Killer 7 is a game about a syndicate of assassins called the Killer 7. The Killer 7 are actually one person with multiple personalities, and they can be changed between at will, as they go on missions that concern the heaven smiles, which they need to destroy. There's more to the plot, but to say more would spoil it, so I'll leave it there.
This is actually the first shooter game that I've ever played - it's not a genre that typically interests me, but I was drawn in by promises of the bizarre plot and having seen bits of the game be played. It's a fun game, and although the plot isn't always coherent, it's good fun. Killer 7's plot is one of those games where you can play the whole game through, discuss the plot with someone - and both have got such a different idea of the plot it's as if you're talking about a different game. The shooting is often fun, if frustrating, and the puzzles have a level in bizarreness that is to be appreciated, if sometimes bafflingly easy or difficult (the numbered candle puzzle at the beginning of the game, for instance).
The characters shine and the voice acting is largely very good. I defy anybody not to like Susie, the disembodied head who talks with emoticons and tells you disturbing life stories, and the rest of the 'ghost' cast is quite fun too. It's always fun seeing Travis in another area to see what his shirt says this time, some of them give hints, and it's quite well done. Some people do not like the fact that the Engrish they took in has just been covered with a filter rather than redubbed, but I personally liked this - it made it really feel quite eerie.
As for your playable characters, they are all generally likeable. Not only does the game generally utilise them well by forcing you to use certain characters for puzzles or certain enemies so although you may have a preferred character, chances are you'll use everybody at different times over the game - the personalities sleeping also contributes to this. Everybody will have different opinions on the usefulness of various characters - one of the characters I found helpful to play as, Coyote, gets quite a drubbing for having bizarre recoil, and likewise with another favourite of mine Kaede for her slow reloading - so it's important to make your own decisions. It's also worth noting that weak points tend to be balanced out: while Coyote may shoot awkwardly, he reloads incredibly quickly (I would argue the quickest reloader), and while Kaede may reload slowly, her being able to pick up enemies by sniping them and their weak points can be quite invaluable.
The characters are all largely badasses, both in combat and out of it, exceptions being to Garcian who is the only character who, on dying, will give you an actual game over. His job isn't to fight, and so he is not very good at it - but he is a very cool guy.
Boss fights are very different and tend to resolve around using a certain strategy that's been very vaguely explained to you, which can be a bit frustrating as it's not always that exact. That said, some hints given are genius - listen to Curtis' dialogue before you fight him, for instance.
With the game completed, an optional Killer 8 mode is unlocked - Killer 8 is very difficult and loses the number of hints for puzzles as well as making combat harder but adding a new personality.
That's not to say Killer 7 is without issues. The PS2 version suffers from long loading issues - supposedly it's a bit better on Gamecube, and the graphics are a bit more polished there too - and the controls can certainly take a while to get used to. Analogue stick aim can be very awkward - I completed the game and never got to a point where I felt comfortable with it - and while it didn't bother me some people may be put off by the lack of free movement; you run around on rails, practically. You can choose a direction to go in at junctions, but sometimes smiles will appear when you reach a junction will still seems a little unfair to me as the screen is (until you go into combat mode) obscured. There also does not appear to be a subtitles option for the actual game cutscenes - there are only subtitles for the filtered Engrish, which is a huge shame as the cutscenes are very plot important. At least most of the time any hints given are given by the ghost characters, who are always subtitled, so it's not unplayable for people who have to play with the sound off or are deaf, but you'd be missing out on the plot.
I'll end this with a note to PAL players: the back of the box says this game contains "strong bloody violence", while the official rating also covers swearing. This is quite true, but there is also sexual content in this game - not mentioned remotely in the rating. It's not that important - Killer 7 is rated 18 anyway - but if for some reason you need to know the content, there you go. The NTSC version does mention the sexual content.
Other than that, Killer 7 is an ambitious game, and while it certainly isn't perfect, it's very interesting and, above all, I found it fun to play - so four stars.
