Killer 7 - IGN

In the game, players take control of a wheelchair bound man named Harman Smith, who is able to physically transform into seven different and wholly deadly personalities. When the United States -- not necessarily our United States, though, according to the game's producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi -- is attacked by a terrorist group called Heaven's Smile, the government hires Smith to take care of business.

Kobayashi, who is rooted in Capcom R&D4 department, showed an updated teaser trailer of the game at last month's Gamers Day Event in Las Vegas. The footage was as intriguing and unrevealing as ever, but bit-by-bit we're beginning to piece the elements of the mysterious title together.

The new footage previewed opened unto a scene of the Earth. Somewhere in a city we see a man as he carries a briefcase. Next he's on a cell-phone. Scenes of blood-soaked shootings follow. A man is shot in the face and his head explodes. Another man spits. Another character, armed with a double-barreled shotgun, takes aim. We have only a second's glimpse of each shot before the action changes to another sequence.

These are, of course, some of the characters one gets to play as -- everybody from Con Smith to Coyote Smith, Mask De Smith to Dan Smith. They all share a last name in common, but that's really about it. Each character has unique abilities that make them useful under different circumstances.

"This game has been getting a lot of attention. It's getting more and more popular in each of the different territories," said Kobayashi on Killer 7. "It's produced in part by myself and Shinji Mikami. Mr. Suda for Grasshopper has written the story."

Kobayashi pointed out once more that Killer 7 would be a very adult-specific title. "This is not a game for children, as you can see by the video," he said. "Heck -- but you could tell that right away, couldn't you? Just by the title -- Killer 7. Seven killers in the game."

"Harmon Smith is the main character in the game. He is the man in the wheelchair. You saw him in the video. Now we're going to get to the confusing part of the story. There are seven different personalities within Harmon Smith. Not like multiple personalities in your brain, but personalities he can actually change into in-body.

"The enemies themselves are under control of a man from the Eastern continent. He has attacked the United States -- but not necessarily your United States. Just a United States of some nation. You figure it out. [Laughs].

"These crazed sort-of-like people that actually explode have attacked the United States of some place. And in order to do battle with them, the government decides to send out this Killer 7 -- this assassin -- to stop the enemy.

"And how the Killer 7 works is that Harmon Smith calls upon one of these personalities -- each with different characteristics. Some people use revolvers. Some use two guns. Mask De Smith uses two grenade launchers. And each character can do some kind of special kind power that only they can do. And they use their weapons and these special powers to combat the enemy."

The game is set up like a book, according to Capcom, so that new levels are illustrated as different chapters. In each chapter the player must find and assassinate a target. Failure to do so translates to failure of the mission. Locations range from Japanese style hotels to outside environments. In one chapter giant missiles that would totally decimate the land are threatening Japan. "The reason why Japan is being aimed at for utter destruction is because it is friends of the United States of some place," said Kobayashi.

Heaven's Smile's armies are constructed of zombies and they are nearly impossible to see. Players will need to use a special tool to first scan and then reveal these characters, at which point they can be eliminated -- presumably in first-person mode as we have seen in videos and screens. However, players will need to be extra careful even after these enemies have been revealed because they will charge the various Smiths and explode when they come into contact with them, which of course does damage.

The personalities in Killer 7 can physically die, but does that not mean they are gone for good. "One of the character's abilities is that he can revive the dead bodies of his fallen comrades," said Kobayashi. Obviously it would be wise to use this character to maintain all seven different characters.

We'll have more on the game soon. But in the meantime don't hesitate to check out our Killer 7 interview on the front page and new screenshots of the game in our media section below.