KILLZONE: The Surprisingly Subversive Anti-War Saga | A Gaming Retrospective (Part 1 of 2)
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- Опубліковано 31 тра 2024
- Once again, Steven takes an in-depth look at a video game series; this time the sci-fi space shooter, KILLZONE. But, besides it's standout technical achievements, and infamous "Halo Killer" label, should this series be seen as anything more than "those games with the space-[20th Century German Political Movement]s"?
Having spent the latter half of 2020 trapped inside consuming everything this franchise has to offer; Steven guides us through the the story, gameplay, lore, development history, and surprising politics (intentionally or otherwise) of a game series which may well be smarter than it seems...
00:00:00 Introduction
00:03:34 Part I - "Birth of War" Development History of Killzone
00:09:59 Part II - Case Study: KILLZONE
00:44:51 Part III - "A Conflict of Perspectives"
01:02:25 Part IV - Case Study: KILLZONE Liberation
01:27:26 Part V - Case Study: KILLZONE 2
02:12:47 Part VI - "A Purpose for War" Killzone as Allegory
02:22:41 To Be Continued, and Patron Thanks
PART 2: • KILLZONE: The Surprisi...
Twitter: / redscotgaming
Patreon: / redscotgaming
RSGWiki: redscotgaming.wikia.com/wiki/R...
#Killzone #Retrospective #Playstation - Ігри
Rico: spastic racist
Hakha: Shakespearean double agent
Lugar: Black Widow
Templar: Functioning Adult
So Rico is a Spacist?
@@143__rd3 yes
i decided to not like ur comment only because it's at 69. I give you a comment, LIKE.
@@KaiNLinda thank you
Spacist? Spacenoid.
You can't tell me that "What the fuck is a Shakespeare?" isn't a good line.
Rico needs his crayons. You aren’t yourself when you’re hungry.
Don’t forget his mug of paint thinner, he gets grumpy if he doesn’t get it before bed.
Sums up Rico quite well.
@@keithkania3810 Im literally laughing ou loud! xDDD
I'm more surprised the Helghast know who Shakespeare is.
Not gonna lie, I have to give some credit to the writers with their dialogue. "The general doesn't like making martyrs. I'm not so fussy" is SUCH a good line.
Glad to know I’m not the only one who caught that line.
I actually noticed that all the Helghast characters get the good/cool lines, while the other lines are given to the Vektan characters which I find hilarious.
Its funny how you pointed out that Hakha never showed up in future games because as a kid, I always assumed that the ISA would immediately kill Hakha the moment he stop being useful.
That's depressing. And probably what happened. Poor guy.
Seeing how US allied afghans just got shot because they looked like the enemey recently i wouldn't doubt it
@@HelghastStalker i believe he meant the us killed them
He knew to much. What's fucked up is that Sev and Rico where kept hidden .
@@plaguedoctorjamespainshe6009 Can I get a muh fuggin S O U R C E on that once chief?
I really love how the planets have multiple different environments, as opposed to the usual sci-fi "desert planet, snow planet" etc.
always such a confusing idea to me honestly. "It's a jungle planet," "this one's a reef planet," "here we have a desert planet"
mate every single concept you ascribe to an entire planet is just a single biome on the one you're on, have some damn creativity
@@igooog exactly
That "re-educated" joke is so good, it keeps catching me off guard.
Re-education campus is the ONLY place to take a defeatist
I like how they have sev in killzone 2. There’s moments, like after Garza dies and at the end, where he just seems tired. “Tired of it all, the shoulders sag, the far mournful. This wasn’t supposed to be like this” And just him sitting down and just looking so defeated is such a natural reaction to all the madness they went through. Just well done character design I enjoyed 👍🏾
Is it?
So what you’re saying is that they wrote him like a person. They wrote him to be effected by what he saw.
@@highjumpstudios2384 2 years to say... god I Wish we had more of that in today's games...
Real talk: Only game I've ever seen where characters actually use their scope's caps/covers. Optics are VERY fragile by firearm standards, and you want to protect them as much as you can.
True!
My friend once busted his 1600 USD Trijicon ACOG...
The damn optics in the first though, the tinting on the sniper rifle was heinous and overheavy on contrast that made it hard to acquire targets on the PS2. Love the series' story but that was frustrating. The SMG was not great either there but at least you could see what you were aiming at.
@@happyjohn354 mega oof
You forgot that the tf2 sniper has caps for his sniper rifle
Kill Zone is one of those games where I wish there was a PC release. They totally should do a remake and release it for every platform except switch IMO.
Platform exclusivity is always awful for conservation. The work that went into this series deserves to be archived for later generations to enjoy as best they can.
@@BobExcalibur Agreed.
@@BobExcalibur All those 3DS games that will only survive through emulation.
Aye, I loved the series (perhaps the most near and dear to my heart) and was crushed when even emulators can't really scratch that itch
It and the resistance series.
Hazmat Suit wearing pin up girls? Squad morale restored!
I see you are a person of culture as well
Say what you want...helgan girls should be hot and have hair!
Rico is a big jerk!
Shit iwant a sauce of it so bad shit looks sick
Timestamp? You know. For research.
@@itsajoe6939 1:22:52 for the research! ^^
Rico is literally the most infuriating side character ever
In my opinion, The Helghast (Barring the "Space Nazi" Rhetoric, Even if its Earned) are objectively (in my eyes) One of the best "Bad Guy" Groups out there. You can actually Understand and sympathize with them and their plight. Maybe not go as far as to Condone their Current actions (Refer to "Space Nazi Stuff") but at least understand why the Helghast so vehemently Hate the Vektans and the ISA. I mean, I dunno bout you. but i'd HATE people too if i was labled a "Terrorist" shot out into a far off hostile world, and told 'No, you dont deserve help' and left to die. I'd want who ever was responsible dead too.
@@Oppen1945 I agree, but also slightly disagree. IMO the Empire was "Objectively" good for the Galaxy in SW. They were by no means "perfect" or "The best" but at the time, they were better than the Republic, and the Rebels. think for a moment on the state of the Galaxy in SW, There are Massive Cartels running entire swaths of land, a Rebellion tearing apart the Galaxy, Hundreds of Thousands dying for a seemingly pointless rebellion. and what was the Empire Doing? Enforcing peace, Building a "Super-Weapon" that was by design, Highly Impractical. The Intent of the Death Star was never to be A "Practical" Super-Weapon (At least by the Empire's Standards, The First Order were morons.) Its purpose was shock and awe. To demonstrate that the Empire COULD if it so wanted to, Destroy entire planets. which by its nature, renders rebellion a moot point. If a planet Rebels, it could be Vaporized, Thus, reducing the Rebels effectiveness in that Sector. The Empire also poured Billions of Credits, and Hundreds of Thousands of Personnel and their Families into the Death Star Projects, all Destroyed/Wasted/Killed by a Rebellion. Think of how the Death Stars Destruction affected the Galaxy. NOT from the Movies view. BUT from the Realistic perspective. With a Multi-Billion Credit Project destroyed with all those working on it. The Galactic Economy is in Shambles. Hundreds of Thousands of Men and Women, Who were all Serving in the Military willingly fighting for what they believed to be a better future united under security and prosperity are now Dead. AND The Galactic Unified Government shattered by a Rebellion. Think of this in the Modern US. If the Government Built a Multi-Billion dollar project, with Thousands of Personnel to construct, maintain and operate it. as a Deterrent to War and Rebellion. The Nation would feel safer, and happier with that Deterrent. But now, imagine a Group of Radical Rebels Destroyed this deterrent, and killed all the Military and Civilian Personnel assosiated with it. Would YOU as a Citizen of the US, Consider these Rebels to be Heroes? Would you say "WOW! LETS REBEL AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT!"? No. If you were a Sane person, you'd hate the Rebellion, and want every last one of them Dead for all the Destruction and Chaos they've created.
My boy you can use the same rhetoric for the naziz 🥶
"Being label terrorist and left to die in a disolated world"
Well, now you know how south americans felt after Condor, Cubans after Batista, and central Americans afte the Fruit company corruption and war on drugs.
@@Paulo-qo3qe You really can't. Want to know why? Because the Nazis were A) genocidal, B) had no claim to any of their "lebensraum", C) were not an expelled group, D) harbored undeserved hatred of a specific ethnic group and E) Germany was a fine place anyways (unlike the hellscape of Helgan).
By contrast, the Helghast:
A) Did try to give Vektans a chance to leave
B) Did have a fairly legitimate claim to Vekta
C) Were expelled to Helgan
D) Have pretty legitimate reasons to hate the ISA
E) Live on a planet that started as hell and didn't become much better after
@@ladywaffle2210 A better analogy for Helghan is Space North Korea, with German aesthetics and Palestinian/Israeli grievances (the two Mideast countries have legitimate grievances but due to past violence/animosities it's a gray area cesspool of unending violence)
1:53:00 was the most touching moment of the KZ series to me. Seeing how broken Sev was and not even flinching at their main Battleship being hit with artillery, it really hit the feels. He doesn't even twitch an eyebrow, just wrought with pain and exhaustion. From this point forward, Sev takes a major character change and I believe it's what bonds his relationship with Rico from now to the later series (even tho he caused Garza's death, kinda). Him and Rico have both lost their comrades who were close to them. It's no longer about fighting for home, their home is wherever each other is. Sev lost this at this very moment, even with 10+ year old graphics, you can see it in his eyes. As he walks away, you can see this tough brute almost holding back tears.
Yeah, I love that Sev starts off as a nobody to the player made into the center of attention (technically) in the midst of an ongoing conflict. Instead of being a loud, brash, and bombastic character (which he unfortunately became in KZ3), he comes off much more as a normal person compared to the bloodthirsty Rico and similar protagonists. He's much more grounded in that way.
I just wanted him to kill Rico, there I said it. I spent a while unloading my ammo on Rico.
@@LuizAlexPhoenix Yea, I was really mad as well at Rico. In 3, they bond a lot more though and Rico even (kind of in his own way) appologizes for Garza.
Breaks my heart how much the “Halo Killer” marketing hurt this series. There’s so much it did that I miss in modern FPS’s: the thoughtful conflict, the absolute grit that it carried from WW2 shooters into a futuristic setting, and the absolute mood that Vasari
You gotta give the writers of the first three games mad props for being able to write some stirring speeches.
Visari's opening monologues make me patriotic about being an oppressed space nazi.
I always thought Garzas death was caused by Rico firing blindly and his stray bullet caught Garza.
I think that would have been even more interesting.
Hrm.... [Frowned at the memory]
also (35:18) the killzone Humanity do have FTL capabilities (not as commonly everywhere like the main [Flower Game(s)] verses, the halo [Flower], etc) but yes it is a bit confusing. do the UCN territories have FTL capabilities outside of their Human Vektan counterparts or the Human Helghans? it takes like '2+ Weeks' for some of the 23rd/24th Century Earth and other UCN colony fleet of theirs to arrival in the Alpha Centauri A system (planet Vekta's system) from back in the Sol System (the capital part of the UCN), and not much to show of the killzone [Flower] verse's FTL technology until the Helghans use of irradiated petrusite became publicly shown in killzone 03.
but what about non-petrusite FTL capabilities?.... not even the Lore shows much of them from what I remembered in my own experience.
He shot the Helghast soldier standing in front of Garza, and as that soldier fell to the ground he held down the trigger of his weapon, hitting Garza, albeit in an accidental, instinctive move.
@@fredherbert7920is..uh is thish really you?
One thing I like playing as Hakha is how the game swaps around how the guns work.
As any other character, you can't carry as much ammo for Helgast weapons and they're inaccurate, switch to Hakha though, and he's more accurate/carries more Helgast weapon ammo, but if you pick up a ISA weapon (Such as the Asauult rifle in a map with friendlies who can die) he has worse accuracy/max ammo count with them than the other characters.
Supriced to not see more people pointing this out. I personally always played Hakha because of this, and because his voice lines are way better than the rest of the team.
I still find myself breaking into Visari's KZ intro speech at times.
Killzone, had such a robust game world and so much content built around it. Good memories.
It's the first time I've heard it since I was 10 and it gave me the same chills
I still listen to his killzone intro speech before a tough day or event.
@@cyberpunk-2O77 I did one of his speeches in Theatre Class, that was a good day.
“What the fuck is a shakesphere?” Is a golden quote of stupidity
it's probably meant to convey that universal culture like Shakespeare was lost to time, known only by educated individuals like Hakha. or maybe Rico is just ignorant as shit lmao.
you might be confusing stupidity with ignorance
I have three Killzone tattoos.
Yes, they're all Helghast
I salute you brother
You are an inspiration to us all.
Based
Helghan forever!
Where did you grow up ON A FARM? Oh wait that's superman.
the Machine artistry really makes sense. the Helgan LMG seemed VERY intuitive and nifty.
The ISA landing ships though... they look cool but holy f*ck do they loom unsafe
@@sethleoric2598 They were probably used to deliver packages because the UCN intentionally kept the ISA underequiped
@@edchampion3720 ye
The StA-3 Stova LMG. Manufactured by Stahl Arms.
retro the old ISA intruder vehicles do have weapons on them. not effective as the newer ISA heavy dropships or those old scrapped dropships, but they have flares, a few missiles, and a front minigun for the pilot to use (not relying much on the more primarily Human soldiery passangers up above the floating forklift on which they are standing on with gatling miniguns. no not that counted). (01:07:41).
I'm surprised the protags in these games don't just keep a bag over Rico's head when the important talking happens.
Just think about it, the entirety of Killzone 3 wouldn't have happened if they did that
I always wanted a game where I play as the bad guys. Killzone made me realize it isn't necessarily fun to play the bad guy.
It's always fun when your brain randomly thinks: "hey remember that game about the space nazi's where they hired actual engineers and architects for Thier designs", and it sends you on a mad search across the internet untill your brain remembers the word "kill".
Actual engineers and architects?
@@scott-gaming.8834 he said it at the start, there wwren't any videogame designers in the netherlands so they had to hire real life designers
I don't know what game it was or when it was released. All I know Is "Kill."
@@thobsandstreal
I just laughed my head off when when you looked up TheGamingBritShow. He has his perspective while you have yours (and you are going the extra miles).
I had a good laugh at that as well. Both of their channels are fantastic and a cut well above most on UA-cam. Most channels that talk about video games only differ in the personality of the host, otherwise they all say the same shit in slightly different ways. When a game is released to universal critical acclaim there will be numerous videos uploaded by these types of channels, eager to confidently explain why it worked with the knowledge that most will agree. I don't mind this so much, but it's the opposite that has started to bug me as of late. A critically panned game or one released to controversy (such as Cyberpunk 2077 and The Last Of Us 2) will result in a similar effect where these same channels chomp at the bit to upload their familiar scathing criticism. Some do it well, and I believe one significant detail that sets them apart (one of many) is how they try to understand the choices made by the developers. Their content feels as though they truly have something to say rather than spend the length of a video highlighting obvious issues with similar writing techniques across the board. The structure is always the same in how problems presented throughout, with each explained in detail punctuated by various insults. Turns out there are lots of different ways to call something stupid!
Jesus, I've been holding that in for too long! Sorry to dump that on you lol. I've been watching too much UA-cam, perhaps.
@@johnnybensonitis7853 I feel like you've been reading my mind brother, most of the youtube gaming essayist scene is honestly either mediocre or just awful
Scotlander!
You know what I would kill for...
Big sci-fi shooter that opens with back and forth propaganda of both sides with obvious bad sides and then letting the player, as an initially neutral smaller colony that gets to pick the starting faction for the campaign. Hit some notes like no such things as good guys or putting your own bad choices in your face regardless of your choice
When you make the "Antagonists" look THAT cool, and give them enough backstory to sympathize with them...
you can bet your ass that most of the Community will cheer on the "Space Nazis".
...and the Allies are 40 shades of bland.
Well fascists are often more concerned with aesthetics than real politics etc.
@@Heitzsche its a trend with any pro military authoritarian regime regardless of political leaning
@@mallardofmodernia8092 True
Not to mention how the structure of said "Allies" is literally colonialism of old.
Having several world being subserviant or semi dependant on the central earth goverment, Protectorates, and Hellghan being a extraction colony that revel, got crush, then the exodus, living it to itselv, but still influenced from outside trought sanctions, which is literally how the Nazi ideology form after ww1, and now is being invaded to restablish sovereignty trough force.
@@Heitzsche very often the uniforms are meant to be good looking because the people in power know that the people will not particularly think about the politics as long as it will be shilled by the media, and the aesthetics of what they wear will only reinforce that they are "right", how often will you see a game where the bad guys are the good looking ones, while the allies are the ugly ones, you wont really find many, because humans unconsciously judge people by how they look. hitler and the nazis specifically used good looking uniforms to exploit this, which is why they used hugo boss to make the uniform
"Considering what normal, for the past century meant for Helghan, anyone should've seen that was never an option."
Well, this video got recommended to me during some strange times.
A new retrospective by Red Scot?
Just hook it to my veins!
The question is, do you still have any working veins left under all those mechanical parts?
@@chrispierceall3627 I do!
@@40KTheories Don`t forget the WD40 ;)
@@chrispierceall3627 Just put in artifical ones.
Well this is a welcome surprise.
The "re-educated" running gag is my damn favorite and always catches me laughing.
Ok bois, who's talented enough to draw a Hellghast pinup girl? I have my hand ready on my card
Where is your other hand?
on the other card
I'm an artist... I could do that. Pay homage to the REAL good guys. Fuck the ISA!
@@ShellShock11C I will legit pay commission for that shit
Shut up and take my money!
Weapon movement in KZ 2 still looks so cinematic. Call me crazy but not even The new MW had such cinematic movement and it handled smooth as hell.
I wish Geurilla games can come back to this franchise in some form after the next Horizon game it doesn't matter to me if the 1-shadow fall is redone or a sequel,prequel or spin off game
It could finally be from the helghast perspective after the events of shadowfall
Yeah please don't retcon Shadow Fall. Continue the Vektan Civil War.
Get excited for a PS5 title.
@@matro2 Dude, Shadow Fall, as shitty as it is, can't be retconned by any means. It's part of the main story.
@@alexpayne2764 don't give me hope bro.....
Me at 3am:" better get some sleep lets turn on something on the tube to sleep to:
Me at 6am: "screw sleep i need part two"
Well, I guess that's one way to become a helghast.
i really love how killzone 2 really makes understand why it's called " *brutal* street to street, house to house, floor to floor fighting". you never hear people saying " brutal tree to tree fighting" for example, and after playing this i know why: in an urban environment, you have to fight *hard* for every inch of ground
Even when you have a column of tanks and infantry backing you up in the push into the square, it still feels like a bloody cluster fuck of a slog through what can generously be described as 'hell'
@@ragnarian and that's why we love it!
First of all - excellent video.
I just want to say that my favorite thing about Killzone is that, despite the fact that it is a work of fiction, it does away with the notion that people are comic book villains. They are in fact, humans, with real hopes, dreams, and motivations and aren't necessarily just pure evil just because. And conversely, the good guys in life often are all too human with their own motivations and flaws that might make villains sound reasonable all of a sudden. And that's the horror of it all - the villians in history are human like you and I. And should we disregard them as just cartoonish villains we're more likely to create more by accident, rather prevent history from rhyming and repeating. Good men too are just human, which can either cause you to feel ashamed in their shadow...or wonder in horror how no one realized what a monster they truly were...or how many other monsters they had a hand in creating.
Ok, for starters yes I did watch Gamingbritshow's retrospective when it first came out since I sub his work. However, while his work does a nice job at restrospecting the games themselves, his work doesnt hold a candle to yours.
After watching just the first hour of your video I've learned more about not just the first Killzone, but also the history, the ISA, the Helgan, how they were all formed, what started it all, what were the inspirations and so so much more; and it's only the first hour! Through concept art I've never seen, text and audio logs I didnt even know existed, animations that make it visually appealing and striking to watch (seriously I had to rewind the video a few times because I was just watching the animations and couldnt hear the important details).
I have watched all the way through your Aliens retrospective, your Turok retrospective, and my favorite (and funniest of the bunch) your "Dinosaur" Crisis retrospective. I have to say that this is by far your best work and I can wholeheartedly see not only why this video is deserving of the two and a half hour runtime but also the significant time jump between retrospectives. Well earned and well deserved. I find your best work to be in your retrospectives and I always appreciate watching them no matter the subject matter. If I have to wait another six months for another great retrospective of this quality; I will gladly and patiently wait. Excellent job Scot! I'm so glad that UA-cam's home page for once paid off. Now if you'll excuse me I have the rest of your video to watch. (Giddy glee)
I agree. I'm very fond of GamingBrit and I've watched him for seven years, but his observations tend to be on the superficial side without much deep diving despite the length of his videos. I don't always agree with Scot but he unmistakably puts the work in and delivers impressive detail and passion for the work.
In GB's defence he is mostly shooting for levity over insight.
Damn dude, I had just rewatched both Turok and Dino Crisis last night. Feels like a late X-mas gift this morning!
I just binge watched those a week ago too! Thought he had given up on these retrospectives!
*Eugh. I do Not Like these 'copyright' forcements anyways too. (**01:32:03**).*
Imagine if there was Killzone game like Battlefield where you could use all the vehicles in the games
Oh hell nooo
From EA?
Ngl, I like when a historic (or an inspired one in this case) actually out bad stuff like racism, in a context that make sense, not for being edgy. It gives it a more grounded setting, rather than just "well, your people killed everyone I love but the worse thing I will say to you is ugly"
Can I just say, if my voice sounds off at any point in the video, I did have a few issues during production which made this one of the biggest battles in editing: had to replace my old microphone part-way through the voice-recording stage, I moved flat halfway into production and had to battle room echoes and traffic noises in the new place along with optimizing the new recording equipment, *and* as it turned out after-the-fact, I had an active case of Covid-19 during at least some of the voice recording and (though my symptoms were mild) even I could tell my breathing was off for at least a few weeks, and long recording sessions were draining.
Aside from that I just can't speak anyway, but hope you enjoy nonetheless.
Since you liked Turok, check out, Compound Fracture, on Steam.
Its an upcoming indie FPS with dinos and nice looking retro graphics.
Hey mate. Don't sweat the audio quality. It's fine. And even if it wasn't, you could probably just shout into a wheelie bin and we'd still love it. Your longform stuff is excellent, and you deserve a bigger audience. Glad you got over the lurgy unscathed.
I did notice, but its really not that bad. Don't worry about it mate.
It's not that bad, didn't even notice the difference.
You lying
The art direction for these games is off-the-chain in the best way possible. Such cool realistic designs.
I was a pretty big Killzone fan back in the day. The first game is kinda magical for me, coming out at the time of so many games that give me so many warm fuzzies, like the Jak games and Rachet & Clank.
Killzone is another game like that, one that gives me those same flashbacks and those satisfied sigh worthy feels.
Killzone was the first game other than madden I actually got my dad to play. He’s a huge history addict and liked all the 20th century symbolism and subtext.
@@Tarumarugan my dad still plays the wave mode to this day. Somehow he's kept a ps2 slim alive for over 10 years
@@cloroxusthestainlessone4324 him still playing and keeping that thing alive are both an achievement honestly 😂.
To me it was Killzone II, it really blew my mind 🤯, all the Call of duty and battlefields fps.
22:35 I always imagined the helghast were using this stairwell as a staging area. Massing up troops, and resting in a relatively (as they thought) safe location before pushing a pre-planned offensive.
Glad I took the time to watch this! I don't normally think too much about Killzone admittedly, usually thinking of it as a very pretty if uninteresting series of shooters so seeing a analytical take shows me what I've been missing out on all this time. The only one I've had first hand experience with is Shadow Fall so it'll be interesting to see if you cover that in part 2 :) I can also tell by that trending tab that this took a loooong time for you to make XD
The first game holds up at least one of my original opinions, its a very nice looking game despite the limited colour variation. It feels like the game only scratches the surface of the detailed story you later go into in part 3, but I get that this is likely just to get players into the world and deeper story beats likely come at a later point, what with the greyer narrative being more of a twist revealed at the end. Overall definitely one I want to try at some point, especially as I seem to be looking to collect every PS2 game XD It looks like one of the notably great games in the PS2 library.
Killzone Liberation looks like its...not my cup of tea. Visually its still quite good on occasion for a PSP game. The gameplay looks like it has some good moments but can be too much of a pain because of all the reasons you stated and it feels like it doesn't really contribute much to the overall narrative. It seems like a good basis for a spinoff game so if they were to revisit it in future I think it could actually be quite good, I just don't think I'll be giving this one a go XD
Funnily enough I have a PSP, if you ever need one your way feel free to ask and I'll see what I can do.
Killzone 2 I remember hearing the infamous comparison to the trailer which wasn't representative at all and...while obviously nothing on the PS3 could look like that this is a damn fine looking game. The PS3/360 generation had such a massive shift in graphical progression but this actually holds up incredibly well, like despite only coming out in 2009 this looks like it could have been a much later release for the system. One thing I have to commend is how the AI has continuously improved from entry to entry, where Liberation had it made more complex this feels like its continued to develop on it whilst also allowing it to remain fair to the player. The gameplay seems to have taken a notable step up in general, being solid and with enough variation to keep things fresh and interesting throughout. The story was much like the first game an incredible step up in quality and I appreciate the brave and well handled bad ending. It was great and an amazing way to lead into Killzone 3. The story in general seemed to be dark and oddly realistic, or as realistic to war as it can get for a space war with lightning guns.
I do wish Hakha wasn't disposed so quickly, but I guess they found it easier to tell of the complexities of the story in the way they handled it in 2 and maybe a constant reminder of the grey area might have felt like they were banging the player over the head with it and losing any subtlety.
Overall I think this was a great video as ever! I love stuff like this which covers stuff I may not have been interested in before to give me a look into what I may be missing out on. I really think I might give Killzone 1 and 2 a proper try now to form my own opinion on these games. Thanks for a funny, detailed and clearly well thought out retrospective on a series I never took that seriously until now. :) and...yes I remember Animal Farm at school so *Raises hand* XD
I had to resend this comment because UA-cam is held together with spit and tears and half my comment disappeared XD
Thanks man. This series seeming at first, or even second glance, as a fairly run-of-the-mill sci-fi shooter is exactly what I've come to expect so don't blame you at all for that opinion (especially if Shadow Fall is the only one you've played and... oh, we will get to that...)
But glad you enjoyed the video, especially if it has opened you up a bit to a series you weren't super familiar with before. Looking forward to sharing the next part with you.
@@RedScotGaming Funny how when you really look into the ISA is at Least as bad as the Helghans despite their Badass Bad Guy Looks and cleary supposed to be Space Nazis not only the ISA was cleary at fault and started the war once you look at the lore but (Oh So Ironically) the Helghans were the only ones to actually suffer Genocide TWICE from the ISA! And the ISA was never punished or even punished the main responsible ones for it, because they are cleary "THE GOOD GUYS" they probably were given medals.
The palace steps and Radec battle were insanely memorable. Almost every time I played that part of the game, it seems fresh and new each time. As if I am playing it for the first time. Killzone 2 is the best game in the franchise. With Liberation being Guerilla Games taking the limitations of a portable console and creating one of the most unique experiences I know.
Man every bit of Killzone just makes me fall in love with the series and Guerilla more and more and this video miniseries just brought back a nuclear payload of nostalgia
Guerilla nailed the asthetics especially in 2 and made me love the series
I wish this series would get more love. So sick of scrolling past videos acting like the games are completely forgotten and lost to history.
Visari's final speech in Killzone 2 still gives me chills.
I mean every speak of the guy is great
He gets me hyped to invade a planet that don't exist
@@plaguedoctorjamespainshe6009 Until Rico, the f*cking moron killed the guy -_-
This was perfect-I've loved Killzone for it's themes that didn't glamorize war and really wish we could go another game. Thanks for all of your hard work on your videos!
@Sebastian Orthwaller Dude, just stfu.
@Sebastian Orthwaller *No*
Also, anyone else struck by the similar premise, ending tone, and even plot beats of Killzone 2 to CoD 4? I’m not sure if it’s due to both games developing amidst that post-nine eleven cultural miasma, but they’re markedly similar. Even to the point where the despot detonates a nuke in the nation’s capitol as a last ‘fuck you’ to the invading force.
Also also, it’s a little unfair to contrast Halo with Killzone in terms of depictions of war - in Halo humanity is being out-and-out exterminated by a technologically and numerically superior enemy, being the underdog is baked into the entire premise of the first game and the nuance and moral ambiguities only get introduced with the introduction of the enemy’s POV in the second game, something which pretty much causes them to defeat themselves. The humans don’t really have room to soul search since peace literally wasn’t an option.
That said, the post-Bungie games would’ve been an EXCELLENT opportunity to explore the perpetrator/victim relationship immediately following a war, humanity having to come to grips with reorienting all its resources towards war to prioritizing new endeavors. Having to forge diplomatic relationships with the factions and species of the blokes that were just trying to kill them. It’d make for an excellent setting for a sci-fi game, full of potential for ambiguity and ethical exploration. BUT WE DIDN’T GET ANY OF THAT, DID WE? 343 really fumbled this fictional universe didn’t they?
Hey we need something to replace both Stargate and GI Joe and Halo is ready, willing and fucking able.
maaan the book explores that part of the halo series really in depth, with the oni keeping up sangheili internment camps to develop biological weaponry and funding and arming their religious separatists (the book are really good mate i swear). All to say that the oni are the fellas that used to do human experimentation on kindapped children, not the nicest bunch
@@garn4579 thats sort of the failure though. ONI is the boogeyman. in halo ce-Reach they are a necessary evil... G-men whos evil will save humanity. After that they're back to being villains.
My Death was but a mere sacrifice necessary for Helghans Glory..... Long Live Helghan
You will never be forgotten, Radec.
Shock Trooper ready at your command Col. RADEC
So, this is not a series I knew much about at all. Honestly can't say I really heard about it before I met you (which was like a billion years ago at this point, aaagh, make time stop) and even though I've never played any Killzone, I have to say I find it's world absolutely fascinating. It's a universe that genuinely feels lived in, particularly from a design stand point. Fashion, technology, architecture, everything has a history, a practical purpose, a reason for being the way it is and it makes it feel real as opposed to many generic sci-fi shooters with aesthetically mismatched faux-halo power armour wearing superheroes flying about blowing each other up with laser guns.
The way these games try to engage players with their narrative on a deeper level and make them think about who's right and who's wrong is very unique, rather than simply have some Helghast bloke go "we're not so different, you and I" and giving a big speech about how his mother was killed and his dog stepped on, leaving it more or less up for the player to discover on their own is so... ballsy. Like, it's entirely possible to play the game and miss that stuff if you're not paying attention. Which I imagine happens a lot more these days as narratives have become a lot less subtle in recent years and thus people who consume media have in some ways become accustomed to everything being very surface level and easy to understand, with messages and morals basically being spelled out for viewers.
I also love that the Jurassic park SNES music is just a standard feature on your videos.
Killzone does seem realistic at surface level until you realize that the Helghast created and *mass produce* a mech larger than a fucking *Imperator Titan* and created and mass produced a gauss rifle from unstable, radioactive plasma.
Nuance is pretty much dead now. Yet I liked that in this series the Helghast REALLY wanted to have Vetka and Helgan to be different like they understood logistics of such heavy industry on an earth-like planet is bad. Where they can be all dirty on Helgan for the most part Vetka was a paradise and was to be kept as such. The Earth ended up being a parasite of sorts reaping the rewards of work they didn't put in on. That's where I understood the roots of the whole war. Helgan and Vetka are basically dead yet the Earth the real cause of the war remains.
99.99% of this was a perfect reminder of why I’m subscribed to your channel: it’s a long-ass wait between videos, but the quality definitely makes the wait worth it. Killzone and Killzone: Liberation were absolutely my jam in high school, but I never actually played Killzone 2. (Mass Effect, Fallout 3 and Dragon Age: Origins seduced me away from the Sony side...not to mention the 360 controller just feels *mwah* 👌) I mean, I know for a fact the only reason I ever noticed, let alone bought a copy of Jin Roh was because it had a Helghast on the cover.
That being said, the remaining 0.01% that I have some...reservations...about. In regards to wartime dehumanization of the enemy, I think you were very close. Much closer than some people I know personally, in fact. But I think you might not have considered that the population can frequently go along with it quite willingly. I was in 4th grade when the twin towers fell. I watched it happen, along with my classmates, on a big-ass CRT TV the school janitor wheeled into the classroom. I grew up hearing the narrative of “this was a pointless war for oil”, how we were engaging in imperialism. But then another suicide bombing would happen, or a captured journalist would be executed, and I just wouldn’t care as much. Whether we had any right to be there or not, there was a part of my mind that refused to care, because “they started it”.
In a free society, we are all able to interact with each other as individuals. But when violence occurs, individuality seems to get cast aside and we fall back into our tribal identities. It’s all well and good for some people to decry the bloodshed as meaningless, and at times they might even be right. But it’s incredibly difficult for people to disaggregate themselves back out into individuals while they still believe “justice” to be unfulfilled. And it’s entirely possible for both sides to simultaneously believe themselves to be the victim. Past a certain point, propaganda can become unnecessary, because the people will keep fighting out of their own legitimate grievances against the enemy.
I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who thinks Rico is useless. Radec though, I love how they got Sean Pertwee back to have him voice a villain.
that speech at the start has given me the chills since i was a kid
I just ended the last 2 hours of my shift at work with this playing in the background while doing end of shift reports, and this suddenly made me call my brother.
See, Killzone: Liberation was the shit when I was younger, and my brother had fortunately got a PSP for his birthday and Killzone: Liberation was the game that came free. He and I played the game in turns, to the point we got stuck with the final boss fight. I was so fucking irritated back then for losing so much that I ended up breaking the joystick and the circle button of the PSP. Sadly, my folks had no money to fix it up and my brother was mad at me. Sure we eventually moved on but I never really got to say sorry. Just called him out of the blue, said sorry for the PSP and we both just laughed. I told him to watch this video to bring back the good times.
Thanks for this, dude. Amazing upload, and I just love the edits with memes mixed into your commentary.
And you know what? Now that you linked in the parallels of the world building in Killzone with the grit of World War II, Radek reminds me of what Steiner was supposed to be to Hitler at the closing days of Nazi Germany. Again, amazing video, bud. Cheers.
That is amazing, thanks for sharing that wee ancient family drama. Hope any old wounds have now been healed now, haha. And thank you for the kind words.
@@RedScotGaming How are we having our own slight into authoritarianism? I didnt get the message.
@@jakespacepiratee3740 me neither , but if i can make a guess , the footage he showed was what the Leftists called "Trump Supporters barging into the Capitol" which that narrative is being blown out of the water with new information coming to light , also why is it that allegedly trump supporters barging into the capitol is the end of democracy and rise of authoritarianism when leftist democrats have done the exact same things? why is it when right wingers do it its bad , but when leftists do it its good? showing the hammer and sickle is good but the swastika is bad , i think RedScotGaming needs to be reeducated on why communism is worse than facism , hitler killed 6 million , COMMUNISM AS A WHOLE KILLED 100 MILLION , scoty boy , you need to attend school classes in florida becuz ronny de santis boy will educate you on why communism is just as bad or worse than facism.
@@cjeromet1971 lol not reading your rant here. The guy who made this video is a Leftist. Was the part where he says "Aw, I look like a Right cunt!" not tell you this? The whole Hitler killed 6 Million thing is an outdated myth that needs to die. Hitler killed 20 to 30 MILLION, and the exact same goes to Stalin.
Also, you are aware that Fascism existed before WW2, right? Just because someone gave it a name does not mean it suddenly exists at that moment. How many people did the Knights Templar Cursaders kill? They were certainly Fascist. What about ISIS? Fasicsm is longer-lasting, easier to implement, and has killed many more people throughout the centuries.
and there were many Egaliatarian Communist and Socialist groups that were suppressed and destroyed by the Bolsheviks. Check out Anarchist Ukraine, Anarchist Catalonia, Democratic Republic of Georgia, Kronsadt Rebellion, Green Army, and the Social Revolutionaries.
and finally, check out the modern-day Mexican EZLN, and Rojava, and their SDF and YPG.
Just realized that General Metrac looks like Captain Angelos with that model quality.
Those Half-Life scientist voice clips are completely unexpected and absolutely hilarious! You have one hell of a comic timing!
Stances regarding war and ill-prepared invasions against underestimated enemy still holds today.
You hit it 100% accurate regarding allegory on human wars in general, as this whole allegory fits very well to our modern reality.
Helgast in Swedish would mean Entirely Ghost. Unless you go old norse-ish. Then it means Hell Ghost.
oh. and everytime I hear Radec speak, I expect him to pester John about wormholes.
låg fett, hel gast
Killzone deserves way better. Killzone 1 was super interesting for what it was. Liberation and Mercenary are also my favorite handheld games ever. 2 and 3 I put next to Halo 3 and Reach for the best shooters of 7th gen, and I even love shadowfall for what it is despite a bad story and lack of polish
I truly appreciate the dedication to Half Life ragdoll sound effects whenever possible.
This was good. Like really excellent good-ass GOOD. Solid af balance of meaningful discussion and great bits and cutaways which all landed btw. I knew Killzone was more interesting than I remembered and you've it abundantly clear that it definitely was. The GMod bits killed me, but your allegory vs. applicability epilogue was especially good and held some really eye-opening and well-said points on the topic. Proper excited for the next part
The first killzone was a classic ps2 game. Also i always loved the shotgun cause its alternate fire was to shot 2 bucks instead of one. Plus the sniper was so powerful you can shoot a guy in the foot and he'd die(in a weird way cause the enemy flips out weirdly)
Plus, if theres 1 or maybe even 2 guys lined up behind your original sniper target, the bullet is powerful enough to pebetrate and hit them too.
Me and my Dad used to love playing Co-op in Killzone, it was great
The m82 is probably my favorite assault rifle in a FPS, it just feels so real and it looks so awesome!
Death Korps of Kreig had to have been a big inspiration for helghast as well
It’s probably just similar thinking.
They were inspired by Jin-roh
"Death Korps of Krieg!"
"no! Jin-roh!"
me: confused german noises
@@ottersirotten4290 WH40k and Anime.
@@phosphoros9107 jin roh inspired their uniforms, kreig inspired them becoming ubermensch from their planet being a literal hellscape.
First of all, loved it. Second of all, I fucking loved "Visari and the Boys" so much that I went back to replay it and I noticed that it was the most replayed section.
I played the first Killzone and Halo CE back when I was a kid on their respective consoles, and went back to play KZ2, 3 and Shadowfall as an adult, and as a fan of both series, I can honestly say that Killzone has the deeper story and lore, vastly superior and intricate compared to Halo, but Halo had the gameplay edge
If they started doing KZ novels like they do Halo novels I genuinely think people would love them, and the games would’ve seriously benefited from having an expanded lore set in between the games
As it stands I can only dream of the next KZ game, whereas I’m kinda over Halo
I think KZ is just a more engrossing story for adults, and that’ll carry the games for adults (considering these are adult rated games iirc that’s not surprising), but it’s gameplay can be a grind in my opinion, even on easier difficulties, and the gunplay always felt off in my opinion, I can’t explain what it is about the gunplay, it just never felt right when I played them
About their tactics on the beginning of the video, they were clearly using the famous Krieg tactics of "Drown the enemy with our bodies." They already had the gas masks after all, might as well use their attrition tactics too.
They seriously need to make a game on the 1st extrasolar war.
Its been 10 years since I played Killzone Mercenaries. I still find myself saying "For Helgan" even knowing what they've done, because whenever I am met with a helghast character, I am met with respect, enemy or otherwise.
The ISA/VSA do not share such sympathies, especially when they throw me to the wayside.
My point is the Helghast have little left to lose, while the Vektans have a lot that can still be taken from them. I can't be mad when they kill civilians, only sad they couldn't find another way to lash out, there was no other option available to them when even the civies are unknowingly covering up a massive genocide.
Edit note: Radec actually has both cloaking tech _AND_ invisibility, and uses them at the same time, he just uncloaks because he his suit can't keep both running for long and he wants you to see him gut you.
Out of my entire gaming experience, Visari is easily thee most compeling main "bad guy" I have ever encountered. His grounded nature in our own historical precedents and the stellar voice acting puts him leaps and bounds beyond any stereotypical super villian antagonist. Then you add in the very "realistic" nature of the graphical and model design and Killzone to me is by far one of ,if not thee most memorable exsperinces I've ever had in gaming.
Most villains be going on their end monologue with, "You and I, we are not so different." or "Muahahahaha, I'm big and bad"
Sev: "You'll pay for what you've done!"
Visari: "FOR GIVING MY PEOPLE, PRICE, PURPOSE? We have built this great nation from nothing!"
For me, the first game was a serious shock.
Coming from 007 (N64), Unreal Tournament 3 (Dreamcast), perfect dark (N64), and Halo (need I say) going into Killzone was a massive change.
Difficult spiked, while combat became smoother and faster. Kills became more instant. Death inevitable.
Granted, other games have their appeal, but before Killzone I was almost jaded... nearly calm through even the hardest settings and situations.
Killzone gave me back fear, gave me back that rush of "what was that, where did it come from!?"
And honestly, didn't get that feeling again until I got into online team deathmatch (cod/bf/warface/destiny, etc.)
All in all, I won't say the game is good or bad in any capacity for others, however it was exactly the kick I needed for my fps play, and I still rely on those memories in extreme situations in games today.
Sums up Rico perfectly
"WTF IS A SHAKESPEAR?"
Mate I just wanted to say thank you for this retrospective I can’t wait to see part 2
I discovered KILLZONE in mid-2011, thanks to walkthrough on YT. With my pals in history class, we used to watch the cutscenes and try to guess who was the caricature of whom : a game with Mussolini, Staline, Goebbles, etc... what a great game for refferences-hunters ! The more I watched about the franchise, the more I thought it was a parable of Germany (from 1918 to 1991) and modern-day USA, with a love-declaration to actioner movies from the 80's-90's.
Brother, you did NOT need to go THAT HARD with that SMG trooper on 4chan bit. But I am ETERNALLY GRATEFUL that you did.
*Shoots dude in head*
"You have been re-educated" LOL
This retrospective is probably one of my favorites, because you give me new perspective to the series.
Killzone 2: Kino
Killzone 3: Marvel movie
Honestly, the decision to have the Helghast's visors glow red was actually quite possibly one of the best decisions Guerilla made for Killzone. I don't think they'd be nearly as memorable if they didn't have those red glowing visors contrasting with the dark, grittiness of the games. It's like a demon is staring at you rather than a human. Certainly one of my favorite designs of all time.
I'm also glad they toned down Rico's character in Killzone 2 and 3. He was so insufferable in Killzone 1, and the way he acted was extremely unrealistic. In 2 and 3, he actually comes off as a human being and not some over the top GI Joe super soldier.
Not sure how I missed your channel, but this is some high quality content. I've never even played the Killzone series and you've got me invested.
Time to watch this about 4 times in a row.
This is a story where there are no good or bad guys, it's a story of the consequences of a war... that never should have happened.
Adolf Stalin: Not a a bad guy.
Visaris speech was so charismatic and enthralling that I wanted to join there side
Cobar flopping around inside that mech was the funniest thing I've seen all day.
I am so sad you had to cut the "We will SMITE these invaders from our skies"
That timing in the intro still gets me on how well it was done
Edit: you could rename the series "Rico ruins everyting"
I just realized the isa comanders tell you to get shit done while staying back while the helgast comanders fight you directly
Well to quote a certain great man "Are your leaders really so afraid?"
Thats what made me think that it rly is true
I’m happy to see new people getting a glimpse of this series, its a hidden gem imo and should be in the spotlight again like many others.
"in and out, 3 week invasion, what could go wrong" That uhh... has a whollllle new meaning now XD
I got into this when I was still only playing shooters on PC and used my Playstation for RPGs and Driving games, never expecting a controller based FPS to be any fun. But there was a Demo Disc and that blew me away how precise and easy it could actually work. I also liked the setting, great design and attention to detail so I stuck with the series.
To be honest, I never really got on with Horizon (I liked other open worlds better and rather played Monster Hunter when I wanted to go against big beasties) but I was very happy when Guerilla teamed up for Death Stranding. Looking forward to what comes next.
Elden ring is better than Horizon.
The first game is one of my all time favorites. And the inlet in th stile of a paper is just glorious!
And the cutscenes! I never skipped the intro of KZ1.
If I had to put a guess, I'd say the Helghast Miners are both.
Some volunteered, some were volunteered.
"Combat helmets, are they really necessary?" I love that little news reel ticker blurb.
This is amazing! I'm so glad to see more content coming out! I'd love to see a "Resistance Retrospective" next following the war vibe!
1:14:05 for some odd reason these animations looked adorable to me, like ''yay we gon' re-educate ya''.
Radec was one of those guys that you could follow until the end
Here we are a year later with a new european war. People are chomping at the bit to get involved or "punish the invaders" - The message of Killzone 2 seems incredibly applicable. We won't learn it, we've already made up our minds. Still, the message is there.
Bruh what are you doing not blindly following the Western propaganda? Stop being a thinking individual
👍 that’s IT EXACTLY. and 99% didn’t even know Ukraine existed until the propagandists told them it was Good and the Russians where inhuman orcs and not to question to 90+ billion in weapons. JUST SCREAM AT THE EVIL INVADERS!
I thought that mankind learned to not generalize things and punish the gorvement, not the people and the drafted and that most things are painted in shades of gray.
I was wrong.