One way traffic

Presenting little opportunity to flank or be flanked, gunplay is purely one-dimensional. Suppress and advance is the only tactic demanded by an AI specialising in cover shooting - the odd bit of destructible cover further reducing gunplay to pure attrition. On-rail vehicle sections occasionally mix things up, but are little more than heavy-ordnance duck shoots. And the highly enjoyable jetpack and stealth sections are tragically short-lived.

Raindrops keep falling on your death

The narrative proves equally one-dimensional, which, despite the sci-fi setting is distinctly 20th Century militaristic lore. It's no accident the Helghast high command wear short moustaches and grand military uniforms, so obvious are the nods to Nazism and Stalinism. With their dear leader Scolar Visari assassinated, the high command is riven with factional infighting and reduced to a last desperate act of total war. Cue the maverick free thinking humans of the ISA – voiced entirely by yipikaye Americans - to complete the annihilation of the totalitarian Helghast war machine – voiced entirely in Hollywood's go-to evil accent, British.

That Killzone 3's campaign still manages to captivate throughout its nine hours is testament to developer Guerrilla's single-minded approach. It's easy to forget how one-dimensional the narrative and gameplay are when that one dimension is bulging with relentless, heart-pounding, adrenaline pumping action. This is war on an epic scale.

Snowhere to hide

The constant thump of ordnance and the piercing punctuation of Helghast propaganda; the weighty bullets cracking through Helghast flesh, tearing off ribbons of blood; the grandeur of explosions as your rockets take down a drop ship – the heavy scripting and limited AI might deter a second run through Killzone 3's linear paths, but its blockbuster cinematics make damn sure you finish it first time around.

Next page: Syndicate of death