11 Major Rivalries That Changed Video Game History

4. Halo Vs. Killzone

Over to a 'rivalry' that's essentially another chapter in the 'Microsoft vs. Sony' war-book from across the years - as well as being one that in the minds of the Microsoft camp, was over before it began. After Bungie's Halo landed and proved you could do console shooters just as well without a mouse - on a console that was very much the underdog at the time too - it was over to generation-leaders Sony to prove they knew how to read the signs, study the appeal and bring out a game that would keep fans loyal. But they didn't, and we got Killzone. Halo played like an absolute dream, its Silent Cartographer level being one of the most replayed and iconic in gaming history thanks to big set-piece battles, instantly switching from first-person shooting to a range of vehicles, brutal enough combat that packed a punch, and varied approach that saw you springing off all surfaces to take on huge numbers of enemies with ease. In short you could feel the revolutionary vibes oozing out of every pore, with the game's story also becoming the stuff of legend along the way. So what's Killzone? A boring, mundane, grey n' brown trudge through lifeless locations with combat that forced you to remember you were playing a video game at every turn, and a story that was about as memorable as your character's surname. It was completely anathema to everything people loved about Halo, and despite marketing spins and critics' reviews labelling it as the 'Halo-killer' before release, it did about as much damage as a newborn kitten pawing at a shotgun-wielding Sasquatch.