Travel into the mind of a killer

Killer 7
Dev/Pub-Capcom
Systems on- GC (reviewed) and PS2
Money Worth-High

The story and atmosphere make the core of Killer 7 and producer Suda 51 has come up with such a complex story that when you finish the game you will either admire the strange, complex story or just think of it having plenty of plot holes. To water it down, you play as Harman Smith, a top class assassin with seven personalities, to take out the terrorist group Heaven Smiles. But that’s only the tip of the iceberg, there’s so many plot twists, confusing scenarios and down right crazy cut scenes involving either wannabe power rangers, child organ trade, government conflict, nukes and just about anything Suda 51 can think of. Of course this is no surprise since he never goes out in public without a wrestling mask.

The gameplay is the antithesis to the story, because of the fact that it’s simple, but still fun. The game has you playing on rails which mean you can only walk back and forth. This was simple to use since the game guides you to where you need to go. The gun play is just as intuitive. When you enter an area with enemies, you just push a button and the game goes into first person perspective where you can scan for enemies and shoot them. There are plenty of enemies to fight and each has their own specific weak spot or critical point. Like the name of the game, there are seven killers with their own special ability and powers. This does seem cliché, but it is fun to pick a favorite killer or two and level them up. The assassins level up with the bodily fluids that you collect from killed enemies. The blood can also be used to replenish health. The seven killers also have special powers to use for solving puzzles. One slits her wrist, a guy in a wrestling mask does a suplex to a barrel and another Smith killer turns invisible to go through lasers.

Stylish is the only way to describe the awesome celshaded graphics of the game. Everything looks smooth and very much like a cartoon. It’s easy to say that Killer 7 has the best celshaded graphics of the current-gen crop.

Sounds….Oh sweet sounds. In Killer 7, you’ll often hear random laughs out of nowhere (A warning that enemies are near) or some cool moody music will come on. Even the voice acting is great and top notch. Every character seems more fleshed out because of their voice.

The only real thing to hate about the game is the annoying load times (If you can’t handle load times avoid the PS2 version at all costs) and the somewhat annoying back tracking. Other than that I can’t find anything wrong with this game.

As has been said before, Killer 7 is a love/hate type of game. Some will hate the gameplay and others will love the story and graphics. Personally, I love the fact that in an era where a lot of games are trying to copy the gameplay formula of GTA, Killer 7 takes a bold direction and takes the opposite route. Some might say this is a step backwards but I think it’s a step for games as an art.

For gamers who like story 9 out of 10
For gamers who like deep gameplay 6 out of 10
For gamers who are in between 7 out of 10