The helghast march endures
Quick heads up by the way. Killzone Liberation is kind of omitted from this discussion, both because I never bothered much with it, and because its totally different from the rest of the franchise. Sorry if this isn't technically hitting every piece of the franchise.
On Novermber 2nd 2004, Halo's worst nightmare would be upon the world and eliminate its influence with a big loud bang. Its name was Killzone and it perfected the shooter genre with its inredi-.... oh wait, that's my alternative history plan for whenever I get a time machine. Yeah ok lame halo killer jokes aside, its Killzone's sort of 10th anniversary (and no that halo killer label shouldn't be taken seriously). I'm late to the part because I just read it off PS lifestyle, and until then had no idea. I don't actually keep up with this stuff easily, though I do remember Spyro's in September, and Dark Souls at November 2011. Still I never get this stuff right on time. However a 10 mark milestone caught just a few days off one of my favorite franchises ever, fine... I'll do something about it. I don't mean to start it off insultingly, but Killzone is a very weird game out of the many that exist, and if it wasn't for its association with Sony and eye candy it may have lost any true trace of reputation it ever did have. It lives off insane hype thanks to 1st party marketing & association, focused console development, and high end graphics. Maybe I'm wrong and people (probably those with a similar mind as myself) do give it more legit credit, but that's what I see all over the place. That also helps explain why the insane hype just drops into a swift disappearance as other games may carry on. Still Killzone 2's online servers are still up to this day, with a demand for the HD original to reboot its own online function. Why do I myself and a few others continue to uphold this game as something more than what the mainstream media sees it? Are we delusional fanatics for it, or is this a true cult following that keeps a series on in passion that the mainstream side just doesn't see? I think the answer is honestly on both ends, but mostly the last one about a cult passion.
I think its difficult to deny that killzone does something special, whether or not one chooses to see how much of that special sauce they include within each game. Some people can and will just see it as a "sci-fi Call of Duty" which is an absolute sickening analogy to any Killzone 2 veteran. It always rubs me the wrong way, and I see it to be quite a naive generalization. Still it has its roots. At face value you've got big scale military battles, bullet firing weapons that work with an aim down sites function, squad mates telling you what to do in a short (unless the original) campaign with loose scripts, and if we're talking older WW2 COD then we've got space nazis to add to the "sci-fi"-ized COD aspect. Also with Killzone 3 you've also got loud explosive moments in the campaign, and pop-up points in multiplayer. So fair enough, but despite this you can stump them by asking how many others take WW2 influenced stuff into sci-fi aspects in gaming, give it a fictional story and cannon, give it big cinematic speeches that wrap you up in political struggles of the war, and of course all in extreme if not maxed console visuals. You have to admit by then that it shoots just a bit further than say just another generic COD or Battlefield, especially before the recent Advanced warfare which admittedly gives COD the sci-fi and fictionally creative spin. However lets say you're awesome and dig deeper, finding more rich smaller bits the game has uniquely to itself. You notice the meaty impact of the weapons where as the competition is twitch and more plastic. You spy on the helghast and notice hidden dialogue, or spot awesome AI moves they pull out on you while loving their distinct voices. You notice the multiplayer is tuned to be played at a strange tactical slow, thinking man's shooter pace but within a map and format designed for a twitchy frag motivated shooter (and that the combination surprisingly works). You notice the odd aspect in campaigns that aren't common alongside the mundane mechanics, whether it be the squad driven aspects of Killzone 1, the heavy gun boss brutes in Killzone 2, the surprising story tie-ins in mercenaries seemingly arcadey format, or the old school PC FPS meets modern mechanics mix up with shadow fall, or the well placed super weapon hiding somewhere in every game. You may notice that Killzone 2 actually makes you earn true milestones in its progression system, and in shadow fall are reminded why one isn't even necessary to begin with and appreciate GG thinking outside the trends for a bit. Welcome to Killzone, your hunt for awesome small touches has just begun. Might I suggest you also take notes of anything suspicious the bug AI in killzone 2 or 3 does, or try getting a feel for the weight per weapon differences in shadow fall.
This is how its been since Killzone 1 for me. It was on the surface much like Medal of Honor, and some other shooters I played. As a matter of fact it was the first game I thought back to when during the 7th gen switch i said I was bored with generic military shooters and would toss my controller up at any more "we're pinned down by snipers, save us please oh mighty player" moments coming out of another fps. Still the reality was I mostly saw it for its small touches. The enemies captured my gaze instantly, as their awesome glowing eyes complimented by thick masks and dark villain black military armor gave them an amazing appearance that was further enjoyable by their awesome gruff british voice. The game opens with an incredible speech and cut-scene that I watched practically every time despite not quite understanding the plot at the age I was. The gameplay introduced sprinting, Grenade cooking, guns that felt heavy and serious but also had silly side perks, and has to this day my favorite form of health system where it regenerates a randomly small chunk of health if you avoid fire (no scripted quarter mark crap, or at least not a visible one), but ultimately dwindles fast and mostly stays off when hit. Above all though it was the first game I ever played with an actual offline bot multiplayer mode (and ironically the only one with split-screen support in the whole series). Overall it wasn't anything revolutionary on the whole, but all these things were new to me and I'm almost sure they were all unseen on the same game on that PS2 era. Oh yeah, and then there were other weird little novelties I just adored. The trench tutorial was an amazing 1st level portion. Dead bodies scripted to stay around, and long lasting normal corpses created a cool level of immersion to the war scene that was incredible compared to the dumb fade out guys of the time. Weapons had awesome visual attachments like ghost sights, double taped magazines, shotgun attachments, one hit kill sniping (speaking of which, this was the first game that actually made sniping fun to me), a big chunky 3 burst machine pistol function, the awesome knife stab animations, and of course there was the insane chaingun that had a rocket launcher on the underbarrel. Seriously, best "military" gun ever. The game was easily among my favorites on PS2 until I got Timesplitters 2 which just smashed it in bot customization, but looking back Killzone had more long lasting value now that honestly Unreal Tournament smashes Timesplitters. Meanwhile killzone still has that old military shooter charm that holds the best elements of its era (in my opinion at least). So ever since the original, these small touches all coming together in an otherwise generic shooter package were always present and made its mark on the series going forward. Its just that alongside these small touches, they executed them finely in a way that a niche crowd would adore them for it, especially around its next big game Killzone 2.
Of course though leading back to what I was saying before, it may be a slight does of delusion to. Killzone is incredible in quality, but not necessarily the best. Its not the gifted child FPS or last stand for the hardcore shooter (though it kind of was with KZ2) we sometimes convince ourselves of, its just a damn well executed and interesting shooter. A lot of Killzone's most brilliant moments have been done somewhere else before, maybe even better. The most original aspects are probably within the (usually unfulfilled) story/lore, and its dynamic warzone system at best. Still I think there is a good reason some do hold it to a higher pedestal. Consider this idea: Killzone is the go-to console FPS counter-part to old school PC FPS communities. No really, think about it for a moment. For starters the seasoned multi-platform FPS veterans often compare it to old COD, Counter-strike, and arena shooters like Quake and unreal. These all are basically the father of competitive FPS gaming, and were massive on PC at one point and time. On top of that its clear Guerrilla has influence from that era with shadow fall's design, the multiplayer director citing Counter-strike as his favorite game and as some of the best maps, one of them used to be a big programmer for epic long ago, and not to long ago when talking specs and design they noted a PC heavy gaming background. want more though? Well go back again to what I described as its weird mixed multiplayer. We're talking small-mid sized squared up or rounded map designs with slow paced movement, heavy bullet based
This aspect is probably what helps keep killzone relevant despite what goes on in the mainstream views, but also why its stuck to a small niche cult fan following. Actually the previously mentioned games are in the same ditch as well, its not like you're hearing much on counter-strike and quake from IGN and the main comment section. The entire game community is going to shift over here and celebrate a new crown of competitive gaming when they've been exposed to bigger classics before with mods and a superior control method, or like I just mentioned don't even pay much attention to those classics since times have moved onto new trends. However Killzone still holds its own well against the likes of COD, halo, battlefield, or as just another alternative to the older competitive games. Its got a good enough reach that console gamers thirsting for competition and show-offy attitudes can meet up with console gamers that are in it for fun but only seem to have fun with the sort of competitive depth. So the clan wars roll on, people are measuring KDRs all over the place, and meanwhile others are laughing their heads off at a poor spawn placement or getting a surge of adrenaline rush as they become the major pushing force into grabbing that target in the last 30 seconds of a round. Actually... lets continue talking about how much of a total blast that is in its own little place:
Pass the coffee, repair the turret, and prepare for warzone!
Oh yes, countless good morning where I wake up, grab a fresh cup of coffee, and load up warzone to have an absolute thrill that leaves me sweating in my chair with a big grin on my face after a big match. Killzone, your multiplayer is a wonderful thing. Even though I grew up playing the first exclusively with bots (because I never had any online stuff for the PS2), you cannot experience the main series right with them. Maybe Mercenary, actually I liked that a bit better with its bot DLC, but otherwise the rest needs real people for the best time. Sure you can customize what you want in bots, play on your favorite map until your heart is content, but its just not the same thrills. Playing with real people opens you up to the grenade spam, those dastardly snipers with shots ringing in your ears, the ludicrous player clusters, the unpredictable tacticians that can win or screw over a match at any moment, and that rush of dashing through a wide open field of cross-fire just to resurrect a fallen beacon carrier (or take it for yourself).... its an insane but wonderful clusterfuck. Of course that isn't to downplay that bots are awesome to, and I respect killzone for putting them in each round (and felt betrayed when mercenary didn't for a while).
Something I also liked that truly added to the chaos was the way the game comes full circle a bit with its campaign and multiplayer. Its not a Brink situation where campaign is scrapped, but rather the events of campaign and the background, as well as who these sides of the war are, truly show themselves underneath the multiplayer's surface. The events of the game in play loosely tie in with your map environments, with remakes even getting a present age treatment every time around.
Meanwhile objectives consist of things like taking propaganda beacons back and forth, issuing out orders from their leaders who spew political view and war analogies out constantly. You've got top notch voice actors preaching their extremes over a battlefield where people are bleeding out (and some making sure they bleed faster), grenades implode within rooms, and polluted skies fill the top of your view. Whenever you get those moments of pure straight silence of the guns and objectives halting, it leaves this odd feeling of unease knowing that somewhere there's still guns running around looking for you, or maybe a cloaked sniper putting your head into their scope. Oh and if a sniper has interrupted the silence, its an amazingly unique little ring to it. The atmosphere and immersion in the game compliment the heavy dark war vibes the campaign, story, and lore have set out to accomplish. When you load up and go into warzone, you're not just throwing yourself into some random context-less arena. You're actually playing what will feel like battles these soldiers have in the aftermath of your events in campaign as the specific hero characters.
Now of course I can praise the games on many things, but I'll take a quick paragraph to remind myself the games were never perfect. This is especially true when we look at them all as successors rather than on their own. Killzone shadow fall has a lacking player base and less creativity in its server system thanks to a pretty dumb format that rewards the same old modes rather than new player ones. Mortally wounded state is screwed up by intentional makings that don't quite make sense. Up until recently, poor hitboxes that may as well have been invisible walls on the environment really screwed with some shots, especially on the forest map. Subjectively I also have to bitch about the lack of control options, sniper changes, and succumbing to the ugly grenade indicator trend. Mercenary is a bit harder to describe in its faults, but it sure has them. Its just real minor nitpicks in design, like its killstreak system, some weird oddities in its special take-downs, and similar stuff. Meanwhile the less said about 3 might be better, with a total disregard for player respect in server systems. It was the least polished game, gave the sniper arguably too much power, the progression system broke balance and made an entire tier of weapons practically useless, and spawns were a little too strict to help prevent spawn camping that happened anyways (maybe even more than before, I certainly know it was less fun here as well). Meanwhile Killzone 2 was the start of those said spawn camp issues, went a little too far with its class ribbon requirements, drones could get a totally random and cheap headshot on you, both light machine guns were stuck to a useless class (no abilities at all, literally useless) to try and artificially make him unique, DLC maps are never played, and user spawns had... well, lets just say it made search & destroy objectives a little too obvious in how the tactics would unfold. Oh yeah and in every single game lag plays out in a very unusual fashion that has some very interesting results that may irritate some.
However despite my gripes, some of these things actually help make the game better at the end of the day. Especially Killzone 2. Tacticians shoving spawns on top of each other? Oh well, it'll be fun running into a wall of frag grenades for a while as both spawn points battle for 5 minutes. Speaking of which, grenade spam was just hilarious fun anyways. Sentry bot headshot you? Laugh it off, and get back into the fight. Found a LMG you can swap into and still keep class abilities? You just feel special for finding that, its like a little treasure luck hands over to you every so often. The little unrefinements in these games were usually where the fun things came from, and were a part of the charm. You could pull out your tools, knife, or grenade and keep them out in killzone 2 for some reason, but this also lead to killing people with the revive gun. Meanwhile melee combat was still stuck down to clubbing, and that massive bullet sponge health bar made these fights absolutely hilarious. I recall once someone posted this video as an example of what a point blank experience is like in Killzone 2, and it is a little too close to being true, and fantastic for such. However this ain't just about Killzone 2, even if that's where the best gold was. Killzone 1 was a demolitions paradise, as bots picked up on weapons and blasted you countless times, but this gave it a fun little arms race effect on matches. Killzone 3 still had those awesome moments where the supposedly annoying zombie medics made for some interesting times, or that weird thrill of spamming the artillery beacons or trolling a tactical spawn position. Then there's that strange pistol flash light in Shadow fall that seems to exist for no other reason than the minor chance of running it through a sniper, or just annoying some poor guy blinded by it. I actually had a good kill with that today. Even though spawn camping isn't as bad in the past, it is still present, and I actually look forward to it at times because of shadow fall's odd work arounds with it. One of this series most reoccurring problems suddenly becomes a game of wits, and it makes me feel kind of clever when the opportunity comes by. When it comes to the spin-off mercenary, much like its problems the good needs to be found by playing it. Its hard to describe some of the goofy, oddball, or interesting moments they call in what is easily the twitchiest killzone multiplayer of the bunch. Still at the end of the day their problems are all tolerable enough to know and love the game as a killzone game... even 3, despite being the probably the weakest of them.
I know it sounds kind of weird, but at times the competitive sense of the killzone multiplayer scene can actually be one of its least pleasant factors on surface value. At least to me. I don't play it for the kill death ratios, the clan disputes, to decorate my profile, or even struggle for trophies. Its not about how good I am, or how I play, its about the fun within the game. If an invisible sniper shoots me I take it as a challenge to fight him, not whine about it on the forums because its "totally not fair". Hey dude, Killzone just does invisible snipers, get over it. That's part of its depth and fun, and its a mentally stimulating challenge for the sniper as much as he is a threat to you. Of course that's a rare complaint, the more common ones are pretty silly to with one or two of the supposed competitive guys even defending the downfall of user servers because they have a socialistic mindset that every single guy in the universe needs to play to their ideal rule set for the sake of being fair. Um... no. I and a surprising amount of other guys are here because of some weird raw fun value we find within the lightly competetive (with heavier probably being flat out major E sports and brawlers) type games, other than that element itself. I love its weird sense of depth mixed with wishy-washy balance, I love the features included to help tailor the experience to players, I love having to think a bit but executing it in a reckless and brutal fast rate, and I love just the amount of effort that generally goes into these games. Some guy may view the lack of grinding in shadow fall as a competitive choice (its fair and balanced, made for straight up matches where the best wins), and ironically the same can be flipped on Killzone 2's milestone + ribbons ranking system (decorated veterans and skilled players where it on their sleeves in this system), but I love them both because they attribute to the sort of depth and attitude I adore within a game. Some may find it competitive to have switching round and objectives varying up and testing your general FPS knowledge with most of its staple modes in one match. I just see it as a great system that's fun to play within because it constantly keeps you on your toes and you're always adapting to something new, which is where I kick in best with. ...and I still see a lot of similarly shared views, despite the sportsmanship tone a lot of the community will take. Its just an amazing feeling when I bump into that one guy that is barking about grenade indicators, or people talking about how funny it was when they charged into an objective a certain way rather than those just bragging on scores, or having a bunch of people talk about how great accurate hipfire actually can be when applied right. These conversations and people don't seem to pop up much elsewhere, it feels like its usually just here... a game that is loose in penalty, but with a strong edge that is built up on depth. That depth gives it more things to build up community lore with, more things to feel and get used to or enjoy in the gameplay, opens up new freedoms to the player, and generally draws a community of seasoned players. Thus you get a lot of guys that just enjoy themselves off this strangely "serious" game that others treat like a proving grounds. Still I wouldn't have it any other way. Of course another reason I love this game and not something like some super esport thing is because Killzone isn't too steep in itself about how things work. At the end of the day you're still doing staple objectives, your death is at the very worst case scenario a time penalty meaning you'll just pop back up into the fight and maybe get somewhat careless at times, and honestly the game has too many weird or wonky effects thrown in the mix that once again sort of build on the weird fun rather than a razor sharp rule set. Its the best of both worlds, not being too light, casual, or deceivingly simple, but also not being too strict, stressing, or serious.
You just don't get the type of thrills from some casual jump in, get out game. Those multiplayers are fun, hell I put over days of time in total on my Modern Warfare 2 profile when it was a fresh way of pick-up & play gaming to me at the time. However you're not going to have the same type of drawn out moments, the dynamic objectives, or those tense "can I make this?" moments in most other shooters that have bottled themselves outside of the older competitive roots. Now they're usually focused on pleasing you through artificial skinner boxes, and pick-up and play surface gameplay. This is a weird sort of way that makes everyone feel like they can be an army stopping, quick scoping, gun slinging winner in some way or another, and you get pushed to play not because you're learning and experiencing but because there's some artificial milestone to work towards. Killzone isn't that kind of game, and whenever it does take a step in that direction (like grenade indicators or odd accuracy changes) the community throws a fit. Its fairly modernized, but stays away from that sort of breezy tone. Its slower, its darker, it lets you see your pain when shot but also makes you work to shoot, and you're always given something to adapt to. Yet that's also why its kind of fantastic that way, even if you're not in it for some dumb skill measuring contest. Its fun to have that stupid moment where some guy cans you with a surprise grenade, or when you're on the rifle butt's end of a frantic melee fight. Its fun to sit back and have a laugh at your failures, but similarly an absolute thrill to feel proud of your success (or being right beside a successful buddy). I suppose these lite-competitive type shooters like Killzone, those that splash damage make, arena shooters, and probably earlier COD games were kind of like a penalty free Dark Souls of the FPS world. You study, you fail, you master, you find your specialty, or you achieve a new one, and you never stop failing and yet discovering. Its not afraid to give you amazing things in that type of environment, and it expects you to make the most of them where as something else would just dumb it down or replace it with a "reward". This is also the type of place where things just stay clean. No crap about perks, strange set-ups, and odd weapon stats. You get an assault rifle or two, figure out which you like, find your ideal class, and get to work, but in an environment that has many external elements to figure out. As an example your hipfire isn't cartoonishly inaccurate, so it has a special use you need to learn while balancing. Even though you've got such limited weapons (and a couple attachments only as of last game), they become major icons, allow for balanced gameplay, and work off the game's core being very flexible and a part of a natural learning curve.
Something I also liked that truly added to the chaos was the way the game comes full circle a bit with its campaign and multiplayer. Its not a Brink situation where campaign is scrapped, but rather the events of campaign and the background, as well as who these sides of the war are, truly show themselves underneath the multiplayer's surface. The events of the game in play loosely tie in with your map environments, with remakes even getting a present age treatment every time around.
Now of course I can praise the games on many things, but I'll take a quick paragraph to remind myself the games were never perfect. This is especially true when we look at them all as successors rather than on their own. Killzone shadow fall has a lacking player base and less creativity in its server system thanks to a pretty dumb format that rewards the same old modes rather than new player ones. Mortally wounded state is screwed up by intentional makings that don't quite make sense. Up until recently, poor hitboxes that may as well have been invisible walls on the environment really screwed with some shots, especially on the forest map. Subjectively I also have to bitch about the lack of control options, sniper changes, and succumbing to the ugly grenade indicator trend. Mercenary is a bit harder to describe in its faults, but it sure has them. Its just real minor nitpicks in design, like its killstreak system, some weird oddities in its special take-downs, and similar stuff. Meanwhile the less said about 3 might be better, with a total disregard for player respect in server systems. It was the least polished game, gave the sniper arguably too much power, the progression system broke balance and made an entire tier of weapons practically useless, and spawns were a little too strict to help prevent spawn camping that happened anyways (maybe even more than before, I certainly know it was less fun here as well). Meanwhile Killzone 2 was the start of those said spawn camp issues, went a little too far with its class ribbon requirements, drones could get a totally random and cheap headshot on you, both light machine guns were stuck to a useless class (no abilities at all, literally useless) to try and artificially make him unique, DLC maps are never played, and user spawns had... well, lets just say it made search & destroy objectives a little too obvious in how the tactics would unfold. Oh yeah and in every single game lag plays out in a very unusual fashion that has some very interesting results that may irritate some.
However despite my gripes, some of these things actually help make the game better at the end of the day. Especially Killzone 2. Tacticians shoving spawns on top of each other? Oh well, it'll be fun running into a wall of frag grenades for a while as both spawn points battle for 5 minutes. Speaking of which, grenade spam was just hilarious fun anyways. Sentry bot headshot you? Laugh it off, and get back into the fight. Found a LMG you can swap into and still keep class abilities? You just feel special for finding that, its like a little treasure luck hands over to you every so often. The little unrefinements in these games were usually where the fun things came from, and were a part of the charm. You could pull out your tools, knife, or grenade and keep them out in killzone 2 for some reason, but this also lead to killing people with the revive gun. Meanwhile melee combat was still stuck down to clubbing, and that massive bullet sponge health bar made these fights absolutely hilarious. I recall once someone posted this video as an example of what a point blank experience is like in Killzone 2, and it is a little too close to being true, and fantastic for such. However this ain't just about Killzone 2, even if that's where the best gold was. Killzone 1 was a demolitions paradise, as bots picked up on weapons and blasted you countless times, but this gave it a fun little arms race effect on matches. Killzone 3 still had those awesome moments where the supposedly annoying zombie medics made for some interesting times, or that weird thrill of spamming the artillery beacons or trolling a tactical spawn position. Then there's that strange pistol flash light in Shadow fall that seems to exist for no other reason than the minor chance of running it through a sniper, or just annoying some poor guy blinded by it. I actually had a good kill with that today. Even though spawn camping isn't as bad in the past, it is still present, and I actually look forward to it at times because of shadow fall's odd work arounds with it. One of this series most reoccurring problems suddenly becomes a game of wits, and it makes me feel kind of clever when the opportunity comes by. When it comes to the spin-off mercenary, much like its problems the good needs to be found by playing it. Its hard to describe some of the goofy, oddball, or interesting moments they call in what is easily the twitchiest killzone multiplayer of the bunch. Still at the end of the day their problems are all tolerable enough to know and love the game as a killzone game... even 3, despite being the probably the weakest of them.
I know it sounds kind of weird, but at times the competitive sense of the killzone multiplayer scene can actually be one of its least pleasant factors on surface value. At least to me. I don't play it for the kill death ratios, the clan disputes, to decorate my profile, or even struggle for trophies. Its not about how good I am, or how I play, its about the fun within the game. If an invisible sniper shoots me I take it as a challenge to fight him, not whine about it on the forums because its "totally not fair". Hey dude, Killzone just does invisible snipers, get over it. That's part of its depth and fun, and its a mentally stimulating challenge for the sniper as much as he is a threat to you. Of course that's a rare complaint, the more common ones are pretty silly to with one or two of the supposed competitive guys even defending the downfall of user servers because they have a socialistic mindset that every single guy in the universe needs to play to their ideal rule set for the sake of being fair. Um... no. I and a surprising amount of other guys are here because of some weird raw fun value we find within the lightly competetive (with heavier probably being flat out major E sports and brawlers) type games, other than that element itself. I love its weird sense of depth mixed with wishy-washy balance, I love the features included to help tailor the experience to players, I love having to think a bit but executing it in a reckless and brutal fast rate, and I love just the amount of effort that generally goes into these games. Some guy may view the lack of grinding in shadow fall as a competitive choice (its fair and balanced, made for straight up matches where the best wins), and ironically the same can be flipped on Killzone 2's milestone + ribbons ranking system (decorated veterans and skilled players where it on their sleeves in this system), but I love them both because they attribute to the sort of depth and attitude I adore within a game. Some may find it competitive to have switching round and objectives varying up and testing your general FPS knowledge with most of its staple modes in one match. I just see it as a great system that's fun to play within because it constantly keeps you on your toes and you're always adapting to something new, which is where I kick in best with. ...and I still see a lot of similarly shared views, despite the sportsmanship tone a lot of the community will take. Its just an amazing feeling when I bump into that one guy that is barking about grenade indicators, or people talking about how funny it was when they charged into an objective a certain way rather than those just bragging on scores, or having a bunch of people talk about how great accurate hipfire actually can be when applied right. These conversations and people don't seem to pop up much elsewhere, it feels like its usually just here... a game that is loose in penalty, but with a strong edge that is built up on depth. That depth gives it more things to build up community lore with, more things to feel and get used to or enjoy in the gameplay, opens up new freedoms to the player, and generally draws a community of seasoned players. Thus you get a lot of guys that just enjoy themselves off this strangely "serious" game that others treat like a proving grounds. Still I wouldn't have it any other way. Of course another reason I love this game and not something like some super esport thing is because Killzone isn't too steep in itself about how things work. At the end of the day you're still doing staple objectives, your death is at the very worst case scenario a time penalty meaning you'll just pop back up into the fight and maybe get somewhat careless at times, and honestly the game has too many weird or wonky effects thrown in the mix that once again sort of build on the weird fun rather than a razor sharp rule set. Its the best of both worlds, not being too light, casual, or deceivingly simple, but also not being too strict, stressing, or serious.
You just don't get the type of thrills from some casual jump in, get out game. Those multiplayers are fun, hell I put over days of time in total on my Modern Warfare 2 profile when it was a fresh way of pick-up & play gaming to me at the time. However you're not going to have the same type of drawn out moments, the dynamic objectives, or those tense "can I make this?" moments in most other shooters that have bottled themselves outside of the older competitive roots. Now they're usually focused on pleasing you through artificial skinner boxes, and pick-up and play surface gameplay. This is a weird sort of way that makes everyone feel like they can be an army stopping, quick scoping, gun slinging winner in some way or another, and you get pushed to play not because you're learning and experiencing but because there's some artificial milestone to work towards. Killzone isn't that kind of game, and whenever it does take a step in that direction (like grenade indicators or odd accuracy changes) the community throws a fit. Its fairly modernized, but stays away from that sort of breezy tone. Its slower, its darker, it lets you see your pain when shot but also makes you work to shoot, and you're always given something to adapt to. Yet that's also why its kind of fantastic that way, even if you're not in it for some dumb skill measuring contest. Its fun to have that stupid moment where some guy cans you with a surprise grenade, or when you're on the rifle butt's end of a frantic melee fight. Its fun to sit back and have a laugh at your failures, but similarly an absolute thrill to feel proud of your success (or being right beside a successful buddy). I suppose these lite-competitive type shooters like Killzone, those that splash damage make, arena shooters, and probably earlier COD games were kind of like a penalty free Dark Souls of the FPS world. You study, you fail, you master, you find your specialty, or you achieve a new one, and you never stop failing and yet discovering. Its not afraid to give you amazing things in that type of environment, and it expects you to make the most of them where as something else would just dumb it down or replace it with a "reward". This is also the type of place where things just stay clean. No crap about perks, strange set-ups, and odd weapon stats. You get an assault rifle or two, figure out which you like, find your ideal class, and get to work, but in an environment that has many external elements to figure out. As an example your hipfire isn't cartoonishly inaccurate, so it has a special use you need to learn while balancing. Even though you've got such limited weapons (and a couple attachments only as of last game), they become major icons, allow for balanced gameplay, and work off the game's core being very flexible and a part of a natural learning curve.
Helghan belongs to the helghast...
Before I conclude this piece I would love to cover more of the campaign, or just extra fluff of the killzone universe. I think really though I've put out enough, and I've already discussed how incredible the helghast are in the past. So I'll try to sum it up as this real quickly; Killzone is like gaming's Warhammer 40k in theme and style. Its got that perfect gothic meets sci-fi tone with "war politics are evil" point while also betraying that narrative by making a silly and fantastic game out of it. Its thankfully not a self-critical Spec Ops situation, just an entertaining story that revels in war under literal dark tones. Its a world where characters are given loud booming and preachy voices, or lines to scream or trash talk with, ultimately each voice going towards a violent or manipulating figure head that is somehow delivered in an over the top manner that makes their evil entertaining or ironic. The way its all presented under a typically narrow scope, and mostly delivered with undertones (at least pre-mercenary/shadow fall) make it a fun twist to get involved in when you're new to the series. The enthusiasts with the series had a good time discussing who was right and wrong while always knowing the conclusion was nobody. Suddenly your fight in Killzone 2 ends up to Visari dying under a united arm symbol, visually realizing him as a martyr with the ideology of a better society. Suddenly the beginning of the war on Vekta that the ISA army was using to play the victim card with, turns out to in fact be a backwards version of a war before the games where the helghast were the ones brutally pushed off the planet and forced under horrid conditions. Suddenly you know where the narrative is going, and with the end of shadow fall it proves the point that as each entry in the series pushed more battles forward its a constant cycle of vengeance, and war, and fighting that causes or leads into more fighting. Its a fascinating underlying narrative of the whole series, all while you've got that incredible atmosphere I glossed over when admiring the multiplayer. Each Killzone seems to come forward making a big deal of darker areas; A gritty ruined war torn future without going apocalyptic with it, full of heavy physics, loud gunfire, and soldiers that bleed for that M rating. Killzone's PS3 engine had over 200 death animations programmed into it (alongside great ragdoll physics), and when still a work in progress there was a time when Killzone 2 was possibly aiming to be the first game with realistic bleeding. It actually turned war and earthy dark ruined polluted war torn wars into an awesome art style, and fused it perfectly with gameplay asthetics that truly work with the game. Of course its still got many silly things on the surface, I mean just look at the Helghast designs. They're campy super villains with nazi inspirations mixed with stereotypical gruff villain voices. Again it all kind of leads back into Warhammer 40ks style, just executed more simply and differently.
With killzone vs W40k there's Less factions, no theology, no super random tech and planet leaps, but still maintaining high levels of its dark gothic war tones set under psudo-science fiction elements, and like warhammer takes small influences from an actual war. If you look into it, I can also assure you you'll bump into some fans crossing over into each thing. Neither do it to be too preachy or critical though. W40K would rather have chainsaw swords, and Killzone would love to throw in a guy that reminds people of darth vader. Even though they gloss over the horrors of war, they usually lead it back into the one true positive form it does have: game value. Nobody likes actual war, but it makes for damn good conflicts, which is strangely something almost never capitalized on (especially in games). You rarely have preachy leaders, conflicting points of interest, or dynamic reasonable context per faction in games. Usually there's a good and an evil, and you roll with that and have some dumb hero or "you won the war" story, and in recent times we haven't been able to bother with creative settings either. You've got modern soldiers fighting modern inspired wars with minimal context, drive, or reasoning, and the short length promises to cripple whatever value there is to the story. At best there's a government conspiracy theory thrown in to give you a twist on your villain, but its not quite special enough to make its best use in a war. Killzone and Warhammer buck this trend. You're going to see or hear about lots of battles, lots of blood, and then odd contexts for it. You're going to hear real political struggles, grown men arguing, or unusual idealogies put on a high pedastool. Its not about money and greed, at least not all the time. There's no easy villain cash in here. Its about the war, not the characters (though their campy or presence shouldn't be overlooked), not some stupid hollywood formula plot. Its about the politics, destruction, the strategy, and the visual ideas that comes with war. That alongside how cool the helghast looks, make for a pretty cool and surprisingly unique stance in tone that Killzone has. Oh hey, remember when I pointed out how this game gets viewed as a "sci-fi COD" by the naive? Now you know why I consider it to be a terrible claim, and it makes for one hell of a strike against the opinions of those who use it as they're clearly on a different page.
So... what's next? That's a very interesting question.
I think the real Killzone 4 is next, but there's so much that can go on with that. They'll have to bring the series back in between 3 and shadow fall, while also trying to keep up with the features shadow fall brought with its tech jump. When we go back to Helghan, what will it look like? Or maybe I'm just jumping conclusions and we'll be stuck trying to just piece together the bits in between games for ourselves, with future games pushing onwards into the new struggles implied by Shadow Fall's ending. Actually speaking of which, I have to ask if Shadow Fall will almost be its own sub-series. They could easily expand and rework the role of a shadow marshal, while retaining the normal Killzone numbered titles as something more of a linear corridor shooter with less tech. There's also that unknown new IP, which while a separate thing may just as easily become a major influence upon the developer's projects going forward. On top of that the time in which they break off from Killzone may also follow through on different trends and ideas, and with killzone often following those with odd but welcomed differences it may easily change things up a good bit. On top of all that there's the possibility of Killzone mercenary 2, something likely done outside of the team but never the less a move to impact the franchise and thus no less relevant for what is next in the series. My major concern as with the series all the time will be the matter of mechanics, features, and balance. Every little nitpick kind of counts to me. Sometimes I'm a little hard on the series, and I've always got disappointments with each game, but I guess that's also because Killzone's really set its bar dangerously high in my book. The Killzone 2 engine to this day is probably my all time favorite game engine because it just does aesthetics, physics, visuals, controls, and the effects so perfectly. Shadowfall obviously does graphics better, but it failed in many other departments like physics and destruction, but at the same time it is in some ways a step forward and should still be appreciated. Its just that again Killzone 2 set the bar higher, and they have a lot of work to do in order to meet that again on newer systems, never the less top it. On top of that lets just talk of my actual feature expectations. I expect fantastic gunplay, the advanced level select system, customizable bots, custom servers, fun classes and balances, fun dynamic warzones, a great campaign that furthers the lore and war, and I hope for good rule sets to the classes that empowers my medic bias. That's asking for a lot in addition to new innovations and the common sense FPS goals (like balanced gameplay, maps, working servers, etc), especially in Shadow Fall's case where they're starting a fresh spot on the timeline. I also don't speak for the whole community, so there's a big demand for clans, different opinions on weapons and stats, and of course whatever Sony asks of the team. So yeah I suppose I can't expect perfect sequels all the time. I'm not ungrateful for what I got either. I put hours upon hours into the arguably weakest: Killzone 3 (Plus it gave us some great lore and stuff like this). I love shadow fall despite it undermining the aesthetics. Its my favorite multiplayer on PS4, and its campaign is pretty impressive despite wolfenstein crushing it. So if they keep putting out high quality on the whole, and great features, I can enjoy it. Still I'm always keeping my fingers crossed for the very best, and without the rush of a console launch window I'm hoping they truly tune the game up right. Whenever that announcement goes out though, I know exactly where I'll be: glued to that news. It happens every time, and it kind of makes me happy the press hypes it up so dang much. Its just kind of fun to be a part of that hype train when it comes to this series, and I'm almost looking forward to that thrill as much as the thrill of playing it.
So... closing up now, Happy birthday Killzone. I'm a few days late, worked on this post for some of those days, but I think its worth a good long chat with myself over how awesome its been for 10 years of such a fantastic series. Its a bit of an underdog series, and as stated before its a bit weird to wonder if it'd exist without the 1st party hype, but then again that also suits me. I seem to love these semi-hipster type obscure games, with odd mixed balances and a strange combination of trend tossing and trend following. Killzone actually suits me quite well, even though on the surface it seems quite contradicting to the old school corridor shooters I love. I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that the series endures as a fantastic FPS franchise that continues to please me. For all those fun caffeinated battles, all the thrills, for keeping me enjoying it down to every single amazing intro (which was sadly outside of the last two games), being one of the only games that gets me glued to the hype, and great appreciative post is in order. So thank you for 10 good years Killzone. From that time of first putting that disc in and hearing Brian Cox as Visari preach his words, something special had begun and that intro still holds up as incredible to this day. Its been my ideal military shooter, and if there's any that can stand out to make me happy in a warzone its Killzone.
With killzone vs W40k there's Less factions, no theology, no super random tech and planet leaps, but still maintaining high levels of its dark gothic war tones set under psudo-science fiction elements, and like warhammer takes small influences from an actual war. If you look into it, I can also assure you you'll bump into some fans crossing over into each thing. Neither do it to be too preachy or critical though. W40K would rather have chainsaw swords, and Killzone would love to throw in a guy that reminds people of darth vader. Even though they gloss over the horrors of war, they usually lead it back into the one true positive form it does have: game value. Nobody likes actual war, but it makes for damn good conflicts, which is strangely something almost never capitalized on (especially in games). You rarely have preachy leaders, conflicting points of interest, or dynamic reasonable context per faction in games. Usually there's a good and an evil, and you roll with that and have some dumb hero or "you won the war" story, and in recent times we haven't been able to bother with creative settings either. You've got modern soldiers fighting modern inspired wars with minimal context, drive, or reasoning, and the short length promises to cripple whatever value there is to the story. At best there's a government conspiracy theory thrown in to give you a twist on your villain, but its not quite special enough to make its best use in a war. Killzone and Warhammer buck this trend. You're going to see or hear about lots of battles, lots of blood, and then odd contexts for it. You're going to hear real political struggles, grown men arguing, or unusual idealogies put on a high pedastool. Its not about money and greed, at least not all the time. There's no easy villain cash in here. Its about the war, not the characters (though their campy or presence shouldn't be overlooked), not some stupid hollywood formula plot. Its about the politics, destruction, the strategy, and the visual ideas that comes with war. That alongside how cool the helghast looks, make for a pretty cool and surprisingly unique stance in tone that Killzone has. Oh hey, remember when I pointed out how this game gets viewed as a "sci-fi COD" by the naive? Now you know why I consider it to be a terrible claim, and it makes for one hell of a strike against the opinions of those who use it as they're clearly on a different page.
So... what's next? That's a very interesting question.
I think the real Killzone 4 is next, but there's so much that can go on with that. They'll have to bring the series back in between 3 and shadow fall, while also trying to keep up with the features shadow fall brought with its tech jump. When we go back to Helghan, what will it look like? Or maybe I'm just jumping conclusions and we'll be stuck trying to just piece together the bits in between games for ourselves, with future games pushing onwards into the new struggles implied by Shadow Fall's ending. Actually speaking of which, I have to ask if Shadow Fall will almost be its own sub-series. They could easily expand and rework the role of a shadow marshal, while retaining the normal Killzone numbered titles as something more of a linear corridor shooter with less tech. There's also that unknown new IP, which while a separate thing may just as easily become a major influence upon the developer's projects going forward. On top of that the time in which they break off from Killzone may also follow through on different trends and ideas, and with killzone often following those with odd but welcomed differences it may easily change things up a good bit. On top of all that there's the possibility of Killzone mercenary 2, something likely done outside of the team but never the less a move to impact the franchise and thus no less relevant for what is next in the series. My major concern as with the series all the time will be the matter of mechanics, features, and balance. Every little nitpick kind of counts to me. Sometimes I'm a little hard on the series, and I've always got disappointments with each game, but I guess that's also because Killzone's really set its bar dangerously high in my book. The Killzone 2 engine to this day is probably my all time favorite game engine because it just does aesthetics, physics, visuals, controls, and the effects so perfectly. Shadowfall obviously does graphics better, but it failed in many other departments like physics and destruction, but at the same time it is in some ways a step forward and should still be appreciated. Its just that again Killzone 2 set the bar higher, and they have a lot of work to do in order to meet that again on newer systems, never the less top it. On top of that lets just talk of my actual feature expectations. I expect fantastic gunplay, the advanced level select system, customizable bots, custom servers, fun classes and balances, fun dynamic warzones, a great campaign that furthers the lore and war, and I hope for good rule sets to the classes that empowers my medic bias. That's asking for a lot in addition to new innovations and the common sense FPS goals (like balanced gameplay, maps, working servers, etc), especially in Shadow Fall's case where they're starting a fresh spot on the timeline. I also don't speak for the whole community, so there's a big demand for clans, different opinions on weapons and stats, and of course whatever Sony asks of the team. So yeah I suppose I can't expect perfect sequels all the time. I'm not ungrateful for what I got either. I put hours upon hours into the arguably weakest: Killzone 3 (Plus it gave us some great lore and stuff like this). I love shadow fall despite it undermining the aesthetics. Its my favorite multiplayer on PS4, and its campaign is pretty impressive despite wolfenstein crushing it. So if they keep putting out high quality on the whole, and great features, I can enjoy it. Still I'm always keeping my fingers crossed for the very best, and without the rush of a console launch window I'm hoping they truly tune the game up right. Whenever that announcement goes out though, I know exactly where I'll be: glued to that news. It happens every time, and it kind of makes me happy the press hypes it up so dang much. Its just kind of fun to be a part of that hype train when it comes to this series, and I'm almost looking forward to that thrill as much as the thrill of playing it.
So... closing up now, Happy birthday Killzone. I'm a few days late, worked on this post for some of those days, but I think its worth a good long chat with myself over how awesome its been for 10 years of such a fantastic series. Its a bit of an underdog series, and as stated before its a bit weird to wonder if it'd exist without the 1st party hype, but then again that also suits me. I seem to love these semi-hipster type obscure games, with odd mixed balances and a strange combination of trend tossing and trend following. Killzone actually suits me quite well, even though on the surface it seems quite contradicting to the old school corridor shooters I love. I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that the series endures as a fantastic FPS franchise that continues to please me. For all those fun caffeinated battles, all the thrills, for keeping me enjoying it down to every single amazing intro (which was sadly outside of the last two games), being one of the only games that gets me glued to the hype, and great appreciative post is in order. So thank you for 10 good years Killzone. From that time of first putting that disc in and hearing Brian Cox as Visari preach his words, something special had begun and that intro still holds up as incredible to this day. Its been my ideal military shooter, and if there's any that can stand out to make me happy in a warzone its Killzone.
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