Register a SA Forums Account here!
JOINING THE SA FORUMS WILL REMOVE THIS BIG AD, THE ANNOYING UNDERLINED ADS, AND STUPID INTERSTITIAL ADS!!!

You can: log in, read the tech support FAQ, or request your lost password. This dumb message (and those ads) will appear on every screen until you register! Get rid of this crap by registering your own SA Forums Account and joining roughly 150,000 Goons, for the one-time price of $9.95! We charge money because it costs us money per month for bills, and since we don't believe in showing ads to our users, we try to make the money back through forum registrations.
 
  • Locked thread
chitoryu12
Apr 24, 2014

chitoryu12 for worst audio in the LP thread.

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

nine-gear crow
Aug 10, 2013
Buy better mic son.

nine-gear crow
Aug 10, 2013
Also, Sally, you have played Killzone: Mercenary now. So answer the question you yourself posed in the video: do you go to space in Killzone: Mercenary?

Sally
Jan 9, 2007


Don't post Small Dash!
Oh, yeah. Ha, I should add that to the post. I have INDEED played Killzone: Mercenary now. Extensively. I'm addicted. It's so drat good.

The answer is: no. You do not go to space in KZ:M

Neruz
Jul 23, 2012

A paragon of manliness

Blind Sally posted:

The answer is: no. You do not go to space in KZ:M

KZ:M confirmed as being worse than Wolfenstein:TNO

Sally
Jan 9, 2007


Don't post Small Dash!
I would compare Killzone 3 to Wolfenstein: The New Order. Killzone: Mercenary strikes me much more as a modern day Perfect Dark or Goldeneye 64, as it's full of sweet gadgets, super weapons, betrayal, and missions that allow for multiple playthroughs with different objectives.

EDIT: or more specifically, there's no space level in Killzone: Merc, but you do between Vekta and Helghan. So... space-travel happens inbetween levels?

Sally fucked around with this message at 05:19 on Feb 27, 2015

nine-gear crow
Aug 10, 2013
Here's something worth pointing out for the sake of the LP. Blind Sally says that this is a "25% run" because we're not going four separate runthroughs of the game with Templar, Rico, Luger, and Hakha each. Well, the PS3 HD Remaster of Killzone 1 does indeed have four separate trophies for completing the game using each character all the way through from the point where you get them onward.

Templar's trophy is Rapid Reaction Force (Chapters 1-11).

Luger's trophy is Shadow Marshal (Chapters 3-11).

Rico's trophy is ISA Regulator (Chapters 4-11).

And Hakha's trophy is Field Operative (Chapters 5-11).

They're all bronze, by the way, which is pretty disappointing, since given the effort you need to put into getting them you'd at least think they'd be silver or gold-level ones, no?

Sally
Jan 9, 2007


Don't post Small Dash!
There's so much cross-over between what happens, despite the potential to have different experiences with different characters, that it's really more of a 90% playthrough. :/

Sally
Jan 9, 2007


Don't post Small Dash!


11.2

Templar and co. board the ISA shuttle.

TEMPLAR
Art thee all strappethed in?

VELASQUEZ
Ouch--motherfucking!!

HAKHA
Steady thyself.

VELASQUEZ
Get off me!

LUGER
Doth any of thee knowest what yonder SD platforms look like when near? Tis neat.

TEMPLAR
What are those objects thither?

HAKHA
Ah, yonder art Parasite Craft. They pierce the vessel, infecting it with soldiers.

VELASQUEZ
I take it they're expecting company.

HAKHA
That is so. They set the table for us.

TEMPLAR
Shall we?

Exeunt



I don't have much to say just yet. I'll save my final analysis for the final update. Instead, I'll just toss out some things of interest:



Space suits! Retro-inspired, it seems. Unfortunately, in all the Killzones I've played (all barring Shadow Fall), you don't get to do any actual space walks. There are some low gravity segments in future installments, but we don't get to enjoy any of that here. The promise of going into space just means we get to enjoy a cramped corridor shooting gallery with stars shining out the windows.

Speaking of which:



A firefight in space? That doesn't seem safe.




ISA Space Shuttle
We saw these earlier. General Vaughton took one to reach the SD Platform. Now it's our turn. Not much to say about them, other than "omigod we're in space!!?" The have two thrusters and appear to be able to dock on either side of the craft. The circular panel on the rear of the craft may also be for boarding or loading/unloading large cargo. Hard to say, since we never get to see these crafts used except for small troop transport. The Helghast start launching them at random when Templar and co. neared the station in Chapter 10/11. We caught the last one, at least.


UCN Navy Cruiser
The UCN (United Colonial Nations) Cruiser is the flagship vessel of the UCA (United Colonial Army) Navy. These cruisers are twice the size of the Vektan ISA cruisers (of which, we won't be seeing until Killzone 2). Why the discrepancy? Forced budget constraints so that the colonial homeworld is always more powerful than its colonial holdings. Loaded with energy weapons and MIRV warheads, they represent the ultimate in space-borne technology, allowing Earth to enforce its will. Note: while the UCN cruiser is twice the size of the Vektan cruiser, the Vektan cruiser is twice the size of the Helghast cruiser. Knowing that, it becomes pretty apparent as to why the SD platforms were so key to the Helghast's invasion plans.



Reading through some of the background lore for the series, it seems that the Earth Fleet only loses two cruisers to the SD Platforms. Sorry, Visari, better luck next time.


Parasite Craft
Helghast spacecraft designed to penetrate the hulls of enemy craft, delivering a payload of angry Helghast soldiers. These are actually super effective, and this wont be the only time in the trilogy we see them. The best way to counterattack them is to shoot them down before they can attach themselves. Once the Helghast have docked and existed the craft, it's already too late.

Lazyfire
Feb 4, 2006

God saves. Satan Invests

I think the thing that's bugged me over the last few videos is that the game is clearly throwing harder and harder enemies at you in greater numbers as time goes on while refusing to give you appreciably better weapons or abilities. Just about every RPG ever starts throwing former boss characters at you as common enemies by the end game, but at that point you are dozens of levels past where you were earlier in the game and have better weapons/spells/command of the game. I can think of a few shooters that try something similar, but usually only after you have a bunch of upgrades and new weapons.

Killzone seems to be throwing harder enemies at you just because that's what you do as a game goes on instead of because they expect you to be better equipped or anything. That's almost as dumb as the ammo system on character default weapons and the damage/usefulness reduction on Helghast weapons if you aren't Hakha. Almost.

nine-gear crow
Aug 10, 2013

Lazyfire posted:

I think the thing that's bugged me over the last few videos is that the game is clearly throwing harder and harder enemies at you in greater numbers as time goes on while refusing to give you appreciably better weapons or abilities. Just about every RPG ever starts throwing former boss characters at you as common enemies by the end game, but at that point you are dozens of levels past where you were earlier in the game and have better weapons/spells/command of the game. I can think of a few shooters that try something similar, but usually only after you have a bunch of upgrades and new weapons.

Killzone seems to be throwing harder enemies at you just because that's what you do as a game goes on instead of because they expect you to be better equipped or anything. That's almost as dumb as the ammo system on character default weapons and the damage/usefulness reduction on Helghast weapons if you aren't Hakha. Almost.

For what it's worth, they address both of these issues in Killzone 2 and 3. Killzone 3 in particular balances things out by either giving you abundant heavy weapon ammo to take on tougher enemies, or by having you face larger numbers of standard enemies, so it ups the challenge without having to resort to stat-inflating the grunts that were going down with one or two assault rifle bursts at the start of the game.

Sally
Jan 9, 2007


Don't post Small Dash!
It doesn't bode well for Killzone 1 that the best you can say about it is "the sequels do it better".

nine-gear crow
Aug 10, 2013

Blind Sally posted:

It doesn't bode well for Killzone 1 that the best you can say about it is "the sequels do it better".

Well, in all fairness, that was the game's major selling point:

Sally
Jan 9, 2007


Don't post Small Dash!
i was thinking of sitting on the final update until the middle of the week, but i think it's time this ended. crow and i are just putting together the final touches and we're going to try and have the final update out tonight

CJacobs
Apr 17, 2011

Reach for the moon!
I am sufficiently hyped.

nine-gear crow
Aug 10, 2013
CLEGANEBOWL FINALLYDONEKILLZONE1BOWL

GET HYPE

Sally
Jan 9, 2007


Don't post Small Dash!


11.4

Aboard the SD Platform, at the command centre, General Adams waits inside of see-through geodesic sphere. Enter Templar.

ADAMS
Ah. Tis to be expected, I suppose.
Thou would hath never been content
With the death of Lente, that fool of a general.
Doth thou not see it? The war is over!
The attack will wither and die without Lente,
Like an early blossom killed by a late frost.
They shalt return, though. The Helghast endure.
Vekta remains the apple of Visari's eye.
Thou doth not comprehend, dost thou?
It is we who are the enemy.
It is we who are the villains.
They fight to reclaim that which belongs to them,
To reclaim that which was stolen.
They fight to secure their future from
Further imperialist ISA actions!
The Earth Fleet cannot be stopped,
Not by me. Without their leader,
The Helghast aboard ignore my presence.
There is never any pity for the traitor,
Woe be unto them.

TEMPLAR
Thou art a murderer, Adams!
Nay, not only a murder,
But a traitor and a coward!

ADAMS
Thou makest me laugh!
And what wilt thou do?
Kill me? I shall achieve nothing.
Thou slew Lente, and yet it was for naught.
Though bloodthirst yet grows.
You and yours had to come here,
To become heroes, saviours.
If thou could but see what I have seen.
Visari has shown me visions of what could be.
The Helghast cannot be stopped.
They cannot be reasoned with.
They are endless. They are Legion.
Your victory is that of a mosquito,
Suckling from a slumbering bear.
When you have their attention,
Thou shalt be smote down.
You continue to fight,
Yet your friends have been captured.
You continue to fight,
Yet the platform crumbles at your feet.
Thou lackest the comprehension
To see that thou do not standeth
A loving chance.

Helghast troopers enter. Exit Adams.



My goodness. General Adams is an anime supervillain. Listen to that monologue!



It's beautiful.

We also come to learn a little about the Helghast and their motivations. Now, we have the benefit of having read and researched the lore and history for this game (remember, way back in the first few updates?). For most players, the idea that the Vektan ISA are the baddies should be relatively novel. There you have it, though, the Helghast view Vekta as the enemy. They fight to prevent another imperialist attack on their homeland. This invasion is a counterattack on a more powerful aggressor. Is that all true? Well, partly, but not entirely. Visari has obscured history to suit his purposes and spur his followers to action. Followers such as Lente and our very own General Adams, who seems to fight out of a sense of--what, guilt? Does Adams seek restitution for the injustices his Vektan forefathers committed against the early Helghans?

Eh, whatever, he goes down like a chump.



Oh, the trophy for killing Adams with a grenade in Killzone HD? It's called "Orbital Strike".

:v:



4.5

The SD Platform is crumbling, as our heroes make a desperate escape attempt.

Enter Luger, Hakha, Velasquez, and Templar.

STATION AI
Preflight system failure.
Yonder fuel lost is obstructed.

LUGER
The fuel line! Tis obstructed!

VELASQUEZ
I got it.

HAKHA
Do not make me laugh.
What could thou possibly about
The specifications of spacecraft?

VELASQUEZ
Under fire!

STATION AI
Launch sequence hath commenced.

VELASQUEZ
Hakha!

STATION AI
Half of one minute to launch.
A third of one minute to launch.

LUGER
We have not any other chances, we must flee!

TEMPLAR
Hakha!!

VELASQUEZ
gently caress this!

STATION AI
One sixth of a minute to launch.
Five. Four. Three. Two. One.

HAKHA
Rico, I thank thee.

VELASQUEZ
Welcome.

LUGER
Communications return.

TEMPLAR
Contact command, request a sitrep.
Inform them of Adams.

LUGER
I will.
It appears though most of Earth Fleet survived.
They shalt return, no? The Helghast?

TEMPLAR
They shall.
And we will meet them.

Fin



And so our story concludes. Our Reverse-Heart Of Darkness has seen us crawl out of the mud of the trenches, work our way up the river, not to madness and suffering, but to clarity and liberation. It's fitting that the last chapter is entitled "Hope". Lente's Third Army has been struck a crippling blow, the traitor Adams has been identified and defeated, the Earth Fleet has arrived on time to provide much needed relief, and the SD Platform, an ominous symbol of the Helghast's brief reign over Vekta's skies, has been shattered. Our notions of good and evil have remained mostly intact. That is to say, despite Adams' last minute monologue, we still see the Vektans as the heroes, and the Helghast as the villains. Our cliched action heroes managed to pull a win, despite being tired video game tropes. The commentary on colour-theory has been shallow at best, thanks to this being one of Guerrilla Game's earlier efforts, but the seeds have been planted.

We end, ultimately, on a high note, with a story that is perhaps not entirely satisfying. You could be forgiven for thinking Killzone was not a very good series if you stopped here, but you would be making a grave mistake. Shakespeare's earlier plays were not his strongest either, yet they showed promise. Here, too, Guerrilla shows promise with what's to come. The stage has been set, really. The game board is unpacked and the pieces are in play. Guerrilla is waiting for the right moment to flip the table on the player, and when it happens it's going to be great.



There remains some busy-work left on Vekta, some cleaning up to be done. When we get to Helghan, the nature of the war is going to change drastically.



Courtesy of nine-gear crow, we have a final write-up on the voice talents that elevated Killzone above mere sci-fi shooter into something--uh, something else?

One more thing before we go; a note on Killzone’s voice cast. I figure it’s only natural for our cast to come out and take a bow on stage as per Shakespearean theatre tradition, so I’ll just highlight who each main actor is and what you might know them from, if they have anything noteworthy to their names.

The Killzone franchise has sort of made “undersold stunt casting” its thing, and that starts right here with KZ1. Each game would usually hire one or two if not “big” names, then at least decently known actors to fulfill key roles. The headliner for Killzone 1—and dare I say the entire series—is of course Brian Cox as Scolar Visari.



Cox is probably best known to North American audiences as Col. William Stryker, the antagonist for X2: X-Men United, or as Jack Langrishe on Deadwood, and has had numerous staring or co-starring roles in television series and films great and small like Kings, Troy, RED, Super Troopers, and Braveheart. And though Visari is ultimately a minor part of the first Killzone, never appearing again in-game after his opening monologue, it is that very monologue that is the tone-setter for both the Helghast as an entity and for the series itself. And we have Brian Cox to thank for that. This is not a man who half-asses any role he plays, even if it’s just a paragraph’s worth of dialog for a PlayStation2 first-person shooter. We’ll be seeing and hearing much more of Brian Cox as Scolar Visari in Killzone 2.



The other power player in the cast is Ronny Cox (no relation to Brian Cox) as General Stuart Adams, our deuterotagonist. Because we don’t get to go after Visari directly in this game, we need a suitable local stand in to direct our vengeance against, and, as much as we sort of make fun of him for it over the course of the game, Adams fits the bill perfectly, thanks in large part to Ronny Cox’s performance of his slow burn unhinging as things turn further away from his favor. Cox himself is a veteran of several science fiction franchises, usually playing senators, presidents, generals, or other miscellaneous authority figures (like General Adams!). He’s probably best known for his roles as Dick Jones from Robocop (OCP’s corrupt vice-president who gets “fired” in the most satisfying way possible), Captain Edward Jellico from Star Trek: The Next Generation (the guy who tore such a strip off Counselor Troi about her stupid dresses that she put on an actual Starfleet uniform for the rest of the franchise), and as the morally bankrupt turncoat Senator/Vice President Richard Kinsey from Stargate SG-1.



Our third heavy in the cast lands a little closer to home, and that of course is Sean Pertwee as Gregor Hakha, our fourth squad member and ISA Helghast mole. Pertwee was already a prolific actor on British television series prior to Killzone, though he’s only become known to US audiences in the last few years with roles such as Inspector Lestrade on CBS’s Sherlock Holmes procedural Elementary, and as Alfred Pennyworth on FOX’s Gotham. Though this is technically Hakha’s last appearance in the Killzone franchise as a speaking entity, Pertwee will be returning to the series in another role late in Killzone 2. Beyond that, he also has the distinction of being a part of what is essentially the Pertwee acting family, which includes his father, brother, grandfather, cousins, and nephew. His father, by the way, is legendary British TV actor Jon Pertwee, who played the Third Doctor on the long-running British megaseries Doctor Who.

In Killzone: Liberation, Hakha’s co-op combat walla is provided by Robbie Stevens. Though why they didn’t just reuse the stuff Sean Pertwee already recorded for Killzone 1 is beyond me. :shrug:



Beyond that, there isn’t that much to say about the cast of Killzone 1, expect that most of them are hardworking character actors, the most prolific of them being Tom Clarke Hill, who plays Rico, who has also voiced characters in the Witcher, Crysis, X, and Driver franchises. He also returns to play Rico in Killzone: Liberation, but is replaced by Charles Everett in Killzone 2 and 3. For all the crap we also give Rico over the course of the series, Clarke Hill does a great job of showing us this man winnowed away into a raw nerve of anger and volatility by personal and professional tragedies, who shouldn’t be promoted or trusted with anything approaching authority over others and yet still is, and helps set the stage everything Rico will end up doing in the subsequent games.



Jennifer Taylor Lawerence, who voices Luger in Killzone 1 also stays on into Liberation, but that’s the extent of her involvement with the franchise as well. She has the shortest IMDB filmography of our main actors for the game, mostly appearing on camera in short films.



And then we have our hero, Jan Templar. Templar has the odd distinction of being voiced by a new actor in each subsequent game he appears in. So this is actor Kal Webber’s first and last entry in the Killzone franchise. Like Taylor Lawrence, Webber’s IMDB page is rather sparse, with few notable roles to highlight outside of guest appearances on shows like NCIS, Hell on Wheels, Murdoch Mysteries, and the 2009 failed V reboot. …Something Awful still goes apeshit over V 2009, right? No? drat. From here, the role of Jan Templar is taken over by Nigel Whitmey in Killzone: Liberation, and then by Qarie Marshall in Killzone 2.



The other two key actors who appear in the game are Bob Sherman as ISA General Bradley Vaughton, and Steven Berkoff as Helghast General Joseph Lente. Both Sherman and Berkoff are (or were, I’ll get to that in a minute) character actors who have appeared in numerous TV series, miniseries, and movies in incidental roles going back to the 60s and 70s. Among Sherman’s credits are roles in Hellboy, The Spy Who Loved Me, The Pink Panther Returns and Little Shop of Horrors, though Vaughton was pretty much his final acting role, as he passed away in August 2004, three months prior to Killzone’s release in November 2004. :smith:



Steven Berkoff’s credits include roles in the English version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, A Clockwork Orange (which features fellow Killzone alum Malcolm McDowell), and Rambo II: First Blood, though his most recent and well known roles have been as the mad monk Girolamo Savonarola on Showtime’s The Borgias, and as King Nikolaus on Lifetime’s The Witches of East End. He also appeared in RED 2 with fellow Killzone 1 voice actor Brian Cox, but RED 2 kind of sucked compared to the first one, so whatevs.

And that’s it for Killzone 1’s principle voice cast. Cheers all around for our actors. I’ll do a similar write up for the casts of the following games once we clear each of them too. But that’s a while in coming still.

Sally
Jan 9, 2007


Don't post Small Dash!
I'm free! I'm finally free!!!!

nine-gear crow
Aug 10, 2013

Blind Sally posted:

I'm free! I'm finally free!!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDslx2n7tEw

chitoryu12
Apr 24, 2014

Now the videos will actually start to be fun!

SelenicMartian
Sep 14, 2013

Sometimes it's not the bomb that's retarded.

This game somehow has less plot than Black, and Black's plot was "here are flashbacks of you loving up, now we'll give you a chance to finish the job, but first the end credits."

Sally
Jan 9, 2007


Don't post Small Dash!
Too many bad feels in this thread. It's time we shake off the curse that is Killzone 1 and move onto bigger and better games! Games that are legitimately fun! In honour of that sentiment, we're going to move to a new thread for Killzone 2 and Liberation: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3704395&pagenumber=1#lastpost

Huzzah!

Herr Tog
Jun 18, 2011

Grimey Drawer

nine-gear crow posted:

gently caress killzone

I agree

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

Glazius
Jul 22, 2007

Hail all those who are able,
any mouse can,
any mouse will,
but the Guard prevail.

Clapping Larry
You got in some good commentary there at the end. I wish Rico and his many chaingun friends all the best.

  • Locked thread