Hands On: Killer 7
Louder than bombs and cooler than your freezer in Antarctica
Tags: Killer 7 Categories: Game Cube Previews, Previews
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Apr 13th, 2005
Heaven’s Smile is the group causing so much chaos within the world and it is up to the 7 personalities residing within a wheelchair bound Harman Smith to take care of the situation (hence the title – Killer 7). If that sounds a bit far-fetched, that is nothing compared to actually seeing the game in motion.
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Harmon has seven different personalities residing within him though not all are accessible immediately of course. Once a character has been “woken up” (or unlocked) in the game it will be possible to switch between them at any time. Each has their own specialty, whether it be picking locks (in order to progress) or turning invisible (to get by unseen) or reviving the other personalities when they fail in their mission.
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The game is played primarily by holding down the “A” button. This seemed rather odd at first, until I got to the point where I had encountered an enemy. By holding down the “A” button I walked through a building – direction was pre-determined. When encountering a possible change in direction, the choices would present themselves on screen and I would use the left thumbstick to make the selection.
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While this may seem overly simplistic (and in many respects it is) when encountering an enemy things change. The right shoulder button brings up the gun, and often times you will need to press the left shoulder button to scan the area to be able to see the Heaven’s Smile operatives. It is possible to simply shoot at them, but at times there will be a specific area which is of a different color that you can aim for that will result in a greater amount of blood retained when shot. It is this blood that is used to boost your character’s abilities.
The visual style is very much designed to evoke a “cool” factor. The entire thing is done with color, light and shadows in very broad strokes. While this may put some people off initially, it does give the game a very unique look and feel. It is almost as if Killer 7 is like a painting in motion.
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Each of Harmon Smith’s personalities are surnamed “Smith” – which is odd if you know anything about multiple personality disorders. Many will think that the last name comes from the Mr. Smith of the Matrix films, or as a generic last name. Instead this is more of a tribute to the band The Smiths.
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I only got a small taste of what Killer 7 has in store. Initially it looks to have a whole lot of style over substance (especially when you consider the controls) but I was playing a portion fairly early in the game. With the different abilities of the other characters, and the opportunity to switch between them at any time, this is what will give Killer 7 its depth. Hopefully the final product can bear this out, as the small taste I received was quite appetizing.
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Tags: Killer 7
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Apr 13th, 2005 and is filed under Game Cube Previews, Previews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
