Killer is Dead

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Most of this will be about the much derided Gigolo Missions, but I'll give a general product review in bullet points first.

Pros:

-Combat is simple, but contains enough depth for experimentation, and the timing for some maneuvers is pretty strict

-Stylish visuals

-Very strong character designs

-Good soundtrack

-Hard mode is actually hard, and the easy mode is apparently easy enough that even modern game reviewers find it too easy, which amazes me

-Boss battles are all unique, with one of them being a sentient train that happens to be a very clever reference

-The setting is Suda51 all over, very bizarre

-The writing can be very clever

-The voices are all fitting and generally pretty good, aside from one main character

-The first print run is very meaty, containing a small hardback art book, a soundtrack CD clocking in at over an hour, and DLC in every copy

-There is a soft-boiled egg recipe on the back of the DLC slip, and it's a pretty good one

Cons:

-Lengthy install for the PS3 version, but that's really nothing new

-Some screen tearing

-Some of the missions are very slow

-The minigames all feel more like a hassle than a fun aside. I would have preferred odd jobs, like in No More Heroes

-While bizarre, it is definitely less so than Suda's previous similar efforts, about as far from NMH as NMH was from Killer 7

-The screen can get very busy later in the game, and the visuals can hamper you in certain situations

-While occasionally clever, the writing lacks the charm of the earlier "Assassin" games

-The Gigolo missions are good for a laugh, and give you game critical items, but at the end of the day it's just a simple minigame that isn't all that interesting

It's no secret that internet feminism has sunk its claws into the gaming industry in the last two years, creating problems where there are none and doing nothing to fix the problems that actually exist. They are largely irrelevant to this review, my beef is with the reviewers straining to please them, instantly and unanimously decrying the Gigolo missions as hateful, misogynistic garbage, with IGN's typewriter monkey going so far as to describe them as "gross". It's nothing of the sort, it was even thought up by a woman. They are intended as a parody of Bond girls, being called "Mondo Girls" after the main character Mondo Zappa. The two even sound the same when spoken in Japanese. That aside, Mondo is given the Travis Touchdown treatment, and comes across as a dork who has to stare at a girl's boobs when she isn't looking to work up the courage(or Guts, as the game calls it) to give her a present, anything from a stick of gum to a diamond ring, all given in a ridiculous generic wrapped box with an equally ridiculous pose. Should you "win," Mondo and the lady leave arm in arm, with Mondo giving the player a sly thumbs up. As for afterwards, a little bit more happens each time you do it, but nothing too racy, in fact it's normally pretty dumb and obviously being played for laughs. And, as if to illustrate the obvious stupidity of the minigame to anyone who somehow doesn't get it, once the screen fades to black you hear Mondo yell an exaggerated YEEEEAAAAAHH before the ranking screen appears. One more thing, if they catch you staring too many times, you get a cutscene where Mondo has his face six inches away from the girl's boobs, and he gets slapped, thus losing the challenge. In short, it's a joke minigame meant to play off of Mondo's Bond-cool image.

Final verdict: If you liked Suda51 games before, you'll like this one, and if you didn't, you still won't. It's not perfect, nowhere near it, but it doesn't deserve the hammering it's been getting and certainly not for the reasons they're giving.

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If you're familiar with Suda51 you've probably already made up your mind on if you'd like this game or not. Dreamlike, sophisticated and cool as hell this is probably his best work to date.

It improves on one of the only real flaws with his previous games other than being incredibly polarizing, the gameplay. Instead of an extremely limited combat system in Suda51's previous action games Killer is Dead delivers a very satisfying gameplay experience. If you thought Metal Gear Rising was one of the best releases of 2013 and have a taste for the dark and strange then you can't go wrong with Killer Is Dead.

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I love this game, being a fan of Suda51's previous games. That being said there have been many mediocre reviews I've seen so I'll point out the flaws in this game first:

The game is short, I beat it in 7-8 hours. I enjoyed it enough to play it some more after beating it but besides score chasing there isn't too much re-playability here.

The game is not for the people that like to see realistic graphics (obviously I would think) and environmental destruction. It has Suda's signature flair to the visuals and sounds/music, but if you haven't played any of his games you should watch a couple gameplay videos first.

Apparently the fact that you have to look at women's breasts is a downside to some critics, but I had absolutely no problem with it.

Now for the good stuff:

The combat seemed smoother and more polished than any other Suda game. Hacking apart enemies with the stylized blood spatter is very fun.

The story was pure Suda and was nice and dark.

The visual style is very different, and I found it very refreshing and reminiscent of some anime I've seen. I planned on getting this game eventually, but watching the trailers is what made me preorder.

So I guess to conclude:

Suda51 fans buy this game

People looking for something different visually and storywise watch some trailers, then buy this game

People that don't like quirky Japanese games You don't exist

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As many have already said, a lot of "reviews" bashed this game solely because of a few optional missions where you ogle a female body. I read one where the review was basically about women's rights, and at the end he added something about all enemies being damage sponges and how to win all the player had to do was mash the attack button.

This may be true on easy or normal, but I can't say for sure, because my first play-through was on hard, and I found that this was the perfect setting for any seasoned veteran of action games (not just SUDA51 titles). What I quickly found that was this game punishes you for button mashing: strong enemies will actually parry your attacks, while others won't flinch once they've begun their attack animation, forcing you to guard or dodge. Furthermore, since the camera is completely manual, the player will have to be constantly aware of his/her surroundings either by moving the camera or Mondo himself; if one is button mashing, one will fail to see attacks coming from behind or even off-screen. The combat is deceptively simple, with a system that rivals the style and challenge offered in the infamous ps2 title "Shinobi." The player will even need to rack up combos through attacks and dodges in order to do more damage (those who have played shinobi will understand).

That being said, I know the reviewers who claimed the combat was too repetitive only played on an easier difficulty, therefore leading to a watered down game experience and overall unprofessional critique: it's near impossible to give an accurate report on a game after one quick play-through, but it's apparent this is what so many people have done.

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***Spoiler free review***

I really liked Shadows of the damned and lollipop chainsaw but I felt that they were very mainstream compared to Killer 7 and No more heroes. That does not make them bad, but I really liked the style Suda used in his "stranger" games. Killer is dead takes a step back in that stranger direction.

Gameplay: Fairly straight forward. Hack and slash mixed with 3rd person shooting. Your hack and slash weapon gathers blood and the 3rd person weapons use blood. Some bosses and enemies can only be killed with special moves that use blood.

You have a variety of skills you can unlock and upgrade. By the end of the game I did not even get close to unlocking them all.

There are some side quests that vary greatly in quality and difficulty. You can unlock more by just moving forward in the story while others you can unlock by finding secrets within levels. There are also hidden goals in each level that you can see once you have beaten it once. For example finish the quest without killing an enemy.

Some people seem upset about the gigolo missions (missions where you seduce women) but to be honest they are kind of funny and very easy. Not only that, they are very few and not required to win the game. They are not for children because they allude to sex but they are also not explicit. You do see women in underwear. It's up to you if you think they are offensive. My wife watched them several times and thought they were funny. Your wife or parents may not agree though. I will say that I did not find them sexist, mainly just goofy and amusing.

Graphics: The graphics are cool if you like high contrast cel shading. At first it took a little getting used to. It is actually a little difficult to see details on some of the more complicated looking enemies. Overall I am fairly neutral on the graphics, but the art design is good.

Story: Since this is spoiler free I can't say much. I know that many people will be let down by the story while others will really like it. I think it really depends on how much you feel like analyzing it. You can take it at face value or look for some additional meaning. The most important parts of the story are not spoon fed to you which may leave you scratching your head if you do not want to put some thought in.

Overall: After all the bad press I was really happy to see suda 51 getting strange again. If you like this game it will largely be for style. The gameplay is well done but probably nothing you haven't seen. The controversy from the gigolo missions was far overblown in my opinion. Enjoyment of the narrative will hinge on how much you want to read into it and how much you like the characters. In the end I would recommend this to all Suda fans. It is very difficult to predict what the average player will think of it, but give it a try if you have never played a grasshopper game.