WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Killzone 2, Killzone 3, and Killzone Mercenary.

During one of the last missions of Killzone Mercenary, you finally get the chance to fight alongside the Hearmy. You drop out of a carrier into a warzone, your comrades screaming, "For Helghan!" Ever since I first became enamored with the Killzone series, I’ve wanted to play as a Helghast soldier. I almost screamed out "For Helghan!" myself, but I was in public and would have looked like a complete lunatic.

I’ve always sympathized with the Helghan backstory. Here is a people that were not only the victims of genocide, but were persecuted, exiled, mutated, defeated, and invaded. Here is a broken and shattered people clinging to an ideal. That ideal may be nationalistic, but it unites them against their oppressor. That fact alone makes the Helghast an ideal candidate for a playable campaign, despite the many atrocities they’ve committed against the ISA.

More thoughts on the Helghast on Page 2.

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I think why I, and others, gravitate towards the Helghast is the mystery of their motives. Sure, we know they want revenge, but not every soldier has the same motives in war. In fact, one of the things I really enjoy about the Killzone series is the middle ground it takes on the subject of war. The ISA, who you primarily play as in the series, aren’t necessarily the good guys. You aren’t saving the galaxy from some interplanetary oppressor. The ISA are guilty of committing genocide on an entire planet. The plot of Killzone Mercenary involves the ISA trying to develop a virus to commit genocide on Helghan, while the Helghast try to do the opposite.

Not every Helghast soldier is a bad guy. They have families, feelings, beliefs, and lives outside of war. The Helghast soldiers have the same motivations that the ISA soldiers have, and I think that idea has been squandered in this series so far. Both sides have good, both have bad, but we only ever get to see one side of the story. Wouldn’t it be nice to actually play as a Helghast soldier for once, to see the conflict from behind enemy lines?

As Helghast leader Visari once screamed, "Defenders of the Helghast dream, now is our time!"

Feel the same way? Would you play a Killzone game about the Helghast? Let us know in the comments below.