Fractured Persona – killer7 #5

With Cloudman behind us, we’re pushing on through to another double-length chapter! This chapter, entitled Encounter, is split into two very distinct parts so, much like Sunset, I’ll be writing a separate article for each half. How fun! How many answers will this chapter hold? And how many new questions will come from the explanations? The only way to find out is to read along!

I hope to make these articles interesting for both newcomers to the game and those who have played through multiple times. But, I have one quick warning: in order to make this as detailed and informative as possible, there will be a large amount of spoilers. So, if you aren’t worried about learning the fates of the characters or having the ending ruined for you, keep reading. If you still plan to play this game for yourself and want to experience the plot twists firsthand, stop!

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Target #03 – Encounter (Part 1)
“The guy in the main event is unlike any other!”

The first things we see as this chapter begins are rows of bullets. A few are carefully selected from the group and loaded into a handgun’s magazine. Classical music swells as the camera pans out a bit, exposing the interior of a classy limousine. The man loading the handgun slowly aims and opens fire on a scantily clad woman sitting across from him. We see the door of the limousine fly open and the man begins to make his way up the steps of a very large office building. His progress is shown through a first-person perspective. He eventually makes his way to spacious lobby, taking a good look around before opening fire on all those present. The last is a young woman who stares up at the man in horror. The screen cuts to red quickly before showing the man leave the building. He appears to be a bit older than middle age, with white hair on his head and face. As he approaches the camera, a small grin can be seen on his face.  A freeze frame captures his left eye for just a moment before fading out.

The scene shifts to Garcian in his trailerhouse. Like every other morning, he listens to a telemarketing message left by the Republic Party asking for his vote in an upcoming election. Like every other morning, Garcian ignores it and makes his way to Harman’s room. The man behind the locked door is still screaming his head off, but Garcian still doesn’t seem to care. When Garcian enters Harman’s room, he sees Samantha abusing Harman again. This time she is forcing him to eat and eventually gets so fed up that she slams the contents of the bowl onto his face. This is a far cry from the awakened Harman we are used to seeing. Garcian wakes him up using the televsion. They speak of a man named Curtis Blackburn, who Harman refers to as a “surge.” Garcian recognizes the name and mentions that he killed Dan Smith years ago. Harman says his arrival on the world scene is an act of fate and that he’ll soon make his move. Garcian offers to take care of Curtis personally, but Harman says Dan is more than Curtis can handle.

Garcian leaves the trailerhouse and meets up with Christopher on the overpass. Christopher says Curtis has been keeping his head down for fifteen years by working for the government. There’s a rumor going around that he’s involved with organ trafficking, which is then used in production of the Heaven Smile. Christopher hands Garcian a flyer for a nearby amusement park. It seems Curtis is going after children’s organs at the fairgrounds. Christopher urges Garcian to hurry and take Curtis out. “The blood of innocent children,” Garcian says, “is unnecessary.”

The Killer 7 head to the amusement park called Ishizaka Land, or ISZK-Land for short. The security camera at the front gate changes Garcian into Con Smith, the youngest member of the Killer 7. Iwazaru is also waiting for the group at the gate. He reiterates Christopher’s words, urging them to hurry and kill Curtis before he can harm more children. While Iwazaru is as cryptic as ever, Travis eventually appears to shed some more light on the park. He says it’s been abandoned recently and has become a great place to hide out if you’re in trouble. But it’s always been a pretty bad place that’s linked to an orphan trading syndicate.

Just like Travis said, Ishizaka Land is abandoned…except for the Heaven Smile, of course. The Killer 7 make their way to the String Quartet area of the park and search the four large auditoriums for clues on Curtis’ whereabouts. Cinema 4 contains a treasure chest. Inside is a new outfit for Mask de Smith that makes him the Main Event, powering his weapons up and making difficult barriers easier to bypass. Travis is waiting for the group in Cinema 3 and sheds a bit more light on Dan and Curtis’ relationship. There’s a lot of history between the two, and Dan supposedly goes crazy at the mere mention of Curtis’ name. Travis says his bloodlust is so powerful that not even Harman or Garcian would be able to hold Dan back. Garcian recovered Dan’s body after he was killed, but Travis can’t recall where that was. He questions how much the others in the group know about the situation.

As the Killer 7 approach Cinema 3′s stage, the ghosts of Kurahashi and Akiba appear before them. If you don’t remember, these two were the Japanese politicians killed by Matsuken at the beginning of Sunset. Their bodies refused to die, but they were soon killed again by the Killer 7. They don’t seem to notice the Killer 7 standing before them, and appear to be having a conversation. Akiba asks Kurahashi if he likes war. Kurahashi replies by saying Akiba should already know his answer, because he doesn’t consider it war. Akiba mentions that the missiles from the beginning of the story hit their target in Japan, killing over 80 million people in an instant. The whole country was destroyed and the whole world stood by in silence. Kurahashi laments Akiba’s idealism, saying that this is the age of power. Akiba disagrees and says the rest of the world watched on and did nothing because they were afraid of what could happen to them. “The maggots,” he says, “live on.” Future events should be interesting to watch, they say, because their will continues to live on even after their deaths.

Travis is waiting for the Killer 7 in Cinema 2 as well. His recent conversations with the Killer 7 seem to be only directed at Garcian, no matter who is in control at the time. He mentions that Garcian doesn’t show much interest in the rest of the group, questioning if they even exist at all outside of being small parts of multiple personalities. He segues directly from the cryptic questioning into more information on Dan and Curtis’ history together. Curtis was Dan’s mentor in the Seattle Self-Defense Force and taught him all he knows about killing. Dan was suspected of betraying the Force and then killed in a back alley. Garcian recovered his body soon after. Pedro, another man who had connections to the Self-Defense Force, was behind the whole thing.

Cinema 1 houses another treasure chest, but this one opens to reveal Susie’s head lying inside. She jokingly says she loves the amusement park, only to relay a traumatic event that happened to her there. She hates crowds, especially the rude dads, fat moms, and crazy kids who scuff up her shoes. All these factors caused her to throw up in the park, and she was soon crowded by onlookers who wouldn’t give her space to leave. Susie reveals that she wouldn’t hesitate to kill them all. The park, she says, is the birthplace of murder after all.

Iwazaru and Travis show up once again outside of the Freaky Fun House. Iwazaru says the park is a thing of the past, hence the fact it’s abandoned. Travis says the fun house has been turned into some sort of odd masquerade, and the only way to get in is by wearing a mask. Luckily, Mask is always wearing his luchador mask, so the Killer 7 get inside easily. The Freaky Fun House is just that…incredibly freaky. As they near the exit, the Killer 7 come in contact with a Fallen Angel. The Angel doesn’t say anything, but gives Dan the all-powerful Demon Gun.

The next part of the park the Killer 7 have to journey through is called the Killer Mansion. As the Killer 7 explores the inside of the mansion, Travis shows up with more information on Curtis. Rumors are going around that Curtis has a few odd hobbies to keep him busy. He trades organs on the black market but, hilariously enough, that’s his public face. In private, he lives with a group of orphans. Girl orphans, in fact. And it all happens to be sanctioned by the government in order to keep him happy. Pedro, from the Seattle Self-Defense Force, acts as the middleman and controls the organ trade routes. The ties formed in the Self-Defense Force remain strong, it seems. Even Travis is surprised by the nerve of the whole situation and the people involved.

A quick appearance by Kess Bloodysunday leaves the Killer 7 with a few odd, cryptic thoughts. There are monsters behind every beautiful facade. The truth, he says, is a monster. Travis appears again to bring things back to reality. It seems Pedro was siphoning money to a foreign syndicate and skimmed a bit off the top to put in his own pocket. The Seattle Self-Defense Force signed a pact of brotherhood in blood, so traitors were and still are punished by death. Pedro framed Dan with the embezzlement by hiring him to launder the dirty money. Curtis took this opportunity to take Dan out. Kess appears again with some more odd ideas for the Killer 7: they need to expose those that hide in the dark. Expose them and pick them off…one by one.

The Killer 7 finally make it out of the amusement park and into the parking lot. Curtis is nowhere to be found. Instead, a young woman by the name of Ayame Blackburn challenges the Killer 7 to battle. She dresses in a cliched school uniform and a large mask that makes her look like a very exaggerated anime character. Even her opening speech is reminiscent of old Japanese superhero shows and cartoons. She introduces herself as the Chairman of the Education Guidance Council, who seeks to destroy all the “vermin” who inhabit the country.

After losing to the Killer 7, Ayame saunters off like it’s no big deal. A large bus pulls into the parking lot to pick her up, and the noise of children can be heard from within as the doors open up. The bus is emblazoned with the Ishizaka Land logo, and seemingly carries the children off to the slaughter.

Encounter (Part 1) – Complete

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Encounter is an incredibly interesting chapter, to say the least. While the first part may not have much in the way of side stories or connect much to the overall arc, it pieces together parts of the Killer 7′s shady past…especially in the case of Dan Smith. The second part connects the chapter to the main storyline in a more direct way.

A few more of our conflicts pop up in this chapter. Good vs. Evil, or rather Heaven vs. Hell, is touched upon slightly by the appearance of our Fallen Angel. While much of the Killer 7′s symbolism has to do with demonic or Hellish forces, Kun Lan and the apparent antagonists of the game all have very Heavenly sounding names. In Biblical terms a fallen angel, as most of you know, is an angel that left Heaven with Lucifer after their failed war against the creator: God. In killer7, the Fallen Angel provides the Killer 7 with some much needed firepower in the form of a Demon Gun. Dan Smith is also referred to as the Hellion many times in this chapter. A Hellion in this case is an out of control, rowdy individual who shares characteristics with lesser demons.

The second of our conflicts expanded upon slightly in this chapter is East vs. West. The two dead Japanese politicians, Kurahashi and Akiba, continue to push plans forward for Japan’s expansion. Japan, as you’ll remember, was recently flattened by nuclear weapons after the United States refused to help defend them. Were these missiles launched by the United States? If not the US, then who?

Another part of the East vs. West conflict is shown by the appearance of Ayame Blackburn. While her relative Curtis is in no way Japanese, she seems to idolize Japanese traditions and cliches. Her whole character and appearance is a play on oldschool Japanese television programs, as well as recent anime series. She stands in the way of the Killer 7′s progress, but is hastily defeated. Why is she trying to emulate the Japanese in such a hackneyed way?

So, will Dan and Curtis finally have their monumental showdown? Will Dan achieve his revenge, or become just another tick in the list of Curtis’ kills? How was Garcian able to revive Dan in the first place, and how much do the personalities know about each other? These questions probably won’t be answered any time soon, but feel free to tune in next week for the exciting conclusion of Encounter!

Fractured Persona – killer7 #4

We skipped a week, but now it's back in all its glory! Our killer7 analysis continues with the next chapter, Cloudman. This chapter is much shorter than Sunset, and also takes a step off the main plotline to explore another very important character in the killer7 universe. But shorter isn't always a bad thing! The animation style for the cutscenes changes dramatically in this chapter, making it one of my favorites in terms of style. It also introduces one of my favorite characters…and then subsequently kills him off.

I hope to make these articles interesting for both newcomers to the game and those who have played through multiple times. But, I have one quick warning: in order to make this as detailed and informative as possible, there will be a large amount of spoilers. So, if you aren’t worried about learning the fates of the characters or having the ending ruined for you, keep reading. If you still plan to play this game for yourself and want to experience the plot twists firsthand, stop!

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Target #02 – Cloudman
“We're talkin' guys who beat off four times a day!”

This chapter opens with a live television broadcast. A man named Andrei Ulmeyda introduces himself as “a man with a plan.” He says people will come to him with salvation. Motioning to a stadium behind him, Ulmeyda says he has a feeling that something very bad is going to happen at the concert taking place inside. Because of those inside, the stadium has become a sort of epicenter for the overflowing energy. Ulmeyda begins to lose it and the stadium explodes behind him, leaving nothing but rubble and smoke. The camera pans closer to Ulmeyda's face as he challenges Garcian and the Killer 7 to find him and his new faith. His whole meaning in life is to be found by the Killer 7.

Garcian turns off the television and heads to Harman's room in the back of the trailerhouse. The man behind the locked door continues to scream. Garcian walks in on Samantha and Harman having sex, but she stops when she notices Garcian. Samantha tells Garcian not to worry about Harman because he likes playing rough. Harman awakens to talk to Garcian, and they discuss the commotion Ulmeyda is making in the south. Neither believes he is of high enough caliber to be a revolutionary. Harman stays behind on this mission as Garcian sets off to accept Ulmeyda's challenge. Before leaving, Garcian meets with Christopher on the overpass. Christopher saw the television broadcast and wonders if Ulmeyda is some sort of stalker. Garcian shrugs it off and says he's heading to Texas, because Ulmeyda was wearing a shirt labeled Texas Bronco.

On his way into InterCity, Garcian has a short conversation with a farmer on the outskirts of town. The farmer mentions that they don't get many “black folk” coming through this area, which always struck me as odd because Ulmeyda is African-American. He asks what the purpose of Garcian's  visit is, guessing that he's probably there to see Ulmeyda. The farmer mentions that he sees Ulmeyda everyday in the form of posters and billboards scattered about the desert. They creep him out, but he warns Garcian to keep thoughts like that to himself if he values his life. The town is mean, and they'll do anything they can to protect Ulmeyda.

Before entering the city, Iwazaru and Travis both make separate appearances to weigh in on the situation. Iwazaru can't stand Ulmeyda or the members of his cult because of the afros they wear their hair in. Travis, on the other hand, just thinks Ulmeyda is crazy. He looks nothing like the “company president” position he's supposed to be portraying. And while Ulmeyda calls InterCity the “ideal” place to live, it's hardly perfect. The desert's raging heat sees to that.

A nearby security camera switches Garcian to Coyote, and the Killer 7 begin to investigate the town. The spirit of a deceased Ulmeyda cult member stops them on the way to the gas station, questioning their beliefs in God. Travis reveals a few more details on Ulmeyda's company. There's a rumor going around that Ulmeyda's company purchases magazines from all over the world. They call themselves the world's largest domestic trading company. Travis sees this facade for what it is, and scoffs at the idea that it's a “comprehensive company.”

The Killer 7 continue on to the gas station. A semi-truck is blocking the way, but it's easily moved by Mask and his incredible strength. Susie is revealed to be hiding in a gas pump once the truck is moved. She gives the Killer 7 the Stamina Ring item as well as expounding on some of the things she likes and dislikes. She reveals that she's mutilated tons of men over the course of her life, so much so that they can't even go out in public. With another odd piece of her story divulged, she tells the Killer 7 to leave her be and goes back into hiding.

As they continue making their way through the town, the Killer 7 find another carrier pigeon from Johnny Gagnon. While InterCity may be hailed by Ulmeyda as a perfect place to live, Johnny has dug up some interesting details that may prove otherwise. People living here often go missing. Some skip out of the city late at night, but most just plain disappear. Whole families will sometimes go missing at once. It's almost like they're all trapped in a horror story. But, those left behind in town have adapted, sometimes with surprising alacrity. Ulmeyda's company, First Life, is incredibly popular in the world market but also very competitive. Employees quit all the time due to the high stress they're subjected to. It was established three years ago, but only half of the original employees remain. The rest are recruits from all over the world, as well as recent graduates. The disappearances also contribute to the high employee turnover. The note also mentions investigations Johnny has begun on someone only referred to as “her,” but he needs more evidence before talking about it any more.

The city's obsession with Ulmeyda becomes readibly apparent as the Killer 7 continue their investigation. The entire city is filled with propaganda bearing Ulmeyda's image. He's even had special figurines of himself in different occupational outfits produced. Whoever collects all these figurines gets a chance to meet Ulmeyda face to face. The Cult Member's spirit makes frequent appearances, but much of his speech is garbled nonsense phrases. He believes miracles lie somewhere between the truth and fiction. The Cult Member also tells the Killer 7 not to believe anyone, not even God. Travis is the  only person they should trust. These interesting thoughts are soon followed by one that's more ambiguous: “God and pigeons are one.”

The group finds all but one of the figurines waiting for them in the diner's toy machine. The last one, a special edition given away in an auction by Ulmeyda himself, is found in a house in the residential district. A man's bloody silhouette appears on one wall near the figurine. After finding the figurine, the Cult Member's spirit makes one more important appearance. He tells the Killer 7 that he killed the man who won the special figurine, but could never find the prize. “The world is full of mysteries,” he finishes, pondering if maybe the man's soul hid the figurine from him.

Julia Kisugi, the assassin who was killed in the first part of the Sunset chapter, also makes an appearance. She details the life of an assassin, and laments that she was never living the way she wanted to. Being a hired killer gives you a small amount of freedom for the large amount they eventually take away from you. Her life was never her own. The Killer 7 freed her from that life the moment they killed her.

On their way to confronting Ulmeyda, the Killer 7 come into contact with two more residents of InterCity in the pharmacy and post office. A woman behind the counter at the drug store mistakes the Killer 7 for reporters. She appreciates the fact that Ulmeyda has helped the city flourish the way it has, but the “creeps with the weird smile” bother her. The city is big on tradition, so it's hard for them to accept newcomers. The post office acts as a gateway to a mountain path. The path leads up to First Life headquarters and Ulmeyda. An employee of the post office stops the Killer 7 as they pass through. He says he knows Ulmeyda and calls him a good man, but makes it clear to the assassins that he isn't part of the cult. It turns out that Ulmeyda actually worked at the post office before becoming head of First Life, but didn't really stand out. The post office worker says Ulmeyda was just lucky. As he remembers Ulmeyda's emergence, the worker works himself up to anger. He says Ulmeyda is a fake and that he only got that position by selling the town away…selling their souls away.

The Killer 7 make their way out of the post office and up the mountain path. Travis is waiting for them with more information on First Life. The company's profile is “the world's largest catalog retailer group.” They expand on this by also describing themselves as a “specialized revolutionary global distribution organization.” Travis says all these words don't add up to much, and that they don't really mean anything in the grand scheme of things. He appears further up the mountain to tell them more about the company's policies. The pamphlet they put out contains one hundred facts, comprised of ninety three lies and seven truths. And even the truths don't provide any answers. Just like every other corporation, First Life is built on lies.

Ulmeyda himself has hints of genius despite his lowly origins. He distracts the populace with smoke and mirrors while swooping down to clutch their hearts and minds with his claws. First Life has grown dramatically into a winning trading company that can purchase goods from all over the world. It is a truly gigantic organization. Unfortunately, Ulmeyda recognizes the genius brewing below his surface. The passage to First Life is only opened by answering a series of questions about the propaganda billboards that line the path up the mountain. They show Ulmeyda in a variety of situations, but all imply that First Life is on the verge of a global economic takeover.

Upon entering the first part of the First Life building, the Killer 7 encounter a road block. The security guard denies them access until a voice on the intercom relays an emergency message from Ulmeyda himself. The message says to let Mr. Smith into the building. The security guard complies, but also confides in the Killer 7 before they leave. He says the First Life corporation is very secretive, and most of the employees don't have any idea what goes on in there.

The Killer 7 finally reach the main building of the First Life corporation. But, upon stepping through the door, it's revealed to only be a huge disguise. The building itself was only a huge cardboard cutout, and it falls over to reveal an endless expanse of flat land desert with only a small trailer idling nearby. Inside the trailer's control room sits Ulmeyda, wearing what seems to be a simple astronaut's suit. He welcomes the Killer 7 into the room. His propaganda begins immediately as he describes InterCity as a paradise, a completely autonomous region that is the model of peace. First Life Inc., on the other hand, doesn't exist. They only produce and run commercials. People really do only judge books by their covers, so all they had to do was make people think they were an extremely successful company and it became so.

When the clock strikes 5:00 PM, Ulmeyda signals that the work day is over and says that they may be just in time to meet “today's lucky guy.” A line of cult members exits the trailer slowly, but Ulmeyda tells the Killer 7 not to be alarmed; these are good citizens, not Heaven Smile. The last cult member to exit is a teenage boy named Clemence. Ulmeyda snatches him immediately to congratulate him, and Clemence can't believe he had the good fortune of being chosen. Ulmeyda calms him down, saying that his job has only just begun. A rocket-propelled automobile pulls up, and Ulmeyda says that this is Clemence's new job. He tells the boy to take it for a spin, but yells an ominous warning after him as he speeds off: “Don't drive yourself to death!”

Multiple screens expand from the trailer, all showing Clemence's face in the car as he reaches top speed. While he seems to be enjoying himself immensely, the speed at which he is traveling is enough to kill him. Ulmeyda says there's only two endings to this story for Clemence: either he dies happy speeding across the desert, or he makes it to the finish line. If Clemence finishes, he wins. As the boy continues his deadly race through the flat land, Ulmeyda changes the subject to himself. He infected himself with a plethora of deadly viruses. This spurred him on in research of these diseases, and time after time he created vaccines and other medication to combat them. But, the one disease he is afraid of is Heaven Smile. He asks the Killer 7 to kill him if he ever becomes infected because they're the only ones that seem to know how.

The United States military descends on Ulmeyda's position, capturing him and infecting his body with the Heaven Smile virus. A man named General Lynch from the United States Emergency Counter-Measure Defense Department thanks the assassins for their cooperation in capturing Ulmeyda. InterCity is much more important than it seemed to be, because it serves as a vital instrument for determining the country's safety standards. Before they have the chance to destroy Ulmeyda, his new powers awaken. He can't control his sadistic urges to kill those around him, and he transforms into a new form. His blood rains down on the military personnel and kills them almost instantly. The Killer 7 chase him down through a series of connected ambulances and destroy him. His laughter echoes across the desert as his body disappears, and his blood once again rains from the sky.

Clemence finishes his race across the desert and, having survived, is poised to take Ulmeyda's position in InterCity. Ulmeyda's blood doesn't harm him, and paints the white rocket car a crimson color. Clemence recognizes the taste of Ulmeyda's blood. Ulmeyda's spirit appears to Clemence and grants him the power he once had. He says Clemence must stand strong and take the big risks to succeed in life. Clemence promises Ulmeyda that their way of life will continue and hails Ulmeyda as InterCity's messiah.

Cloudman –  Complete

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This side story in the killer7 universe is slightly more complex than the last few chapters. The plot of the game begins to take an odd turn starting with Cloudman, and continues this trend on towards the conclusion. Andrei Ulmeyda is probably my favorite character in the game, and his influence spreads a bit from this chapter, even though he met with a rather tragic end.

Cloudman brings a bit of the supernatural elements from the first chapter back into play. Ulmeyda is seen by his followers as a God, and they follow his words as if he really was one. He sits high atop the mountain overlooking InterCity and passes down his directions to his followers. The city itself has flourished under Ulmeyda's rule, but it seems rather odd that the United States government would let him have such a high level of control inside of the country. Later on in the chapter, you find out that the military was using it as a microcosm of defense throughout the entire nation. Were they experimenting with the Heaven Smile virus? Or were they just letting Ulmeyda control a small portion of Texas to appease his self-important personality? Ulmeyda's company First Life was on the verge of breaking out on the global economic scene, so maybe they provided him a bit too much leeway in the department.

Another question that was raised that remains unanswered in this chapter is the state of Ulmeyda's rise to power. Once just a lowly, unskilled worker at the local post office, he became the head of the world's most successful trading organization. What changed? His coworker spoke of Ulmeyda as someone who stayed in the background because he wasn't very good at his job. Where did the sudden genius come from to run a corporation? He somehow managed to learn a great deal in a very short span of time. Add to that his change in personality from shy office worker to charismatic cult leader and you're left with a huge hole in the time line that needs to be plugged.

The last interesting theme in this chapter is the role of corporations and advertisement in today's world. Advertisement is a huge business in our time, with companies paying millions and almost billions of dollars to run short ads during popular television programs. Ulmeyda's company was fake. It did nothing but run commercials. But because people were so easily swayed by promises of utopia and financial success, they invested heavily in Ulmeyda's “vision.” It's almost as if an outside force was giving Ulmeyda the tools to work with in order to craft his own success. Who or what could this mysterious force be? The questions and their subsequent answers only become harder and harder to understand as killer7 rushes on. Be sure to check back next week for some surprising revelations!

Fractured Persona – killer7 #3

Thanks for coming back! This is the continuation of  my killer7 analysis, as well as the second part of the chapter entitled Sunset. The first part ended with the assassination of Toru Fukushima, a prominent politician and bureaucrat behind the scenes in the Japanese government. The Yakumo, an important document that could shift political power on a global scale, is still nowhere to be found. As the world rushes headlong towards the first conflict in eight years, who will survive?

I hope to make these articles interesting for both newcomers to the game and those who have played through multiple times. But, I have one quick warning: in order to make this as detailed and informative as possible, there will be a large amount of spoilers. So, if you aren’t worried about learning the fates of the characters or having the ending ruined for you, keep reading. If you still plan to play this game for yourself and want to experience the plot twists firsthand, stop!

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Target #01 – Sunset (Part 2)
"Laughter is the countdown of devastation."

 

After the events that transpired at Restaurant Fukushima, Garcian returns to his trailer. While nothing of real importance happens here at this time, the man behind the locked door can still be heard screaming. The scene shifts to a coffeehouse in Washington, D.C. where Garcian is meeting with the informant mentioned last chapter, Hiro Kasai. He passes along the next mission from Christopher Mills. The target is actually another assassin by the name of Jean DePaul, the apprentice chef Mask de Smith met at Restaurant Fukushima. Kasai is certain that DePaul is a spy, as he's gained a name for himself as an elite operative by killing a few government officials. He points Garcian to the Kaku building, as it seems to be the hub for syndicates all over the world.

Inside the Kaku building, three men can be seen having a meeting. They mention that it is too late for the fireworks to be launched to save Japan. The two older men, Hiroyasu Kurahashi and Shinya Akiba, have spent 65 years trying to restore their country but all their efforts were meaningless as the United States leaves them to die. They blame the third man at the conference table, Kenjiro Matsuoka, and say that his youth and inexperience led them to this fate. His outrage at their accusations only furthers their mistrust of his generation, and Kurahashi passes him a gun. They antagonize him, telling him to kill himself. They realize that he may want to kill them with the gun but say that they've done it many times themselves in the past, killing their superiors in order to gain a better standing. They continue to belittle him until he can't take it anymore and he opens fire on two men.

But, before he can pull the trigger on himself, Kun Lan intervenes. Matsuoka is surprised at his sudden appearance and has no idea who he is. Across the table, the two dead men lean forward, their brains exposed but their bodies still functioning somehow. They lament the fact that elders are no longer treated with respect but as nuisances, and Kun Lan agrees. He uses his God Hand on Matsuoka's mind, and his surprise soon turns to acceptance. Kurahashi believes that Matsuoka is finally seeing things clearly. Kun Lan tells the three men that they will always be together and, as the camera spins to focus on Matsuoka leaving the conference, it reveals an empty room.

The Killer 7 soon arrive at the Kaku building, and enter through a secret entrance on the first floor. Travis is, like always, waiting for them on the inside. He informs them that the Kaku building is Information Terminal Central, where the world's background players have come to decide Japan's fate. Unfortunately, not a single country spoke up in Japan's favor, each wanting to gain a slice of the valuable territory Japan controls. As things are working out now, Japan is entirely on their own.

A few interesting things are noticed as the Killer 7 make their way through the various floors of the Kaku building. While it's supposed to be a secret meeting place for government officials, many of the rooms have been converted into small gambling parlors. Dice, poker, and horse racing all inhabit the rooms of the Kaku building, as well as a variety of ways to fix these games in one's favor. Iwazaru even goes as far as calling the building a gambler's paradise. Whether he means the actual games or gambling on the world stage is yet to be determined, but it offers a thought-provoking parallel when compared to how the world is controlled and risky actions are taken.

Travis reveals that these talks amount to a sort of proxy war for Fukushima. All talks are done through third-rate bureaucrats, so those seeking to assassinate them aren't the best either. The talks are nothing more than a charade, as the United States has given up on negotiations. Fukushima was the backbone of Japan's UN Party and much more important than anyone could have guessed. Without him, the UN Party is nothing but a toothless organization with no way to enforce their power.

Travis later warns the Killer 7 about heading to the basement. Jean DePaul, who turns out to be an agent of the International Ethics Committee, has already infiltrated the building. Through him, the Committee hopes to disrupt the secret final talks between the United States and Japan. By interrupting this secret meeting, the Committee hopes delay the destruction of Japan. It's imperative that the Killer 7 stop DePaul in time and let the events play out correctly.

Later, Mask de Smith comes into contact with DePaul, and they share a short conversation about wrestling. The battle is nothing much to note as Mask deals with DePaul quite easily. The Killer 7 continue on to the basement while the secret meeting continues as planned in the mah-jongg room. Four delegates sit around a small table, playing a game of mah-jongg. There are two representatives from the United States and two from Japan. The scene that plays out is an interesting one, as the delegates berate each other over the game and over their international affairs. To the Americans, the Japanese are nothing but monkeys who will soon be destroyed by their foolishness. To the Japanse, the Americans are bloodthirsty dogs who can't get enough conflict and destruction.

The game continues, the Americans certain that Japan has no chances left. They assure them that their knight in shining armor will fail. It's unclear who they are referring to here, but it's almost definitely either Kun Lan or Matsuoka, who plays a very important part in the story line later in the game. The game quickly turns sour as the last piece is played. The Americans realize the Japanese have been cheating the whole time and everyone draws their guns. The Japanese delegates realize it's all over and after a short standoff, they all fire on each other.

The Killer 7 arrive in the basement after the shootout to find all the delegates dead. The room is a mess with blood staining the walls and furniture strewn about. Calmly sitting in the corner is Travis, who expands some of the details. Obviously, the talks broke down between the United States and Japan, so the skies will soon rain down on Japan. While this was all according to plan, something doesn't seem right. It would be much easier for the United States to just destroy the UN Party and be done with it, but they seem intent on stopping the whole country. Someone behind the scenes seems to be pulling the strings, and it may be some remnant of Fukushima's power within the political party. Kenjiro Matsuoka, the man from the opening scene, is the Director of the Central Management Office. It's now up to Matsuoka to pick up from where Fukushima left off and lead Japan.

The Killer 7 leave the basement and backtrack to where DePaul was killed. His body is gone but his spirit remains, and speaks to them much like Travis. According to him, Matsuoko has the Yakumo, and seeks to prove Japan can rise from the ashes. He will soon be a force to be reckoned with, and there's no way the war will end while he is still alive. He must be dealt with if peace is to be preserved across the globe.

As they continue on towards the conference room, the Killer 7 come into contact with a frequent visitor of theirs called Kess Bloodysunday. Kess is a small, bloodied boy who shows up just before important battles with strong Heaven Smile or other bosses to offer his advice on how to defeat them. He seems to live inside of his own dreams and nightmares, where he encounters these strong creatures and finds out their weaknesses. An interesting idea he puts out during this encounter is a way to achieve world peace. Kess states that he will one day become the President of the United States and hopes to eradicate all the scum in the world. He thinks this is the only way to really spread peace throughout the world.

Iwazaru expresses some concerns over the actions of the United States. He thinks they are out of control and need to be reined in a bit. He poses a couple of questions to the Killer 7, wondering if a nation can have a collective will and how people can only be seen as units and not as living beings. The United States indiscretion with killing is getting out of hand, and the Killer 7 need to be careful with who they place their support behind. Travis offers a break from Iwazaru's philosophical ramblings, and lets the assassins know that this building is actually the headquarters for Japan's UN Party. The two old men that Mitsuoka tried to kill are still alive somehow. They are incarnations of the greed in the world, and are still as sly and corrupt as ever. Japan is as good as dead after the events that transpired here today.

The Killer 7 enter the board room where the old men were killed. The two Japanese politicians lament over the fact the United States is so large, saying that their voices and the voices of the people will never be heard. They're too old to be taken seriously anymore, and the people are only counted as units in the grand scheme of things. But, as long as they are alive Japan won't go down, at least not without a fight. An incredibly odd battle ensues, mainly involving flying brains. But the Killer 7 eventually stop the two old men and they finally die.

After completing the mission, Garcian meets up with Christopher Mills at the usual overpass. Chris says it's almost impossible to do anything with the eyes of the entire world trained on you, but Garcian disagrees. He says that even though world peace has been achieved, wiping a country or two off the map is an extremely easy task. He speaks of a promise made thirty years ago that started a countdown as missiles appear on the horizon behind them. They shoot across the sky to the opposite horizon, Chris and Garcian watching them with grim looks on their faces. As they speed off to hell, Chris is upset that they no longer fear the sight, that they've become used to events like this. Garcian agrees, but says that they're still human through it all.

The chapter ends with the sound of explosions.

 

Sunset – Complete

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Being the second part of the second chapter, Sunset does a great job of wrapping up a few plot strings, but also leaves everything open ended for the most part. In this chapter we learned of a few new players behind the scenes, namely Kenjiro Matsuoka. A power vacuum was created after Fukushima's assassination, and the responsibility fell upon Matsuoka, as the holder of the Yakumo, to continue his legacy and lead Japan through this current crisis.

Much like the first part of this chapter, the storylines dealt with more real world things like political moves and espionage rather than cosmic forces and deities. We learned that Japan wasn't totally innocent in their dealings with the United States, and their two major political groups were constantly vying for control in the important peace talks. Unfortunately, the United States were already decided on what they wanted to do in the situation, making all the meetings at the Kaku building irrelevant.

This chapter also brought up a few interesting issues dealing with nations and their citizens. While most countries have open elections, the actions taken by those in power are not decided on a majority vote. They do what they want with the approval of others in power, caring less about the average citizen and what they say about what their government should be doing. Many times during war, citizens are nothing but units to be counted as casualties, taking the personal toll and emotions out of the equation so that the atrocious acts governments commit can be done with less guilt.

The other side is shown in an odd encounter with Kess. He wants to be President for the sole fact he'll be able to destroy the scum of the world. With these actions he hopes to create a type of peace across the globe…but is that really peace? If you simply kill the opposition instead of taking their motives into account, are you really making the world a safer place? Or are you only taking choices out of the hands of the citizens?

So, where were the missiles heading at the end of the chapter?  Are they being launched as a last futile attempt to save Japan, or are they only going to add to the destruction of the small island nation? If these questions are burning in your mind, come back next week for the answers! Sure, they may be cryptic as hell…but the journey is the important part. Until then, sayonara!

Fractured Persona – killer7 #2

Here it is, the continuation of my killer7 analysis. While the first chapter (Angel) was pretty short in length and story, this second chapter is much longer. Luckily, it has a two very distinct parts that comprise the whole, so I’ll be dividing this chapter into two separate articles. Be sure to look out for the second part of this chapter next week!

Transformers: War for Cybertron

When game developers grab onto a popular franchise like Transformers, you think they would be careful with the product they release. But most of the time this hasn’t been the case. While the early cartoons were just a ploy to sell more of the action figures, it grew into a worldwide phenomenon that still remains incredibly popular today. Maybe it’s because of these high expectations that no game before has been able to live up to the fans’ standards. Luckily, developers High Moon Studios may have finally created the first great Transformers game with their latest release, War for Cybertron.

The story in War for Cybertron takes place on, you guessed it, Cybertron. The Transformers’ homeworld is in turmoil as the civil war between Autobots and Decepticons rages on. The game contains two very distinct campaigns, one for each faction. Both campaigns are open from the start, but the Decepticon missions take place before those of the Autobots. As the Decepticons, you’ll follow Megatron’s lead in the fight on Cybertron, hoping to gain control of the mechanical planet so that his more nefarious plans can be undertaken without interference from the Autobots. There’s an interesting contrast in the missions, as your goals in the first campaign are mainly destructive in nature. Then later, as the Autobots, it’s your job to stop the Decepticons and fix the damage they’ve done to your homeworld.

The amount of fan service in this game is off the charts. No, the Transformers won’t be wearing skimpy outfits; rather, the sheer number of Transformers characters they were able to fit into the story is nothing less than impressive. And even with the large amount of characters involved in various story lines, the plot never becomes confusing or convoluted. It’s easy to see that the people behind this game’s development and writing have a ton of respect for the source material. Plus, any Transformers game that allows you to play as Soundwave is doing something right in my book.

My favorite part of the campaigns were the interactions between the different Transformers. While the Autobots were rather boring in the dialogue department, the Decepticon conversations were top notch. A mix of witty banter and cheesy one-liners, it epitomizes everything that’s awesome about the old-school Transformers series. Everything about these campaigns is over the top and silly, which is how it should be in my opinion. The moment hair metal starts blaring in the background you will be amazed.

In the gameplay department, War for Cybertron takes a pretty unoriginal genre and throws in enough bells and whistles to get you excited again. The traditional third-person shooter game mechanics work well, placing the camera slightly over the shoulder of your chosen character to offer a wider view of the battlefields. The typical guns and grenades gameplay is augmented with character-specific powers like deployable shields and sentries, changing the experience a tiny bit depending on which Transformer you choose. These powers are mainly decided on which of the four classes your character fits into. Leaders, Scouts, Scientists, and Soldiers all have different play styles and different loadouts at the start of the mission that determine their battle tactics. Leaders and Soldiers are the tanks, with Scouts offering speedy and stealthy attacks and Scientists providing healing. These roles are only really prevalent in co-op as, unfortunately, the teammate AI isn’t really up to snuff.

The real difference War for Cybertron throws into the mix is the transforming. Each Transformer has a vehicle mode in addition to their robot mode. The vehicle mode offers added speed and different weaponry, and some parts of the game require the vehicle mode to get through unscathed. While it’s nothing revolutionary, this small gameplay tweak is incredibly fun and easy to use. Interestingly enough, the highlights and the low points of this mechanic both come in the flying missions. Flying outside can be a pain sometimes, as the plethora of enemies and missiles in the air can be a huge nuisance that isn’t easily avoidable with the poor dodge controls. But, once the flying heads inside through tiny ventilation shafts and service ports, it becomes fast and frenetic as you try to avoid obstacles that obstruct your path as well as dispatch enemies that are hot on your tail.

Multiplayer takes the class system from the offline mode and expands it, allowing you to create your own Transformer with custom loadouts and abilities. Oddly enough, the aesthetic customization isn’t as varied as they made it out to be in early press trailers. For most classes there are only two chassis selections for each faction, and some class/faction combinations only have one. More are unlocked as you finish campaigns offline, but the choices still remain rather limited. The most customization you can do is basically changing your primary and secondary colors, which isn’t really anything to write home about when most games offer this sort of thing.

The ability and loadout choices, however, are very fun to mess around with. Like most online multiplayer games, you’ll earn experience as you fight through the various online modes. The more powerful abilities and weapons can only be unlocked after reaching higher levels, which gives you incentive to play the game to reach them and also helps you become acquainted with some of the weaker powers. Each class has their own set of abilities to choose from, which makes sticking to your role much more important than it is in the offline campaigns.

Transformers: War for Cybertron is fantastic for the sole fact it didn’t disappoint me. The creative team behind its development have an obvious respect for the original characters and storylines, and do a great job introducing them to a wider audience. The gameplay is tight and responsive, if a little uninspired. The abilities that the Transformers characters bring to the table expand upon the combat a little bit, but not in any mind-blowing or revolutionary way. While not all of the voices are original, they do a great job of keeping the same Transformers feel in the music and sound effect design. If you are in any way a Transformers fan or are looking to get a little taste of the universe, dive right into this game and don’t look back.

Likes

• Excellent story that does right by the Transformers universe.
• Multiplayer is fun and interesting due to class system.
• The game practically oozes Transformers, from the amount of characters to the sound design.
• Soundwave. That’s all that needs to be said.

Dislikes

• Gameplay has a few surprises, but doesn’t offer anything spectacular.
• Class system is almost entirely unimportant in single-player.
• Tough flying sections can frustrate even veteran gamers.

Review Score

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The review scale at LevelFortyTwo is between 1 and 5. A score of 5 is considered an amazing game, 4 is a well-done game with only minor issues, 3 is in the middle; not great, but not bad, 2 is a very problematic game, and 1 is absolutely terrible.

Fractured Persona – killer7 #1

Conflict. Peace. What are they? How do they relate to one another? Is it possible to achieve peace in the world we live in today, or is conflict also an important part of our overall legacy? killer7 takes these questions and flips them on their heads, presenting a gripping narrative that changed the way I looked at story in video games. I went over a bit of the game's development history and general information in my New Game+ article last week. Starting with this article, however, I'll be detailing the main story points chapter-by-chapter on a weekly basis. I'll do my best to analyze the plot and thematic elements in an attempt to make a sense of the craziness this game throws at you, as well as pinpointing some of the core ideas the creators were hoping to convey.

killer7

It's a pretty well known fact that famed video game director Suda Goichi, better known as Suda51, is a crazy person. After creating a slew of sleeper hits, his vision was finally accepted on a wider scale with the release of No More Heroes in 2008. While his unique style of creating games has become familiar in today's video game community, many of his earlier releases remain cult classics. Like Suda's more popular franchises, these games value style, presentation, and story above all else. He is probably my favorite voice in the scene today, as well as being the chief creative influence behind my favorite game, killer7.

Released in 2005, killer7 instantly sparked a very polarized debate. Some found the game too odd and graphically underwhelming. Others found it easy to look past these small faults because the story behind the gameplay was so intriguing. It quickly took its role as a cult classic, much of its success spreading by word-of-mouth. This quick spotlight on Suda51 and his development studio Grasshopper Manufacture raised interest significantly in later releases like Contact and No More Heroes.

From a gameplay standpoint, killer7 is rather simplistic. All movement is on rails, where a single button makes your character move forward and another causes them to turn around. When you hear or see the outline of an enemy, you use the trigger button to aim and the other to scan for the invisible opponent. All of the enemies are variations of a single entity called Heaven Smile. As you progress further in the game, new variations are introduced that require specific strategies to defeat. Puzzles also play a large part in the gameplay and hinder your progress to new areas.

As far as I'm concerned, the story is killer7's main draw. A mixture of god-like entities, supernatural forces, and political backstabbing makes it a pretty confusing trip. And even though it includes a dash of unique Suda51 silliness and intense violence, killer7 raises a few important questions regarding the high price of maintaining peace and the steps government may take without our knowledge. In the coming weeks, I'll be detailing a few of these themes in a chapter-by-chapter analysis of the plot, so be sure to keep a look out if you're a fan of the game.

Din’s Curse

I’ve often described games as having “dynamic” and “living” worlds. In most instances, these realistic worlds silently work in your favor, providing valuable back story or special insight into the people and places you’ll eventually visit. These worlds are incredibly fun, but rarely feel as if they are out to get you. Soldak Entertainment kept that same premise, but went an entirely different direction when creating their newest game. Full of random events and surprises, the world of Din’s Curse is a harsh one that will keep you constantly alert to the perils of its underground dungeons and also to those that plague the human settlements you are forced to protect.

The game begins by asking you to select a class. The choices are fairly standard for a fantasy RPG, but one in particular is very interesting. Upon choosing the Hybrid class, you are allowed to choose two specialties out of the 18 skill trees of the other classes. While your Hybrid character will only have two trees to spend skill points in instead of three, you’ll have greater control over what skills your character learns and can actually streamline the leveling a bit for newer players. You are also given a few other options to choose from before starting the game, such as setting monster levels and a few difficulty modifiers for more experienced players.

After creating your character, the game world is randomly generated and you, the noble hero, is plopped down right in the middle of a small human town. You soon realize you might be the best choice to save the world, as your first conversation with Din, the God of Honor, begins with him detailing your despicable life. Because you refused to serve any gods during your first life, you’ve been bound to Din and must do his bidding to redeem yourself. With this small intro out of the way, the first of the game’s dungeons is opened to you. From there you’ll slay ferocious monsters, collect ancient and powerful weaponry, and conquer the underworld in an attempt to make life better for those that live on the surface.

Most games in this genre have a pretty generic and open story, so it was no surprise to me when the game basically set me out on my own. Throughout the first hour or so of gameplay you’ll be bombarded with tips and helpful directions on how to control your character, equip armor, use items, and so on and so forth. For newbies jumping into this game, those tips are a godsend. Every little action or event comes with a pop up you can click on for more info, and it was refreshing to see a game with such a huge world and extensive list of features take the time to acclimate those that may have a bit less experience. The gameplay is pretty standard fare, though, with most of the commands being made through clicking the mouse.

I’ll admit, the sound and visual directions taken by Din’s Curse were a bit off putting initially. The 3D models are definitely not as pretty as those found in Torchlight, and the voice acting and background ambiance come nowhere close to the Diablo series. It was hard to not think of these games as I worked my way through the early dungeons Din’s Curse, until I reached my first random event. I wasn’t aware Din’s Curse was going to be implementing this sort of feature during my adventure, so it came was quite a shock when it happened. As I was demolishing a few imps and trolls, the dungeon walls around me suddenly began to shake. Debris fell around me and the monsters I was fighting scattered into the darkness. I immediately made my way out of the dungeon and just sat there, still surprised by what had occurred. As I continued through the game, I was met with a multitude of these events, some mundane like the cave in I experienced early on, some life threatening like an invasion of the surface I experienced later.

Unfortunately, I soon realized some of these events weren’t so random, but rather stemmed from my own ignorance. Quests play a huge part in keeping the delicate line between the town and the hordes of monsters waiting to destroy it in check. Some quests are incredibly important to the well being of the townsfolk. If you don’t complete them in a timely manner, the monsters inhabiting the dungeons may see a growth in their power. Miss enough of these quests, and they’ll lead an attack on the town above the dungeon, slaughtering innocents until you stop them. But, if you manage to complete enough of these important quests and stem the attacks of the evil creatures, Din will reward you handsomely with experience, reputation, and valuable items. You’ll do this from town to town until Din sees fit and allows you the redemption you’ve been seeking.

Din’s Curse really threw me for a loop. While it isn’t much of a looker, it hides a surprising depth. Not content to just piggyback on the successes of other dungeon crawlers, Soldak Entertainment added a few new components to keep the genre fresh and interesting. Playing Din’s Curse for any amount of time is equal parts frustrating and exhilarating, as the game is constantly throwing new events and challenges your way. The developers have found a very flexible world generating system that makes it feel very alive and important. I can’t wait to see what these folks cook up next.

Likes

• Creates a living, breathing, and incredibly engaging game world.
• Takes the danger out of the dungeon and makes it imperative that you also protect the towns.
• The expanse character class creation is something I’ll be experimenting with for a long time.

Dislikes

• The graphics are incredibly dated and are a bit off putting at first.
• The sound direction is somewhat dull.

Review Score

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The review scale at LevelFortyTwo is between 1 and 5. A score of 5 is considered an amazing game, 4 is a well-done game with only minor issues, 3 is in the middle; not great, but not bad, 2 is a very problematic game, and 1 is absolutely terrible.

Red Dead Redemption

To me, no settings are better than space horror and spaghetti western, be it film or video game. The latter is the main focus of Rockstar Games' newest release, Red Dead Redemption. A collaboration between Rockstar San Diego and Rockstar North, Red Dead Redemption serves as a spiritual successor to an older Rockstar release, Red Dead Revolver, which was released in 2004. Rather than being a straight-forward third-person shooter, however, Red Dead Redemption features a living, sandbox world for you to explore, as well as a variety of missions and side stories for you tackle at your leisure. But, can Rockstar's tried and true gameplay mechanics translate well to such a different time period?

The game begins with the introduction of John Marston. A former outlaw, John is charged by the U.S. Government with the mission to eliminate the remaining members of his old gang. In order to return to his peaceful family life, John accepts and heads to an abandoned fort named Fort Mercer to deal with a a man who has the most redundant name I've ever heard: Bill Williamson. A former rider in John's old gang, Bill is now the leader of a new gang, and taunts John before having him shot and left outside the fort to die. Bonnie MacFarlane, daughter of a rancher who operates nearby, finds him and helps recuperate from his wounds. Moved by their kindness, John stays on the ranch to help them with various issues that arise, until he moves on to his main goal: killing Bill Williamson.

After this first bit of story and tutorial, the world becomes your oyster. Like other sandbox worlds, the main story missions are only a small part of the overall game. During your travels you'll be introduced to an almost overwhelming amount of side stories and background characters, as well as tons of guns and horses that can be purchased. But, every event isn't confined to structured missions and games, as the barren, dusty landscape will often contain small events you can choose to take part in or ignore. The world of Red Dead Redemption is the best definition of “living,” as numerous types of animal and plant life decorate the rolling hills. Some of the best moments in the game are when these two worlds, the human and animal, collide in situations that are frightening, suspenseful, hilarious, or all of the above at once.

The amount of things the developer is able to shove into the game's world is always the main draw with games of this genre, and Red Dead Redemption never disappoints. But it doesn't stop there, going one step further to breath life into a game world. This is a world in every sense of the word. As you accept missions from various strangers and work your way through the personal challenges the game throws your way, you'll become totally immersed in the reality Rockstar has created for you. One of the greatest things is they know the genre and don't take themselves too seriously. John Marston, the main character, spends almost the whole first third of the game threatening every man he meets with a bullet to the head, but you'll understand after just a few minutes of spending time with these individuals. Most of the characters you meet, important or otherwise, have various defects that make them as believable as they are entertaining.

That isn't to say the amount of things to do in this game is lacking in any way. The aforementioned stranger missions span various locales and stories as you help random folks with their problems, everyday or otherwise. These run the gamut from helping an old man gather flowers for his wife to stopping a cannibal living in the hills outside a town from satiating his hunger with more victims. Personal challenges open up as soon as you peform a certain task, such as picking a desert flower or shooting an animal. Finishing these lines of challenges reward you with stat bonuses, such as a higher ammo capacity or weapon range, and give you a great sense of accomplishment after the time it took to complete them. Much like the challenges, outfit pieces are revealed as soon as you complete one of the prerequisites for creating them. Some of these outfits give you special abilities like cheating at cards or longer Dead Eye time, a kind of slow motion aiming system.

Although I've long been a fan of another Rockstar series, Grand Theft Auto, it's always been held back by loose controls and a somewhat sloppy aiming system. Intense gun fights were made frustrating just because it was difficult to get a decent lock on enemies, and seriously detracted from the greatness hidden within those games. Luckily, Red Dead Redemption shakes off those chains and offers amazing controls and game mechanics to match the story and setting. I've always had a love/hate relationship with auto-aim in games, but it works wonders in this one. Everything, from huge gun battles to one-on-one dueling, is smooth and fluid. Even things that sound complicated, such as steering a horse or wagon while fending off attackers, flow naturally with a few simple gameplay mechanics. The controls and aiming were the one thing I was very worried about when jumping into this game, but Rockstar finally found a formula that worked and implemented it wonderfully.

Another deviation from some of Rockstar's older series, Red Dead Redemption looks just as good as it plays. The cutscenes offer some of the most realistic facial animations I've ever seen in a video game, and not much is lost in the transition to gameplay. Dust kicks up realistically with each beating of your horse's hooves, while brush and tumbleweeds react accordingly to changing wind directions and speed. While it does suffer from the occasional floating character model or glitchy animation, Red Dead Redemption is fantastic in motion, and I found myself on more than one occasion blown away by the spectacular scenery they somehow managed to fit into this game with the other content. Matching the aesthetics in quality is the sound design. While the world itself is incredibly engaging alone, musical cues and background ambiance really drive the atmosphere home. The voice acting is, of course, top notch. Even the most eccentric characters, while sometimes a bit over the top, never step over the edge into downright stupidity.

Red Dead Redemption is immense, and I mean this in a few different ways. Probably the most tangible would be in the sheer amount of gameplay they managed to fit onto the disc. The wild west is riddled with side missions, saloon games, and secrets as far as the eye can see. Even then, some of the most compelling gameplay moments come from experiencing the randomness and spontaneity of the living world Rockstar has managed to create. Red Dead Redemption is also immense in that it's the first open-world, sand box type game to truly have it all; a huge, living game world with just the right mix of incredible graphics and dynamic atmosphere. It raises the bar for every game to come after it. While I'm excited to see how other developers hope to top this monumental gaming achievement, I'm sure they're going to have a tough time doing so.

Likes

• Presents a living, breathing world in an incredible way.
• Builds off great gameplay with gorgeous visuals and incredible sound and voice acting.
• Contains such an enormous amount of things to do, it would almost be impossible to list them all.

Dislikes

• Starts off pretty slow in terms of story.
• Has a few graphical hiccups here and there, but nothing major.
• Tends to make me ramble when I talk or write about it because it's simply fantastic.

Review Score

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The review scale at LevelFortyTwo is between 1 and 5. A score of 5 is considered an amazing game, 4 is a well-done game with only minor issues, 3 is in the middle; not great, but not bad, 2 is a very problematic game, and 1 is absolutely terrible.

Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire

When I was a kid, I had only one true love in the world: Star Wars. My dad sat me down to watch them as soon as I could understand what was going on, and we rewatched them countless times over the years as I grew up. Most of what I was interested in from that point on was Star Wars related. Books, video games, comics…I couldn't get enough. But one area I never really jumped into was the Expanded Universe, further stories that chronicled adventures outside of the main plot. This all changed when I was introduced to a game called Shadows of the Empire for the Nintendo 64.

Set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, Shadows of the Empire details the adventures of the mercenary Dash Rendar, a friend of the Rebel Alliance. From my recollection, he is also part of the Han Solo fan club. His demeanor is almost exactly the same as his more famous counterpart, and he dresses about the same too. His transportation furthers my suspicions, as it's basically a later model of Han's famous Millennium Falcon. But, I digress. Dash's adventures take him all over the galaxy, from Hoth during the Empire's invasion to the junkyard planet of Ord Mantell to deal with the bounty hunter IG-88. His story in the game eventually culminates in a battle against the Prince Xizor, who hopes to eliminate Luke Skywalker in an attempt to become the Emperor's apprentice.

While having a fair amount of backstory to the original trilogy was amazing in its own right, the game really shone with the varied stages that comprised it. Quite a bit of them were generic on-foot, third person perspective shooters, but they controlled extremely well. Others were space battle affairs, as well as a very interesting one involving a speeder bike race. At the time, the graphics were far superior to anything I had seen before it, but haven't aged gracefully after a recent playthrough. The music, on the other hand, was and still is exceptional. While many of its pieces were taken straight from the movie soundtrack, the originals still carried an epic and graceful quality to them that would fit perfectly in any of the films.

Shadows of the Empire was also a game with a ton of secrets. Scattered across all the levels were hidden Rebel insignias that would unlock special concept art, scenery, and cheat codes after you gathered enough of them. Add onto that varying difficulty levels, and you have a game with a ton of replay potential. The game also becomes surprisingly tough in the last few stages, which makes it that much more satisfying when you reach the conclusion. No spoilers here, but try beating the game at the hardest difficulty (called Jedi, naturally) and marvel at the fantastic plot twists that abound after the credits.

This game is my childhood. While I never had a chance to actually own it myself, I would play it for hours on end whenever I visited my extended family. The day I finally beat it will probably stand in my mind as one of the best video game moments I have ever had for quite some time. The graphics and gameplay haven't really stood the test of time over the years, but it's still a pretty fun game to mess around with when you have a few spare minutes. If you can get your hands on a copy, blow the dust off that old Nintendo 64 you have slowly dying in the corner of your room and check it out. You won't be disappointed.

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New Game+ is LevelFortyTwo.com's blog not just looking back at older games, but also the effort and work that was put into them, as well as the joy of reliving old gaming experiences. Read more about the goal of this blog here.

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