Killzone

It's like World War II, but with interstellar travel.

The Helghast were exiled and have suffered dearly as a result.  Now they're back to take revenge on the ISA.  It's up to a four member squad to repel the invasion fleet and save humanity from the tyrranical rule of the Helghast.

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Recommended Age Minimum Age Available On... 14 12 PS2, PS3 Overall Fun Length Frustration   Violence Sexuality Substances Gambling 7 5 1   6 1 1 0 Mods Religion Anti-Law Community Sports Magic Miscellaneous 0 0 0 0 0 0 2

1.     Gameplay

• Overall Fun - 7

Killzone is to Playstation what Halo is to Xbox.  It’s developed the reputation as the standard for shooters on that particular console.  If you own a PS3, you talk about how awesome Killzone is.  Unfortuantely, since I have never owned a Playstation console until recently, I have never had the chance to test out this series.  Despite Killzone’s age, I was surprised at how much I liked this game.

Kill ALL the construction workers!

The story started out rough.  It introduces the Helghast, which are some sort of species of humanoids that evidently used to be human but, because they were forced into a new environment, evolved into something else.  As a result, they almost all wear gas masks, are all bald, and all look like white males in their 60s.  The player is a member of the ISA, which are almost all humans (with a few exceptions).  Unlike the Helghast, the ISA are diverse in both race and gender.

The entire game seemed to boil down to a faux-WWII shooter.  The Helghast looked and sounded like WWII-era Germans and the ISA looked like Americans.  But the futuristic components of this game allowed for a greater technological diversification, and the weapons didn’t have to be period-accurate.  Still, the opening cutscene did little to explain exactly what was going on, so I was left trying to put together the pieces as I went along.

Glowing eyes? Clearly evil. I got that much.

Fortunately, the game has some great characters.  While each is a bit of a stereotype, they work together to make the entire setup much more engaging than it would have been without them.  It was a stark contrast to Resistance because instead of fighting my way quietly through levels I was surrounded by other people calling out enemies and saying words of encouragement.  Despite the inappropriateness and overuse of some phrases (if I had a nickel for every time a character said “Behind you!” when the enemy wasn’t behind me), this made the environment seem much less empty.

There are still some negatives to this game though.  The enemy AI was abysmal at times.  There were a number of occasions when the enemy would take cover facing the wrong way, allowing me to easily shoot him in the back.  Enemies would run along very obvious pathways, which meant I could easily mow them down with a machine gun.  Yet, despite their inability to avoid the hailstorm of bullets, they were very good at avoiding grenades.

But that's okay. There's always more bullets.

I am very glad that I played Killzone.  It’s a good setup for the rest of the series and an excellent example of a quality shooter from a previous generation of consoles.  If you have a chance to pick up the HD version on the Playstation 3 or 4, I would definitely recommend it.

• Length - 5

The campaign isn’t particularly long, especially if the player plays aggressively.  However, with four different characters to choose from, there is some variety in the campaign.  Each character has their own set of weapons and abilities which can change the strategy of the game.  This gives the game a decent amount of replayability.

There are also a few multiplayer modes.  However, these can only be played with AI and with a splitscreen partner if the player chooses.  While this is an interesting idea, the age of the game makes this mode pretty much pointless.

• Frustration Factor - 1

Even playing through this game on normal difficulty, it was a complete walk in the park.  It was almost ridiculous how easy it was at times.  Especially if the player picks Rico, whose main weapon is a heavy chain gun that can mow through groups of enemies with ease.  I only died a few times in the game, and those were always solved by switching weapons the next time around.  This is almost certainly the easiest shooter game I have ever played.

Too easy.

2.     Parental Notices

• Violence - 6

While violence is present throughout the entire game, it is very mild for a first person shooter.  The player will have access to a decent arsenal of firearms, but all will have the exact same effect.  The player will shoot the enemies, which will result in a small cloud of blood.

Hard hats don't protect against bullets.

That’s it.  Every enemy type (with the exception of vehicles) will emit a small puff of red blood when hit.  There is some blood on the walls from extras added into the environment, but there is never any gore.  This includes explosions from grenades and rockets.

Same with sniper rifles.

Certain weapons, specifically the shotguns, will seem to cause slightly more blood.  This is because the enemy is hit by multiple projectiles within a small space at the same time.  However, the visible results of the damage are no more significant than a normal weapon.

That slightly red tinge in the middle of the red reticule is the blood.

• Sexuality - 1

There is a serious sexual tension between Templar and Lugar.  The conversations indicate that they had a previous relationship but that Lugar’s assassin training made her emotionless.  They talk about “getting laid” in one conversation, but after the third chapter their relationships is hardly ever mentioned.  This is the only form of sexuality in the game.

• Substances - 1

The player can pick up medkits from the ground.  These look like square white packages with red crosses.  There player is instantly healed when one is picked up.  There is no corresponding animation.

That's a very flat medkit. Must only have bandages.

There was one very brief scene where one of the characters is going to try and save a random NPC by injecting him with what might have been morphine or plasma.  However, the player never actually goes through with the action and the subsance is never brought up anywhere else in the game.

• Gambling - 0

Gambling is not a factor in this game.

3.     Other Factors

• Mods - 0

There are no modding tools available for this game.

• Religion - 0

Religion is not a factor in this game.

• Anti-Law - 0

This game involves the interplanetary conflict between different species.  There is no law enforcement present in the entire game.  As a result, anti-law is not a factor in this game.

• Online Community - 0

There is no multiplayer mode for this game.

• Extreme Sports - 0

Extreme sports are not a factor in this game.

• Magic - 0

Magic is not a factor in this game.

• Miscellaneous - 2

Execution

There are a few rare times when execution is seen.  This is most obvious in the opening cutscene when prisoners of war are seen executed in the street.

It's like everyone is a clone.

Language

For the most part, language is not a serious factor in this game.  However, there are a few cutscenes where the number of four-letter words increases dramatically.  These usually involve the main antagonist and/or the fiery character Rico.  It gives all of the characters a tougher personality, but seems out of place in what is otherwise a relatively benign game.