Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)Ok, so bear with me. I am an Xbox guy who plays only the awesome titles on PS3 that will never make it over to the other platforms...
KZ1 - Pro's: Great story, choosing characters for missions, pretty difficult but not so much that you want to give up. Con's: The campaign was a lot of lone wolf, control's were laggy. KZ1 was a long time ago and I didn't take it seriously. I was an Xbox guy playing PS3, of course I didn't like the control's but the story and game play was enough to make me want to continue playing. KZ1 was difficult to the point of wanting to keep playing after you have been killed because you know you can beat the level. KZ1 feel's now like exactly what it was, a good FPS with a good story but young and not fully fleshed out.
KZ2 - Pro's: Graphic's, story, the feeling of isolation (ISA) Con's: Took the player selection away, a lot of the campaign was squad play (will explain in a minute) I finished KZ2 last year. good game and building on the story yet it seemed like they diluted it. I can't quite put my finger on it but always having the squad member around and the 'side mission' was odd. Having a squad member made the mission's a bit easier as well, taking and giving fire, covering, etc. The side mission's didn't even come into effect or really make sense until KZ3.
KZ3 - Pro's: Good balance of squad and lone wolf campaign, graphics, story (albeit in a round about way) Control's were spot on Con's: SHORT! wasn't drawn into the story like I was with KZ1&2, KZ3 was a good game, not great but good. In KZ1 the campaign was long and kind of a grind but worth it, hard but not too hard. KZ2 was somewhat shorter but satisfying and hard to the point of throwing the controller (end boss), KZ3 though....I played and finished it in three days, no big boss battles (MAWLR doesn't count) and not very satisfying (two small fighters topple a cruiser that's smashing apart the fleet...common) I never once felt I was part of a small force about to be smashed by a whole world. It seemed like there were always troops. The Captain in charge...no man like that survives in combat and there should of been a frag order on his ass pronto. Ok enough bashing. KZ3 is a beautiful game, great graphics and the control's make a die hard Xbox fan stand up and realize that M$ has some learning to do. The mission's were fun without being repetitive (KZ1) but not as hard as I have come to expect. I just feel.....cheated. KZ3 feels like Halo2, it was made for the MP and a campaign slapped on as an after thought. They left it open for another one, but we will see if they deliver.
I liked it, not as much as KZ1, and much more than KZ2. The story did not really draw me in, I never felt like part of a small force against a world of hate like KZ2. It is a new gen game for the console and that definitely showed, and the control's were perfect. I just hope when KZ4 comes out they concentrate on drawing the player into the story (KZ1 and somewhat KZ2) and less on rushing to the end of the game and answering a few questions (while raising a ton more)
All in all, I picked it up used for 35 bucks, well worth the money at that price.
*Put's on flame retardant suit*