Now let me get off my back the thing I probably hear them most from my Nintendo purist friends: The PS2 version is not broken. Much like the port of Resident Evil 4, Killer 7 has both pros and cons on the PS2, but it is by no means a horrible port (although the reviews from publications are much lower for this version overall). Still this game is probably one of the most interesting in my collection, and for those of you who know the game well (and why would you really want to read this anyway if you have already played it) this game is weird. I know, there are a lot of games out in the market that can be considered weird, like games made by Tim Schafer and American McGee, but this game seems to be on it’s own plane of existence, mostly because of it’s creator Suda Goichi (a.k.a. Suda51).
By now I think most of us (if not al of us) know who Suda is, he is the creator of the wacky and refreshingly “hardcore” game No More Heroes but at the time killer7 was released we really didn’t know who he was. Why you ask? Well it is because, like many things from Japan that we want to come to America (A copy of SMT Nocturne with my reserved copy of Devil Summoner 2 although there is still hope) all his games before this one of his games were not released in English speaking countries. However, these games are finding a English language release in the form of DS games: Flower, Sun and Rain (which is already available in Europe), The Silver Case and The Silver Case 25 Ward are promised to hit our shores sometime in the near future, and will then be added to my massive DS collection (although I would rather have seen them as PSP games but what can you do). This pattern of non-world released games would end when Mikami Shinji (Best known for creating Resident Evil) decided that Suda’s latest title, killer7 be released world wide, finally showing us Americans what this Kafka loving man (yeah that’s right, this guy loves The Mist) could do.
Wow…that was not related to the review at all…damn…but let me get us back on track by saying this game is weird on two fronts: control and story; the combination of the two create one of the most interesting games (in my opinion at least) of the last console generation by intertwining story and gameplay.
The control scheme is somewhat difficult to get used to at first and what I think turned people off to this game the most. First of the game seems like a third person rail shooter, with preordained paths, but you can chose which path you take by using the left analog stick and moving forward to turn in that direction, to open a door, to talk to someone or to mess around with mechanisms and puzzles. But this is where it gets complicated as moving forward is slightly complex in itself. You see, in the PS2 version, you have to push the up button on the d-pad or the X button to move forward and press down to turn around to move backwards but you can also then use the X button to move and Triangle to turn around as well. Yes that last sentence is a jumbled mess but it at least accurately explains the movement controls on the PS2, which to the simplistic A to move forward and B to move back on the GC just seems needlessly complicated. Still, it works just fine and it takes getting used to. Pressing Square activates your character special ability (more on that later); pressing Circle brings up the map, and the start button the sub menu. Like Resident Evil 4 you have to press R1 to activate your gun, switching the camera to the first person; however, unlike resident evil you will have to scan for your enemies by pressing L1 in first person mode to find them before firing with X. Here is the first of many times the game interweaves story and gameplay, producing atmospheric tension.
So your walking down a hallway and you hear a mysterious cackle, so you immediately bring up your gun to look around, but no one is there. A quick scan can reveal your enemy lumbering or rushing towards you and you have to react quickly before it explodes (yes all of your enemies are living bombs) in your face taking away some or even all of your life. Sure you can shot any part of its body but they all the enemies have weak points shown by glowing yellow marks on their bodies that you can use to your advantage. Hitting these weak points not only results in a one shot kill but also nets you blood used for upgrading your characters stats and move sets and using their special abilities. This might not seem much when there is only one slow moving enemy, but not even one hour into the game you hear the overlay of the cackling noise and your scanner reveals larger numbers of enemies ready to obliterate you. Also your enemies snarl and laugh as they pounce you that may seem like nothing to some of you, but is down right creepy to me.
The art style in the game is cell shaded, which only seems to ad to the game’s wackiness and unrealistic violence. Killing an enemy will cause it to fall backwards laughing with blood gushing out of bullet hole only to explode into tiny colorful pixels (they will be red if you kill via the weak point), the fire effects look like papier-mâché, the character models look like elegant paper dolls and the environments manage show texture. The character designs are as bizarre as the people they represent and although there are a lot of pallet swapped enemies, there are also a plethora of different model types, each with a different weak point. I think the color pallet does a lot to influence the style of the cell shading; the game has very sharp color contrasts as each object stands out causing the game to feel like a very dark Picasso. While there are many cut scenes that are done with in the game engine, that look fluid and work in their own right, the animated cut scenes are what really spectacular and I will say they are as well done as any modern anime. All in all I enjoyed the graphical style, and although some may say it could have been done without I feel the game would loose a lot of its uniqueness if they were done with traditional character modeling.
The sound in the game is more new generation Capcom rather than old generation Capcom. There is not really a catchy score, although what little music there is in the game is good, as most of the sound work in this game are effects. The pattering of feet, the cackling of an enemy, the shots from all the guns, the sounds of reloading, and other environmental effects are all done well. Completing some of the game’s many puzzles gives you a pleasant jingle but finding a puzzle you can’t complete activates the strumming of a poorly tuned guitar. The voice work for them most part is done well, as all the members of the killer7, the bosses and during the cut scenes we get a bevy of well fitting voices. However, the many ghosts throughout the game speak in what seems like digitized gibberish. This is due to an “Engrish” recording of these voices, which lead Capcom to jumble up the voices for the ghost characters. It is not the best scrambling, as you can make out most of the lines, but it as another layer to the atmosphere of the game.
Now if you thought this game was weird so far, it is when you learn about the story and the characters that the game proves it is in a league of its own, a league where it sits in the corner stroking the hair of a disheveled rag doll (ok so I can’t conjure up the creepiest imagery so sue me). Before I continue explaining both the plot and the characters I want to make it clear that this story is insanely complicated, Faulkner complicated, finale of Neon Genesis Evangelion complicated, but I can still give you the gist of it. The game world is set in an alternate future where the UN has resolved every international dispute, ushering an era of world peace. The UN then shuts down all airports, close all nuclear power facilities, disarms all intercontinental missiles, and gets rid of every network terminal in the name of stopping terrorism (naïve sons of bitches) and in their place the UN sets up an international superhighway and a world trade system. On the day of the signing of UN World Security Treaty, a terrorist attack caused by creatures named “Heaven Smiles” killed off most of the UN forcing the console to call upon the group of assassins known as the killer7. The killer7 are lead by seemingly geriatric Harman Smith, a wheelchair bound man with a gigantic sniper riffle, and his group of summoned personas. These personas are not the subject of multiple personality disorder but true physical manifestations each of them having a unique look, mannerisms, and special abilities. The main personality is Garcian Smith, who not only can talk to Harman but also accepts jobs for the team. He can revive all other personas when he comes across their respective body bad and also does not need to scan in order to see heaven smiles like the other characters do. In the presence of televisions or security camera’s Garcian can call on the other six personalities:
Dan Smith: An Irish American who wields a pistol loaded with enhanced bullets capable of killing the toughest foe.
KAEDE Smith: A Japanese American Girl who wields a sniper pistol and with the help of the ghost Mizaru can absorb blood and break down barriers using her own blood.
Coyote Smith: A Puerto Rican who wields a modified pistol and utilizes his superior athleticism and lock picking skills to reach new areas.
Kevin Smith: An Albino Brit who wields throwing knives and with his sun glasses on he can easily bypass enemies and security camera without being seen.
Con Smith: A small blind boy who wields dual toy pistols and not only has amazing speed but can crawl into spaces that no other persona can.
Mask de Smith: A Luchador who wields dual grenade launcher and using his strength to break down walls.
Using this rag tag team of individuals Harman must stop his old rival Kun Lan, the creator of the heaven smiles, from taking over the world. While this plot seems simple now it is only as the game progresses do you see the true nature of the story. Plot twists are revealed and backgrounds lead to understanding of characters that only seem to convolute the story. This is probably the one thing that turned off most of my friends from buying this title, as they could barely understand what was going on and would have rather played a Resident Evil or Final Fantasy game (where zombie killing action and complex storylines are separated). Still I will admit that the story is harder to follow than most classic novels and will be almost impossible to comprehend fully the first time through (like a classic novel). In this way I could either bash the story’s complexity or call it a work of art, which shows that dedication has been put into the title itself. After a few play throughs and looking at a bunch of story analysis guides (there are many of them) I think while the story is brilliant at points it is definitely not the best plotline in game. Not only is the main cast of characters colorful and diverse but also the supporting roles in this game are just as memorable. From the enigmatic first victim of Harman’s known as Travis, the surprisingly morbid head Suzie, The trailer trash/perfect maid Samantha the bipolar mask wearing Yoon Hyun, all the psychologically damaged bosses, the crazy government officials and Iwazaru….
The um…S&M loving assistant? Yeah this game is INSANE
The combination of all these factors creates a game like no other, but there are some problems. Like I said before, the control scheme takes time to get used to, both the walking and the change in camera There are too many enemies to deal with early on and while this is easily rectified as the player improves his skill, this gets even more difficult on the harder settings. The map screen has no cursor but the layouts are so easy that you will never get lost. The puzzles are usually too easy, although as a fan of puzzle games this might just be my gripe. For the PS2 version there is a slight graininess in the cells and there is increased loading time, but these are irrelevant issues as once your playing a game this is hardly noticeable. As for replay ability there is killer8 mode that is harder and allows for a young Harman Smith to be a playable character and hopper7 where all the heaven smiles are replaced with humans with grasshopper masks (although it is only the first level). Overall the game is title the blends a first person shooter (sort of) with a great story, something that is very rare these days. The development of this game was a risk as it is a completely bizarre concept that manages to pull itself together thanks to the unsettling brilliance of one man. This game is like one of those optical illusions: One person sees it as a beautiful gem; the other sees it as a dull piece of glass. Whether it is your cup of tea is all up to you, but my final opinion is this game deserves at least a try for anyone wanting to try something new.
In addition, to the many guides out on the internet further explaining the story of the game, a comic has been made and has slowly been releasing a new issue every few months. The story is a retelling and an expansion on Suda’s story with his own notes and ideas used to fill in the blanks. I have not read a single issue but if someone out there has please tell me as I would like to know if the issues are worth hunting down. There are also some little Easter eggs in within the game. Keeping with the last name of the character the game makes little references to the British rock band The Smiths.
Throughout the game there are several carrier pigeons that carry letters that give your auxiliary info on Emir Parkreiner, the mysterious apprentice of Harman Smith. Each of the titles of these letters is named after one of there more famous singles. In addition, no more than thirty minutes through the game you will see a blood spattering which reads “how soon is now” another famous Smiths song.
Well this review went a little long but I think it adequately shows the ups and down of this game. I will be doing future reviews but I want to make them a little bit more interesting. Not only would I like critique on this review but also I want to make my next one chosen by those who read it. Sure I will be doing some one on my own but I want people to choose what they want my “unique spin” on. So hear are the game I what you guys to choose from:
Golden Sun (GBA)
Tomba! (PS)
Dark Cloud (PS2)
As always thanks for bearing with my strange literary mannerisms.
-AceofOpus
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