kill.switch

"Take Cover, Take Aim, Take Over, That's all there is to it..."

Namco attempts a foray into the 3rd Person Shooter genre with their newest title kill.switch. This game gives you a wide assortment of assault rifles and grenades and throws you into 5 different areas, each with 3 submission areas to complete.

Graphics: (+) The graphics are probably one of the highpoints for this game. They're not perfect, but there are few instances where they could be considered to hinder the gameplay. Character models are ok, and they even manage to make it look right when a grenade blast sends you flying. Speaking of explosions, most are succinct, without a lot of the ''mushroom cloud'' effect going on.... a grenade blast is merely a flash, an exploding barrel of gas is a larger flash with a few fragments flying past. All in all, the graphics are well done, but not extremely impressive.

Sound: (+/-) gunshots are well represented here, and grenade blasts sound somewhat authentic, with sounds of plaster or stone flying if grenades are set off near a wall, and chips of plaster flying if a bullet hits the wall... Otherwise, nothing about the sound particularly grabbed my attention. The Dialog is well acted, but short. Music is rather subdued and could have been a major influence on this game. A more emotionally stirring theme could have raised this game up a notch...

Story: (+/-) The story is told mostly through the gameplay...and yet you're kept mostly in the dark throughout the game, learning bits and pieces from the dialog as the mission objectives are given to you. I wouldn't rate the story very highly in this case, and ultimately, it didn't enhance the gameplay like it could have.

Controls: (Big +) The controls in this game are sharp, responsive and well designed. Once you master the simple style of hide and shoot, you'll be sweeping through the levels like a pro. You can always adjust the sensitivity if you like, so there'll be few times when you'll be cursing the controls if you die.

Gameplay: (+) The gameplay is easy to get into, and each level is broken up into 3 submissions, so you can save in the middle. Most of the time, you're going from point A to B while taking care of the enemies in between, but there are a variety in the mission objectives so that you have to keep on your toes.

Enemy soldiers can only take a few bullets before they're dead (Thankfully) so well placed shots can end a firefight quickly. Likewise, you can't sustain continued shots for very long. You can recover health if you stay out of harm's way for a short while, but even this regeneration is limited.

The big innovation in gameplay is Blind fire, and honestly it adds some realism to the game, but it doesn't prove as useful as you would think. Your accuracy decreases quite a bit, so the only time it's useful is when your enemy is right on the other side of the cover you're hiding behind, or when chucking a grenade.

You'll find the game to be a challenge, as the AI has been worked on considerably. In some cases, this means that one guy will keep you pinned down with fire while his teammates flank you on either side. In other cases, you'll hear the enemy yell ''Flush him out!'' and a swarm of guys will come in guns ablazing.

In your arsenal, you'll find quite a few weapons, but most of them are variants on a theme of ''assault rifle'' and ''grenades'' though some rifles have a built in grenade launcher that can come in handy. You also have a sniper rifle, but the lack of a manual zooming feature keeps this one feeling rather limited. The ''Scope'' or ''Sights'' for the rest of the weapons seem accurately represented, and in most cases, you are better off using the sights than you are trusting the onscreen crosshairs.

You can also man a machine gun nest like Medal of Honor: Frontline, though in this game, doing so doesn't trigger any new enemies, so it's not usually to your benefit to do so. By the time you've gotten to the machine gun emplacement, there are few enemies left to kill, and the limited arc of the gun keeps you from making it useful. Still, it's nice to have the option, I just wish they used it more effectively.

The flow of action tends to go: find cover -- attack enemies -- advance. This is highly reminiscent of ''Time Crisis'' and even more so when you see some of the enemy death animations. Like time crisis, a shot to the head will always be the fastest way to kill the enemy, though time is not as much of a factor, except in one level.

Game Length: (-) This seems to be a major sticking point for everyone, though this could depend on how you feel. The game is only 5 major areas comprised of 3 levels per area. I'm not extremely good at the game, nor am I as dedicated to the game as some, but I've completed the game in about 20 hours of gameplay (counting all the deaths/restarts). If you're really good, you could probably beat this game in under 6 hours. Some people prefer short games to long ones, since that means you can go back and replay it (and beat it) multiple times. There are no unlockable items (other than being able to choose the level from level select) so this is purely for fun only.

The game is a blast and I'd highly recommend it, though some may feel it's not worth ''full price''. Rent it first and you may beat it. If you really enjoy it, buy it. I bought it and I'm not disappointed in it, but your tastes may vary, especially if you can blast through the game in a rental period.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 11/09/03