Goichi Suda is a busy man. As creative director on the recently
released XBLA baseball title Diabolical
Pitch, as well as next month’s
much anticipated Lollipop
Chainsaw, you’d figure that the
guy would
want to take a vacation. Lucky for us, Suda 51 has no time for sleep,
as evidenced by the details of Grasshopper Manufacture’s next title
that have slowly started to trickle out. It’s called Killer
is Dead,
and aside from being a multiplatform assassin-simulator set to release
in 2013, most of the details about the game have been gathered from
various pieces of concept art. We do know that Suda will serve as the
executive director of the project, allowing his distinct tricks and
trademarks to be felt throughout the game. Because of this, we felt
like it might be a good time to take a look at Suda 51’s past and
highlight some elements that we’d love to see return, and some facets
of his games that we wouldn’t mind seeing retired.
Killer7
Contrary to their similar titles, Killer is Dead is not a follow-up to
2005’s cult hit Killer7, but that’s not to say that the two won’t share
anything in common. I’d love to see Grasshopper take the David
Lynch-ian madness that blanketed Killer7 and absolutely run
with
it. Suda dealt with themes of terrorism, split personalities, and
freudian theory in ways that few other video game developers have ever
attempted
to tackle. The dense story, wealth of references, and intricately woven
themes all combined to create a rich narrative that fueled conversation
long after the credits rolled. If you search the internet for a plot
summary of the game, you’ll quickly stumble upon a slew of
novella-sized ramblings that are completely staggering in their depth
of analysis.
Sadly, all was not perfect in
the world of Killer7. As much as I loved the game’s brilliant risks and
numerous successes, I’ll be the first to admit that it’s certainly
lacking in the actual game department. The player’s inability to
explore beyond the confines of the the predetermined rails made it feel
like you’re in a toyshop adorned with dozens of “No Touching” signs.
The gameplay itself was akin to a light gun title whose action had been
slowed down because the player was being forced to use the analog stick
for aiming.
Targeting specific body parts of enemies did provide some semblance of
strategy, but that alone could not salvage the complete lack of
exploration. Killer is Dead needs to deliver a more intuitive gameplay
structure while still breaking barriers in the narrative department.
Judging from the above image featuring a humanoid bunny cocktail
waitress, the game is shaping up to be just as strange as as Killer7.
