A hard game to summarise. Certainly unique and not like anything else. Oh wait, I just summarised it... DAMN!
For once I'm totally lost for words about the plot. Usually for games you can second guess the outcome of the plot just by merely glancing at the DVD case. That's completely different for Killer 7 because during the first play through you think what the hell just happened? during the plot. Killer 7 has a plot that needs to be painstakingly studied and closely analysed again and again, and even then you're can't be to sure as if you got the whole plot nailed down to a tee. But that's the beauty of Killer 7. It can't be summarised or second guessed while you play it. You never truly know what's going to happen next and that is something truly refreshing in a market that has become tiresomely predictable. Everyone knows the premise of an assassin named Harman Smith who has seven split personalities that can manifest themselves into physical beings. But that's the only logical thing you're going to get. Believe me, the plot will simply blow your mind. There's no way a developer is going to develop or copy ideas from Killer 7 because it's so far out there. However, the more you play it the more you begin to understand the plot, theme and symbolism the game just drips from it's two tiny shiny little discs.
Killer 7 seems to take a step back with the gameplay mechanics. I say sod that because this is one of the most streamlined games I've ever played. It's not a nightmare to play and the controls can be mastered by anyone with two hands, 8 fingers and two thumbs. Essentially the whole game is on rails and with minimal exploring. You hold "A" and the character follows a predetermined path. When you hear cackling laughter you hold the "R" shoulder button to bring up a first person reticule and then press "L" to scan for the enemies. You do this because they can't be seen initially, until you scan obviously. Then you aim and fire with "A" and they die. They die quickly if you aim at the weak points. And that's the basis of the game. No uncluttered mess or stupid combos, just pure gameplay. The enemies drop blood, two types, thick and thin. Thick blood is needed to upgrade your character's skills and thin blood is used for special abilities (such as destroying barriers with KAEDE slicing her wrists) and healing. No mess, even with all the blood.
This is a heavily stylized game. The graphics are cleverly laid out to suggest more detail than there actually is. The environments may look basic actually show variation and each area you visit just gets better and better. The character models may lack the attention to detail of Metal Gear Solid, but they're never the less just as amazing and memorable as the aforementioned game. I also love the way the game incorporates different styles of anime for the cut scenes, plus in game engine cut scenes that are just as impressive. If there's any criticism to be aimed at the game it has to be the jaggy shadows and occasional blocky moments. But other than that, the game looks amazing.
Killer 7 has one of the best soundtracks ever. It's just completely weird, cool and once again memorable. What's fantastic is the music suiting the mood and atmosphere of the game when they really shouldn't. The voice acting is also of a high quality, the creepy remnant psyches with their distorted speaking are equally creepy and baffling. All in all, the game excels in the audio/visual department.
Killer 7 has a surprising amount of depth to it. You're looking at a very decent 15 hours here on your first play through plus extras. Also, because plot is so deep and layered you may wish to play it again to try to grasp what the heck's going on. The game is open to interpretation and that makes it all the more better.
Killer 7 is one of the most refreshing games I've ever had the pleasure to play and own. I'm glad I own it. It's got guts to try to do something different and if you're after escapism, it doesn't get much better than Killer 7. Be aware though that the game is very mature, in a good mature way and not in an exploitive way. Not everyone is going to like it and will prefer to play FIFA 22220034 because they're afraid of trying something new. But I really do recommend it and that you should try it out because.... it really is a WOW game.