It's over. It's finally over. The end of the Capcom 5. Or Capcom one-and-a-half. Or...whatever. Regardless of how many actual exclusive GameCube titles came out of the Capcom 5, at least we can say that it is going out with a bang, and not a whimper. Killer 7 released just yesterday to the public, and while it isn't a GameCube exclusive, it is definitely something most players should have in their collection. Most.

As of right now, I've only really begun tapping into the artistically beautiful world of Killer 7. More than anything, it can be said with clarity that the developers of the game went in knowing they wanted a certain style and a certain feel for the game to have. They've certainly succeeded in making a dark, film-noir-esque environment with the unique cell-shading and the intriguing music tracks picked for the game. Unlike some other popular Capcom games, Killer 7 does not try to scare the player. The atmosphere is dark, but not in a horrific sort of way. Really, I think the developers just wanted to freak the player out a bit. And man, they know how to freak people out. Especially with the laughs. The laughs will forever haunt my dreams. Every time you encounter a Heaven Smile, they giggle maniacally. This is the cue for them to start pursuing you, and your cue to get your gun ready. Hours after putting the controller down, that laugh will continue to haunt.

Seriously, though, most people know exactly what to expect out of Killer 7. Here is a brief list of my observations to help out those of you still on the borderline of whether or not to purchase Killer 7.

• The controls really aren't that bad. If you want to whine about not being able to roam freely, then fine. But the tracked style of the game has yet to hinder the gameplay experience. If anything, all it does is speed the game up because you are guided from point A to point B without getting lost.
  
• The story started off a bit bumpy, but I expect it to take off soon. To be honest, I'm pretty lost. But it is really early in the morning.
  
• The characters are cool as hell, and it isn't hard to switch between them. One second you're rocking the block with Kaede's sniper scope, then you pop over to Mask De Smith to finish off the closer baddies with a grenade.
  
• Randomly blowing up sucks. And it will happen quite a few times. Especially when you get attacked by a tiny, hard-to-hit-flying Heaven Smile that laughs approximately 3 full seconds before you're smacked in the face. Quite annoying.
  
• There is a lot of challenge in taking out the Heaven Smiles effectively. Sure, you can just pummel them to death with a barrage of bullets, but you want the maximum amount of blood point, so you aim for the bomb, or take off limbs, or whatever. It helps keep things fresh. So far.
  
• There is not much enemy variety, however. All the Heaven Smiles look a lot like each other. Then again, it is early.
  
• Iwazaru is officially Capcom's version of Tingle. Imagine Tingle if he were some kind of weird sadomasochist who was always down on the situation, and to top it all off he spoke in tongues. Weirdest. Characters. Ever.
  
• This is probably one of the most gruesome games out there. If the art style weren't so pseudo-realistic, I would have gagged at a few scenes. Seriously, I wonder if they made the art unrealistic so they could take the gore to the level they have, without putting people into shock comas.
  
• Some of the special moves are a little tough to execute and figure out. I'm not sure if I'm missing some button combos or what, but the help text isn't aiding me much. Counter attacks are cool, though.
  
• Great voice acting where the voice acting matters. Great cinema. The guy bounced a freakin' bullet off his head. Yeah, it was cool.

The reviews around the gaming community have been either very positive, or fairly negative. So far, it looks like GCA will be leaning towards the positive for this particular title. Stay tuned for the full review coming soon!