Killer is Dead (PSN/PS3)

Like a modern day grindhouse film, SUDA51's story about a hired American killer with a mysterious past unfolds in a way that is not unlike Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill" movie series, or some of his other more recent films. This game, or interactive experience as I've grown to know it was given the uniquely appropriate title of "Killer is Dead" by it's collaboration of developers, and publishers (XSEED, Grasshopper Manufacture, Kadokawa Games & SUDA51). In the simplest of explanations that I can think of I'd say that  it is an over-the-top hyper stylized gorefest filled with flirtatiously sexy mini-games, epic boss battles, combo based combat, and an interesting cast of individuals who are all a part of a mythology like none other.

Mondo Zappa who just so happens to be the main protagonist of this otherworldly plot is a guy with a mysterious past, an augmented arm, and several unanswered questions. As a hired killer Mondo willingly does the bidding of another gangster looking gentleman who also deals in the profitable business of executions. This employer who looks an awful lot like the gun armed Barrett of FF7 (Final Fantasy VII) goes by the name Bryan. Along with his interest in taking on contracts Bryan also has an odd, and often times unreadable sense of humor about him. With Bryan's guidance, the assistance of a female accountant named Vivienne, and the help of a younger "moe" style female secretary named Mika, Mondo sets forth time, and time again to fulfill contracts as well as earn a living so that he can support his more perverse hobbies.

When the story of "Killer is Dead" begins we find a man in a suit wielding a particularly long sword. As he casually pursues an unknown perp throughout the dark alleyways of an abandoned street for unexplained reasons we are given a brief glimpse of his unusual gifts, and abilities. Just as we are getting to know this dark man though the ground is swept out from under us, and we the gamers are introduced to a seemingly unconnected plot about a man of a similar appearance. Unlike the previous man of mystery, Mondo is a man whose motivation seems to be solely about wooing women. Killing to him is more of second nature sort of deal, and does not appear to rule his life completely as it did the stone cold vengeful individual of the first cutscene.

As Mondo, the gamer gets to fill the shoes of an interplanetary executioner who earns a pay-per-job salary based on execution requests. Throughout the game various characters will come forth looking for justice from Bryan, and his odd crew of death dealers as well as Mondo. Vivienne, the accountant of the execution business sorts out the financial details, and will sometimes even assist the executioner (Mondo) in his duties should he need her to. Mika on the other hand fulfills her secretarial duties by occasionally dropping hints, and assisting in the revival of Mondo should he find himself bled dry by the enemies he encounters. As far as Mondo is concerned he is easily the star of the group, and the one who gets the dirty work done. He asks little to no questions during his many encounters, but obviously observes everything that goes on as it happens. Through the completion of chapters (jobs), and sub-missions Mondo is able to get ever closer to finding out how it is he got the arm augmentation known as "Musselback", and exactly who he is in the grand scheme of things.

When it comes to dispatching the many targets of execution associated with Mondo's work it is an easy task assuming the gamer controlling his every action can handle the complex control layout, and the unusual combination of weaponry that are made available. As far as controls go I'm going to have to keep things simple in order to keep from confusing my readers. The controls are by no means easy to master, and are definitely not easy to explain. Learning them well enough to gain those triple "A" grades will certainly require some time, attention, and dedication. As it were, Mondo basically has in his possession a lethal katana known as "Gekkou" with which he fights, and executes his enemies. It is with this sword that you will wear your enemies down, and ultimately finish them off with one of a handful execution methods. Bashing out combos also plays a huge role part in the combat portion of the gameplay, but dishing out the rapidly dealt slashes in a strategic manner is a must if you hope to make it through to the end of the game. While you can definitely slice your adversaries away like the dude in the "Ginsu World Class" commercials you'll also need to know when to block with your sword as well as when to use your evasive roll if needed. For ease of access the "Gekkou" katana attacks are assigned mainly to the "SQUARE" button, and are used in combination with directional functions of the "Left Thumbstick" as well as some of the shoulder buttons for an added variety of sword based special attacks. This in turn allows a player to more efficiently perform combos, and block/evade if necessary.

Mondo's secondary go to weapon in the game just so happens to be his augmented arm, otherwise known as "Musselback". This bloodthirsty device allows Mondo to do several different things within the game assuming he has enough wire blood required to do so. Wire blood (rose shaped power-ups) acts as the fuel that allows Mondo to not only use the "Musselback" functions, but also allows him to perform various executions with his sword. As such "Musselback" features are best used on an "as needed" basis. Among the handful of weapon based features that you'll find associated with the "Musselback" arm replacement are things like a drill, a power shot cannon, and a couple other interchangeable weapons that can benefit Mondo in certain situations. While you are given access to the basic "power shot" weapon initially the other "Musselback" weapons have to be earned through a sexually inspired mini-game called the "Gigolo Missions" in which Mondo has to win over the hearts of the ladies through gifts, and unnoticed glances. By successfully winning over the lady in question Mondo will not only score a one nightstand with them, but will also be gifted a new "Musselback" function. When using any of the "Musselback" functions Mondo's third-person point-of-view will change to that of an FPS (First Person Shooter) perspective allowing for a more 'Metroid Prime' sort of targeting system.

As I said earlier though you'll mainly be wearing your enemies down with sword combos, and will mostly be using the 'Musselback' functions to assist in boss fights, and to do away with certain obstacles that are hindering chapter progression. Aside from these standard methods of attack/usage you'll find that Mondo can unlock new skills/upgrades simply by collecting enough of a certain type of power-ups. Like the wire blood power-ups these collectible items called moon-crystals also fall from defeated foes that you encounter on the way to a boss. By collecting enough moon crystals you can upgrade Mondo's "Gekkou" abilities, and "Musselback" power levels multiple times throughout your playthrough/s. The more you upgrade the more the acquired upgrade will benefit Mondo. Aside from collecting power-ups there is also a "Gift Shop" which can be used to obtain additional power-ups as well. These million dollar items will enhance Mondo's life meter, and his wire blood level significantly as well as help level up his upgrades more quickly. Other items such as the Mika revive tickets, and "Gigolo Mission" gifts can also be bought for a gradually rising price (Goes up in cost with each purchase) assuming you have the cash to pay for it. Cash of course in the game is earned through contract/chapter completion as well as through the completion of challenges, and side missions.

It is a given that there are many things to do within the worlds that make up Killer is Dead". Whether you're scouting the earth for evil doers, killing monsters, or finishing off bad guys on the dark side of the moon you will be expected to do your job, and do it well. This "job", as I refer to it takes into consideration different aspects of your overall performance. It grades you on how well you did in the combat aspects of your playthrough as well as things like property destruction, and certain character/chapter specific interactions. All of these things are factored into the final assessment. You'll find that not only does this overall performance scoring earn you your salary, but that it also gives you a letter based grade which ultimately goes towards your score based placement on the game's leaderboards. This "F-AAA" alphabetical grading system goes hand in hand with the core gameplay involved.

Paycheck earning, visceral combat, gameplay perfection, and seduction of the ladies is definitely what this game is all about. Even so, I know what most of the people buying this game will be looking forward to, and that my friends are the "Gigolo Missions". The "Gigolo Missions" as they are referred to involve Mondo, and a diverse selection of heterosexual women whose stats are displayed in an FBI-like profile for Mondo's pre-meeting assessments. Everything from their nationality to their nickname can be viewed on the mission select screen. Being the sexually oriented side missions that they are you'll find that love making is the objective. The way in which Mondo has to go about winning over the women's affection in order to obtain such a treat has been deemed by some in the gaming journalism community to be degrading. To me though there are much worse things in the world than what was displayed in these interactive mini-games. While you will obviously be sneaking peeks at the many curves of the female figure to excite yourself (Fill up a brain meter) the actual sex part is never really shown in full. Sure there's some underwear footage, and some mildly sexually suggestive cutscenes, but come on guys! This is a mature game, and it has the proper warning label. Grow up.

The point of a "Gigolo Mission" is in simple terms is to basically to win the recently unlocked lucky lady's heart by stealing quick glances of her face/profile, her breasts, and her thighs while she is not looking directly at you/Mondo. By successfully doing so your head shaped meter located on the left side of the screen will fill up allowing you to give her a gift that you purchased from the gift shop via the "Office" menu. Gifts become available after completing certain objectives within the main part of the game. These gifts include such things as a stick of gum, a rose, and even more extravagant gifts such as perfume. Like the rest of the items available in the gift shop the prices will go up with each purchase making the task of winning a woman's heart all the more difficult. One thing you need to keep in mind is that each 'Gigolo Mission' mini-game is timed, and you must not only fill the head shaped meter up twice while avoiding depleting the mutual affection meter with caught glances, but you must also give your lady love two gifts before the timer turns red. Giving her a simpler gift first, and a more expensive one last is usually the best way to go about it. Should you win over the lady of your dreams you will be blessed with an edited cutscene in which the woman removes her outer clothing, moves seductively, and jumps all over Mondo. Afterwards a white screen will appear with voices playing out in the background as well as subtitles stating in some form, or fashion that the woman in question has made you a gift. The gift of course is another 'Musselback' weapon function.

As the game progresses, and you go about your duties slashing your way through the many bad guys that populate the world, and the moon you will often times get onscreen calls from previous girls you have slept with, or won over. They'll briefly state that they miss you, and that another date is long overdue. While I've yet to do it I'm fairly certain that you can revisit each girl after they are unlocked, and possibly obtain new items in the process. There are some unlockable bonus costumes listed in the "Office" menu that can be unlocked by fulfilling certain objectives, and my guess this might be tied in with repeat "Gigolo Mission" playthroughs. While winning over the ladies is fairly much the same with most of the girls in the game there is one exception to the rule, and that is with the nurse-like character named "Scarlett". Scarlett, as she is known has to be won over by sucessfully completing all of her challenges. These challenges include combo based objectives as well as target based objectives. You'll also find that Scarlett is one of the more interesting female characters in the game since she has dual purposes. Aside from 'Gigolo Missions' you can find Scarlett hidden in objects throughout the chapter mission areas. If you find her during one of your chapter playthroughs she will gift you a full blood wire meter which will definitely help in making it through the more difficult areas. Finding her will also reward you with the chance to complete another one of her challenges. In that respect she is definitely the most rewarding female character in "Killer is Dead".

Whatever task it is you seek to do in "Killer is Dead" you'll find that navigating from point to point is easily done. Through three well crafted, and artistically represented menus you will be able to do whatever it is you want to do with ease. The main menu system (The one with the 3D Earth), for example holds all of your chapter, challenge, and mission info. By clicking on the appropriate information square you can take one of the many unlocked missions to be found. When it comes to the "Gigolo Mission" areas you'll be able to read over each girls' detailed information, and even view your current alphabetical grading for that particular event in this menu system. The "START" menu on the other hand is used for mainly for upgrading Mondo's many skills. By collecting the required amount of moon crystals needed for an upgrade you can simply click on the desired upgrade icon, and it will be upgraded. Lastly the "Office" menu serves as Mondo's main lobby. It is here amongst the 3D animated character oriented scene that you can access "K.I.D." gaming tips, "K.I.D." leaderboard scores, the "Gift Shop", and even the "Bonus Costume" section. All of the menus are easy to understand, and navigate, so using them will not interfere with the more important aspects of gameplay.

Now on to graphics & such ...

The graphic presentation of "Killer is Dead" as a whole is done in a cell-shaded manner that adds to the unique creation at hand. The colors tend to be more retro in nature, and definitely have that "Grindhouse" look that I mentioned before. Things like the chapter titles, and spastic intermission images also add to the grindhouse appeal. The fact that the developer decided to add a soundtrack filled with modern techno tunes, and 60's/70's's style disco music serves to amplify the obviously intended grindhouse effect. The color scheme, while limited still gives enough of a visual variety as to keep Mondo, and all the other characters involved separated from any details of their respective worlds. At times you'll find that SUDA51 even went out of his way to include his signature storybook style cutscenes that were used to move the plot along. It's this combination of retro genres, new age effects, and artistic creativity that help to make "Killer is Dead" so breathtakingly beautiful.

The verdict, as it were ...

Taking into consideration all that I experienced I have to say that I really enjoyed "Killer is Dead". Mondo was as badass as I'd hoped he would be. With every slash landed, and every execution delivered I felt like a force to be reckoned with. Filling the virtual shoes Mondo was not any easy task though. The complex controls, and lack of a proper targeting system made for some very troubling boss fights, and equally challenging basic enemy encounters. Aside from that the game was a blast to play. Once again I was able to see, and interact with a world created by perhaps one of the most interesting game developers to grace the gaming industry which is a win-win situation to me. SUDA51 has definitely earned my respect here. As far as recommending the game goes I think it's worth getting. Even with the womanizing, and obviously perverse mini-games it's still not to be missed. As I said before the mini-games are nowhere near as degrading as people have made them out to be. We all as humans base a major portion of our gender based attraction/sexual attraction on physical appearance, and sizing people up by looking them over is simply a part of that part of life. At least Mondo gave them gifts folks. He may be a player, but he's one of the more thoughtful ones I've ever seen. Get over it!!!