Killer 7

Written by Chris Reiter  on March 15, 2004

First Impressions: A man with seven extra identities must have a hard time fitting all those butt cheeks into one chair

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Time flies on and marriages break apart. Partnerships like the one Capcom had with Nintendo right before the GameCube launched here in America. A commitment was in order. Everyone knew about the "Capcom 5." This was an agreement from Capcom to develop five completed games exclusively for the GameCube over a set time period. But there are a few things about marriages that aren't always so peachy, like divorce, separation, mistrust, and the biggest one of all, sleeping around. Capcom, being the dirty little slut-sluts that they are, has and are doing a few things that they shouldn't be. So far the solidified contract that once was has slowly been crumbling away.

Of the five games originally in agreement (Viewtiful Joe, Dead Phoenix, Resident Evil 4, P.N.03, and Killer 7), only Viewtiful Joe and P.N.03 have been released into the public's eye thus far. Where Viewtiful Joe has garnered acclaim for its original 2D gameplay concept, P.N.03 on the other end struck much fewer high notes than it did low ones. Dead Phoenix has been canned definitely, and now the only two games still on the receiving end for Capcom's famous 5 are Resident Evil 4 and Killer 7. With Resident Evil 4 announced as the only son/daughter still due for arrival under Capcom's unaltered contract between Nintendo and themselves, it's with Capcom's own breach that they've announced the cel-shaded not-so-exclusive-anymore coming of Killer 7 to see a PlayStation 2 placement in the coming months for this fall's schedule.

A man with an identity disorder, Harman Smith is the world's foremost known sixty-year-old man to be an interchangeable, multi-personified assassin. It's with these attributes that the United States government has found a new use for Harman and his seven other selves. Kun Lan, whose history is tied to mysterious events that happened thirty years before the present, is now the ring leader of a current terrorist organization. It's Kun Lan who also posses the power to overthrow any government. With this power he's about to unleash an enemy presence upon the world, known as the Heaven Smile. These alien beings are invisible to the naked eye and can blend right into society. Their purpose is evil. As Harman, and him, and him, and him, and him, and him, and her, and him, you'll be the only ones able to put a stop to Kun Lan's organization and the man Kun Lan himself.

Bored of those same stories that pit the good guy against the bad guy and then end game, Capcom wants to make something out of the ordinary in Killer 7. That element of bizarre nature will be aimed to live on through its action of the game's leading protagonist and his seven remaining transformations. There have already been numerous times before in video games where players were able to control one of two identities. With Capcom's Killer 7, though, you're not being given one identity. You're being given seven. Each one of these seven versions of Harman is all opposite of one another in some way. Each one will have its own name, its own abilities, its own weapon, its own characteristics, and even its own age. Through a method of channel changing, Harman Smith will transpire his appearance into a human arsenal including:

Garcian Smith. At 33 years old, Garcian is able to see straight through enemies' weak points, as he can also resurrect any of Harman's fallen personas. Garcian isn't much of a fighter, however, but he's the only one Dan Smith can trust. His weapon of choice is a silenced handgun.

Dan Smith. Dan is a vile character, also at 33 years of age, that while he's a part of Harman, he indeed loathes Harman with a disgusting passion. He has two powers: one, controlling bullet dynamics with his mind, and another Harman isn't even aware of. His weapon of choice is a modified colt python.

Mask de Smith. Cloaking his true body in a wrestler-like outfit at 38 years old, Mask is a man who uses his special clothing for two reasons. One is for concealing his identity, and the other is to block out his skin which has been terribly burned. Mask is the only one who can destroy certain doors. His weapons of choice are dual grenade launchers.

Coyote Smith. Something of a wild card at 28 years of age, Coyote is an excessively temperamental person who doesn't get along with Harman's other halves. Coyote's ability is sifting through physical matter. His weapon of choice is a modified Enfield rifle.

Kevin Smith. Unrelated to anything to do with "snoogans," Kevin is a 30-year-old man who is sensitive to light. Moving through the shadows, Kevin is able to see in an infrared view that allows him to perform stealth kills. His weapon of choice is throwing knives.

Kaede Smith. The only female member of Harman's group at 20 years of age, Kaede finds herself infatuated with Harman's others, particularly Dan and Coyote. Kaede is a specialist when it comes to long distance kills. Her weapon of choice is an AMT hardballer.

Con Smith. As the youngest portion of Harman's team, the 14 years of age Con has also been blind since birth. With extraordinary hearing powers, though, Con is given additional speed to hear and kill enemies quickly sort of like Daredevil. His weapons of choice are dual automatics.

To great effect, it's with switching between these different people that Harman can gain access to certain places he could not previously, or to solve puzzles such as one member's property to emerge into flames in order to turn on a sprinkler system so that liquid fills to the toilet's brim. This will then allow for the character to exceed a puzzle by flushing the water down the drain. Throughout six separate scenarios that Capcom estimates will count for around two hours in gameplay, players will find themselves directing the characters in an uncharacteristic manner from a 3D game's normal setup. Rather than having actual control over Harman's set of segmental figures, you'll be able to point the way for them by addressing available paths such as the South Hallway or Room #302. Along the way in between every linear road there'll also lie Heaven Smiles within. Being focused not on travel but instead on the combat, the game will have players first scan for the Heaven Smile that will appear as ghostly silhouettes on the screen. Once the Heaven Smile have traversed into the open world though, players can then target bulging sections on their body that can instantly finish them off. If this procedure doesn't pay off, then there's always the chance to unload the type of weapon from whichever of Harman's materialization's you're using upon these abnormalities.

Strange games are categorized into an even stranger visualization mode most of the time. Killer 7 certainly will be no different. Keeping the cel-shading tradition alive, Killer 7 will up the ante on this new age style of seeing by doing what other games haven't. This fresh graphical approach in the game will give off a feel like living inside a twisted and distinct type of anime. Similar to Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker adventure last year, characters' appearances reveal a uniqueness about them. Between light and shaded tones of colors, the Harmen (and one lady) of the game are being granted their own vein in fashion sense. The Heaven Smile too are shaping out nicely, as players can drill dozens upon dozens of bullets into them and gaze upon their bodies as they'll spurt gushing blood out of the swiss cheese patterns you'll undeniably imprint.