History YMMV / Killzone

* CompleteMonster: From ''Shadowfall'':
** [[OmnicidalManiac Chairman Jorhan Brimve Stahl]], who also appears in the third game, takes the reigns of de facto leadership of the Helghast after Scolar Visari's death. A [[ArmsDealer weapons manufacturer]] who tests his newest weapons on captive prisoners of war, Stahl [[BadBoss uses his men as expendable pawns]]. After gleefully murdering his chief rival, Stahl makes preparations to bomb Earth and leaves his own armies to die. Surviving the conflict, Stahl makes plans to initiate "The Terracide" on the chief human homeworld to kill anything with human blood, even members of his own species. Backing terrorism, murder and genocidal science, Stahl repeatedly shows his only loyalties are to himself and his twisted greed and notions of strength.
** Vladko Tyran, leader of the Black Hand, a Helghast terrorist group, is introduced via a massive terrorist bombing aimed at soldiers and civilians alike. Tyran has human hostages taken and orders them executed while loading captured trains with explosives and sending them to the city to kill as many people as possible. Tyran functions as Stahl's [[TheDragon chief subordinate]] to pull off the Terracide, viewing humans as inferiors who deserve nothing less than extermination while attempting to shatter the peace between Helghast and human to send both sides in a brutal, pointless war. Tyran vows not to stop until "the streets run red" with human blood.
** [[MadScientist Dr. Hillary Massar]] is a human being who views the Helghast as "superior" species and believes the inferior must be annihilated. Using her scientific genius, Massar experiments fatally on innocent beings to develop a plague that will kill everything of Terran blood, no matter how small. Massar relished the point when it would be destroyed, killing all humans except for herself.

* MagnificentBastard:
** Visari, thanks to his terrific speeches and cunning moment at the end of ''2''.
** Stahl has his moments as well.
** Colonel Radec is supposedly a dark take on [[MagnificentBastard Erwin Rommel]]. Both excelled with tactics, but are merely passable with strategies and both earned the respect of their opponents. They differ, however, in their reasons for committing suicide. Rommel committed suicide to protect his family from the Nazi Party due to allegations of his involvement in Hitler's attempted assassination, while Radec wanted to avoid being captured by the ISA. Also, Rommel was a chivalrous man under whom the Afrika Korps had no war crime to their name and he somewhat opposed Hitler, [[BadBoss while Radec would execute his own men at the drop of a hat, possibly punt a baby into a mine field if it got his job done]] and he supported Visari all the way.

* SurprisinglyImprovedSequel: After months of being hyped up as a "Halo killer" (that's what it was often referred to), a good deal of HypeBacklash set in when Killzone for ''UsefulNotes/{{PlayStation 2}}'' turned out to be an okay but too ambitious shooter with numerous issues (sluggish controls, low enemy variety, repeated voices, graphical issues, inconsistent framerate, etc). The game attracted a devoted fanbase, but in general became almost a byword for hubris in the FPS genre. With the sequel, it aimed to be the Killer App for the [=PS3=], which was a slightly less lofty goal than dethroning what could be the most popular FPS series of the decade. But this time, they delivered. Critics loved it, as did players. And ''Killzone 3'' has been received in some circles as an EvenBetterSequel for refining the multiplayer.

* HypeBacklash:
** Killzone received a great deal of hype when video game websites released previews and rumours about the game, dubbing it a "''{{Franchise/Halo}}''-killer". Upon release, the game received average reviews, with frame rate issues, bland enemies (there was a grand total of three enemy types, and four enemy model - one of which is only used in one level), jumpy controls, and glitches being cited as problems.
** According to the {{Creator/Bungie}} podcast, the developers at Guerilla told them that they wanted to make ''Killzone'' a good game, but never set out with the intent of making a "''Halo''-killer". A [[MeddlingExecutives Meddling Marketing Department]] was responsible for that moniker, which they felt was no better an idea then when ''VideoGame/DarkCloud'' was hyped as a ''[[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Zelda]]''-killer (and see how well '''that''' worked.)

* Sequelitis: While far from a bad game, Killzone 3 is more of an expanded version of 2 since the game reuses a lot of assets and the graphics' engine while adding new weapon types and setpieces. The developers knew this and so they changed the class system for the multiplayer and the campaign is more varied with the player fighting in jungles, slick factories and Helghan's artic equivalent, culminating with a battle in a space station.

* EvenBetterSequel: Shadowfall takes everything good about the first three games and improves it. This extends to the story as well, which actually takes the time to explore upon the GrayAndGrayMorality of the setting and finally does away with the constant forced dog-kicking of the Helghast.

* SurprisinglyImprovedSequel: After months of being hyped up as a "Halo killer" (that's what it was often referred to), a good deal of HypeBacklash set in when Killzone for ''UsefulNotes/{{PlayStation 2}}'' turned out to be an okay but too ambitious shooter with numerous issues (sluggish controls, low enemy variety, repeated voices, graphical issues, inconsistent framerate, etc). The game attracted a devoted fanbase, but in general became almost a byword for hubris in the FPS genre. With the sequel, it aimed to be the Killer App for the [=PS3=], which was a slightly less lofty goal than dethroning what could be the most popular FPS series of the decade. But this time, they delivered. Critics loved it, as did players. And ''Killzone 3'' has been received in some circles as an EvenBetterSequel.

** [[OmnicidalManiac Chairman Jorhan Brimve Stahl]], who also appears in the third game, takes the reigns of de facto leadership of the Helghast after Scolar Visari's death. A [[ArmsDealer weapons manufacturer]] who tests his newest weapons on captive prisoners of war, Stahl [[BadBoss uses his men as expendable pawns]]. After gleefully murdering his chief rival, Stahl makes preparations to bomb Earth and leaves his own armies to die. Surviving the conflict, Stahl makes plans to intitiate "The Terracide" on the chief human homeworld to kill anything with human blood, even members of his own species. Backing terrorism, murder and genocidal science, Stahl repeatedly shows his only loyalties are to himself and his twisted greed and notions of strength.

* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap:
** Some people began warming up to Rico after his [[CharacterDevelopment much-needed character development]] in Killzone 3. Throughout the game, he constantly goes out of his way to rescue other major characters, including Jammer, Sev, and Narville (whom he saves twice). Not only that, but he also TakesALevelInBadass by becoming the leader of the Raiders, a squad of guerilla-style ISA soldiers who performed a hit-and-run attack on Stahl Arms Deep South. During gameplay, he can also [[TheMedic revive the player]] using a defibrillator, but only when he's close enough, which can be a bit annoying at times.
** ''Killzone: Shadowfall'' introduced Lucas Kellan, who is perhaps the most human and likeable character in the ISA (next to Sev and Garza). Throughout the game, Lucas constantly worries about whether or not he's doing the right thing by fighting the Helghast.
* {{Retcon}}: In the backround info of earlier Killzone games it was stated that the population of Helghan is around 23 million, a realistic number given that it was founded by only 1 million people 100 years before. However in Shadowfall's intro it's noted that around a billion died from the catastrophe.

* TheScrappy:
** Rico, probably ''the'' most hated character in the series amongst the fandom, due to both his attitude and his ArtificialStupidity as an in-game ally. However, he has had [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap some redemption]] in ''Killzone 3'', where he realized how much damage his actions really caused and tries to [[TheAtoner atone]] for them by rescuing his friends and taking better care of their lives.
** Sinclair, he constantly ignores Kellan's warnings regarding Tyran [[spoiler: and Stahl's]] plans simply because [[FantasticRacism Kellan is willing to work alongside a Helghast]], [[spoiler: which causes Sinclair to get an entire ISA fleet destroyed by Stahl's superweapon.]] [[spoiler: And at the end, Sinclair kills Kellan after the latter refused to go along with his plans to start another war with the Helghast.]]

* StrawmanHasAPoint:
** If you [[AllThereInTheManual read the backstory]] of the Killzone universe, you'll find out that the Helghast are the way they are because of getting royally screwed by the ISA. Taking this into account, much of the Helghans' hatred and spite of the ISA is pretty well justified. This may well be deliberate on the part of Guerilla.

** The ISA as a whole is this to many Helghast supporters. While people like most of the main characters (including Sev, Templar, and Garza) the ISA's most defining trait is [[TheGenericGuy just your average modern solder]], [[RecycledInSpace in space.]]

* CompleteMonster: From ''Shadow Fall'':

* EvenBetterSequel: Shadow Fall takes everything good about the first three games and improves it. This extends to the story as well, which actually takes the time to explore upon the GrayAndGrayMorality of the setting and finally does away with the constant forced dog-kicking of the Helghast.
* EvilIsCool: Say it with me: "Can we get a Helghast campaign this time?" Killzones 2, 3, and Shadow Fall have the Helghast in awesome-looking full-body armor, while the ISA... look like modern-day troopers with modern gear. At least the first game had some futurism for the ISA.

** [[spoiler: Killzone 3's ending. Stahl's own superweapon is set off, by the heros stopping him and in the aftermath, Jammer notes that the ''entire planet'' has fallen silent. ''Shadowfall'' confirms that some of the Helghast managed to evade their homeworld's destruction.]]

* RootingForTheEmpire: The Helghast are way more popular than the ISA for various reasons. Sony realized this for Killzone 2, and made them the focus of the promotion, and much more explicitly sympathetic. Shadow Fall goes even farther to humanize them, and to point out the ISA doesn't have clean hands themselves. [[spoiler:Also, the last mission lets us play as one for the first time.]]

* SurprisinglyImprovedSequel: After months of being hyped up as a "Halo killer" (that's what it was often referred to), a good deal of Hype Backlash set in when Killzone for PS 2 turned out to be an ok-ish shooter with numerous issues (sluggish controls, low enemy variety, repeated voices, graphical issues, inconsistant framerate, etc). The game attracted a devoted fanbase, but in general became almost a byword for hubris in the FPS genre. With the sequel, it aimed to be the Killer App for the [=PS3=], which was a slightly less lofty goal than dethroning what could be the most popular FPS series of the decade. But this time, they delivered. Critics loved it, as did players. And ''Killzone 3'' has been received in some circles as an EvenBetterSequel.

** Also in ''Shadow Fall'', when Kellan infiltrates New Helghan in order to assassinate Tyran, we get a glimpse of what life is like on the other side of the wall, in which we see Helghast civilians living in ghetto-like conditions while being monitored constantly by security forces. After five games in which the Helghast have been portrayed primarily as faceless Mooks, seeing them as actual people for the first time, scared and just trying to survive is a truly sobering experience.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Saric from Shadow Fall, he is an intimidating character affecting Bane from The Dark Knight Rises, yet he only appears in a total of two scenes.

** While the first game was a victim of SpecialEffectsFailure due to its rushed development schedule and the weaker tech of the [=PS2=], the the other two games became prime examples of how powerful the [=PS3=] can be. ''Shadow Fall'' looks to bring this trope to another level on the [=PS4=], and it seems to hold up pretty well for a launch title.

** [[spoiler: Killzone 3's ending. Stahl's own superweapon is set off, by the heros stopping him and in the aftermath, Jammer notes that the ''entire planet'' has fallen silent. How a hinted-at Killzone 4 will be made with the Helghast presumably annihilated remains to be seen.]]
** A scene shown during the credits implies that [[spoiler:a few Helghast managed to survive.]]
** ''Shadowfall'' confirms that some of the Helghast managed to evade their homeworld's destruction.

* RetCon: In the backround info of earlier Killzone games it was stated that the population of Helghan is around 23 million, a realistic number given that it was founded by only 1 million people 100 years before. However in Shadowfall's intro it's noted that around a billion died from the catastrophy.

** If you [[AllThereInTheManual read the backstory]] of the Killzone universe, you'll find out that the Helghast are the way they are becuase of getting royally screwed by the ISA. Taking this into account, much of the Helghans' hatred and spite of the ISA is pretty well justified. This may well be deliberate on the part of Guerilla.

** Rico, who's a loudmouthed, annoying ''[[{{Jerkass}} asshole]]'' who does a nice job breaking things (see above). In addition, his AI can be summed up as "get shot, and get shot often", and the player is NOT allowed to abandon his injured ass at any point for being stupid, he MUST be revived. He is severely disliked by the fandom as a result. This could be intentional - to offset Sev's measured approach, and ultimately show the futility of aggression for aggression's sake, as well as how blindly running in like an idiot is a poor tactic. Either way, the fans hate him and it doesn't seem that the developers are listening to complaints that Sev should kill him off already. The inclusion of a major role for him in the 3rd game is likely to be a sales deterrent.

** Based on the back story, one could infer that the ISA and UCN are the villains, for their unfair treatment of the corporations sent to colonize other planets for natural resources, especially to the Helghan Corporation. The Helghast, on the other hand, were trying to break off from the UCN's corruption but fell victim to UsefulNotes/PeaceThroughSuperiorFirepower, which forced them to flee to Helghan, adapt and become the militaristic culture that they are in order to survive and resist the UCN's tyranny. [[HeWhoFightsMonsters Admittedly, while becoming tyrannical themselves]].

** Based on the back story, one could infer that the ISA and UCN are the villains, for their unfair treatment of the corporations sent to colonize other planets for natural resources, especially to the Helghan Corporation. The Helghast, on the other hand, were trying to break off from the UCN's corruption but fell victim to PeaceThroughSuperiorFirepower, which forced them to flee to Helghan, adapt and become the militaristic culture that they are in order to survive and resist the UCN's tyranny. [[HeWhoFightsMonsters Admittedly, while becoming tyrannical themselves]].

** Rico, who's a loudmouthed, annoying {{Jerkass}} who does a nice job breaking things (see above). In addition, his AI can be summed up as "get shot, and get shot often", and the player is NOT allowed to abandon his injured ass at any point for being stupid, he MUST be revived. He is severely disliked by the fandom as a result. This could be intentional - to offset Sev's measured approach, and ultimately show the futility of aggression for aggression's sake, as well as how blindly running in like an idiot is a poor tactic. Either way, the fans hate him and it doesn't seem that the developers are listening to complaints that Sev should kill him off already. The inclusion of a major role for him in the 3rd game is likely to be a sales deterrent.

** The Helghast at first glance can be seen as ANaziByAnyOtherName with the ISA serving as a stand-in for America fighting the Nazis in the western front during [=WW2=]. However, one can interpret the Helghast to be analogous to Saddam battling against the US armed forces during the 2003 Iraqi conflict. [[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment And that's all will say about that]]...

** The Helghast at first glance can be seen as ANaziByAnyOtherName with the ISA serving as a stand-in for America fighting the Nazis in the western front during WW2. However, one can interpret the Helghast to be analogous to Saddam battling against the US armed forces during the 2003 Iraqi conflict. [[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment And that's all will say about that]]...

** The Helghast at first glance can be seen as ANaziByAnyOtherName with the ISA as the USA fighting the Nazis in the western front. However,one can interpret the Helghast to be analogous to Saddam fighting against the USA during the 2003 Iraqi conflict. [[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment And that's all well say about that]]...

** The Helghast at first glance can be seen as ANaziByAnyOtherName with the ISA as the USA fighting the Nazis in the western front. However,one can interpret the Helghast to be analogous to Saddam fighting against the USA during the 2003 Iraqi conflict. The parallels can be seen in both the Helghast and Baathist Iraq being oppressive military dictatorships, but with valid reasons to despise the ISA and USA respectively, especially considering that many still consider the American invasion of Iraq unjust.

** The series in general went from a relatively hi-tech space shooter with four playable characters and a well-armed force fighting off a sudden incursion, to suddenly making the ISA horrendously inept and unable to fight back with only the one PlayerCharacter able to accomplish anything.

* EightPointEight: Taken to [[UpToEleven the next level]] with G4 copping an insane amount of flack for giving ''Killzone 2'' a five. ''Out of five.'' So intense was the backlash that Adam Sessler spent an episode of Sessler's Soapbox [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I643CzcHPYU railing against the stupidity of it all.]]

* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: While the first game was a victim of SpecialEffectsFailure due to its rushed development schedule and the weaker tech of the [=PS2=], the the other two games became prime examples of how powerful the [=PS3=] can be. ''Shadow Fall'' looks to bring this trope to another level on the [=PS4=], and it seems to hold up pretty well for a launch title.

** Some people began warming up to Rico after his [[CharacterDevelopment much-needed character development]] in Killzone 3. Throughout the game, he constantly goes out of his way to rescue other major characters, including Jammer, Sev, and Narville (whom he saves twice). Not only that, but he also TakesALevelInBadass by becoming the leader of the Raiders, a squad of guerilla-style ISA soldiers who performed a hit-and-run attack on Stahl Arms Deep South. During gameplay, he can also [[TheMedic revive the player using a MagicDefibrillator, but only when he's close enough, which, granted, can be a bit annoying at times.

** The Helghast in general. Full stop.

** In ''3'', somewhat. Rico goes through CharacterDevelopment so he's not ''as much'' of a jerk. Plus, he is more helpful in combat this time around, since he can now heal you whenever you get shot to the ground.

** Rico, probably ''the'' most hated character in the series amongst the fandom, due to both his attitude and his ArtificialStupidity as an in-game ally.

** Visari, thanks to his terrific speeches and DangerouslyGenreSavvy moment at the end of ''2''.

** [[spoiler:Anders Benoit]] in Killzone Mercenary. And rightfully so. He uses the Carapace shield, a 3-round burst sniper rifle and spends the first half of his fight on top of his Intruder. Once you grounded him? You have to stun him by shooting fuel rods [[spoiler:Justus]] raises. And for the entirety of the fight, he can call for backup. On the bright side, you can scavenge their ammo.

** The series went from a relatively hi-tech space shooter with four playable characters and a well-armed force fighting off a sudden incursion, to suddenly making the ISA horrendously inept and unable to fight back.

* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: While the first game was a victim of SpecialEffectsFailure due to its rushed development schedule and the weaker tech of the PS2, the the other two games became prime examples of how powerful the [=PS3=] can be. ''Shadow Fall'' looks to bring this trope to another level on the [=PS4=], and it seems to hold up pretty well for a launch title.

* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: While the first game was a victim of SpecialEffectsFailure due to its rushed development schedule and the weaker tech of the PS2, the the other two games became prime examples of how powerful the [=PS3=] can be. ''Shadow Fall'' looks to bring this trope to another level on the PS4, and it seems to hold up pretty well for a launch title.

* SurprisinglyImprovedSequel: After months of being hyped up as a "Halo killer" (that's what it was often referred to), a good deal of Hype Backlash set in when Killzone for PS 2 turned out to be an ok-ish shooter with numerous issues (sluggish controls, low enemy variety, repeated voices, graphical issues, inconsistant framerate, etc). The game attracted a devoted fanbase, but in general became almost a byword for hubris in the FPS genre. With the sequel, it aimed to be the Killer App for the PS3, which was a slightly less lofty goal than dethroning what could be the most popular FPS series of the decade. But this time, they delivered. Critics loved it, as did players. And ''Killzone 3'' has been received in some circles as an EvenBetterSequel.

* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: While the first game was a victim of SpecialEffectsFailure due to its rushed development schedule and the weaker tech of the PS2, the the other two games became prime examples of how powerful the PS3 can be. ''Shadow Fall'' looks to bring this trope to another level on the PS4, and it seems to hold up pretty well for a launch title.
** Mercenary deserves a special mention for bringing near-PS3 quality graphics... on a handheld console.

** The Helghast at first glance can be seen as ANaziByAnyAnotherName with the ISA as the USA fighting the Nazis in the western front. However,one can interpret the Helghast to be analogous to Saddam fighting against the USA during the 2003 Iraqi conflict. The parallels can be seen in both the Helghast and Baathist Iraq being oppressive military dictatorships, but with valid reasons to despise the ISA and USA respectively, especially considering that many still consider the American invasion of Iraq unjust.