My Thoughts on: Killer 7

I don't know how to start this review....heck I barely know how to describe this game. I mean how do you describe such an odd game.  Killer 7 is one of those games that different then pretty much any other game I have ever played.  With how most games today are just clones of other games or ripping off something made this game a nice breath of fresh air.  The only game I can really compare Killer 7 to would be  No More Heroes which was made some years later but the same guy who made Killer 7 (Suda 51).  and the only real comparison is the graphics style.
So I guess to start this out I will tell you the main premiss of this game.  You play as the Smith Syndicate also known as the Killer 7.  As the name suggests there are 7 members you get to play as however all 7 of these people are in one body. Yes the Killer 7 is one man with 7 different personalities that will replace the main man.  Each personality has different weapons from a silenced pistol to a double grenade launcher.
So I am gunna tell you about the main characters, the enemies, the game play. and what I thought of the game over all.  I know im not mentioning the story.  Well I just don't want to spoil it so I'm going to keep is simple.
So lets start with some characters.  We have eight playable characters and four returning characters who are in every level.  So lets start with the Boss of the Killer 7 Harman Smith,  Harman is the boss of Killer 7.  He is a wheelchair bound old man with a really big really powerful rifle that fires armor piercing rounds.  As I sad he is the leader of the Smiths but he himself does not see much combat.  You get to use him a couple times when it comes to big story points.
The next member of the Smith Syndicate is Garcian Smith.  As he will tell you he is a cleaner he has no problems with seeing a dead body to him its just rotting flesh.  He is not one for combat with his silenced pistol he is the weakest of the group but he is also the one who holds the team together (if he dies its a game over.) Garcian has the ability to go out and find the dead bodies of the other Smiths (Shown as heads in bags) and he can bring them back to life.  He also has the power of the Vision ring, which allows him to see the enemies better/sooner/from farther away.  Garcian is the main character in the game who the story follows and revolves around
Dan is the next Smith and is a natural born killer.  He is a smooth sharp dressed man with a nice powerful gun.  His gun is a powerful revolver which with 3 test tubes of blood (Yes blood is very important in this game) will fire a super powerful charge shot. This ability may be the only way to kill some of the enemies you will face.  Dan is the teams Bad A** and he was easily my favorite to play as.  He fits my play style of most games rolled into one only a little better.  I like the slow powerful type.  While he is very powerful he is more middle of the road with speed.
Now its time for the dying rose of the team Kaede Smith.  She is the only girl in the group and is well special.  Her weapon of choice is a scoped automatic handgun.  She is the one you use when you need to precision and can't just kill the enemy with a bunch of random shots.  However her slow firing speed makes her one of the people I used the least (unless you are good with video game sniping).  She also has a rather grim ability.  She can use her own blood (By slitting her wrists) to break down barriers and revile hidden clues.  She has a bond with another female spirit who helps point out where her abilities are needed.  She is a very dark character and I wish I knew more of her bast.
Con Smith is another character I personally loved to play as.  He is the smallest and the fastest member of the team and he also has the lowest life meter.  How ever he is a great member to use mainly because of his speed.  Everything about this kid is fast (Yea he is only in his teens).  Con is kind of like Daredevil he is blind but has amazing hearing.  He can see using sound even needing this ability to navigate a maze like area.  His uses a pair of automatic hand guns they are helpful.  You can take down two or three enemies in the time it could take others to kill one.  His speed is matched with it gun play.  And as if he wasn't fast enough his special ability is super speed.  Also his small size allows him to get into areas the others are to big to get into.  He is my second favorite character to play as just because of his fast firing ability.
Coyote Smith is the teams thief.  He has the ability to unlock any padlocked door.  He can also jump extremely high....like from the street to the top of a house.  Don't ask me how he jumps that high but he does.  He is a lot like Dan he has decent power with average speed.  He is a good third to character if Dan and Con are dead.  Other then that there really isn't much to say about Coyote.  He isn't the best but he sure isn't bad.  His jumping skill sure comes in handy as well.
So now we only have two personalities left and these two are the strangest.  Kevin smith is someone who would be classified as a strange silent type.  Through out the entire game he doesn't say a single thing, In fact it also seems he would rather not be seen at all.  His special ability makes him invisible and allows him to walk through any security system as well as enemies.  He is the second fastest character and also the quietest,  He uses throwing knives which are not the most powerful but if you juice them up you can throw a good number at a time.  However in he was mostly unused unless his skills are needed.  But I do like his character and I just wish I knew more about him since the games gives me so little information on him.
So on to the final Smith who goes by the name of Mask De Smith.  Mask is by far the most powerful character in the game.  He caries two grenade launchers, but with his power he is also the slowest in the game.  He has slow run speed and slow firing speed  having to reload after every shot.   I will say right off the bat that you will use Mask a lot as he will be able to move heavy objects out of the way (Including a freaking Semi.) With his explosive power he can blow up cracked walls to show hidden pathways.  Now I can make one comparison between Mask and one other thing in gaming and believe it or not i would compare him to a Pokemon.  How do you make such a comparison you may ask.  Well you strange person talking to me while I am righting I say this because he "evolves" twice.  The first time you "Evolve" (upgrade suits) you get a fifth charge shot, but the last upgrade makes him even better.  He can fire as many shots as he needs with out having to reload.  This upgrade alone gives him a much faster firing speed making him near unstoppable.
So this brings us to the supporting characters and we will start with Samantha.  She is a very odd person with her own split personality.  She serves as the maid for Harman and as a maid she cleans and feeds him as well as someone who would save your game.  However when you are not in a place where you can save she is an angry abusive woman.  There are several scenes where she is beating up and abusing Harman who at the time is helpless (Since his body is inactive when your not controlling him.)  The odd thing with her is that when she is in her maid uniform she is silent and professional.
After miss crazy pants we have Iwazaru an odd and helpful bondage suited man.  He is a ghost who is very helpful at getting information for the smiths.  Iwazaru is a very loyal servant of Harman Smith.  He can always be found inside Harman's room but he can also be found around the levels and will give you plenty of information that will help you as you play.  He will even bring you items you need to continue in a level.
Other then Samantha and Iwazaru we have two characters who will often help you out either with just puzzle hints or actually gives you pieces to the story.  Yoon-Hyun is the one who will sell you information.  His price is blood and once you shoot the mask he holds as well as pay the blood he will be flipping you off while he gives you info and calls you a loser.  Then our other dead helper is Travis.  He is a man you killed before this game and will keep filling you in on what is really going on.  He starts out hating you for killing him but ends up helping out with the situation.
Now this brings us to our enemies in this game the Heaven Smiles.  Now there are many different kinds of Heaven Smiles but I will just tell you about them as a whole and the ones you will meet the most often.  Now the Smile is an invisible enemy that you can't see without scanning the area (L button on the gamecube).  Now I am sure you are wondering how do you know where the Smiles are at.  Well my silly little cumquat you listen for the creepy laughter.  When ever you enter a room with a Smile in it you will here some very "Jokeresq" laughter, when you hear this you should instantly scan the area to find any Smiles in the area.  Now when you find the Smile or Smiles you can either shoot like crazy person or find its weak spot.  The Weak Spot is always a yellowish color when the Smile itself is usually red or purple.  Now the three smiles you will see the most is the normal Heaven Smile which is easily beaten by either shooting it alot or hitting its weak spot.  The Speed Smile is a smile that will run right at you.  Just like the other smiles just aim for its weak point but if you don't have time to do so just start shooting.  Then the third most common Smile is the Bombhead Smile.  This Smile has is basically wearing the Blast Mask (Majora's Mask).  Its mask will blow up if you shoot it but if you do that you won't get any all important blood.  However if you wait and shoot it in the face when the mask opens up it will be dead and you will get your yummy blood.
So this brings us to the game play and well its pretty good.  This game is an on rails shooter which I know people don't like all that much, but the game would not have worked as well any other way.  The game can get tough and it is easy to get lost when you need to find things.  However this isn't much of a bad thing compared to the rest of the game.  For me the game play took a little bit of time to get used to but before that I had never played a rail shooter......or at least I can't remember playing one.  Like I have said before each character brings something different to the game play but overt all it stays the same.  Once you know what you are doing game play wise you will have a pretty easy time with the rest of the game.
So overall this is a good game.  It is fun and strange but the strange is more like creepy strange.  The use of blood to power special attack and also as money.  The grimness of Kaede cutting her wrist to break down barriers.  The ghost of the people you have killed in the past (Including bosses in the game) and the "people" who give you the special rings.  Even the story and bosses can be kind of creepy.  However I think the best part of the game is the ending which is rather sad.  Even though it might not have been the most unexpected ending it still is effective when it comes to making the player feel sadness.  Over all this game is a 7.5 out of 10. Could it have been a better game over all yes but is it a good game yes.  It is a game that will only work in for some people more then others.  If you like seeing poop brown and gray graphics all the time this game is not likely for you.  But if you like a colorfully dark game then I recommend it......as for YOU......and YOU know who YOU are.....YOU should play this game.  So thats my over all opinion on Killer 7.  Thank you have fun and remember  "The tanker has six-thousand hulls, so, unlike me, it's entirely leak-proof. " :Professor (Futuram)