Following yesterday's presentation by Guerrilla Games at a San Francisco media event, in which the developer outlined its ambitious plans for Killzone 3, I played two sections of the featured demo. Described as "extremely early" by Guerrilla and Sony staff, the segment I played, "Frozen Shores," is actually a level from later in the game's campaign. It takes place in the frigid Helgan arctic, which is home to iced-over oil rigs and, according to the mission description, an arms factory.

I headed toward one of the rigs, riding in on an Intruder dropship. I manned a gun turret during this on-rails sequence, picking off enemies and destroying sections of the oil rig as the ship swerved to avoid enemy fire. Massive pieces of the rig bent, collapsed and fell into what I can easily say is the best-looking ocean I've ever seen in a game. The scene was stirring, if not somewhat bleak due to the near absence of color in this stark world.

As ISA Intruders seem wont to do, the one I was on crashed, kicking off the on-foot majority of the mission. Thus began a gameplay sequence so incredibly intense that I was barely able to focus any attention on surveying the details in an attempt to draw distinctions between this experience and Killzone 2. It was all a blur of red, white and glowing eyes. Blood soaked into the snow and oil barrels exploded all around, as those creepy Helgast goggles haunted the scene.