Well, it's not everyday you run into games like Killer7. Most games
have a very detailed story, with things and puzzles and mysteries that
are easy to figure out once you unlock bits and bits of pieces of the
story as you progress through the game. Killer7 is way different from
all of them. The story is "beyond the norm", if I may exaggerate a
little bit but not in a bad way. If you're into the "eccentric" and
"bizarre" types of video games, Killer 7 might just be right for you.
The story is about a professional assassin named Harman Smith. He
possesses a power called "God-Killer", rendering him unstoppable when
used. In the game, he is pretty much this legendary killer, but the
ironic thing about it is he's in a wheelchair; paralyzed for the rest
of his life. What's more mysterious about Harman is that he has seven
personalities altogether who, each possessing unique powers and
abilities of their own, and only one of them can easily communicate
with Harman. Harman also has a caretaker named Samantha Smith who is
always in Harman's Room available for service. Another weird thing is,
when she has her maid outfit on, she's loyal and takes care of Harman
all the time. But if she does not have it on, she can be pretty
abusive. Pretty eccentric, huh? Well, Harman's mission is simple; to
get rid of his rival, Kun Lan, who possesses "God-Hand", and turns
everyone he touches to what they call in the game, a "Heaven Smile."
These human time bombs are the main enemies in the game.
Although there are the common, typical, grunt HS, there are also different kinds of
them, and must depend on each personality to properly defeat them.
That's pretty much Harman's mission, with the help of his seven
personalities he possesses of course. As
you progress through the game, the story revolving around Harman and
his seven personas get even bigger, more complicated and harder to understand
until you completely get lost and ask a billion questions.
The gameplay is simple, just an unconventional, on-rails shooter. It's kind of similar to games
like Resident Evil, except that it's not free roaming, and the path is
already determined where you should go, except you run into these
junctions that are throughout the game. Choose a junction and it takes
you to the direction to where you desire to go. The majority of the
game, you're pretty much killing Heaven Smiles for fun. But they cannot
be seen with the naked eye alone. Every persona can "scan" the area for
Heaven Smile. Whenever you hear a laugh, get ready. A Heaven Smile is
near. When you hear their infernal laughter, that means they're nearby,
so go to shooting mode and press scan to detect the Heaven Smile and
start shooting away (can't hurt them without seeing them first,
right?). each persona has a unique weapon of their own, and have their
own strengths and weaknesses, like long range, mid-range, or even blow them up. Or, when they get too close, give them a lesson not to mess
with you by a counter move each persona has.
There is no HP bar in Killer7. All you get is an "eye" at the top left corner of
your screen. As you take damage, the eye will start to close, and when
it's completely shut, it's game over.
Although you can restore your health by using the blood you collect
from the Heaven Smiles that you kill along the way. When you do die,
there is a possibility that you can be brought back to life. Garcian
Smith, one of the personalities, is the only one who can
bring every persona back to life. Just take Garcian to the spot where
the persona died and then you'll be back in Harman's Room where Garcian
can resurrect the him/her. The best way to collect massive
amounts of blood is aim for their weak spots, which appear in yellow.
You can even use their blood to power-up/upgrade each persona's abilities, only possible
in Harman's Room. You can also save here, only when Samantha has her
work clothes.
The game's storyline is very complex; sometimes it makes sense, sometimes it does not. But playing the game over and over again while paying attention to the story might help with the confusion.The story also has different meanings, and it's possible to relate it to modern times and political-related articles.The game also has some pretty interesting puzzles to solve as well as
crazy and lengthening riddles to decipher that will keep you probably
lost for hours. The key is to pay
attention to every person/clue/riddle you encounter. It's easy to get
lost if you suddenly miss a certain part of the game, and when you
do, it might not be possible to proceed to the next levels without them, and backtracking can be a pain as well, so always pay attention to everything. If you're an expert at this game, it shouldn't take you long to
finish it, although it would take a lot of hours to solve everything if
you're new at this. There are two difficulty settings you can choose,
normal or expert, so you can try out your skills in either modes.
Graphics are great; it's a great combination, with
cartoonish-like/anime elements added to it. The blood and violence are
pretty presentable, and fit with the stylish and mysterious elements of the game.The dance and techno music is very catchy;
somewhat fit the setting and elements in the game itself. The Heaven
Smile laughs were very nicely done. Their laughs fit perfectly in the game's dark tone. Voice acting is decent, and every character's voices fit their personalities in the game.
To sum it up
altogether, Killer7 is, overall, an excellent game. Although you think
the story is absolutely weird and could confuse and irritate you
sometimes, the experience of playing could leave you entertained for
hours.
