The next game of the best selling first person shooter franchise is almost upon us as a launch game for a very powerful device. The PS4! So for this reason, I have decided to write about this Playstation exclusive series which comprises full of Darth Vader gas masks and menacing British accents throughout Killzone 2 and onwards... although with Shadow Fall, it looks the British guys have been thrown out of the window.
Before I talk about the many ideas I have about where the series could go after Killzone: Shadow Fall, I will need to reflect myself of my own memories about the franchise and a little bit of history class of how the series came in to being. Now before you sigh in disbelief, I believe it's easier if I just decide to inform you about my own experiences of the series and the comparison between previous, current games and how that can be related towards future developments. So enjoy! 
History
The year is 2004. The year when I got the PS2 pretty near the next gen's release (at the time) but also slightly before I got opened my bunch of PS2 games in my stocking, hinting that I would either get the console I had be longing for... or my family bought games for the wrong console, there was the release of one particular game and in particular, the first in a long line of games developed by Netherlands developer Guerilla Games and lucky for them, was published by Sony Computer Entertainment. Why is are they lucky? Well usually when a series is published by a publisher capable of designing their own set of consoles or 2 (or 4), then it makes it highly likely that whatever happens o the game's response, it would thrive and be continuously funded by this mega company. Unless it got about 2/10 from most reviewers of course.
So what was the outcome for Killzone's case? It was actually pretty decent. Around 7-8 scores seemed like a reasonable score for a first game of a series and with big company to back them up and knowledge of areas to improve, it would only be a matter of time until they would launch a game, revolutionary E3 trailer and the potential to be the Halo killer it was rumoured of being for the Playstation series of consoles.
Killzone 2 arrived in 2009. The year when the Playstation 3 would pick up speed with the price drop from a million dollars of so and with a movie to arrive shortly later in the year and with Killzone 2, it was a great start of the next gen Killzone experience. Not only were many issues resolved with repetition but with brand new sound effects which put Battlefield on clean up patrol, new sneak and cover mechanics and all new story of a fight towards the Helghast homeworld... added with some fluid multiplayer too. 
What happens next in the Killzone development story? Of course! A sequel! Killzone 3 was the next in line and with yet another game which seemed to rival Uncharted's shiny visuals and with more environments to appeal to gamers interested in more than just a war torn city although the story was seen as pretty ludicrous which was possibly due to the Joker guy before he got his face paint.
Then again, what got many fans thinking was the cliffhanger after the credits. Despite from confusingly swift ending before the credits, it got many of us thinking what could it possibly mean for the next installment.
Now with the next game, not only is the story continuing but the series seems to be turning around with the brand new Killzone: Shadow Fall game which will hopefully interest loyal Killzone fans aside from a bit as well with a Crysis storywriter so we no longer have to worry about the story being a bit like a comedy movie.
Now how do I come in to this story? I got the Killzone HD Collection for Christmas last year and through playing them, in a way I can see where people may think it's has it's success and where it's overrated. The first game was not too much special. It had some fun gameplay but much of it seemed like it dragging along compared and it felt like I would probably rather play a game like Turok instead but I can see how it was fun for the time. Then it built up to the PS3 games with a whole bunch of awesome warfare but still, even with some great environments, the story just felt funny in Killzone 3 (which is why I kept playing it) but sometimes, it would feel like I'm just playing point and shoot which is among many of the shooters these days.
However, with the next game, it looks like Killzone will go down the Ratchet and clank route of creativity and my most anticipated game of the shooting genre so far. Although when I think about it. The series has come along way and if it wasn't for Sony, then the series could have started off like Haze and possibly if Sony had taken distribution over Haze, then we would probably see yet another Halo killer too... even though there are still Halo games around.
So enough of my history class for the time being! I've always thought that every series could be expanded in many ways. For some say a stand-alone like Heavy Rain, then I can respect that the developers would want to just remain with one game but for many, others that just keep expanding more and more like Assassin's Creed and in this case, Killzone which is pretty much in it's reign with the Killzone year with Killzone: Mercenary making it's way to the PS Vita medium and all.
So these are just a few of my ideas of where I think the series should go and how they could become improvements to the current series. Of course, many sequels will just have to depend on the consequences of Killzone: Shadow Fall... but many of my ideas aren't necessarily sequels. 
A story involving an existing character
Much of what we've seen involving Jake Gyllenhaal, Ice Cube the other ISA soldiers and the Helghast in particular, all seem to represent their emotions many times but almost nothing it known about how these characters came in to being. It's entirely possible that Killzone: SF will feature the early life of not only the main character but maybe others we'll pay a visit to in the game including many already integrated with the series, between the 30 years of what separates the previous and upcoming game apart.
Although it would be interesting to see many of the ISA members with their own backstories, I think the most interesting time would be around the First and Second Extrasolar War and leading up to the events with growing tensions between the Humans and the Helghast. To be honest, if I was developing a game like this, I would probably set it on many characters on both sides and finally, gamers would get a sweet glimpse of a Helghast campaign. On the other hand, it would be exciting to experience the life specifically of a well known Helghast figure such as Colonel Radec or even Visari himself? I mean they're the characters that developed a country and sparked off the events of another war. I've always thought maybe during the First Extrasolar War, there could be an elite squadron of the most powerful gadgetry with a whole bunch of invisible technology and plasma weapons which would explain the origins of such inventions and maybe we could play Colonel Radec's ancestor and realize who we've been playing as in a shocking twist!
Birth of the Helghan race
Similar like above where I mentioned the 2 Extrasolar Wars. One of which took place in the late 2100s and another in the mid 2300s so would it be possible to make a whole game based around many of these significant events? I mean the birth of the Helghan company during Space Colonization, both of the wars, their transformation in to another Human kind... In a way, it would have to be developed and written right to prevent inconsistency but since this is basically about a 150 timeframe, why just make one game? There's a whole bunch of events we have no idea about. I mean Star Wars have an Expanded Universe which details what happens between the events of Episode III and Episode IV. Why not try the same out for any gaming franchise?
What if the Helghast story becomes complete by the end of Killzone: SF? It would make perfect sense to explore areas that have already been passed over and why not design this as a brand new trilogy detailing the lives of the Helghast's suffering after the first war, how they orchestrated their terrorist attacks, the rise and turn towards the Helghan's perspective during wars such as that on Vekta many in the first Killzone... minus the repetitive gameplay.
New enemy
So basically what you can see above this bit of writing is where I've been talking about the Helghast and it seems that they're now in the spotlight of this blog and in reality, this is applied to the marketing of the series too. It's a game which partially sells due to the Helghast's presence seems to look awesome and badass even to people who may even hate the series... or even heard of it maybe but not anymore! The Helghast is pretty much the only real enemy overall in the series. However there can always be the chance of many other forms of possibilities out there. I mean just because you have one major enemy, it doesn't mean you can't have others too. For games like Kingdom Hearts, you have a whole bunch of beings just around the basis of the heart!
So with the Killzone franchise inevitably growing, it may eventually become a tad boring at least if we're still fighting off the Helghast. Although I'm not exactly saying that the enemy has to be during a war or something. Far from it! It could take place even as early as the 2050s maybe just after World War 3 and where Colonization of Space has become not only intrigue but also, Humanity's last hope of survival with the many resources on Earth dwindling.
So during the midst of colonization strategies, could a potential new enemy rise? People may say that the Helghast are the core of the series. Without them, it wouldn't be a true enough Killzone. In a way, they maybe right but the Helghast are based around an ideology of suffering and destruction upon it's enemies. If we included certain ideologies in a future game and how they've changed the groups, then I wouldn't see the harm. During the exploration of certain areas of Space, it wouldn't be a surprise to me if many factions formed. Like for example, ones who believe that moving on deeper in to Space will eventually attract hostile aliens, groups wanting to use minerals for other purposes such as faster than light travel and experimental technologies and maybe just simple ones like Pirates?
Maybe one large group made up of many ideas or many smaller groups out there. That way, you can see how many ideas became forgotten or at least unrecognized due to one single army taking power that took a hold a few hundred years later. The Helghast!
In a way, expanding with more enemies, factions, gameplay elements can be a good thing but at the same time, it can be opinionated. Take Kingdom Hearts for example, they went with many beings but sometimes I think that if they kept to one, it would still seem cool with a more mysterious theme and they could expand on them further. Take my Templar's Greed series for instance. I have just introduced 2 orders and already I fell like I've gone a little too far since the Assassin-Templar already has so much potential. Although it won't feel too congested in the next series and it'll also allow me to fix up unfinished storylines too. Hint! Hint!
What I'm trying to say is that, I believe everything has infinite potential, no matter how significant or unimportant it may seem and sometimes just focusing on one area, will allow developers to focus more on one subject and develop it further. Expanding the series with already potential available could mean it might get too complicated and they may miss out on a few things. With the Killzone case though, I believe they could focus on a few other factors though and take a break from all the evil British accents.
Last Helghasts
Obviously this really depends on what happens at the end of Killzone: SF and I missed the PS4 announcement so I couldn't really speculate that much and also since I had never played the games properly. You may be getting confused where I said I got the Killzone HD Collection for Christmas before? Well I sorta did... but it was more like a late present... like a 3 month late present. 
Although I did see a bit of the ending even though I had no understanding of what was going on but the fact that I heard of a new Killzone game got me thinking... for about 2 seconds (nothing detailed) as to what it could be and my instant thoughts were the final Helghasts in an all new Helghast campaign!!!
In a way, I thought it would make sense to set the next gen Killzone games on the Helghast troopers out for revenge and much more powerful... well they would have to be strong considering that it would controlled by the player.
So after the events of Helghan, I had this image stuck in my head for some reason. Maybe because I thought the Killzone 3 gameplay video graphics were amazing with snow!
It would have lots of potential to represent the reorganization of the Helghast for about a few hundred or even few thousand years (although I think they may lose a bit of that vengeance by then) on a planet they have been able to colonize. Possibly outside of the Alpha Centauri system. It would certainly open up the prospect of powerful technologies, large empires and the lives of the Helghast. Maybe a few could cooperate with the Humans or... Vektan Scum! Too far? Well we've seen a hybrid in the first game, I couldn't see why it couldn't tie in with the story.
Further Space exploration
Vektan and Helghan are both planets that started out very small in variation with mostly industrial land torn by conflict but during the course of the games, the environments have opened up with many areas such as snow, Fungi Jungles and huge cities advertising for the Playstation 9. Both of which are only within on star system! Why not go further? I mean they do have faster than light travel afterall. This is the 24th century! If they can colonize 2 worlds in one single system, I'm pretty sure they could terraform other worlds to suit their fancy.
So why new environments? Not only would it prevent the player from getting bored of the bleak and dull graffiti streets but it would let us see the aspects of how both ISA and Helghast cope in those conditions... as well as some shiny new armour. How about a volcanic planet, oceanic planet, frozen planet? How about a planet landscape which hasn't been used before like an oil, severly magnetic or even... a Christmas planet!
So rather than just one planet, this could explore many areas around the local star system neighbourhoods, not just on planet per game similar to something like Star Wars minus the aliens but on the other hand, like the new enemies, it could be opening too far and what many people like about the series is that it's mostly focused on one planet... although a few new terrains would be nice.
Now the gameplay, maybe it could offer some sort of RPG perspective with your own ship and army? Who knows? A Killzone: Battlefront where you could choose sides and go to planets like a massive open world would be amazing! It could offer many opportunities for the player like the ability to be scientist, a pirate or even an ice cream tester for both sides.
Alternate reality
Sometimes when I see games like racing or just modern day, I wonder how much of it would have changed in the future. I'm saying that Killzone before 2050 was set in the real world just like games in Mass Effect so I have thoughts that maybe if the series was real, how would that style change us and most importantly, if the villains came back in time, could we stop them? I am referring to a time travel game. Maybe if the series was going on hiatus or needed a new direction and I couldn't see how this couldn't happen because with all the energy weapons in the next installment in a span of just 30 years, It won't be long until they start creating technologies to head over the local McDonalds within about 2 seconds... which would be quite long for future societies.
Then again, it could always take the turn of a what if direction. Like what if Visari's fate in Killzone 2 was different, what if the Helghast won in Killzone 3? Probably something for a DLC at least perhaps. What if Jake Gyllenhaal was working for the Helghast! I don't know why I keep calling them Sev that and why I'm also calling Rico, Ice Cube but It's probably not just me.
So after a few of my ideas of where the next Killzone game could go, overall it depends on what happens in Killzone: Shadow Fall and in my opinion, I believe Killzone could be one of the final games. Before you start throwing start throwing popcorn at me, let me just explain. The stakes feel much more higher in the Killzone: SF with the tensions between the 2 races only being divided from the wall but with the willingness of the Helghan race growing ever so higher, it seems likely that we could see even more evil British accents roaming around the streets. Although there is a divide between the characters with Lucas Kellan seeming to be working together, it looks like there could a decision near the end of the game where you could destroy on of the races forever. Well at least begin the Helghast's long awaited war against Earth anyways.
For that reason, it may end like Infamous 2. Sorta difficult to make a game corresponding to both endings and Guerilla Games are designing a brand new IP. Don't threat though. I think that there will probably be a separate division or team focusing on a new series and new installment of the Killzone saga and with mnay series these days surviving for years on end due to online and the internet's connectivity to well known brands, it's unlikely we'll see it disappear until about 400 years. Preferably the next game could feature more jetpacks!
Now I feel in the mood for playing more Killzone games so I'll just get out that old game set I put aside for a while (flicks off dust from game cover). Also a fun fact. My first ever avatar was a Helghast snow trooper but after changing it to a Raziel pic since i had forgotten about the character's name for many eons, I was forced to leave my Killzone 3 avatar behind.
So if I never found out about Raziel, then I would probably still be using this avatar til... now. Therefore, many of you would have probably seen me as more of a Killzone fan than an Assassin's Creed one... then again, there are Assassins in the game of course! In the end though, despite the fact that I thought the story was pretty dull and the gameplay can get boring after a bit, I still see the potential n the series and hopefully, we'll likely see a turn around once again with Killzone: Shadow Fall.
So do you agree with my ideas or would you rather see the series head down a different path or do you think that the Killzone series just needs to halt entirely. If you have something to say, don't hesitate to write in the comments below.
Thanks for reading! Hope enjoyed.