Official Killzone Website Shut Down, Some Services Affected

i guess this is goodbye to killzone for now.

i think we will see it again in the far future (ps6) as a reboot though.

Always sad the day a game you love dies. My greatest times playing online came way back from a game called Heretic 2. I can still remember the empty feeling when they shut down their official website. A day of absolute sadness for me and all 12 of the other players who were left, lol.

Well, if there was any doubt the franchise is unfortunately dead....

I think KZ is definitely a game that could of been much more, I love the series personally and always thought the online component was actually very good fun, but it just underachieved.. hopefully the writing and creativity from HZD can be bought into killzone in the future.

I want sequel...

Servers will be next

The only thing I've seen from Killzone ever, was human sized statue in local mall, when ps3 was released... 😂

I didn't even know they had a website, lol. So no loss there.

I think it’s a great franchise, I hope it returns sooner than later

I missed Shadow Fall but really enjoyed 1-3. Killzone always had a unique rhythm and feel to it that I personally enjoyed. I’d love to see this franchise continue, but given the choice, I’d rather see a new Resistance entry any day. A criminally underrated series.

Killzone 2 is still up there with the best shooters of all time.

I hate it when servers go down and leave the possibility of getting the Platinum trophy impossible. I wish they'd revamp their trophy collection before getting rid of multiplayer, so you can still get the Platinum. Or maybe not a Platinum, but make it possible to get 100%, or something...

Love the Killzone games. Never really bothered with the online side, but the single-player stories really clicked with me, and I loved the Helghast.

I've played ps4 killzone, good games but the world is a bit uninteresting compared to something like resistance and of course, horizon zero dawn. Time for a new ip if guerilla games want to make new first person shooter.

I'm not sure this means anything. I think Sony just want to unify everything under the PlayStation website. I still feel we'll see a killzone game this gen

Just give us a bloody PS4/5 remaster collection Sony. 2, 3 and Mercenary would be great. Throw the fanbase a bone even if you checking out.

Sony has way too many third person games imo.

They need a really good fps.

Still have Shadow Fall incomplete on my trophy list. It's looking like this is the one to do next, as the 100% just got a little harder with this news. Still 100% obtainable though, for now...

Killzone 3 was my favorite by far even Platinumed it along with Resistance 3 i loved them. The heavy gunplay was the best for me personally.

Not too surprising. Killzone always felt like it tried too hard but never knew where it was really going. It never seemed like a real A list franchise. It became Sony's push into the Halo/cOD/brown shooter ps360 era, then tried to reinvent itself somewhat with shadowfall. It was a good effort. I liked what they did with it, a big improvement for the series from the brown corridor shooter era. But it also felt soulless still.

Guerilla has become the horizon studio instead on the killzone studio since then. I'd be stunned if the series made a return any time soon.

It sad to see the franchise go even tho I've only ever Killzone: Mercenary and Shadowfall. I think one of biggest down falls of these franchise is that the media framed it as the 'Halo Killer', so people was expecting way more from the games, and came way high disappointed.

Damn.... KZ3 was my game back in the day.

I don't think Killzone ever recovered after the KZ2 bait and switch bullshot trailer.

Single player and multiplayer are awesome

@kyleforrester87 Yeah... As a shooter it had decent gunplay, but it never seemed to develop that in an interesting way and became redundant and reliant on the same tricks. It was a corridor hallway shooter on rails that tried to go from one high adrenaline arena battle to the next all too quickly. As a result felt repetitive. The underlying game and concepts were cool, but we're just underbaked. In KZ3 the only things I actually remember about it we're the awesome intro and then the rest is a haze other than the train at which point after so many waves upon waves of enemies to deal with the same way in the same brown and red samey rooms i started thinking "I have like 20 other games, why am i still playing this?"

Shadowfall actually was fun to play imo. They really moved it out of the early 00s console shooter sinkhole into something with player agency and it worked really well. But it felt like a lifeless universe that didn't want to go anywhere and didn't know what experience it was selling. Mostly, in hindsight, i suspect shadowfall was largely an R&D prototype for Horizon.

@Menchi Lol, I forgot about that mess.

@kyleforrester87 Your memory has failed you. Go watch the "gameplay" trailer Sony showed of the beach intro (including no black screen blink transition to actual gameplay because the entire thing was CG rendered) then go play the demo or game itself. There is a brief black screen flash where it swaps to in game graphics which are considerably worse. The internet tore it to shreds because of the sheer gulf in quality. Pure CG to barely looking like an early PS3 game. It became one of Sony's legendary most egregious bullshots of the PS3 era.

That and the Uncharted 2 debacle.

@NEStalgia and people wonder why I say Sony are bad for at everything except games. I never forget.

Got my Shadowfall Platinum recently, really enjoyed the game, hope we see another at some point, considering its quite old now the graphics were very good.

@Menchi It looks BETTER in retail. They clearly head more time to work on it and it really shows the incredible power of the CELL!

@NEStalgia Let that be a lesson to Sony. It turned me off a sale from the demo and the PS2 looking graphics!

@BloodEagle Legitimately curious, how did you even do that? I checked in once a few months ago and there were NO people online. Servers might still be up, but I've long considered the platinum to be impossible.

Don't worry everyone, it'll get rebooted as Kill-Zone here in like 3 or 4 years

Could never get into the Killzone series, the Resistance series was where it was at for me, love the Resistance series, Resistance 1, 2 & 3 desperately need a Remastered Collection, or a Reboot, or Sequel, ANYTHING at this point. Resistance NEEDS to make a comeback.

@NEStalgia I agree with this. Mechanically, Killzone has a unique feel to it in the realm of FPS that I really dig. But it was always missing something that I can’t quite put my finger on.
I never felt like anything was at stake, like I had a reason to fear or hate the Helghast. I actually thought maybe I was the bad guy, but it was never explored. Just, helghast are kind of like nazis so you should shoot at them. Nazis are bad, right? I mean, storm troopers have more thematic weight behind them. Even Hakha felt like a half hearted attempt at creating some kind of internal struggle that just never manifested for me.
Something about that never clicked for me but there was a solid shooter buried in there. Maybe Shadow Fall explores this a little more?

@Menchi haha I’ll never forget that but I would argue that Guerrilla learned their lesson and delivered one of the better gameplay reveals I’ve seen years later with Horizon Zero Dawn that was very representative of the final product.

@JustPlainLoco I loudly second this! With Sony’s lack of a solid first party FPS option and the recent acquisition of Insomniac, I’m hoping to high heaven that Resistance makes a comeback. A new entry (at least from Insomniac) seems unlikely but these games are good enough that I would totally pick up a remastered trilogy.

@Jimmer-jammer - I wouldn't scoff at a Resistance Remastered Trilogy, however I think a Resistance Reboot is going to happen within the next few years, while developing the original Resistance trilogy, they were never entirely sure where they wanted the series to go, the strict deadlines from Sony didn't help either I imagine (There's a YT Video titled 'The Rise & Fall of Resistance' which I highly recommend you watch to learn more about the 'Behind the Scenes' Development of the Series). Therefore I think they will inevitably reboot the Resistance series.

@JustPlainLoco I will definitely check that out. Thank you!

@Jimmer-jammer Shadow Fall, I think really tried to innovate on the gameplay front and reinvent it so it didn't get stuck in the outdated on-rails corridor shooter format. On that front I think it succeeded. Instead of linear corridors it moved to large maps with objectives and a map screen, and iirc, binoculars, scanner, etc. It felt less stale, but also ended up making it gave a split identity. It was nice moving much of the game to a place other than a brown industrial wasteland. Mostly where the gameplay improved was that it wasn't just a shooter, you could scan areas, plan a stealth approach etc. It evolved gameplay beyond shooting endless waves of space Nazis because reasons. And it had a sense of progression that 2 and 3 lacked beyond shooting bigger waves of more armored space Nazis.

It still felt kind of generic and shallow somehow. I value gameplay quality and improvement above storytelling in games (eg, i think watch dogs legion is fantastic, it jettisoned nearly all pretence if trying to tell a story, but it didn't hurt it because they really refined their world and play mechanics, with a truly open feeling world finally.). But In killzones case, while gunplay is great, it doesnt have a depth of total gameplay systems to rely on gameplay alone. And gunplay alone can't hold together a game by itself. Doom 2016 and eternal brilliantly sidestepped that by creating and arcade type gunplay that requires continuous forward momentum into the enemies.... Maximizing danger is actually the way to maximize health increase, and the only way to survive near constant health drain is to replenish by killing as aggressively and recklessly as possible. But that's one of a kind.

Killzone has a vey realistic approach. It needs something to ground it... Either cinematic story, even though that's not my preference, or continuing to evolve gameplay like shadowfall started to be more interesting than "withstand the hordes.". I get the feeling guerilla ran out of ideas for it, and the more they tried and played with the shadowfall systems the more that game started becoming horizon. A lot of what they did for shadowfall found it's way into hzd.

@SwitchVogel GG released a patch a few yrs back that allows MP trophies to be done in custom games, still takes a lot of hours though.

@NEStalgia progression! That’s definitely a big thing Killzone lacked. Couldn’t put my finger on it...
I’ve been eyeing Doom up since 2016 but haven’t pulled the trigger yet, and now Eternal is out. I love FPS but haven’t had one really grab me in a while. Which one would you recommend if I could only choose one?

KillZone 2 and 3 should have had separated online MP from them both, made it a it's own game, when the servers shut down couldn't go for any trophies etc same with Resistance 2 great games for story and what not

@Jimmer-jammer They're both actually extremely different games despite appearing to have a similar style. 2016 is still $6 on the psn holiday sale, so if you're curious is close enough to free to jump in!

Eternal was $20 or 25 a few weeks ago on most platforms, so I'm sure it'll come around again.

2016 they designed the idea around the "feel" of multiplayer. It's faster than a typical solo fps, and tends to close off areas as arena battles. It has the glory kill mechanic the indoor corridors in the doom 3 style. It's a fresh take on classic shooters. Shooting accuracy and prioritizing enemies fast is the main game. It's great!

Eternal is absolutely incredible... But... It also created it's own genre or niche in a way. If 2016 is classic pc shooters reborn, eternal is old school arcade games amped up on speed and reborn. It's possibly the fastest playing game I've ever played, other than something like Wipeout. 2016 was fast but eternal feels a little bit quake 1, a bit q3 arena, and a bit doom 2016, then mashes then together with a very tight "weapons triangle" (borrowing the term from older Fire Emblem) where you have the glory kills for health, chainsaw/gas for ammo, a flamethrower for armor. Also the upgrade trees matter in that certain upgrades matter for certain enemies.

While 2016 is classic run and gun in corridors and arenas, Eternal is what I'd call a frantic tactical shooter. You have to be thinking of what weapons work well on what enemies (or don't work well) while balancing health, ammo, and armor, using the fodder as resources, all at lightning speed. Each enemy type is weaker to some attacks than others. Battle becomes almost like a puzzle.... Played so fast that if you blink you miss it.

It's absolutely genius, and i never imagined id without Carmack, Romero, and McGee could really reinvent the genre again. But they did it! Ib the process though they also made something that's kind of niche and won't be to everyone's tastes. It's kind of the demons souls of first person shooters (but better imo... Not really a soulsborne fan )

All that said, for $6 grab 2016. It's a great game, and eternal doesn't render it redundant at all. Of you like the classic shooters like kz2 and 3, you'll definitely like it. Eternal is special... But it's something I'd recommend trying before buying possibly. It'll either seem amazing or make you feel like you're on an evil Tilt A Whirl!

Edit: $6 usd... That's, what, $10 cad? Still nicely cheap for a great game!

i think sony really needs its own flagship shooter franchise and not just rely on riding the coat tails of a CoD marketing partnership with activision. if it's not going to reboot killzone or resistance, then it needs to petition its studios for new ideas.. though if it's not guerrilla or insomniac, i can't see where the FPS experience is.

KZ2 and KZ3 were both great multiplayer experiences, only the bad company franchise came close on PS3, imo. shadow fall is significantly worse in all regards.. it's now rampant with cheaters apparently, so maybe a nail in the coffin is the best thing for it. criticising the campaigns for being corridor shooters is a bit unfair, given the limitations of that console generation - most FPS tended to be extremely linear back then (i still think that format is preferrable for FPS) - the KZ2 website back then had massive amounts of detailed history and backstory for the ISA/Helghast, even other disputed planets, none of which really was really explored in the games sadly. it had a lot of potential, just needed a better writer.. could have worked as something like a FPS version of mass effect 2.

there's been rumours circulating for quite a while that guerrilla is working on a multiplayer shooter.. the studio has been recruiting to grow into a multigame studio, i just hope it's not a socom reboot that's been touted (sony has way more than enough 3rd person for any publisher), or some kind of overwatch style hero shooter... i'd have no interest in either of those.

as for the trophies - with the exception of one trophy, i believe you can now get all the other online trophies using botzone. i think it's the jack of all trades trophy that requries you to max out one of the support abilities (supplying ammo) that doesn't work offline because the bots don't pick up ammo from your crates.

@NEStalgia hard to say no to $10 for Doom so I’ll be picking that up for sure although from your description, Eternal sounds very intriguing to me. I love quake and I love risk/reward resource and stamina management mechanics. An arcade strategic FPS with mechanics designed around aggression sounds like a better fit for the franchise than what Doom III brought (though I enjoyed that for what it was).
Thanks for the descriptions, very helpful!

It's cool; the Resistance franchise was always the stronger one as is.

@Jimmer-jammer Yeah, Doom 3 still remains one of the biggest disappointments in gaming to me. Coming off the heels of the original Doom and Doom 2 (that was admittedly more about the mods than the base game) that defined the fast, run & gun labyrinth shooter, and then we had Painkiller, Serious Sam, etc that played off that style, and a Quake that went down the multiplayer-only path, sadly, the idea of a "next gen" Doom 3 was exciting. What we got was a claustrophobic survival-horror in the dark with a flashlight that felt like Resident Evil-in-Space, not really Doom at all. They made an intriguing horror atmosphere, but it was the wrong kind of reboot. Doom was about being very powerful and laughing in the face of overwhelming danger. Doom 3 was about being very weak and peeking behind every corner. And worse, the top-heavy Doom 3 engine is what removed idTech as the defacto engine used by most games and started us down the Unreal route and the current Tencent morass.

So Doom 3 uncomfortably sits as a pain point in gaming history for me.

2016 is, to me what Doom 3 ought to have been. Doom's fast powerful gunplay brought to a more Quake-like pace, but placed within what is mostly reminiscent of Doom 3's Mars facility. More linear than old Doom of course, but with a little bit of platforming to work out which is refreshing as well. You'll like it I think, and at that price it's a steal.

But yeah, it sounds like Eternal needs to be in your wishlist for sure (if they ever add wishlists again...) It's not for everyone's tastes for sure, but it sounds like it's going to tick all your checkboxes! It's definitely unique, nothing else plays quite like it, and it's very addictive, although, it's so high intensity it's hard to play for more than short-ish bursts. I haven't really done multiplayer arena shooters since Quake 1 and Quake 2 in my PC days. The first one to hook me again was Splatoon & Splatoon 2. As a roller/melee(ish) main it's extremely intense and frantic. It turns out it feels slow compared to Doom Eternal!

Killzone would feel mighty sluggish up against the shooter scene that seems to be focusing on faster and faster play. It feels like a series that was born out of hardware limitations more than a destination. The legacy of KZ might be the little legion of Helghast in Astrobot. It's fitting they sit in the same level with Kat from Gravity Rush in the hall of forgotten franchises. Though, even Astrobot dosen't have a Knack reference that I noticed...

@NEStalgia yeah I thought Doom III was a well made game and enjoyed it as such but it just wasn’t Doom. No way around it, and I wasn’t a die hard fan or anything. The engine stuff going on behind the scenes was over my head at the time, but looking back now the whole situation makes a lot more sense to me.

My PC days are unfortunately long gone and the console market really lacks options in this area these days, I’ve kind of just lost all FPS ambition.

I love the sounds of Eternal’s use of weapons/fodder to determine resources. Oddly enough, the original God of War trilogy touched on this where, depending on how you executed an enemy, you would be rewarded with health, magic, or experience orbs. I loved that little bit of agency. I always thought it was a fantastic yet criminally underdeveloped mechanic that I haven’t personally seen explored since.

I’m actually getting excited to jump into this now as I’ve been craving a full blown, high octane no nonsense FPS. The last one to really grab in me in any special way was Wolfenstein: The New Order. Something about it clicked for me. Not so much with it’s sequel. I’ve tried the odd Call of Duty and everything I’ve tried feels kind of stale to me, maybe I just haven’t tried the right ones. I’m hoping this will refresh what was honestly my first video game love, FPS.

KZ Shadowfall is in my top 5 multiplayer shooters of all time...wish other people felt the same way!

I think it stems from how bull-headed most people are, and how the game required you to think, just a little. Like getting spawn camped...it seemed like no one else on my team knew how to sneak out and kill the entire other team from behind. They just run straight out and get killed. Or the need to do basic things like group to take objectives and switch roles based on the situation...seems like people stick with one class and just rush off alone to their death.