Killzone logo
Killzone is a series of first-person shooter and third-person shooter video gamesexclusively for Sony Computer Entertainment's (SCE) video game consoles. The series is developed by Guerilla Games, a subsidiary of SCE. Killlzone consists of four games for thePlayStation 2, the PlayStation Portable, Playstation Vita and the PlayStation 3 respectively. The series began on the PlayStation 2 in November 2004 with Killzone, and continued on the PlayStation Portable in October 2006 with Killzone: Liberation and then again on the PlayStation 3 in February 2009 and also an upcoming Vita game. The most recent installment is Killzone 3, released in February 2011 for the PlayStation 3.
Setting[]
See also: List of characters in KillzoneThe series is about the war between the Interplanetary Strategic Alliance (ISA) and the Helghast. The protagonists of the series are Cpt/Col. Jan Templar (Killzone and Killzone: Liberation) and Sgt. Tomas "Sev" Sevchenko (Killzone 2 and Killzone 3), while the main antagonist is Helghast Emperor Scolar Visari; his death in Killzone 2 brought about the rise of two new antagonists and the hopeful heirs to Visari's throne, Jorhan Stahl and Admiral Orlock in Killzone 3. The Killzone series follows the continuous war between the ISA and Helghast taking place on both ISA Earth colonies and the planet Helghan, the home planet of the Helghast.
Gameplay[]
Killzone, Killzone 2, and Killzone 3 are first-person shooters. Killzone: Liberation is presented as a third-person shooter and is the only of that kind in the series to date. All games were developed by Guerilla Games and published by Sony. Players in the series can only carry two different weapons at any given time. Players can either obtain ammo or swap out their current weapons with any weapon dropped by a downed foe or from those scattered around the various maps. In Killzone 3, players can carry up to three weapons, with the third weapon spot reserved for heavy weapons (e.g. machine gun, rocket launcher, etc.).
Online competitive multi-player features up to 16 players in Killzone, 32 players in Killzone 2 and up to 24 players in Killzone 3. There are various modes of multi-player. There is a rotation mode, called Warzone (Killzone 2 and Killzone 3), where players play all game modes (2 rounds of Assassination, 1 round of Body Count, 1 round of Capture and Hold, 2 rounds of Search and Destroy, and 1 round of Search and Retrieve) one after the other until all modes have been played. Operations is a new mode for Killzone 3 which is a cinematic mini-campaign for the multiplayer mode. Killzone 3 also features a classic team death match mode called Guerilla Warfare. Killzone 3 is the only game in the series to feature split-screen co-op for two players, while the original Killzone is the only game in the series to feature offline split-screen multi-player in the Botzone mode (Botzone is a mode where players can play against AI bots and is present in each installment). Killzone: Liberation features an online co-op campaign as well as multi-player mode that supports up to 6 players in ad-hoc and up to 8 players on infrastructure.
Games[]
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Killzone series fictional chronology |
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[edit]Main series[]
[edit]Killzone[]
Main article: KillzoneKillzone was released for the PlayStation 2 on November 2, 2004 in North America, November 26, 2004 inEurope and October 27, 2005 in Japan. 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 Interplanetary Strategic Alliance(ISA) colony planet Vekta. Vekta's orbital Strategic Defense (S.D.) platforms failed during the initial assault, allowing the Helghast to land swarms of soldiers onto the surface and making it all the more difficult for the outnumbered ISA forces. Captain Jan Templar, the main protagonist, 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, Templar meets other characters who assist him such as Shadow Marshal Luger (a femalespecial operations assassin), a heavy weapons specialist Sergeant Rico Velasquez (a Helghast-hating soldier with an itchy trigger finger), and Colonel Hakha, a half-Helghast, half-Human spy.
[edit]Killzone 2[]
Main article: Killzone 2Killzone 2 was released for the PlayStation 3 on February 26, 2009 in Australia, February 27, 2009 in North America and Europe and April 23, 2009 in the Japan. Killzone 2 follows the events of Killzone and Killzone: Liberation, and is set entirely on the planet Helghan, the home-world of the Helghast who invaded an Interplanetary Strategic Alliance (ISA) colony. Two years after the Helghast assault on Vekta, the ISA has launched an assault on the enemy's homeworld of Helghan. The ISA goal is to capture the Helghast leader, Scolar Visari and bring the Helghast war machine to a halt. The main protagonists is Sergeant Tomas "Sev" Sevchenko, a battle-hardened veteran of the special forces unit the "Legion" assigned to Alpha team, who go on a mission to take out the Helghast threat. Captain Jan Templar has been promoted to Colonel and is the Fleet Commander of the New Sun, a Cruiser airship set up in the clouds of Helghan over its capital city, Pyrrhus, preparing for a final attack. During the invasion of Helghan, Sev's unit is deployed behind enemy lines to assist the main invasion force. Tasked with securing the enemy capital of Pyrrhus, Helghan's first true city, the team quickly discovers that the Helghast are a more formidable enemy on their home planet. Not only have they adjusted to Helghan's hostile conditions, they have also harnessed the power of the freakish lightning storms that always occur on Helghan which they can now use against the ISA. A cold, barren, unforgiving world, Helghan provides a ready defense with thick, acidic air, dust clouds, and violent surgical lightning storms. Sev discovers his squad is not just fighting enemy forces—their fiercest opponent may be the planet itself.[1]
[edit]Killzone 3[]
Main article: Killzone 3Killzone 3 was released for the PlayStation 3 on February 22, 2011 in North America, February 24, 2011 in Japan and February 25, 2011 in Europe and Australia. It immediately follows the events of Killzone 2. This is the first game in the series to utilize 3D gaming and support thePlayStation Move. The game was available in a special "Helghast Edition" (included a Helghast Helmet replica, a 6.5" Cloaking Helghast Marskman action figure, a 100-page hardbound artbook, a copy of Killzone 3, and a Super Voucher with other downloadable content) in North America, Europe, and Australia (Europe and Australia's featured the copy of Killzone 3 is a steelbook case and came with a PSN Voucher instead of the Super Voucher, but has the same content). There was also a "Collector's Edition" version (steelcase book packaging ofKillzone 3 and PSN Voucher) available only in Europe and Australia. This is the first Killzone to have a special edition. Visari, the leader of the Helghast is gone, but the war is far from over. Helghast forces have mounted a devastating counterattack, prompting the ISA to smoke out (Interplanetary Strategic Alliance) evacuation of planet Helghan. As new Helghast battalions appear, armed with more powerful weapons, ISA forces find themselves outmanned, outgunned and surrounded. Players of Killzone 3 will need to learn more about their enemy and use new tools to continue the fight.
[edit]Other games[]
[edit]Killzone: Liberation[]
Main article: Killzone: LiberationKillzone: Liberation was released for the PlayStation Portable on October 31, 2006 in North America, November 3, 2006 in Europe and November 8, 2006 in Australia. In Killzone: Liberation, two months after the events of Killzone, the Helghast have been dealt a hefty blow from the last game, but the war is far from over. The enemy still controls large parts of the planet Vekta, and though the ISA armies are fighting hard, they are losing ground. The rules of war have been cast aside with the sadistic Helghast General, Armin Metrac, employed by the Helghast Emperor Scolar Visari to use brutal measures in order to seize the initiative and strengthen his position further. Jan Templar, returns as the main protagonists on a covert operation to save hostages captured by Metrac, while ISA troops continue the fight for liberty. There are 5 "chapters" with 4 levels in which players eliminate the Helghast resistance (The fifth and final chapter was made available to download).[2]
[edit]Killzone (PlayStation Vita)[]
Main article: Killzone (PlayStation Vita)The second hand-held version of Killzone is currently being developed by SCE Cambridge Studio for PlayStation Vita[3]