Killzone 3 lands February 2011

LOS ANGELES--Sony kicked off its E3 media briefing today with Killzone 3, the poster child for its 3D gaming push. After showing the audience an extended 3D demo for the game, the company revealed that Killzone 3 has a February 2011 launch window and will be fully compatible with the Move motion-sensing controller from day one.

As the name suggests, Killzone 3 will serve as a direct sequel to 2009's critically lauded Killzone 2. In last year's title, the Interplanetary Strategic Alliance took the fight to the Helghan homeworld, where they achieved a measure of success against the Nazi-esque civilization that invaded Earth in the 2004 original.

As detailed by Guerrilla Games managing director Hermen Hulst last month, the Amsterdam-based studio will be fleshing out the Helghan homeworld with "more enemy types, massive environments, and a broader vision of the planet Helghan and its many terrains." Killzone 3 will introduce jetpack gameplay to the sci-fi shooter series, which was shown off during today's press conference. With the jetpack, gamers gain the ability to thrust skyward for a limited period of time, affording them access to heretofore unreachable locations and opening up the possibility of aerial gunfights.

For more from the Sony media briefing, check out GameSpot's live blog of the event.