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Retro|Spective 091: Killzone

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    Retro|Spective 091: Killzone

    How invested did you get in the ISA?





    Mainline Entry 01 - Killzone
    Formats:
    Playstation 2 and Playstation 3
    A tale of soldiers and space Nazi's that tried not to be as simplistic as that. This was a key release for Sony, an attempt to respond to Microsoft's success with Halo by giving their own platform a core pleasing FPS experience. Featuring slow, heavy character movement the game lacked the high octane thrills of other releases such as Call of Duty but succeeded largely because of the scale of the marketing push Sony made for it, driving sales on despite weak reviews.



    Spin Off Entry 01 - Killzone Liberation
    Formats:
    Playstation Portable
    Arriving two years later, this portable entry wasn't too keenly anticipated and it broke from the set up of the main game by being a top down isometric shooter. The game mixed in elements of dungeon crawlers that took place over 4 chapters, five if you downloaded the DLC expansion. The game may not have been the next step fans were looking for but reviews were stronger for this title than the main game had enjoyed.



    Mainline Entry 02 - Killzone 2
    Formats:
    Playstation 3
    Famous for its reveal that was a misleader, the final game was still a visual showcase for Sony's new console. Reverting to the main focus of being an FPS, Killzone 2 added in an online multiplayer component that remained active until as recently as late last year and also ramped up the production values whilst keeping its heavy boots on the ground movement. The game was a big success for Sony and Guerrilla.



    Mainline Entry 03 - Killzone 3
    Formats:
    Playstation 3
    Eager to capitalise on the success of the previous entry it was just two years until the third game launched. To make the new entry feel more distinct from the predecessor it made use of a new artic weather setting and mixed in boost pack abilities. These carried over to the expanded multiplayer experience and continued the success the series had now found even if it hadn't come close to surpassing Halo.



    Spin Off Entry 02 - Killzone: Mercenary
    Formats:
    Playstation Vita
    The second attempt at bringing the series to handheld came in this form, a mission based FPS that tied itself around the events of the existing trilogy. Using the systems touchscreen and track pad, Mercenary's was a showcase for the Vita and found itself greeted by a very positive response from reviewers and fans alike, a rare example of the genre working on a handheld though the Vita's poor performance over its lifespan meant the game made little sales impact.



    Mainline Entry 04 - Killzone: Shadow Fall
    Formats:
    Playstation 4
    The fourth and final mainline entry was a launch title showcase for the PS4, visually detailed it tried to make the new console land with a bang. However, Guerrilla's ambitions meant the game would be on the receiving on of a number of alterations including more open environments. Reviews were fairly mixed thanks to the changes and whilst sales were strong for the game players often cited a number of complaints they had about the title. As such and thanks to having other series to cover Sony didn't push for a sequel and Guerrilla moved on to launch a new franchise with Horizon.



    Share your thoughts and memories of Killzone

    #2
    Original game was running on hardware that couldn't handle it. As such it was pretty weak.
    The PSP game was really, really good.
    Killzone 2 was fantastic. Better than any Halo IMO.
    Killzone 3 was weaker but had 2 great features: Stereoscopic 3D and Move controller support. Both worked great and added to the immersion as you might expect.
    The Vita outing is the best first person shooter to ever grace a handheld and is one o Vita's top 3 games
    Shadowfall is utter garbage apart from the visuals.

    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by Brad View Post
      The Vita outing is the best first person shooter to ever grace a handheld and is one o Vita's top 3 games
      I feel really sorry for those guys. Sony got them to make this, and RIGS for the PSVR, and then let them go when neither of them met sales expectations... But from outside, I think we all saw them as loss-leader tentpole titles. Those sorts of games seldom sell well for a machine, because there just aren't enough users of the platform to buy the games, even if everyone bought it.

      Comment


        #4
        Killzone: Mercenary is the only one I've played. Pretty much a serious banger though. It was the title that I had wanted Black Ops: Declassified (a horrible, tawdry little excuse of a game) to be.

        The actual campaign was on the whole quite forgettable, but as a true 'handheld' entry - handheld games as they were once, super deformed gaiden side story versions of full console games - it was very, very well executed.

        I've got very fond memories of tethering my Vita to my phone and deathmatching on the bus home.

        Comment


          #5
          I’ve never played any of these as FPS really aren’t my thing... but the PSP game does look interesting from what I’ve seen of it.

          Comment


            #6
            The heavy sluggish movement was a bit of a shame in these, I think it hampered the experience given the competition even if it did make the games more distinct. I'll have to sub to PSNow for a bit at some point as it'd be quite nice to revisit KZ2 and 3. The pair of them along with Mercenary are a solid batch of games and it's a shame the PS4 threw so much out of the window and killed the series.

            Comment


              #7
              Clue for 092 - From Rogan to Green

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by Brad View Post
                Original game was running on hardware that couldn't handle it. As such it was pretty weak.
                The PSP game was really, really good.
                Killzone 2 was fantastic. Better than any Halo IMO.
                Killzone 3 was weaker but had 2 great features: Stereoscopic 3D and Move controller support. Both worked great and added to the immersion as you might expect.
                The Vita outing is the best first person shooter to ever grace a handheld and is one o Vita's top 3 games
                Shadowfall is utter garbage apart from the visuals.
                Well that saves me writing any kind of a reply.

                Comment

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