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''Killzone'' is a
first-person shooter First-person shooter (FPS) is a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the pl ...
, developed by
Guerrilla Games Guerrilla B.V. (trade name: Guerrilla Games) is a Dutch First-party developer, first-party video game developer based in Amsterdam and part of PlayStation Studios. The company was founded as Lost Boys Games in January 2000 through the merger of ...
and released on 2 November 2004 in North America and 26 November 2004 in Europe. The game was remastered in HD by
Supermassive Games Supermassive Games Ltd is a British video game developer based in Guildford, Surrey. The studio is best known for developing horror games such as ''Until Dawn'' for the PlayStation 4, ''The Dark Pictures Anthology'' for Bandai Namco Entertainme ...
and re-released within the ''Killzone Trilogy'' for
PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
as well as a standalone PSN title in 2012. ''Killzone'' takes place in the middle of the 24th century and chronicles the war between two human factions; the Vektans, and the Helghast. The game is played from a first-person view and follows Jan Templar, a high-ranking officer within the Interplanetary Strategic Alliance, as he battles invading Helghast forces on his homeworld of Vekta. Prior to its release ''Killzone'' was heavily anticipated with several publications considering it to be Sony's "''
Halo Halo, halos or haloes usually refer to: * Halo (optical phenomenon) * Halo (religious iconography), a ring of light around the image of a head HALO, halo, halos or haloes may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Video games * ''Halo'' (franch ...
'' killer" title. Upon release, however, the game was met with mixed responses, with critics praising the visuals, sound, and music, but criticizing the gameplay, AI, and technical issues. Despite mixed reactions, ''Killzone'' spawned numerous sequels, beginning with a direct sequel, ''
Killzone 2 ''Killzone 2'' is a 2009 first-person shooter developed by Guerrilla Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3. It is the second main installment in the ''Killzone'' series, following 2004's '' Killzone''. Simil ...
''.


Plot

''Killzone'' takes place in a fictional world set in the year 2357. After nuclear war rendered much of the Earth uninhabitable in 2055, world governments formed an international order known as the United Colonial Nations. Partnering with private firms, the UCN moved to establish human colonies in Alpha Centauri, a system occupied by two planets: Vekta, a rich Earth-like world (named after the CEO of the mining conglomerate Helghan, Philip Vekta), and Helghan, a barren wasteland named after the same company. The Helghan Corporation sought to buy ownership of Vekta as well, but when the UCN imposed sanctions against its unfair business practices, a war broke out (known as the First Extrasolar War), which led to the ISA, the military arm of the UCN, driving the company out of Vekta. In response, the exiled colonists established their own civilization on Helghan, built on the principles of militarism and authoritarianism. The harsh environment and atmosphere killed many Helghans, forcing the survivors to use respirators and air tanks just to breathe. Eventually, the population, now known as the Helghast, mutated into pale-skinned hairless humanoids with increased strength, stamina, and intelligence. Violently xenophobic and convinced of their superiority, the Helghan consider humans to be beneath them, and dream of one day reconquering Vekta and expanding their empire to Earth and the neighboring star systems.


Story

Scolar Visari, emperor of Helghan, sends the Helghast Third Army to launch a secret invasion of Vekta. Alerted to the attack, the ISA attempt to prevent it with their SD (Solar Defense) network, but are unable to activate it in time to stop the invaders. With the element of surprise on their side, the Helghast quickly overwhelm the unprepared ISA ground forces and capture several strategic locations, including ISA Central Command. While taking part in an offensive to slow the Helghast assault, Captain Jan Templar, a veteran ISA officer, is summoned to a meeting by his mentor and close friend, General Bradley Vaughton. Vaughton discloses that the ISA has requested assistance from the UCN and are working to restore the defense network. He also reveals that Colonel Gregor Hakha, a half-Helghan intelligence officer, had, on his orders, infiltrated the inner circle of Third Army commander General Joseph Lente, only to vanish while traveling to an extraction point in Vekta's slums. As Hakha is the only individual with knowledge of how the invasion bypassed SD, he assigns Jan to locate him. After fighting his way through the Helghast occupying the exterior of Central Command, Jan runs into Luger, a former comrade who is now working with an elite ISA division known as the Shadow Marshals. He also recruits the services of Ricardo Velasquez, an ISA gunner seeking revenge for the massacre of his entire platoon. After rescuing Hakha, the team discovers that General Stuart Adams, the overseer for SD, is secretly working for Lente. He murders Vaughton and takes control of the system, planning to use it to destroy the relief fleet headed to Vekta. Under Jan's leadership, the team destroys several Helghast bases and infrastructure projects, eventually intercepting and killing Lente when he tries to deal with them personally. Adams retreats to the SD control center and tries to reason with the group, explaining that the Helghast will stop at nothing to reclaim Vekta, regardless of how many lives they lose. Nevertheless, the team disables the station and escapes just as the fleet destroys it, killing Adams. Jan and Luger speculate about what the future holds, realizing that the real war is far from over.


Voice cast

* Kal Weber as Captain Jan Templar * Taylor Lawrence as Shadow Marshal Luger (credit as Jennifer Lawrence) * Tom Clarke Hill as Sgt. Rico Valasquez *
Sean Pertwee Sean Carl Roland Pertwee''England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916–2007'' (born 4 June 1964) is an English actor, narrator and producer with an extensive career since the 1980s in television and cinema productions. He is known ...
as Colonel Gregor Hakha * Brian Cox as Scolar Visari * Steven Berkoff as General Joseph Lente *
Ronny Cox Daniel Ronald Cox (born July 23, 1938) is an American actor, singer and songwriter. His best-known roles include Drew Ballinger in ''Deliverance'' (1972), George Apple in ''Apple's Way'' (1974–75), Ozark Bule in '' Bound for Glory'' (1976), Co ...
as General Stuart Adams * Bob Sherman as General Bradley Vaughton *
John Schwab John Schwab (born 15 September 1972) is an American actor, TV producer and musician who resides in London. He produced ''The Hide'' with Christopher Granier-Deferre, which was nominated for a BIFA 2010. He is best known for his film and televi ...
as Additional ISA Voices * Kenny Andrews as Additional ISA Voices (credit as Kennie Andrews) *
Kerry Shale Kerry Shale is a Canadian actor and writer based in London, England. Filmography Film Television Video games References External links * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shale, Kerry Living people 20th-century British male actors 20th-century Ca ...
as Additional ISA Voices * Eric Meyers as Additional ISA Voices (credit as Eric Myers) * Larissa Murray as Additional ISA Voices * Jonathan Keeble as Additional Helghast Voices * Gary Martin as Additional Helghast Voices


Reception

''Killzone'' received "mixed or average" reviews according to the
review aggregation A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
. Reviewers cited technical problems with ''Killzone'', including inconsistent AI, occasional bugs, frame-rate issues, distracting graphical glitches, repetition of the same voices, short draw distance, and an awkward control system. Critics also complained about the gameplay, with
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
labeling it "underwhelming and mediocre". Reviewers such as
GameSpy GameSpy was an American provider of online multiplayer and matchmaking middleware for video games founded in 1996 by Mark Surfas. After the release of a multiplayer server browser for the game, QSpy, Surfas licensed the software under the GameS ...
claimed that ''Killzone'' partly suffered due to the incredible publicity it received before release, raising expectations only for them to go unfulfilled. Despite this, ''Killzone'' was admired for its sound effects, its
soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...
, and its presentation of a gritty war zone; it was also credited for its unique
hard sci-fi Hard science fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by concern for scientific accuracy and logic. The term was first used in print in 1957 by P. Schuyler Miller in a review of John W. Campbell's ''Islands of Space'' in the Novemb ...
art design. In Japan, where the game was ported and published by
Sega is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...
on October 27, 2005, ''
Famitsu formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the fo ...
'' gave it a score of one seven, one nine, one eight, and one seven for a total of 31 out of 40. The game shipped close to 2 million units worldwide by December 2005.


References


External links

* (Killzone Command Center) *
''Killzone''
at PlayStation.com (North America) * {{Authority control 2004 video games Alpha Centauri in fiction First-person shooters Killzone games PlayStation 2 games PlayStation 3 games Sony Interactive Entertainment games Video games developed in the Netherlands Video games featuring female protagonists Video games scored by Joris de Man Video games set on fictional planets