Though Namco is one of those classical Japanese game companies known for titles like Pac-Man and Soul Calibur, the company is actively developing games in the United States as well. Last year's Dead to Rights, an intense Hong Kong movie-style action game, is one of the most notable recent examples, and the soon-to-be-released tactical shooter, kill.switch, will certainly be the next. At a glance, kill.switch seems to draw inspiration from numerous other popular and successful action games, including Metal Gear Solid and Halo. But the sum of these parts appears to be a game that has its own unique look and feel--as well as its own unique features--that will likely be borrowed by other games that follow it. We recently had a chance to play a near-final version of the Xbox game (it's also headed for the PlayStation 2 and later to the PC) and came away impressed by some of the game's unique features and were intrigued by its unorthodox premise.

Kill.switch is definitely not your ordinary military shooter.

Kill.switch is a third-person tactical shooter set in the near-future. The game features real-world weapons, like the M4 and AK-47 assault rifles and the M249 squad automatic weapon, or SAW. Kill.switch also features relatively realistic damage modeling. A shot to the head instantly kills most enemies, while a shot to the leg may send them limping away for cover. Flashbang grenades may also be used to blind and deafen groups of foes--who often cry out in pain and send out sprays of bullets in all directions if they're caught in the vicinity of the blast. The game is predominantly set in urban-style environments, and you need to use the terrain to your advantage. As a solo operative, you're heavily outnumbered and outgunned. Your only hope of surviving is by firing from behind cover and cautiously approaching each new area.

It seems ridiculous to have a military shooter with just a single trooper up against these kinds of odds, but the storyline of kill.switch justifies what's going on. Rather than spoil the game's intriguing story, we'll simply say that kill.switch isn't your average military shooter.

You need to use cover to survive, but don't get cocky because sometimes you're racing the clock to meet your mission objective.

When kill.switch was first announced, most of the early information on the game focused on the main character's ability to use what's called "blind fire" from behind cover. Blind fire, also known as the "spray-and-pray" technique, has been used in many action movies when the heroes or the bad guys poke their weapons around a corner and open fire without actually peeking out for fear of getting shot themselves. Blind fire, as the name suggests, is wildly inaccurate by nature. It's used to suppress enemies by preventing them from advancing or gaining the initiative. That's exactly how it works in kill.switch. No, you don't play as some cowardly soldier who's afraid to stick his head up from behind an obstacle to see if the coast is clear. You play as a cautious, highly trained operative who knows when it's not a good idea to stick his neck out.

Blind fire is used in kill.switch either to keep the enemy at bay or when the odds are so great in your favor that you'll certainly end up hitting something. You can use blind fire when ducking under an object or hiding behind corners. In both cases, the effect is highly convincing. It's also very well done, from a control standpoint. The left trigger is used as a context-sensitive "use cover" button. If you're not close to any object, the trigger makes you crouch. If you're near a wall, you'll press your back up to it and can then sidle up to the corner. If you're near a wrecked car, you'll crouch behind it. Then, while pressing and holding the left trigger, the right trigger can be used for blind fire. If you use the left analog stick to lean out from behind cover, you'll fire much more accurately (but leave yourself more vulnerable, in exchange). Using the same technique, you can chuck grenades from behind cover, giving your enemies a nasty surprise.