All Channels
Popular
320°

Is Killzone's Reputation Deserved?

Killzone has a reputation for being the PS3's flagship franchise. To pick a representative quote from IGN's recent preview of Killzone 2:

"Since that video at 2005's E3, Guerilla's Killzone 2 has earned itself – for better and for worse – a reputation as a flagship title for Sony's PlayStation 3 and the console's ability to usher in a new generation of fully immersive digital entertainment."

But why is this considered such a flagship franchise? Does it have a reputable developer, were early Killzone titles particularly loved, or does this title hint at to do something really new and exciting? No. None of the above.

toughNAME6590d ago (Edited 6590d ago )

I've never been so inclined to address someone as Captain Obvious

6590d ago
criticalzero6590d ago

I bet you Resistance will have a better metacritic score than KZ2 without a doubt

Maddens Raiders6590d ago (Edited 6590d ago )

from PS3 and KILLZONE despisers, but so what -- you are who you are....

..With that, I loved KILLZONE and played it incessantly from launch up until the launch of the PS3. Before the PS3 launched I played Madden, KILLZONE, and Gran Turismo like it was my job. (Madden actually helped me make money to f*ck off for months at a time, but that's a whole other story).

I took KILLZONE with me on the road everywhere I went from hotel room to hotel room. My friends and I played it all the time (I've told this story a thousand times on N4G I know, but bear with me) and that's when Halo 1 was still kicking a lot of ass and everyone was playing it and those guys loved KZ as well - it was a riot. It made me happy, because that was just more people to play with on a local level whenever I was back home.

The things that made the game so fun for all of us wasn't the unbridled power of the PS2 or colors on screen, or anything like that. In fact it was the fact that it was grainy, and dark...the mood was simply War.

The reloads with all weapons were a trademark unto themselves, and the sounds of the weapons -- outstanding. Online play was a team based frag-athon that was ----I don't know how else to put it -- it was just fkn great. The The ISA 203's, automatic grenade launcher, Rico's chain gun, grenade pistol, and Helghast machine gun were some of the best.

Camping and sniping from the towers in the Southern Hills, to Ambushing and sneak attacking in the Park Terminal, to holding your team's ground at the Beachhead -- it was great, great fun to us. The claustrophobic corridors of Vekta and the all out blood baths in the Orbital Station proved to us that this game was more than a "play and forget" title on the PS2. It had us ALL wondering what the next installment would be like and we couldn't wait.

I held my breath after E305 and wondered if the dream would ever come true. Then came last year's brigadoon-like showing of the now famous trailer -- and today we see that GG is getting closer and closer to that Keighley ridiculed "reality" day, after day.

KILLZONE II is one of three main games for which I bought my PS3.
GT, KZ, and FF are the games I want and will wait for however long it is until they are released. I guess I am a fanatic for these games, but like I said...you are who you are. KILLZONE on the PS2 had some of the best (lobby) music and overall sounds that I looked for in a game at the time -- and still to this day.

Like I said, I used to play with another member here on N4G named AlitheWise all the time. Believe me, he was not easy to convince to play the game. My cousin Johnny was the leader of the P.I.C. clan for a long time (another very reluctant fan) and I was the SFII clan grouped w/:
Drivn1, S A G A T,That Texas Weed, Major Bludd, YoUr GrEeD, and Clerics-Hellgate...all true, true players. We invented *ParkHelL*, which went through a million variations and adopted my thousands worldwide.

There was an underground feeling about playing this game with all the people we did at the time, and it's funny that Sony (to me) picked up on this vibe and saw what we saw in the game; now making it the flagship title. I don't know if it's something they saw on the boards or what, but one thing is for sure -- there are a lot of guys and gals (yes there were even KILLZONE wives.lol) that are eagerly anticipating this game. I haven't run into any of my old KILL+ZONE mates here on N4G except for AlitheWise, but if you are an ex-player, and an aficionado of the series raise your hands in agreement and holla if you here me with the agree button.

KILLZONE II deserves all the hype and praise and is the game that insiders from the PS2 days, circa 2003-2004 have been waiting for -- for a long, long time.

edit/: at Daishi - totally agree. People did try to make KZ into some sort of Halo for the PS2, I remember that. Halo was a great game on it's own on the XBox and KILLZONE had nothing to do with that at all. It wa unfortunate that people were leaping to that conclusion to even compare the two as such. They have two totally different visions of their realities. Like you said...KILLZONE is KILLZONE.

Daishi6590d ago

Madden I can honestly say I agree with you 100% on this. But the problem is what people try to make this game in their minds, Halo. Cliffy B. even said at E3'04 I believe that Killzone was going to be Sony's Halo. It's no where close, and that's a good thing. If I want Halo, I play Halo. I didn't enjoy Killzone because it fooled me into believing I was playing Halo, at all times I felt like I was playing Killzone and nothing else. Killzone is Killzone, not a copy, clone, or ripoff. It's that plain and simple.

games4fun6590d ago

after watching gameplay videos for killzone 2 i have to say it is earned now

Monchichi0256590d ago

I'm looking forward to Killzone 2 as much as anyone. But let's be real here, Killzone 1 was not that good!

I think we're looking forward to it because the video released so far look SOOOO much better! It actually looks fun this time around.

Niko Bellic6590d ago

Killzone will be amazing. But it isnt the flag carrier.....something else is..

Panthers6590d ago

Sony doesnt have a "flagship" game like other systems, it has an entire fleet of high profile titles. That is what draws people in. There is an amazing game from nearly every genre. For me it is Socom. Others it is FFXIII, Twisted Metal, Killzone, Resistance, Resident Evil, GT5, GTA4, ect. It carries AAA titles from every genre, and does not have a single mascot. Right now the closest thing the PS3 has to a mascot is either R&C or Resistance.

AscendedConservative6590d ago

yeah, socom is my all time favorite. i'm not sure what it is, but in my opinion socom destroys all competition. i love the 3rd/1st person option; required tactical execution; the thrill of hunting down your enemy; the fact that you gotta be extremely skilled to take out an entire enemy squad by urself; the fact you only have a limited amount of health per round with no regen; realistic aiming, firing and recoil, and the fact that seal team is teh $hit. anyways, i'm sure KZ2 will be good but not great. the field is too saturated with standard FPS games. COD4 is a great game, but it is only a fast paced game. socom has fast and more tactical/slow game play mixed throughout.

-ascended conservative
Homey_D_Klown (socom and psn name)

Maddens Raiders6590d ago (Edited 6590d ago )

No doubt on SOCOM - a PlayStation stalwart.

Not disputing the greatness of SOCOM at all or the largesse of other games as I myself and Panthers mentioned like GT, FF, hell,
MGS,R&C, GodoW, TwistedM,KZ just to mention a little slice of the old PS2 library. All I was saying is that KZ was loved by many people -- believe me. It just wasn't a hyped juggernaut, and yes was a great effort put together by, at the time, a burgeoning GG team.

So, for fanboys on this site to discount it and yell about how bad it was and throw up gamecores -- I say that they never even played it and don't have a leg on which to stand when trying to make a point from anger and irrationality.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong -- but last time I checked (some time ago) the reader score for KZ was around 8.5. Socom i a great, great game played by millions over the years, but for some reason Sony has decided to pour the mother's milk all over this title.

On that note Conservative, how can you be "sure" that KZ2 will be good but not great?

cmrbe6590d ago

correct. PS dosen't have a flagship title. It has a sh*tload of high profile games catering for every type of gamers. Even now Sony are touting both Resitance AND Killzone as games FPS fans should buy the PS3 for. Note they didn't focus on just one. KZ1 was a great game. It was the best FPS on PS2 that i played.

AscendedConservative6590d ago

honestly, i pretty much based that on the fact that there are simply too many FPS games out there. perhaps KZ2 will add a new, innovative twist/concept to FPS games, but to me it seems it's going to be a very pretty FPS, and that's about it. i do have a strong interest in the story though. if they play that up well, it can be a great game. i have yet to play a FPS with a great story that sucked me in like Halflife a while back, but i have to admit that i have not played every FPS out there so this statement should be taken lightly.

-ascended conservative

+ Show (9) more repliesLast reply 6590d ago
Rick Astley6590d ago (Edited 6590d ago )

Ah just what we needed on n4g. Another blog post.

Just stop and ask yourself. Does Killzone 2 look anything like Killzone 1?

The answer is no.

Killzone = Low budget, small team of developers.
Killzone 2 = High budget, over 150 developers working on it and Insomniac are helping them.

candystop6590d ago

Actually Kz2 looks exactly like kz1 but with a different coat of paint! The Ai is pretty much the same and even the mood looks the same! My answer would be after shellshock nam and KZ1 that these developers dont deserve any credit when it comes to console games and not psp games where talking console!

poopsack6590d ago

Yeah Ill listen to you candystop, instead of believing my own eyes. Cause, you know, your totally not bias or anything.

Ace Ventura6590d ago

Killzone = Developed by noobs

Killzone 2 = Now owned by Sony and a development crew of more than 150 people(very big)...its not even the same development crew. Wayyyy better hardware to run on. An infinite amount of time(almost) and especially money.

Killzone 2 is goign to be a very different game and everyone knows it. Sony didn't even own Guerilla back then. They bought them for a reason though.

CrazzyMan6590d ago (Edited 6590d ago )

The game will be reviewed before release and then we will know, is that an AA game or not.
For now, it`s AA game in term of graphics, animation, lightning, one word - AA in visuals.
And you can`t deny that, and that s the reason why the game is hyped NOW, because of amazing visuals.

Show all comments (94)
130°

Why Guerrilla Games Shouldn't Abandon the Killzone Series

Hugely disappointingly, it seems that Guerrilla Games, developers of the Killzone and Horizon series, may be done with Killzone for good.

Read Full Story >>
thenerdstash.com
IAMRealHooman578d ago

1 was fine, overhyped as a " halo" killer
2 was a graphical beast at the time, and felt heavy
3 was good a refinement of 2 but not much else. weird audio issues environment were to quiet
shadow fall was pretty but bland

OtterX578d ago (Edited 578d ago )

Shadowfall had great Multiplayer though. Too bad the campaign was meh at best. It did have the occasional great moment sprinkled in.

TheNamelessOne578d ago (Edited 578d ago )

I played through 2/3 multiple times. I played through the original once, but it felt pretty lukewarm for me. I couldn't be bothered to beat Shadow Fall. I got a couple hours in and just went "I'm done". Never touched it again. It was awesome on the tech side, being a launch title, but it didn't even match up to the first game when it came to actually having fun playing it.

Rude-ro578d ago

3 in 3d was an amazing experience to be had.
Although not many experienced it as intended for good reasons.

just_looken578d ago

You forgot the ai advancements on the playstation 2 killzone one you could have a full team of bots doing everything even playing the objective that was a big thing.

In killzone 2 they always flanked you and when available used the high ground.

Playing killzone 2 no hud 5.1 audio was/is awesome

MDTunkown578d ago

They should finish Horizon story first

darthv72578d ago

I dont mind if someone else takes up the mantle for the KZ franchise. We are several years removed from the first game. It certainly could use a remake to gauge interest in the rest of the series. I know it has its fans... Im thinking of how a proper reboot can rekindle that old dormant flame and bring in a new generation of fans in the process.

just_looken578d ago

You forgot killzone mercenaries on the ps vita but it was the worst selling sony game for awhile there.

Yui_Suzumiya577d ago

Yeah, a remake would be pretty awesome

anast578d ago

They should let it go or sell it. No use spending millions on this project.

LucasRuinedChildhood578d ago

Would like a new IP before Horizon 3. Just because games take so long to make these days.

Show all comments (21)
350°

PlayStation 3 Games That Desperately Need a PS5 Remaster

The PlayStation 3 may not have been the strongest generation for Sony, but there were still some diamonds in the rough that deserve a revisit as PS5 remasters.

Read Full Story >>
wealthofgeeks.com
OtterX807d ago (Edited 807d ago )

Even if they could just remaster and put on PSVR2, some would still look great as VR titles and could do a whole lot to bolster the headset w these exclusives! I'd imagine the investment of reworking these titles into VR would be way less than building new games from the ground up, and they could be amazing experiences, and VR often makes flat games feel fresh again. The Resistance and Killzone games are particularly what I want to see!!

Rude-ro807d ago

I played killzone 3 in 3d and it really changed the game per being immersive.
In vr, that would be even more awesome.

darthv72807d ago

Funny you mention that... my son wanted to play some PS3 games in 3d on my PS tv and he was blown away by how good KZ3 was. It really was a great addition to the game. Im surprised there have not been more 3d games from that era being ported to the PSVR/VR2.

_SilverHawk_807d ago

resistance 1-3, killzone 1-3, uncharted 1-3, uncharted golden abyss, folklore, socom 4 , motorstorm, twisted metal, MAG, heavenly sword

Cacabunga807d ago

Killzone 2+3
Sly Thieves in Time
Crack in Time
God of War Ascension
Motorstorm
Modnation racer
Infamous 1+2

Profchaos807d ago (Edited 807d ago )

Killzone trilogy in VR would be amazing bonus points if they offer shadow fall.

There was a psvr1 Killzone project that supermassive was working on at one stage which wasn't up to scratch and Sony brand it back in house I was hoping we would see that on psvr2 eventually.

Personally I'd love to see some more love or acknowledgement of psvr2 from Sony in general it was a expensive headset and Sony barely acknowledge it's existence

seanpitt23807d ago

The amount of work needed to remaster these games wouldn't be beneficial on a financial and business sense.. MGS4 would probably be the best bet as it would need the least amount of work!

Iceball2000807d ago

YEAAASSSSS! I miss this franchise and wanna play it so bad again.

Father__Merrin807d ago

The time is perfect for a resistance fall of man game campaign coop multiplayer

InUrFoxHole807d ago

The resistance series is str8 trash to me. Socom 3 I would welcome. Or killzone MP.

Marcus Fenix807d ago

A Resistance reboot will be awesome

Michiel1989807d ago

That's what Bungie should make, Ill keep saying it until it happens

1Victor807d ago (Edited 807d ago )

Resistance was ok but Warhawk and Starhawk was better and kept me coming back for almost a decade of fun and petty revenge on the loud mouth unskilled players 🤣
Edit I loved capture the flag dropping the pot on the flag carrier was extremely satisfying as well as transforming your plane in bot form and stumping them to death 😱

807d ago
Michiel1989807d ago

Resistance was the best co-op fps I ever played after L4D2

Show all comments (52)
230°

20 Years of Guerrilla: The Story of a PlayStation Studio

The Amsterdam-based studio reflects on its humble beginnings, beloved franchises, and growth through the years.

Read Full Story >>
blog.playstation.com
SullysCigar1111d ago

Up there with the top tier in the industry. Love Guerrilla Games - Horizon Burning Shores is simply STUNNING.

1Victor1111d ago

Can’t wait for their next franchise

SullysCigar1111d ago

Same. They nailed it with Horizon. The trouble is I also want a new Killzone! Can't I just have it all?!

jznrpg1111d ago

I’m with you I want Horizon 3 , Killzone and new IPs

badz1491111d ago

I have yet to play Burning Shores as I just started Forbidden West (bought at launch, just unwrapped last weekend LOL) and playing on PS5.

man...I still can't believe the graphics especially now I'm playing it on my LG OLED. that graphics and with stable performance backing it up, GG really is the master of their craft!

Vengeance11381111d ago

32.7M sales in the Horizon franchise! With 8.4M coming from Forbidden West alone! Truly a hugely successful game and franchise as a whole. Looking forward to Horizon III

Shane Kim1111d ago

That's kind of a huge drop though. It's only been two games.

VersusDMC1111d ago

One year after realease HZD sold 7.6 million.

https://www.noobfeed.com/ne...

So not a drop off.

Unless you're saying a HFW should have sold as much now as HZD sold in 5 years?

Vengeance11381111d ago

It's been 3 games, this includes Call of the Mountain. Also no, its a great improvement over HZD.

solideagle1111d ago

lol you are comparing:

HZD: 28 February 2017 - May 2023 (6 years+)

HFW: 18 February 2022 - May 2023 (1 year+)

We will see if it surpass original number.

Phoenix761111d ago

@shane, 2 full main games, 2 DLC add ons, 1 VR spin off game, oh and a an official LEGO set.
Not too bad for an ip that's only been on market for 6 years

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 1111d ago
REDGUM1111d ago

Wow, very impressive. I didn't know the numbers were so high for Forbidden West. Still playing through it myself

thesoftware7301111d ago (Edited 1111d ago )

Yooo, when I first saw that Killzone 1 footage at E3, my friends my brothers and I were like, Holy shit! When it came out, it didn't look exactly like it, but we sunk so many hours into 1 & 2.

I even liked Killzone: SF, it was a spectacle to look at, and even today it looks good. I hope they make a new one. Can you imagine how that will look, and they can get some modern FPS pointers from Bungie.

blacktiger1111d ago

thank you fps lover, I'm with you

talocaca1111d ago

Such a wonderful studio. They deserve all their success.

The Decima Engine is absolute 🔥 I'm just mad they have abandoned Killzone.

OzzY-waZZy1111d ago (Edited 1111d ago )

Kinda wish they move on from Horizon tbh.

lukasmain1111d ago

They are probably working on mutiple projects. One of them is Horizon 3, but another is a multiplaer game and probably somehting else.

Imalwaysright1111d ago

There were rumours that they were working on a Socom reboot.

Show all comments (47)