Killzone was released in 2004 for the PlayStation 2. The game takes place in a post-colonial era in which the Helghast Empire has recovered from its defeat in the First Helghan War and launched a blitzkrieg against the outer Interplanetary Strategic Alliance (ISA) colony planet Vekta. During the initial assault, Vekta’s orbital Strategic Defense (S.D.) platforms failed, allowing the Helghast to land swarms of soldiers onto the surface and making life even more difficult for the outnumbered ISA forces. Captain Jan Templar and his squad are summoned back to the base for reassignment and are immediately dispatched to find the ISA operative Hakha and the key in his possession. Templar meets other characters who help him, including Shadow Marshal Luger (a female special operations assassin), Sergeant Rico Velasquez (a Helghast-hating soldier with an itchy trigger finger), and Colonel Hakha, a half-Helghast, half-Human spy. Killzone 2 was released in 2009 for the PlayStation 3. Killzone 2 is set entirely on the planet Helghan, the homeworld of the Helghast, who invaded an Interplanetary Strategic Alliance (ISA) colony and followed the events of Killzone and Killzone: Liberation. The ISA attacked the enemy’s homeworld of Helghan two years after the Helghast assault on Vekta. The ISA’s goal is to capture Scolar Visari, the leader of the Helghast, and bring the Helghast war machine to a halt. Sergeant Tomas “Sev” Sevchenko, a battle-hardened veteran of the special forces unit “Legion,” is assigned to the Alpha team, which goes on a mission to eliminate the Helghast threat. Captain Jan Templar has been promoted to Colonel and is now the Fleet Commander of the New Sun, a Cruiser airship stationed in the clouds of Helghan over Pyrrhus, preparing for a final assault. Sev’s unit is deployed behind enemy lines to assist the main invasion force during the invasion of Helghan. Tasked with defending Pyrrhus, Helghan’s first actual city, the team quickly realizes that the Helghast are a more formidable foe on their home planet. They have adapted to Helghan’s hostile environment and harnessed the power of the bizarre lightning storms that occur on Helghan, which they can now use against the ISA. Helghan, a cold, barren, unforgiving world, offers a ready defense through thick, acidic air, dust clouds, and violent surgical lightning storms. Sev discovers that his squad is up against more than just enemy forces—the planet itself may be their most formidable foe. Killzone 3 was released in 2011 for the PlayStation 3 and is the only game in the series to have a special edition, support the PlayStation Move, and use 3D gaming. It takes place immediately after the events of Killzone 2. Visari, the Helghast’s leader, is no longer alive, but the war is far from over.
The ISA (Interplanetary Strategic Alliance) evacuated planet Helghan after Helghast forces launched a devastating counterattack. As more powerful Helghast battalions appear, ISA forces are outmanned, outgunned, and surrounded. Johan Stahl and Admiral Orlock, who both want to be the next Autarch of Helghan, appear as new antagonists. Sev, along with Rico and Narville, returns as the protagonist. Admiral Orlock eventually becomes the new Autarch due to a Helghan High Council decision. Stahl murders Orlock in a final confrontation, but the planet Helghan and Stahl’s ship are nuked by Sev and his team. It was revealed, however, that a ship crashed and landed on Helghan and was greeted by two Helghan soldiers.
