Killer7 (PS2)
Killer7 on PS2 is...interesting to say the least. It's delivered in a mixture of three different gameplay styles, two of which you wouldn't think go together: On-rail shooter, exploration, and puzzles. (Do you see what I mean about which two don't really belong together??) Anybody who plays this game will be torn between those who love, and those who hate it. And I myself have gone back and forth a few times between the two since I first popped it in.
Shooting controls shift to first person by holding down the R1 button. L1 is your scan (you use this when you hear/see a Heaven Smile in your area, the scan makes them visible). The left joystick controls your aiming and X shoots. When not holding down R1, you can flick the right joystick for reloading.
Like I said, easy controls, but two vastly different styles to be used in the same game.
Your enemies come in the form of the Heaven Smile terrorists. They are completely invisible in the world until you scan for them, but whenever you are approaching one they generally tend to let out this little cackle that might make you shiver a little bit. The Heaven Smile also have a vast amount of different forms (believe me when I say vast). But, upon scanning them, they each have a small glowing weak point that, when you hit it, kills them in one shot instead of chunking out ammo. There are some that walk, some that charge, some that fly, honestly I could go on and on. Regardless, once they go down, Smith collects their blood in vials. This blood is used to either heal yourself, use for special shots with your gun, or to level up the different personas.
Each persona brings something different to the table. Your main one, Garcian, is the only one who can communicate with Harman. He also has the ability to revive any of the other personas who die in the field. His downside is that if he dies, it's an instant game over, whereas if you die with any other character you just have to switch personas until you get them revived. They each use different guns, and each has a different specialty shot. For example, Dan's specialty shot is that he can use three vials of thin blood to fire a Collateral Shot that will obliterate whatever you hit with it.
But they aren't only unique in their combat abilities. The last aspect of this game is the puzzles, these range from the fetch type puzzles of running around to find different items to place in a specific spot/machine, to using the different rings you find throughout the game (will be explained shortly), or using a specific assassin persona to get past an obstacle. One persona, nicknamed the Thief, is the only one who can pick padlocks, while another persona is the only one able to break down barricades. The puzzles are complex enough on their own, but adding in the need to determine which persona to solve the puzzle as brings a whole new level to it.
The rings I mentioned earlier are scattered throughout the game, and are necessary for completing various puzzles, while a couple of the rings just boost power and stamina stats (called the Power Ring and Stamina Ring). The other rings are : Fire Ring (generates a short wave of fire/heat), Water Ring (generates a stream of water), Time Ring (reverses time in a specific area to bring objects back to a previous state) Wind Ring (produces a gust of wind for powering up different items or opening up new pathways) and the Vision Ring (this is what allows you to scan for and see the Heaven Smile).
Overall, this game is a pretty good one. It brings a very unique twist to things that is hard to describe. It's fun at times, and frustrating at others, so whether out of joy or hate, you will definitely be talking about this game. But, let's break it down a little bit.
The bosses in Killer7 are...inconsistent to say the least. One one hand, you have the decently challenging ones, such as chasing a boss around a bunch of ambulances, his weak point is essentially the back of his head, but the difficulty comes in trying to get around to the back of him in the first place (the fixed path doesn't help a whole lot here either), as he is chasing you around trying to find and shoot you as well. On the other hand, you have a "boss battle" that consists of you two facing off on opposite ends of a bridge, a timer comes up that starts counting down from a minute, and at the end of the minute whoever has shot their opponent the most wins. Literally, that's it.
The puzzles have a definite Resident Evil-type vibe to them, at least in my opinion. You have a companion in the game that essentially is there to give you advice on the puzzles, but it's very cryptic advice which I can respect as it would be way too easy for you to walk up to him and he tells you precisely what to do. Instead, he sort of hints at what to do by making note of certain items in the room/area where the puzzle is so you at least know what you're looking for. What's nice is, the companion is holding a mask that you can shoot, causing him to give you a bit more direct advice, but still not holding your hand for all of it. The downside of shooting the mask is it invokes his bloodlust and any vials of thin blood you have, get consumed.
There really isn't a ton to challenge with in this game, as the on-rail fixed path movement of your character takes away a lot from any environmental challenges. So, let's look at the pros and cons of Killer7
- The "junction" feature of the on-rail movement. Linear games are one thing, but games with fixed paths are another. However, getting full control over if you're moving or standing still, as well as having options at junctions is a nice balance from having to be stuck on one path.
Once again, thanks for stopping by the blog again. Just a little overview on what I'll be doing coming up, my "Phase One" plan was to cover one game on each of the consoles I have in my posession (which is just about all of them). So, I'd say I'm at about my halfway point. In the coming weeks you'll be getting N64, Wii, GameCube, PS3, Xbox, and Xbox 360 reviews. After that, The Honest Gamer will be getting a Facebook page to promote communication between me and you, and with this I will be trying some more interactive things with those that follow me as far as game selections So I hope you enjoy and I hope you stick around!
The Story
Killer7 is set in an alternate 21st century Earth. You play (kind of) as Harman Smith, an assassin who is wheelchair-bound. But, Harman is also a schizophrenic with seven personalities that he is able to physically manifest into the world (hence the killer7). A job is contracted to track down a terrorist group called Heaven Smile, and you get to control any of the seven different assassin personalities through the mission. The trick is, the Heaven Smile are actually invisible. Eventually the game gets to an even deeper political plot of the relations between Japan and the US, and even involving some god-like beings in the end. It's just...all over the place in my opinion.The Controls
Killer7 has some easy albeit wonky controls. Your movement is controlled by the X button, which sets you running on a fixed path in the game. You can either move forward along this path or...that's it. No turning side to side, climbing, none of it. △ turns you around from the direction you're already facing to run backwards down the path you just came. While running, you can press R2 to change the camera from facing over your shoulder behind your back, to in front of you facing backwards. Through the game you come to many path junctions, where you use the D-Pad to select which path you'd like to travel and X to confrim.Shooting controls shift to first person by holding down the R1 button. L1 is your scan (you use this when you hear/see a Heaven Smile in your area, the scan makes them visible). The left joystick controls your aiming and X shoots. When not holding down R1, you can flick the right joystick for reloading.
Like I said, easy controls, but two vastly different styles to be used in the same game.
The Gameplay
This is where Killer7 stands out among the pack, it's gameplay. First off, you have this game presented in a variety of different manners. Your movement is like that of a first person rail shooter, but instead is displayed in third person. While controlling Smith (you can at any point switch between the different personalities, but they are all last-named Smith. So to make it easier that's what I'll use for the character name), pressing the X button sets him moving, in the direction he's facing, on the path that's already set in stone. When you reach intersections of hallways, doorways, and the like, you will get to choose which path to take, but that's as much freedom as you get in the exploration.Your enemies come in the form of the Heaven Smile terrorists. They are completely invisible in the world until you scan for them, but whenever you are approaching one they generally tend to let out this little cackle that might make you shiver a little bit. The Heaven Smile also have a vast amount of different forms (believe me when I say vast). But, upon scanning them, they each have a small glowing weak point that, when you hit it, kills them in one shot instead of chunking out ammo. There are some that walk, some that charge, some that fly, honestly I could go on and on. Regardless, once they go down, Smith collects their blood in vials. This blood is used to either heal yourself, use for special shots with your gun, or to level up the different personas.
Each persona brings something different to the table. Your main one, Garcian, is the only one who can communicate with Harman. He also has the ability to revive any of the other personas who die in the field. His downside is that if he dies, it's an instant game over, whereas if you die with any other character you just have to switch personas until you get them revived. They each use different guns, and each has a different specialty shot. For example, Dan's specialty shot is that he can use three vials of thin blood to fire a Collateral Shot that will obliterate whatever you hit with it.
But they aren't only unique in their combat abilities. The last aspect of this game is the puzzles, these range from the fetch type puzzles of running around to find different items to place in a specific spot/machine, to using the different rings you find throughout the game (will be explained shortly), or using a specific assassin persona to get past an obstacle. One persona, nicknamed the Thief, is the only one who can pick padlocks, while another persona is the only one able to break down barricades. The puzzles are complex enough on their own, but adding in the need to determine which persona to solve the puzzle as brings a whole new level to it.
The rings I mentioned earlier are scattered throughout the game, and are necessary for completing various puzzles, while a couple of the rings just boost power and stamina stats (called the Power Ring and Stamina Ring). The other rings are : Fire Ring (generates a short wave of fire/heat), Water Ring (generates a stream of water), Time Ring (reverses time in a specific area to bring objects back to a previous state) Wind Ring (produces a gust of wind for powering up different items or opening up new pathways) and the Vision Ring (this is what allows you to scan for and see the Heaven Smile).
Overall, this game is a pretty good one. It brings a very unique twist to things that is hard to describe. It's fun at times, and frustrating at others, so whether out of joy or hate, you will definitely be talking about this game. But, let's break it down a little bit.
The Challenge (or lack thereof?)
Combat against the Heaven Smile can be difficult depending on which approach you take. The movement for aiming is extremely sensitive, so trying to adjust for a perfect shot will take a little time. So if you decide to just waste your enemies away with as many bullets as it takes, you will do fine as the △ button acts as an auto-aim and points you at the center mass of whatever is nearest you. However, if you want to consistently go for the one-shot kills at the weak points, depending on how quickly you adjust to the aiming sensitivity, you might have a bit of a hard time with it. Regardless of how you take them down, you still get the blood for your leveling up/special shots, but hitting the critical points will (obviously) net you more blood).The bosses in Killer7 are...inconsistent to say the least. One one hand, you have the decently challenging ones, such as chasing a boss around a bunch of ambulances, his weak point is essentially the back of his head, but the difficulty comes in trying to get around to the back of him in the first place (the fixed path doesn't help a whole lot here either), as he is chasing you around trying to find and shoot you as well. On the other hand, you have a "boss battle" that consists of you two facing off on opposite ends of a bridge, a timer comes up that starts counting down from a minute, and at the end of the minute whoever has shot their opponent the most wins. Literally, that's it.
The puzzles have a definite Resident Evil-type vibe to them, at least in my opinion. You have a companion in the game that essentially is there to give you advice on the puzzles, but it's very cryptic advice which I can respect as it would be way too easy for you to walk up to him and he tells you precisely what to do. Instead, he sort of hints at what to do by making note of certain items in the room/area where the puzzle is so you at least know what you're looking for. What's nice is, the companion is holding a mask that you can shoot, causing him to give you a bit more direct advice, but still not holding your hand for all of it. The downside of shooting the mask is it invokes his bloodlust and any vials of thin blood you have, get consumed.
There really isn't a ton to challenge with in this game, as the on-rail fixed path movement of your character takes away a lot from any environmental challenges. So, let's look at the pros and cons of Killer7
PROS
- The visuals of this game stand out over anything else at a first glance. The game itself is presented with a cell-shaded style which is one of the styles I love the most. Games like Borderlands and Jet Set Radio Future are among my personal favorites solely for the visual appeal, and this one is on that list too.- The "junction" feature of the on-rail movement. Linear games are one thing, but games with fixed paths are another. However, getting full control over if you're moving or standing still, as well as having options at junctions is a nice balance from having to be stuck on one path.
CONS
- The save system in this game is by far the worst of save systems I've come across. Now, obviously, it's preferred to be able to save whenever you can and as often as you can, but not all games do this. There are ones where you can only save at certain places (Silent Hill), and even give you a limited number of saves (Early Resident Evil's with the ink ribbons). But in Killer7, there are specific rooms in the map called Harman rooms, this is where you switch between personas, level up, etc. Not even all these rooms are save rooms though, only a select number of them actually have the capability to save. So if you're in trouble, not only do you have to find your way to one of these specific rooms, you'd better hope it's one that lets you save.Final Verdict
While Killer7 isn't an amazing game, it isn't a horrible one either. You will find that the public opinion of this game is very evenly split down the middle. You have the lovers, and the haters. Me? I'm slightly more on the "love" side than the "hate". And if it weren't for the god-awful save system, I would be completely on the "love" side. So, being the Honest Gamer, I will say this : if you are the type of gamer that can dive into something for hours at a time, and you like solving cryptic puzzles, then go out and find this game as you will thoroughly enjoy it. However, if you are a more passive gamer and only sit down sporadically for short spurts, or you like to bounce around from title to title, I would suggest maybe not getting into this one. The save system doesn't allow for "oh I'll just play for ten minutes" because when those ten minutes are up, if the next Harman room doesn't let you save, then you'll be backtracking to the last one you remember that does save. So just keep that in mind if and when you decide to pick up this game.Once again, thanks for stopping by the blog again. Just a little overview on what I'll be doing coming up, my "Phase One" plan was to cover one game on each of the consoles I have in my posession (which is just about all of them). So, I'd say I'm at about my halfway point. In the coming weeks you'll be getting N64, Wii, GameCube, PS3, Xbox, and Xbox 360 reviews. After that, The Honest Gamer will be getting a Facebook page to promote communication between me and you, and with this I will be trying some more interactive things with those that follow me as far as game selections So I hope you enjoy and I hope you stick around!
-HG
