Killzone (video game)
Killzone is a first-person shooter exclusively for the PlayStation 2 game console, developed by Netherlands-based Guerrilla Games (who previously made Shellshock: Nam '67) and released on November 2, 2004 in North America. Two follow-ups are currently in production, Killzone: Liberation for the PlayStation Portable and Killzone PS3 for the upcoming PlayStation 3.
Killzone gained a great deal of hype in June, 2003 when video game websites began releasing previews and rumors about the game. Most fans of Sony's second-generation console had been waiting for a game to top Microsoft's Halo: Combat Evolved, which has been released for its Xbox gaming system. Halo was a huge success, and was the best-selling Xbox game at the time, which led to PlayStation fans to dub Killzone the "Halo Killer" This label was intensified later in 2004 when the Official PlayStation Magazine (OPM) in the United States published an issue with a lengthy article on Killzone. The issue was wrapped in plastic which read "Halo Killer."
Storyline
The game is set in an era of space colonization where the Helghast Empire has recovered from its defeat in the First Helghan War and launched a blitzkrieg against the outer ISA colony planet Vekta. Vekta's orbital defense platforms fail during the initial assault, allowing the Helghast to land swarms of soldiers onto the surface. This makes it all the more difficult for the outnumbered ISA forces.
In the game, the Helghast are descendants of humans who colonized the planet Helghan many generations ago. The planet's harsh environment forced the Helghast to adapt and mutate so much that they can no longer be considered human. They are stronger, faster and more resilient than their cousins, and possessed of a burning hatred for humanity, but, save for a small number of half-breed Helghast and trained troopers, they require a gas mask and air tank with air similar to the planet Helghan's atmosphere. Vekta's only hope rests with an elite squad of four soldiers who will become heroes.
The player takes control of ISA squad leader Jan Templar, fighting off the Helghast invasion. Templar and his squad are called back to the base for reassignment, and are promptly sent to find the ISA operative Hakha and the key in his possession. During the course of the game, the player also takes control of several other characters, such as a special operations agent Luger (a female "Shadow Marshall" assassin), a heavy weapons specialist sargeant Rico Velasques (a Helghast-hating grunt with an itchy trigger finger), and a Helghast defector Hakha (whom with Rico shares a hate/hate relationship throughout most of the game).
Characters
- Cpt. Jan Templar
Jan (pronounced Yan) is the everyman of this game. He is a Special Forces Captain, and a born leader. He is called into the fight by General Vaughton. He can handle almost all situations, and can handle all forms of ISA weaponry. He does, however, do poorly with Helghast weaponary. He and Luger used to be in an intimate relationship, but after seeing how much Luger changed from being caring and feeling, he now is a colder, more calculated person. ("Trained to think, not feel. Act, not reflect." as Hakha puts it.)
- Shadow Marshal Luger
Luger (it is not made clear if that is her first or last name, or a nickname) is the returned, old lover of Jan, assigned to assist him on "their" mission. She apparently graduated early from training. Though she and Jan still have feelings for each other, Jan apparently thinks she has changed too much from what she once was. She's an assassin, great with a knife and quiet in her actions. She is the stealthiest, and works well with everything but very large weaponry. She carries night vision goggles, allowing her to see in the dark. She is also the fastest character, and able to crawl through vents, up broken cables, underneath Subways, climb up ladders easily and stealthily kill enemies.
- Sgt. Rico Velasques
Rico, born in the slums of Vekta city, is the toughest, slowest, and biggest Helghast hating character in the entire game, swearing almost constantly. He apparently went crazy and seeked revenge after the Helghast wiped out his entire platoon, leaving him the lone survivor. He has tried to kill Hakha from the moment they met, and the two often make jokes at one another (with Hakha usually getting the last laugh, because Rico doesn't understand what he's saying). By the end of the game, Rico and Hakha seem to respect each other. Since he's not very mobile, he can't hop over things like the others. Luger calls him "the fat boy".
- Col. Gregor Hakha
Hakha is a half Helghast, half Human spy. He is very fluent with Helghast weaponary, giving him more ammo then others. He regenerates health the fastest. He also carries a knife, but can't use it as fluently as Luger. He is incredibly smart, and hates the Helghast as much as anyone else. Being a former chief of Staff for General Lente, Hakha knows a lot of things about Helghast bases and machinery. He and Rico poke fun at each other due to their outward hatred and hidden respect for each other. He often mocks Rico's intelligence and often replies with sharp, stinging retorts to others ("I'm a spy, It's my JOB.") When asked about which side he is fighting for, he simply replies "My side." He is arguably the most versatile of all the characters, being able to go past laser mines, and using all forms of weaponry fairly respectably. The "credits" section of Killzone's game manual reveals that his full name is Gregor Hakha.
Game development
Dutch based Guerrilla Games, formerly known as Lost Boys Games, developed this game and caught Sony's eye. The gaming company showed Sony a demonstration of a first-person shooter that they were currently developing for Windows. Sony was impressed by the game and made a deal with Guerrilla to develop Killzone exclusively for the PlayStation 2. Sony then commissioned award-winning sci-fi author Joe Dever to develop the storyline and contribute to the game design.
Making the switch from programming for the PC to the PlayStation was not an easy task. Guerrilla spent two years learning the programming techniques of the console while they were still in pre-production. In 2001, Killzone was ready to be created.[citation needed] The public knew little about Killzone, but as information started to leak out about the game hype started to grow. A single blurry scan of a VHS was posted in a British video game magazine, and eventually made its way onto the internet.
When Killzone was officially announced, expectations for the game were very high, and some gaming magazines dubbed the game a "Halo-killer", implying that the game would beat the wildly popular Microsoft first person shooter, Halo: Combat Evolved, although Guerrilla Games insisted that they did not want to compete with Halo. On release, rumours of online cooperative play and hard disk support were proven untrue.[citation needed]
Themes
WWII parallels
Both critics and fans have noted that much of the art style and gameplay direction employed by the title appear heavily inspired by the WWII period.
The representation of the Helghast within the game draws a strong comparison to the fascist state of the Third Reich, not only in the militarization that they embark upon but in the appearance of their soldiers and the reasons for waging war against their neighbors. The Helghast have managed to secretly rebuild their military following their defeat in a previous war, similar to the extreme militarization of Germany during the Third Reich under Adolf Hitler some time after the First World War. Many soldiers wear helmets and uniforms that appear to have been inspired by elements from the Wehrmacht of World War II. The Helghast leader, Scolar Visari, is introduced through a cinematic that bears a resemblance to the Nuremburg rally captured by Leni Reifenstahl in her film, Triumph of the Will. The Helghast employ ruthless blitzkrieg-style tactics in their surprise attack on Vekta.
Finally, the ambiguous conditions that the Helghast were forced to accept following their defeat from the First Helghan War attempt to draw similarities to the conditions that Germany had experienced following their defeat in the WWI. The current Helghast leaders use this oppression by humanity as a catalyst for gathering support and creating a general hatred towards humanity, much like the use of the Treaty of Versailles by the Nazis during the post-WWI pre-WWII period to garner public support for many of their actions.
Design parallels
The design of the Helghast soldiers appears to be based on the Protect-Gears in Mamoru Oshii's Kerberos saga. The fact that the Kerberos saga is based upon an alternate-history where Germany wins World War II helps accounts for the visual similarity that the Helghast have to the German military. Images of the Last Battalion, a 2005 independent short anime bears strong similarites with both Killzone's CG cutscenes by Axis Animation and the Kerberos saga.
Reception
| Publication | Score | |
|---|---|---|
| Review compilations | ||
Upon release, Killzone received mild reviews from magazines and websites alike. Reviewers cited many technical problems with Killzone, including inconsistent and sometimes nonexistent AI,[6] occasional bugs resulting in random game crashes,[10] frame-rate issues,[10] numerous distracting graphical glitches,[6] repetition of the same voices,[4] short draw distance,[11] and an awkward control system.[11] Critics also complained about the gameplay, with IGN labeling it "underwhelming and mediocore"[6] and Into Liquid Sky stating that it "needs more refinement".[12] In light of these problems, reviewers such as Gamespy commented that Killzone was not the "Halo killer" that it had been previously hyped as before its release.[13][11][5] On the positive side, Killzone was admired for its sound effects, its soundtrack, and its presentation of a gritty war zone [6]; it was also credited for its unique art design.[13]
Despite the average reviews Killzone was a considerable commercial success, with Guerrilla staff members confirming the game had sold a million copies "a few times over".[1] Recently, Killzone has been added to the PlayStation 2's Greatest Hits library and has dropped in price to $19.95. As a result, the game has sold very well due to its massive pre-release "Halo Killer" hype and large advertising budget. The game became a best seller in the European market as well, in summer 2005, joining the PlayStation 2 Platinum budget price catalogue. (As of 2006, it remains Poland's all time best-selling console title on any platform.)
Sequels
Just before the original game was released in late 2004, a sequel was announced that was to be a PlayStation 2 game. But ever since Sony showed the PlayStation 3 Killzone demo at the 2005 E3 in Los Angeles, rumors became rampant that the sequel will be developed as a next generation game instead.
Sony has recently announced an acquisition of Guerilla games and that the company is working on Killzone games for the PSP and PS3. Developers at the official forums of Killzone have confirmed that no additional PS2 title is in development. [2]
Liberation (2006)
Killzone: Liberation (PSP) has being designed from the ground up as a handheld title, eschewing the first-person shooter format of the PS2 and PS3 titles in favour of a third-person perspective. Liberation takes place two months after the events of the original Killzone in the familiar postapocalyptic battle zone of southern Vetka. Players will take up various futuristic arms against the Helghast and their maniacal leader, Metrac, as Templar, one of the playable characters from the original.
Killzone PS3 (Release Date TBA)
The storyline for Killzone PS3 may involve either mop-up operations following the first game, the second wave involving the reinforcements from both Earth and Helghan, a prequel showing the story of the first Helghan war as it seems from the Sony Press conference trailer the game takes place on Helghan itself, or an attack of Helghan during the current Helghan War, a retaliation of sorts. This is unlikely, because the video showed ISA soldiers without gas masks and the Helghast still with theirs. If they were on Helgan, the Helghast would not need their gas masks, while the ISA would still need their own, because Helgan's toxic air would corrode their lungs. It is thusfar unclear whether or not any of the characters from the first game will be involved, however the featured playable character looks like Jan Templar.
To add to that, if the only assumption that the city in the Sony E3 2005 CGI demo is from the Helghan planet due to the Helghan flags and dominance, that could be a simple misunderstanding of a Helghan occupied Earth city. We will have to wait till the later part of 2006 to hear any new news about the project.
Licensed products
- Official guide: The North American publisher Prima released an official guide in 2004. Surprisingly this book was not licensed nor issued in Europe.
- Comic series: In 2005, the Canadian independent publisher Dreamwave Productions planned to publish Killzone volume 1 but the project was cancelled due the company's bankrupt few months before the release date. With the company recreated under a new name in 2006, the comic book series could be eventually published in North America.
Weapons
ISA Weapons
- M4 Handgun - The M4 is the prefered sidearm for ISA forces. It is extremely accurate, and powerfull, though the magazine capacity lacks at a measly 7 shots. One shot to the head can kill most targets instantly.
- M82 Assault Rifle - This is the default weapon for Templar and most of the NPC ISA soldiers in the game. It has a slower fire rate and lower magazine capacity than the Helghast StA-52 LAR, but it is both more powerful and accurate. It has a grenade launcher as its secondary fire. It also has a strong recoil in its primary fire, making it kick upward after every shot. Very effective medium to long range weapon. If fired slowly and carefully from a stable position, it becomes extremely accurate.
- M13 Shotgun - Extremely powerful close range weapon, it can kill most enemies with one well placed shot to the chest. Primary fire fires one shell, secondary fires two. Highly ineffective at long range. If someone were to press both primary and secondary fire at the same time, three shells would be fired instead of one or two, although it is a glitch that was patched for online play.
- M66-SD Silenced Submachine Gun - This is Luger's default weapon. It is a fully automatic weapon with very little recoil in its primary fire, and a deadly, single shot silenced sniper weapon in its secondary fire; this makes no sense since the main fire does not do as much. It has an impressive scope and is highly accurate, being designed as a stealth-ops weapon. The primary fire depletes the 30 round magazine in seconds, so the secondary fire is recommended in order to conserve the limited amount of ammunition found for this weapon.
- M327 Grenade Launcher - This large, bulky grenade launcher can carry six grenades at one time, and fires them via a revolving chamber. The primary fire causes the grenades to explode upon impact, while the secondary fire converts the grenade into a proximity mine of sorts, launching the shell, but only exploding when a hostile comes near enough. There has been some confusion about this weapon since it is listed as an ISA weapon but Helghast Elites are seen using it fairly often throughout the game.
- M404 MAW - "Medium Anti-Tank Weapon" Shoulder mounted anti-tank rocket launcher. It can only carry one rocket at a time, requiring the user to reload after each shot. The primary fire shoots a highly destructive anti-tank missile in a straight line. Secondary fire enables the user to make use of the laser-targeting system , thus allowing the player to take control of the rocket's destination.
- M224 Heavy Support Weapon - This is the default weapon for Rico. It has the fastest rate of fire of all guns in the game and is the most destructive, but is also highly inaccurate, needing a large suspension system to use. It feeds directly from an ammunition chain and thus never needs to reload, but can overheat. It also has an anti-tank missile launcher as its secondary fire. Due to its large bulk, it reduces the user's speed drastically.
Helghast Weapons
- IvP-18 Tropov Combat Pistol - The Helghast pistol fires a three round burst as its primary fire, and a more accurate single round as its secondary fire. In primary fire, the muzzle rise becomes problematic, as it is quite substantial.
- StA-52 LAR Assault Rifle - The standard issue weapon of the Helghan Army, this assault rifle is incredibly dangerous at close range. It has a faster rate of fire and a larger magazine size than the ISA M-82, but at the cost of accuracy, making it a challenge to use in long range battles. It is more suited for short to mid range engagements. The secondary fire unleashes a single, deadly, shotgun shell, making this weapon even more devastating at close range, but it has a shorter firing range than the ISA Shotgun, and is not as powerful but still kills most with a well placed shot. The shotgun attachment lacks a detachable or internal magazine and requires reloading after each shot is fired, and can thus leave the user vulnerable to counterattacks if the first shot does not produce the desired effect. Another downside to the gun is its tendency to become jammed. This usually occurs if the user is trying to fire the primary or secondary fire whilst reloading the shotgun attachment. Smart soldiers will fire a few shots, then take cover with this weapon. It is also Hakha's default weapon. As a result of his Helghan heritage and upbringing, Hakha can wield the Helghast weapons with more accuracy than his squadmates, as well as hold more ammunition for them.
- StA-3 Stova Light Machinegun - The Helghast response to the ISA Chaingun. A very powerful, fast firing, highly inaccurate gun. It is usually wielded by Helghan elite troops due to the substantial strength required to handle them. This weapon is best employed automatically against masses of enemy troops and in full automatic non-stop shooting on small groups or individual enemy troops in order to take advantage of its full-automatic power, and due to the speed, it is impossible to miss with.
- StA-52 SLAR Sniper Rifle - The only sniper rifle in the game. Slow fire rate with highly accurate and powerful bullets capable of killing most enemies in one shot to the chest. The long range scope makes this weapon very useful if cover can be found. Ironically, being the only available sniper weapon, this sniper rifle is used by the ISA as much as the Helghast. In addition, this weapon has a "unique" scope where the crosshair actually moves inside the scope until it reaches the edge instead of just moving the whole scope when aiming. This feature was included to make the weapon more futuristic, but you will find yourself missing more than hitting because of it! This feature also prevents the Halo-style "running snipers" often encountered in multiplayer settings, although Killzone players have found a way to work around this. Some players found that even when not in scope mode, the bullets fly perfectly straight. Players simply drew a small dot on their television screens and were able to fire one shot kill shots and attain high scores. Guerrilla found out about this glitch and issued a patch that made the weapon extremely inaccurate when not scoped.
- Pnv-3 Siska Squad Cannon - An anti-tank weapon, this gun fires one 20mm anti-tank round as its primary fire, and two as its secondary fire. Due to its large bulk, it makes the user move much slower. It is easily the largest weapon in the game and without a doubt the most powerful, but difficult to aim with, having to aim slightly above your target, and if you miss you'll have to cock the gun again while under fire.
- BP-02 Pup - a break-action grenade launcher roughly the size of a handgun. It fires one shell at a time, which explodes upon impact. Similar in operation to a flare gun.
- BLR-06 Hadra - This rocket launcher is the Helghast response to the ISA MAW and carries up to three rockets at a time, not just one. It fires a single rocket as its primary fire, and all three rockets as its secondary fire, although when all three rockets are fired at once their engines do not ignite and they operate as mortars. Due to its large bulk, it makes the wielder move much slower but the outcome is worth it.
- BDL-23 Dohvat (Campaign Mode Only) - The Helghan Laser Designator is a hand-held, barely man-portable, laser tracker, which sends a direct visual feed into a HUD-equipped helmet. The Laser Designator is used to "paint" targets for artillery strikes. The Laser Designator is best used against large towers, bunkers, gun emplacements, and motorcades of heavy armored vehicles.
Other Weapons
- Hunting Knife/M32 Combat Knife (Both in Campaign Mode Only) - The knives are very deadly and difficult weapons to use. Deadly because they almost always give you a one hit kill. Difficult because you have to sneak up on an opponent to kill them.
- HE Frag Grenade - The only grenades found in the game. Highly destructive, they almost always produce a one hit kill. The user can either throw the grenades away instantly, or let it "cook" for a few seconds in order to leave no time to escape for the intended target.
Battlefields
The "arcade" mode in Killzone is known as "Battlefields". Offline, it can be played with one or two players with a certain amount of bots. Online, the game has no bots, and up to sixteen players can play simultaneously. There are six modes of play in Battlefields and eight maps to play them on.
Modes of Play
- Deathmatch - A free-for-all. Whoever scores the most kills wins.
- Team Deathmatch - Two teams kill each other for points. Whichever teams scores the most kills wins.
- Domination - Another team game. In this game, two teams compete for territories, or "positions", on the Battlefield. Positions are captured by securing the area around the markers laid around the map. Whichever team holds more positions for the longest time wins.
- Supply Drop - Similar to single-flag capture the flag, this mode has two teams fight for the capture of supplies laid out in the map. Supplies are captured by returning them to your team's base. The two teams can steal supplies from the enemy base. Whichever team captures the most supplies wins.
- Assault - In this game, there are two teams: an attacking team (always Helghast) and a defending team (always ISA). The defenders must protect a target within their base while the attackers try to destroy said targets. If the attackers destroy all of the targets within the allotted time, they win. If they do not destroy all the targets, the defenders win.
- Defend and Destroy - Similar to Assault, except both teams now play as both attackers and defenders. Both teams have targets in their bases which the other team must destroy. Whichever team destroys all targets within the allotted time wins.
Maps
- Delta Creek - A jungle environment with patches of fog and plenty of foliage and rock to provide cover. Delta Creek is modeled after the jungle/creek bed environment found in the single player campaign as your squad sets out to take out General Adams. Despite, or maybe because of, its cover-heavy setting, the map has become a favorite among beginners.
- Canyon Crossing - One of the largest maps in the game, this map is essentially a large, snowy, mountainous canyon connected by a bridge. It is based off of the mountain environments found late in the game.
- Vektan Slums - This map is taken directly from the mission in which your squad finds and frees Hakha. It is medium-sized map with many hallways inside the buildings that are dimly lit and very bright sunlight shining on the open ground outside. Many elevation changes and excellent cover spots make this a favorite map among fans for sniping.
- Core Shaft - This map is very cramped and confusing. The confusion comes from the fact that everything in the map is both dimly lit and looks the same. It is taken from an early mission in the game, right before Templar meets up with Luger.
- Park Terminal - Another large and expansive map, the Park Terminal is taken from the very first mission with Luger, right before you reach the park. This map is a train station, complete with a multi-floored lobby, two bridges going over the train tracks and many tight, confined corridors. Due to this map's adaptability to most modes, its popularity is rivaled only by the Beachhead map. As with beachead, park terminal has several glitches. One of which enables the player to walk on the train tracks and venture underneath the platform.
- Orbital Station - Another cramped and even more confusing map, this map is based off of the SD Platform interiors found in the final stages of the main game. The tight corridors and many doorways in this two-floor map force the player to be on guard at every moment, or else it'll be a short conversation between them and their executioner.
- Southern Hills - One of the only two maps in the game not directly based off of any areas found in the game, although some have assumed that it is based off of the very first environment encountered in the opening mission. Basically, this is a medium-sized map consisting of a guard tower, two helipads (which act as bases in team games) and a bunker surrounding an abandoned ISA fortress. The name comes from the rolling, expansive hills found in the environment.
- Beachhead - Another highly adaptable (and original) map, the Beachhead consists of two bases: one hidden behind the hills, and the other behind a large wall. The middle ground is a rocky, war devastated beach. The only way to either base is a straight line through the beach, making games like Assault and Defend and Destroy an engaging challenge. Both bases have guard towers, providing excellent sniping cover. Due to high adaptability, this maps rivals the Park Terminal for the most popular map in the game. It is also a favorite among beginners because of the linear, cover heavy structure.
Online play
Battlefield Mode
The game has online capabilities and up to 16 players can participate in a game. However, there is no centralized online service but local servers, hence no worldwide competition.
All the maps and weapons from single player campaign (except knife) are available with the added bonus of being able to communicate with opponents via the USB headset. Offline mode's melee attack was removed due to animation issue.
Online play was well received by many, and likely the primary reason for purchasing Killzone. Unfortunately within months of the game's release, online play became plagued with cheating by players exploiting glitches. With no one monitoring games, cheaters (known as "cable pullers") are able to persistently play unfairly and no service is provided by Guerilla to report offenders.
To date cheating still remains a significant problem online,even the player rankings being affected by people who 'cable pull' at a certain point in the game to achieve ranking up.
Cheating has caused Killzone to become unpopular with many online players, thus the game as gone from hundreds of players online at one time (in the European server) to just over 50 logged on at any given time.
Servers
: United States and Canadian players can compete with each others.
: European players (including British) can join various servers. The English server being spontaneously used by the players as a centralized European server. Although not even mentioned in the game manual, players can select between 50Hz or 60Hz mode.
: Australian and New Zealand players can join the Oceania server. PAL/NTSC screen mode is also available in this second PAL edition.
: With the game eventually released in Asia in 2005 - due to the E3 Killzone PS3 trailer - South Korean players can play Killzone's (킬존 aka "Kill Zone") online mode in a local server.
: Killzone (キルゾーン, kiruzōn) was licensed by Sega and released in Japan in late 2005. Although with no SCE support, the online mode was removed from this fourth and final version.
Notes and references
- ^ Gaming Age's review of Killzone. URL retrieved 8th November 2006.
- ^ GameCritics.com's review of Killzone. URL retrieved 8th November 2006.
- ^ GameRevolution.com's review of Killzone. URL retrieved 8th November 2006.
- ^ a b Gamespot review of Killzone. URL retrieved 8th November 2006.
- ^ a b GamingTarget review of Killzone. URL retrieved 8th November 2006.
- ^ a b c d e Cite error: The named reference
IGNreviewwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Gamerankings.com page for Killzone. URL retrieved 8th November 2006.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Mcriticwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ RottenTomatoes page for Killzone. URL retrieved 8th November 2006.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
DZreviewwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference
ITreviewwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ IntoLiquidSky review of Killzone. URL retrieved 8th November 2006.
- ^ a b GameSpy review of Killzone. URL retrieved 8th November 2006.
External links
- Official North American Website
- Official European / Oceanian Website
- Official South Korean Website
- Official Japanese Website
- A paper on Killzone's AI presented at the 2005 Game Developer's Conference
- Killzone at MobyGames
- Killzone reviews at gamerankings.com
Media links
- Official opening CG video (original version subtitled in Korean)