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  • This

  • thing doesn't have just a little bit. It has everything. Everything that made Killer7 a

  • GameCube classic.

  • Everything your friends didn't believe until you showed them, in No More Heroes. It's violent.

  • It's sexy. It's sexist.

  • It's...utterly ridiculous. It's everything you loveor everything you hateabout

  • Suda 51.

  • But...that means it's predictable.

  • And that's one thing you'd never predict from Suda.

  • Now, now...it's not a loser, by any means. On the contrary, Killer Is Dead is one of

  • the year's most stylish,

  • entertaining and...irreverent video games. Another patch on the vest of gaming's most

  • notorious punk rocker and

  • closest answer to Quentin Tarantino. If you like your games as gorgeous as they are f*cked

  • up, you'll love Killer Is

  • Dead.

  • But if you're familiar with Suda's work, be aware that...this one kind of feels like a

  • greatest hits. And most of the

  • time, a "greatest hits" never has the same impact.

  • Most of the time.

  • In fact, if there's one thing that makes Killer Is Dead stand apart from games like No More

  • Heroes, it's that...this

  • is kind of a dark game. I mean, it has all the potty humor you would expect from Suda,

  • but the tone is far more

  • sinister this time. Even uncomfortable, at times. In fact, while the gameplay is basically

  • just No More Heroes 3, the

  • game is actually closer to Killer7 in tone...and its balance between fear and funny.

  • And...with a little extra foxy.

  • Actually, it's more than a little. And that's another thing that stands out with Killer

  • Is Dead. I mean, Suda's games

  • always sexualize women, but...this takes it to a level that even surprised me. I mean,

  • there's actually a minigame

  • where...you have to stare at a woman's "parts," when she's not looking. Do it enough times,

  • and you can give her

  • expensive gifts. Like flowers. Do that enough times, and...well, you know.

  • And the crazy thing is that...that's how you get new weapons, and upgrades. From sleeping

  • with women. Who then give

  • you these things, in return. And honestly, if that's something you find offensive...you'll

  • find a thousand other

  • things offensive, in Killer Is Dead. This game is just...unremittingly misogynistic,

  • even for Suda 51. So that's

  • definitely something to consider.

  • One way or the other.

  • As for the gameplay, well...that's familiar ground, too. And actually, that's where the

  • game disappoints the most.

  • Killer Is Dead is almost identical to No More Heroes, the same counter-based sword game

  • that exhilarated Wii

  • owners...about half a decade earlier. And that's fine, because it's fun. Killer Is Dead

  • is fun. But it does give the

  • experience this overwhelming feeling of "been there, done that."

  • And again, you just don't expect that from a Suda game.

  • Now, there is one new gameplay element that separates Killer Is Dead from No More Heroes.

  • And this one feels like

  • Shadows of the Damned. In addition to your sword, you also have this...arm cannon, which

  • lets you do some third-person

  • shooting if you have enough blood. It's a fun change, but...you use the sword like,

  • 90 percent of the time. Which

  • means...it's really not much of a change.

  • Fortunately, though, it is fun. I mean, if you like No More Heroesand you should like

  • No More Heroesyou're going to

  • love Killer Is Dead. Dodge, attack, rinse the blood off, repeat. It's fast, it's frantic,

  • it's awesome. And for the

  • most part, it looks amazing. It has Suda's unmistakable style...but even that's held

  • back by some technical issues. So it's, like...one step forward, two exploding

  • torsos back.

  • Suda 51 has always taken this...off-road approach, to game design. But the thing is, when you

  • go off the road enough

  • times in the same place? That becomes a road. Worn down, visible...predictable. If you like

  • the way Suda drives, like

  • I do, you're going to love Killer Is Dead. But if you're hoping for an unexpected turn?

  • For a new route?

  • That's a route Killer Is Dead doesn't seem interested

  • in taking.

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