still, almost all these guys rush through in order to either just finish the game in time for a full review, or to just try and spark up something.

I can finish MGS4 in less than 5 hours, does that mean that it's only a 5 hour game? No it doesn't, because on that playthrough I rushed through and did everything as fast as possible. On my first playthrough it was around 15 hours I think. Does that mean it's a +15-hour game? No it doesn't mean that either. For the most part, a game is as long as you make it. You can bomb through or take your time and enjoy it.

[--------]

-

Here, have a well said!

[Nate-Dog]

Why thank you good sir, have an "interesting".

*puts on monocle and walks away into the sunlight*

[beavis4play]

nate - while what you're saying is true - give up......i have. the crazies on the internet don't want truth and common sense - they what sensationalism, hate and lies.
i'd also add, a game is as long as a persons skill level allows it to be. although - i never understood why anyone would want to do these "speed runs" through games.

[mrmikew2018]

Back in the PS1 days, it use to hold value. I remember beating Resident evil 2 in 3 or 4 hours so I could get the gatling gun. Then I would take my time with the title.

It's clear why the author for nowgamer did this. The things these so called journalist will do nowadays to get hits.

[ps3rider]

the told in their review,
cons:
improved story

game spot said awful story.

i think gamespot's reviewer didnt even finish the first level

[Tachyon_Nova]

What constitutes rushing through? Going in all guns blazing? Not using tactics? Not finding intel/collectables etc?

[ps3rider]

i dont where do reviewer want to reaaaaaach in FPS game, halo reach was 10 chapter and my bro finished it in 5:40 and he is young. did they reach in it the place they want

[Mnemonic-DK]

This is rushing through a game... ;)

[starcb26]

This is rushing through a game.

[DelbertGrady]

The truth or the FACT?

Actually, who gives a sh!t about a number like that? I'd rather have 4-5 hours of captivating gameplay than 12 or more hours of repetitive backtracking and grinding. Some games, like intense action games, wouldn't work if they were 12+ hours long.

[nnotdead]

i agree i'd rather have 4-5 captivating than 12 hours of grinding, but i also would like all developers to push for 12 hours of normal gameplay. why not 12 hours of captivating gameplay?

[espiritu604]

Cuz if you have 12 hours of action it will get tiring, remember that most movies and also games that has amazing action needs to have good pacing. The game like KZ3 is controllable so there really cant be a withdraw of action cuz where would the gameplay be? thats why in movies its easier to pace things and set things to a close and open. It is possible to withdraw and set action later for games like uncharted 2 where Drake wakes up beside tenzin. BUT for killzone 3 where helghasts are hunting you down and you cant stop, its not likely.

im planning to go through veteran or elite mode to lenghten my experience.

[nnotdead]

i said captivating. of course there will be spikes and valleys in action, but it can still be intriguing during the valleys.

[ar]

I thought about writing a long comment on game lengths and subjective experience but it turned out one of the TSA editors already said it all: http://www.thesixthaxis.com...

[nnotdead]

nice find. i think a lot of people remeber games being longer is because they either got into gaming around the PS1 era when jrpgs where all the rage. other wise they got into before than, and games where still designed with an arcade mentality. meant to be very hard to take your quarters. anyways, people will play the games over and over, so if and when they finally beat the game it felt like a long experience. if they actually times from when they hit start and when they saw the final credits, the would realize the game is under 4 hours to play.

[Nac]

Regardless of time. It's still gonna kickass!

[jay2]

6-8 hrs for them.............. about 5 for me then.

[visualb]

=|...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

[redsquad]

If only this laid the situation to rest - We know it won't though...
I've just finished DEAD SPACE 2 (which I didn't like nearly a much as the first game) and it took me around 6-7 hours FIRST TIME. I'm playing it again and I'm flying through it even faster - Pity people only see what they want to see.

[thor]

Killzone 2 also had the "best time" stat. It takes the quickest time you got through any particular section, and then sums up the best times. So it's not even your best time through the game, it's faster than that.

FPS games' lengths vary MASSIVELY with the skill of the player. It's not about rushing - if you don't die at all, you spend 1/2 of the time in the game as someone who dies at every checkpoint. Personally I think it took me over 12 hours to complete KZ2's campaign (on hard or veteran or whatever it was called) and by the time I'd completed everything I'd put over 50 hours into the single-player. Yet there were people then who would say "KZ2 is sooo short only 5 hours lol I'm not wasting my money on this crap."

[Inside_out]

I can see devs changing the way you play a level if this kind of " reviewing " continues. I was under the impression that the guy just played on normal and played as any one else would. This is why devs included achievements, boss battles ( which I hate ) and scavenging into the games to give players reasons to take there time and enjoy the experience, not to mention difficulty settings.

People reacted the same way to Splinter Cell Conviction which gave you a CHOICE on how you wanted to run through a level...unfortunately, if you just wanted to cover you ears and close your eyes and run past everybody then there wouldn't be much of a game.

Devs need to add checkpoints and force players to play through levels, collect/find objectives and face the enemies...makes for a better game as well.

I haven't played KZ 3 as really only reviewers have so far. I'll wait for the final release of the game before I judge BUT if your not into the multi-player, I can see this effecting sales as most will borrow or rent it instead of buy it.

[btk]

Well - looking at the lengths of other "epic" games with huge Metacritic scores

http://highspeedhalo.net/
Halo 3: ODST Uplift Reserve Easy difficulty in 2:24 by zusaij

Halo 2 speedrun in 3 1/2 hours without dying… on Legendary

Read more: Halo 2 speedrun in 3 1/2 hours without dying… on Legendary - Video Games Blogger http://www.videogamesblogge...

http://speeddemosarchive.co...
Batman: Arkham Asylum (2:07:40)
BioShock (1:04:20)
Bully (2:49:25)
Call of Duty (1:43:36)
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (1:38:59)
Castle Crashers (1:14:34)
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (0:32:57)
Condemned: Criminal Origins (1:56:25)
Dead Rising (0:19:19)
Devil May Cry 4 (1:12:30)
Dragon Age: Origins (0:35:30)
Fallout 3 (0:30:09)
F.E.A.R. (0:55:59)
Grand Theft Auto IV (4:23)
Gun (1:18:46)
Infinite Undiscovery (2:41:33)
Left 4 Dead (0:45:27)
Lost Planet: Extreme Condition (0:41:35)
Mega Man 9 (0:20:13)
Portal (0:13:06)
Prey (1:41:53)
Quake 4 (1:46:06)
Shadow Complex (0:14:14)
Tales of Vesperia (7:34)
TimeShift (1:29:51)
Tomb Raider: Anniversary (0:39:40)
Tomb Raider: Legend (0:54:19)
Tomb Raider: Underworld (0:25:26)
World Molder (0:05:20)

List of games with runs for PC, sorted alphabetically.
http://speeddemosarchive.co...

[Daves]

I'm sure there is a Demons's Souls run in about an hour as well.

[DatNJDom81]

@ btk

Shhhh. Don't post that here! What are you trying to do, increase the IQ here? That kinda stuff will get u banned bro. Be careful.......

[redsquad]

Wow, even the "4.5 hours" places KZ3 in the high end!

[PhoenixDevil]

Also theres a guy on youtube who did portal in under 10 mins seach portal done pro if you wanna see

[ElementX]

Those are speed runs. Who's to say the original post with 4.5 hour game length was a speed run? They could've just been really good.

[Firstkn1ghT]

There is a difference between speed runs and what that other guy did. Speed Runs are just bypassing everything. The Halo 2 speedrun on Legendary is pretty weak. I seen what he did. He pretty much found cracks in the level design and just skipped the entire level by going around it. The guy that beat the KZ3 was not a speed run.

[BDSE]

It will take some people longer than others. Hardly a groundbreaking news.

[DeathMetal1474]

It depends on the player and what difficulty you play on. I try and play shooters on harder difficulty to make it last longer and be challenged. People said Kane and Lynch 2 was 4 hours long. I played it on extreme difficulty and it took much much longer than that.

[Game0N]

poor killzone, always getting attacked. I will always defend my killzone franchise, they were attacked in killzone 2, (e3 controversy, heavy controls) now killzone 3 (short story) i mean damn, back off killzone for once shittt! its like the only triple AAA title that gets so much abuse and hate for no reason, anybody have a answer to this nonsense? why so much hate for killzone?

[Mr Tretton]

Yeah, it's stupid. I feel bad for Guerilla.

[Figboy]

I just rebeat Killzone 2 last night, and it had me clocked at 6:57:40. I had 37 deaths (mostly during that fricking storming of Visari Palace and Radec fight. asshole.)

The first time I beat it took me about 10 or so.

Both Resistance games took me over 12 hours.

I just don't find game length a deciding factor for a game purchase unless the game is under 5 hours long.

Nobody bats an eye when Call of Duty consistently has a 5 hour campaign, but when it's a PS3 exclusive that isn't somehow 100 hours long, it gets shit. Killzone 3 may be 4.5 hours long, it may be 8-11 hours long, but I thought the excuses for CoD were "the awesome multi-player makes up for it, so it doesn't matter if the SP is short." From what I've played of the Killzone 3 beta, the multi-player is AWESOME. Maybe even moreso than CoD. So if you are going to apply that MP excuse to CoD, why not Killzone 3?

Oh yeah, it's because CoD is the industry's favorite child this generation, despite it's sporadic quality over 5 games in 6 years. I mean, people even BITCHED about Black Op's online issues!

Anyway, I'm a primarily single player gamer, and if the campaign is as good as the campaign in Killzone 2 (which I LOVED), then I'll be happy, and I'll play the MP if I feel like it. I love Killzone 2 and 3 MP, but I just don't have the time to invest in keeping up with all my friends who are more multi-player focused.

The few games that really got me into MP were Halo 1, Warhawk, and Resistance 2. I was addicted to all 3, especially Warhawk. I miss that game. I really need to buy it again. It still has a strong community that plays it to this day.

[HarryPS3]

Like mentioned before, whatever length Killzone III will be, it will rock your socks off.
All this talk about the "shortness" of Killzone III single-player seems to be cheap attempt to bring down the game, this will be futile tho.

[KurdGamer]

8-11 hr if you play on normal and just rush it. Play on the hardest level and come back and tell me it was 8-11 hrs. COD MW2 was 4.5hr on hard juss sayin

[espiritu604]

lol @ guy above you

[JonnyBigBoss]

The single player will be good, but most of us are getting it for multiplayer. If the beta is any indication, this will be my favorite FPS this generation next to Team Fortress 2.

[palaeomerus]

Well it's nice that after loudly and obnoxiously panning several games for being "too short" the PS3 kidz have SUDDENLY learned to tolerate and appreciate a shorter game, SUDDENLY agree that games take longer to play on the higher difficulty levels, and that good multiplayer extends a short game's life beyond the single player campaign. And this time no one can blame the DVD format of 360 from keeping the game from being as long as next gen games supposedly should be. LOL.

It's a shame that these realizations came far less suddenly when ODST, Gears of War 3, Vanquish, Halo:Reach, Dead Space, and other games with six to seven hour campaigns were being mindlessly shat on by silly fanboys.

[Vega75]

Lol I would say welcome to N4G but I'm sure your already aware of how hypocritical sonyfanboys are. Now a 4.5Hr (without cut scene) is acceptable as long as it's a Sony exclusive and a 1st party dev. Funny how games like splinter cell got slammed for being short, halo Odst, vanquish, and others. But now it's ok because you have to turn up the difficulty level to extent the gameplay. Why wasn't this same logic apply to those games too. Hummm I wonder, maybe because they wasn't Sony 1st party/ exclusive games

[Firstkn1ghT]

Very true. Sony fanboys always give their exclusives some slack. Just look at the mess with the whole Forza 3 vs. GT5. Before GT5 was out, sony fanboys would always show videos of Forza 3 glitches and talk about how bad the physics are..."Just wait to see how perfect GT5 is." Well not surprisingly, GT5 comes out with tons of physics hiccups and multiple problems yet they boast the game as perfection. Starting to believe these kids really don't believe what they say anymore. They say one thing, than say the other when its convenient to them.

[Vega75]

What's really funny is how the lenth is now unimportant when it comes to KZ3. But was a major reason to slam other games.

[N4g_null]

To add to this vanquish was way better than killzone ever was.

[AKS]

These stupid length estimates aren't especially important to me. Most games would take much longer if they didn't have such candyass weak difficulty. Demon's Souls, Mirror's Edge (no weapons, hard setting), and my Big Boss Emblem run in MGS4 actually posed a challenge, but most games have weak difficulty.

[ATiElite]

I'm glad this website took the time to clarify things and get the truth out about Killzone 3.

[Mindsucker]

Oh yea gaming journalist playing politics again that just what the gaming community needs...

[mamotte]

OK; I'll start from the beginning. I'm not a man of FPS: Personally I think there are way too many and everyone looks exactly the same to me. So dont expect any objective comment for Killzone, but... let's say the game is 4-5 hours long. Is really that bad? If it is, people are choosing the wrong games. If that's true, then the world should be invaded for tactic games and JRPG, nor FPS and action games. I played, and loved Vanquish, once you get the timing, the game jus go in a breeze, and doesn't have multiplayer. So, what's the fuzz?

If anyone really think lenght is a problem, then he should be playing pokemon, or Disgaea. They give you 100 hours+ whitout breaking a sweat.

[MeNoRasta]

Trust me killzone3 is overhyped.Killzone2 had better graphics and the controls are no different from killzone2.I give it 2 weeks to a month before ppl will just give up on it just like killzone2.

[mightyboot]

Killzone 3 definitly improved alot upon the last one but i was hoping to be something more around the fun of the original Killzone, but no, its simply a more fluid and faster KZ2, a shame really.

But still think the game is alot of fun and some weapons are really enjoyable to play but those invisible snipers and disguised saboteurs and still pretty anoying considering that most times some of them manage to kill someone right after he spawns.

Conclusion: Its a great game but nothing really special unlike the new Motorstorm that is doing alot of changes.

[apocalypse73]

who cares i like story modes,hell i think everyone dose,but multiplayer is my drink.and so far its far better than co dodo