Killer7

1001 Video Games

Killer 7 appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Controversy

Infamous lawyer Jack Thompson complained to ESRB president Patricia Vance regarding the rating of Killer 7 (which was rated 'M' for Mature). He cited as evidence a review on IGN, which he referred to only as "this pro-violent video games site", which had this to say:

...profanity, sex and bloodshed are commonplace… We can't stress it enough: kids should not play Killer 7. Not just because there’s an M on the box, but because for once that M really means something. There’s much more than blood and guts in the game. Everything from the design of puzzles to the subject matter is designed for older players and it's really that simple...And there are cinematics that feature full-blown sex sequences...Killer 7's adult themes, which encapsulate extremely violent, profane and sexual situations, as well as a wide range of issues from terrorism to the sale of children, make the M on the box really mean something.

The only "full blown sex sequence" in the whole of Killer7, however, features two fully clothed characters and some implicit moaning. Some have suggested that this content, if present in a movie, would likely have received no greater than a PG-13 rating. Thompson continued urging Vance to contact retailers, to pull the game from shelves. He stated that unlike the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Hot Coffee case, "full-blown sex sequences are patently present in the game," and yet the ESRB "chose to put an 'M' rather than an 'AO' rating on it."

Development

This game was originally meant to be released in 2003 and was known as one of the Capcom 5, a quintet of titles meant to be GameCube exclusive. But just like Resident Evil 4 and Viewtiful Joe, it was eventually released for the PS2 as well.

Despite the delay, it was a nice play on dates to release the game in the US on the seventh day of the seventh month.

References

The title of the messages brought to you by the pigeons are actually titles of songs from a very popular English band of the 80s. If you haven't figured out which band by now, you'll find it very fitting that band are... The Smiths.

Soundtrack

A full 2-disc soundtrack has been released in Japan, comprising 61 tracks in total.

Awards

• GameSpy
  • 2005 – Most Slept On Game of the Year (PS2)
  • 2005 – The Love / Hate Award (GameCube)

Information also contributed by CaptainCanuck and Luis Silva