Personally, I don't think Killzone: Shadowfall is where you should start your Killzone experience. But then again, I've been a KZ fan since Liberation on the PSP.
For me, my love of Killzone isn't just the presentation, but that's certainly a part of it. I can break it down like so, however:
1) Tone. Before CoD and BF showed up, Killzone 1 was a surprisingly gritty and "realistic" take on war. Despite it being futuristic, it felt very believable and real, even on the PS2, which struggled to keep up with Guerrilla's ambition back then. The look and feel of Killzone was set back then, even though, unfortunately, the gaming press was hyping it as a "Halo Killer," which lead many to unrealistically think that Killzone was going to look and feel like Halo. It. Does. Not. And this is coming from someone who absolutely loves the original Halo, but also loves Killzone.
2) Feel. Killzone has always felt heavy, and "real." The weight of the weapons is kind of a staple of the series, and movement is not about mimicking mouse and keyboard precision, but about making you feel like you are handling fairly heavy weaponry. It's not about twitch gameplay. I loved the weight of Killzone 2, but I'm glad they tweaked it with Killzone 3, Killzone: Mercenary, and Killzone: Shadowfall. Killing enemies just feels very satisfying in the Killzone games, especially in 2 and 3. The encounters feel hectic and tense, and frantic.
3) Mythos/Concept. Despite the games lacking in a strong narrative in the "hot war" scenario, the backstory and concept of Killzone is one of the best in the industry. If you ever have the time, try reading the lengthy timeline of the Killzone universe on their website, and you will find a rather compelling, interesting, almost tragic series of events that led us to where we are in KZ: SF. It's a shame that the games either have that stuff buried in intel documents throughout the game, or only available in the website. If they had put more of that history and complexity in the actual games, it would have transcended the tired "meatheads with guns" theme that KZ2 and 3 especially present. One of the things I enjoy the most about the Killzone story/history, is how sympathetic the Helghast ultimately seem when you know their history. They aren't the "pure evil" that they seem on the outset. But they certainly are no angels, either.
4) Yeah, the graphics. Killzone 1 was done a disservice on the PS2. The system couldn't handle it. It has moments of impressive visuals, but it falls short sometimes. Killzone: Liberation is a great game, and the top down isometric view was a departure, but totally worked. It was a clean, nice-looking game. And then came Killzone 2, which is stunningly beautiful, even to this day. I've been replaying Killzone 3 in anticipation for Shadowfall, and I can also say that KZ3 boasts some truly jawdropping visuals. The Helghast are also incredibly iconic and just downright badass looking. I can't help but want the Killzone engine to have been used for other games, from Silent Hill, to Aliens, to anything dark, and somber, and gritty. The last area of Killzone 2, and the winter area of Killzone 3 are still two of the most incredible things I've seen on a console, and I'm still stunned that the PS3 was able to pull that off, with as fluid as a framerate and as high image quality as it does.
So, yeah, those are my thoughts on it. I know people often find it hard to believe that Killzone has fans, and many people think that it's just because of the "purty graffix," but I have to admit that I'm not a fan of Call of Duty or Battlefield, and I've played them. I am a fan of Halo 1, and Halo: Reach was pretty good (never played 3, or 4, and only a little bit of ODST. Halo 2 wasn't bad either), but I've never wanted Killzone to be like Halo, or to feel like Halo, or to play like Halo.
The fact that Killzone is so different from CoD, BF, and Halo, and is kind of its own thing, is precisely why I'm a fan of it in the first place. In an industry of cookie cutter, "me too" wannabes, and try their hardest to ape the popular title of the time, Guerrilla has stuck to their guns (no pun intended), and despite tweaks here or there, Killzone has remained Killzone, and I'm grateful for that.
While I'm at it, Killzone: Mercenary on the Vita is fantastic. It feels like a great bridge between the PS3 titles, and Shadowfall in terms of presentation and controls. Superb game, and looks stunning on the Vita, doing justice to the Killzone graphics pedigree.
