Killer 7 - Australian Review (Reviews)

David Kvasnicka, GamePro Australia

13/09/2005 13:02:09

Internet lingo is starting to take over regular language these days, and although this could be considered an abomination to modern day education, some good has come of it. It's a small but well known little acronym called "WTF", but we don't need say the full expression here. It doesn't actually make much sense if you really think about the three words combined, yet it's precisely the best way to articulate certain things in this world. And yep, load up Killer7 for the first time and "WTF!" is precisely what comes to mind.

Killer7 is a difficult game to explain, to say the least. You're an assassin with seven different personalities, each with their own unique skills to aid in assassinations. The game is set in a dark world where terrorists known as Heaven Smile are seemingly trying to take over the world by using a virus to turn ordinary people into suicide bombers, who rush at you and detonate themselves. Most of the action involves shooting these zombies, and getting the most blood out of them as possible by aiming for limbs where possible, or going for body and head shots if they get too close. You collect this blood to use for your own devices, like healing or levelling up your personalities.

If this is already sounding a tad strange, bear with us because you haven't even heard the half of it. Throughout the game, you are guided or aided by various spirits, most of whom are past victims of your assassination work. They'll give you items or explain how to defeat enemies, or even just say random things that don't make a whole lot of sense. Most of their dialogue isn't voiced in any particular language, it's more a pseudo-speak with effects that is undeniably creepy to listen to.

Killer7 can't really be categorised specifically into any genre. When moving around, there's a fixed third person camera, and when in combat mode you're thrown into first person. However, when walking around you can't really choose where to go, you can only go forward, and choose pathways that you come across. Yep - just to make sure you got that the first time - there's no actual free roaming movement. It's either walk forward, or turn 180 degrees and walk back the way you came. It's an interesting and no doubt controversial design choice, but for a game that's already this ridiculously eccentric, it can hardly be cited as a flaw.

SEVEN KILLERS OR ONE SERIOUSLY SCREWED ASSASSIN?
  • Harman Smith: Harman is the original identity who then split into seven other assassins. Despite being wheelchair bound, he's the most formidable of all the Killer7 personalities.
  • Garcian Smith: "The Cleaner". Garcian is the only personality that can speak to Harman directly. When your personalities are killed, it's Garcian that must pick up their severed head-in-bag and resurrect them. If Garcian is killed, it's game over.
  • Dan Smith: Dan's the man, and the cool way he holds his high powered revolver behind his head is evidence enough. Dan hates Harman and is waiting for a chance to kill him.
  • Keade Smith: Barefooted sniper who doubles as a sexy chick - nice combo. Wears purple panties that you'll be staring at for half the game thanks to the appropriately positioned camera angles which can't be changed.
  • Con Smith: Con is a bit of a midget who can run really fast and get into small places. He's got angry man-boy syndrome.
  • Coyote Smith: The thief. Coyote can also scale buildings for some roof access action. His hobbies include jumping long distances.
  • Kevin Smith: Left his gun at home. Has to use a kitchen knife he found lying around. This guy is all about stealth.
  • Mask De Smith: Big dude. As if he wasn't dangerous enough, wields dual grenade launchers.

Otherwise, as soon as you hear the insane cackle of a Heaven Smile baddie, you quickly switch to a fixed first person reticle mode (i.e. you can't move). To combat the unwieldiness of console controllers in first-person, there's a handy target finder to quickly switch between targets. You basically just hammer away at nasties with whatever weapon your particular personality employs, or use a special ability.

For all the game's creativity and originality, there are a lot of frustrating elements that undermine the uber-stylish cel shaded elegance. For example, each time you cross into another room, there's an annoying waiting period while the new room loads. This can often take up to ten seconds, and when backtracking, what this means is that you can spend more time staring at Killer7's loading screen than actual playing. This is quite baffling, as the game doesn't appear to have any elements that would be requirement-taxing for (even) a PS2 or GC at all. You can also only save your game at times dictated by the game - a design decision which had us losing a fair bit of game progress each time we needed to switch Killer7 off.

So there you have it - Killer7 is bizarre, eccentric, stylish, violent, cool, dark, creepy, ridiculous, frustrating, sick, twisted, original - did we say bizarre? - and more. We wish we could give two different scores for this game, as one score would be a 10 out of 10 and the other would be what you see below. Ironically enough, you'll need to be in varying frames of mind yourself to enjoy this schizophrenic shooter on the many levels it offers.

Unfortunately, the game will only appeal to a very small niche of gamers, not because the game is too far outside the square, but probably more because of the game's many frustrating elements. Seriously, this game is like an acid nightmare, and it can inexplicably put you in a foul mood long after you've finished playing. For someone, somewhere out there though, this game is a work of art.

Verdict
It's astounding how something so fiercely creative can simultaneously be so outrageously frustrating. Too much originality, not enough game.
Pros: Bizarre story and idea. Uber-stylish.
Cons: Scene changes take ages. Gameplay can often suck.

Score = 6.5/10



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Graphics: 3.5 Sound: 3.5 Control: 3.5 Fun Factor: Fun Factor
Scoring scale: 1-5
Publisher: Capcom / Developer: Capcom / Retail Price: $89.95 (GameCube) /, $89.95 (PlayStation 2) / Release date: 15/07/2005 / Genre: Action / OFLC Rating: MA (15+)