Gravity Rush 2

There’s some insane creativity at SIE Japan Studio, and that’s no more apparent than in Gravity Rush 2. Developed by the Team Gravity division, the world is larger, livelier and more destructible than its predecessor. But it’s the sheer imagination, in gravity-defying encounters to exploring Kat’s mysterious backstory, that lent the game its own unique charm. Despite good reviews and the developer’s pedigree, Gravity Rush 2 averaged roughly 103,000 copies in Japan during its launch month. Its online service was subsequently discontinued in July 2018.

Killer is Dead: Nightmare Edition is the name of the upcoming PC port of Killer Is Dead, auteur game developer Suda51’s latest flawed masterpiece.

Due out on May 9 2014, the game will feature extra content exclusive to the PC version upon release, and will be priced at just $20.

The additional content includes a new difficulty mode called nightmare mode, in which enemies can only be defeated using the following attacks: Adrenaline Burst, Dodge Burst, Headshots, so the gameplay requires far more skill and tactics. Players will not be able to use the Final Judgement finisher QTE mode to defeat enemies.

Other additional content includes a theater mode to rewatch the game’s cutscenes at will, along with a Smooth Operator Pack, that can be unlocked after completing Chapter 3.

At this much cheaper price, and with the PC crowd, which is much more inclined to play games that don’t fall under the definition of traditional console AAA gaming, the title should probably manage to find a better, warmer reception.

Those who played previous Suda51 games should know what to expect from Killer is Dead. However, Killer is Dead is quite disturbing, funny and just weird all at the same time. So how does Killer is Dead fare against previous Suda51 titles? Does it manage to be bizarre and ultra fun at the same time?

Killer is Dead definitely has a strong presentation going. Suda51 games have always had a unique personality and look to them. Killer is Dead feels and looks like a over-stylized comic book game. The game has a badass comic book art-style and high quality production values. The style of the game is not for everyone though; some people may or may not like it. However, it’s quite unique and worth checking out. If you like Suda51 games for their art, then Killer is Dead will be a no brainer if you just want to check out how it looks.

"The story in Killer is Dead is not that engaging and rather boring. However, the game retains its charm due to it’s weird disturbing humor, personality and over-the-top violence."

The story in Killer is Dead is not that engaging and rather boring. However, the game retains its charm due to it’s weird disturbing humor, personality and over-the-top violence. If you’re looking for an exciting story in an action game, then look elsewhere because you won’t find it in Killer is Dead.

Killer is Dead is an action game at its core. If you’ve played fast-paced hack’n’slash games like Ninja Gaiden or Devil May Cry, then you’ll feel right at home with Killer is Dead. The game’s flashy art-style and super-fast combat system is quite fun. However, there is something missing from it and eventually the game combat becomes kind of stale and a tad boring.

As you progress through the game’s 10 or so episodes of the story mode, you will come across hidden secrets such as the nurses that give you extra challenge levels, where you can test your skills. For every episode and challenge level you can get ranked similar to Devil May Cry. The higher you rank up at the end, the more money you will earn. You can use money in the game to upgrade your life, attacks and weapons.

"Despite it’s interesting art-style and somewhat charming personality, my biggest issue with the game is that it just ends up feeling repetitive the longer you play it. Killer is Dead is quite a short game when it comes to the story mode and spans across only 10 episodes that all can be completed within a few hours."

Despite it’s interesting art-style and somewhat charming personality, my biggest issue with the game is that  it just ends up feeling repetitive the longer you play it. Killer is Dead is quite a short game when it comes to the story mode and spans across only 10 episodes that all can be completed within a few hours.

This leaves the player with replaying the game to get the better ranks, earn more money, upgrade everything, get every trophy and complete all challenge levels. The game does offer a decent amount of extra content. However, it doesn’t really justify the game’s short length and repetitive gameplay. If the gameplay wasn’t so repetitious, then it would of have been a different story. However, unfortunately that is not the case in Killer is Dead.

Overall, I respect Suda51’s attempt to create a crazy and unique art-style feel for an action game. However, I feel that Killer is Dead tries to be something that it cannot be. I really wanted to like the game for its unique visuals and bizarre story-telling, but there are just too many better games out there that offer more fun and great plot experiences.

Killer is Dead is just too strange and the game feels like more of an arcade-title rather than a full-fledged action game due to the fact that it is really short and its repetition is not helping the game either. Therefore, the $60 price tag doesn’t truly justify on what the game has to offer.

In the end, I think Killer is Dead deserves a rental at best. If you absolutely love insane Japanese games with interesting visuals and don’t mind the $60 then this game might be for you.  If you’ve enjoyed previous Suda51 games, are looking for more, and know what to expect, then this could be the right game for you. Other than that, I would stay away from it and try to find something that is worth your time.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 3.

Check out the entire guide below and let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Killer Is Dead Unlockables and Secret Bonus:

You can unlock certain various features in Killer Is Dead by completing a certain scenario.

Aim Cut Payment

Perform more than 15 Adrenaline Bursts

Alice Bug Payment

Don’t take any damage from bugs

Beam Payment

Avoid all of Dolly’s laser attacks

Beast Payment

Don’t get hit by the big spiky enemy

Bend and Stretch Payment

Squat at least 20 times

Blood Payment

Absorb over 100,000 fl. oz. of blood

Destruction Payment

Defeat all enemies

Exhumation Payment

Find all the vintage wines

Gentleman’s Payment

Don’t take any damage

Ghost Payment

Clear the stage without defeating many enemies

Guard Break Payment

Perform at least 30 Guard Breaks

Head Shot Payment

Perform at least 15 Head Shots

Just Guard Payment

Perform at least 15 Just Guards

Obliteration Payment

Use the Sub Weapon less than 50 times

Overheat Payment

Clear the stage without overheating the turret even once

Rescue payment

Avoid all of Tokio’s bullets

Revenge Payment

Attack only David

Scarlett Payment

Meet Scarlett 3 times

Shadow Demolition Payment

Kill at least 15 Women’s Shadows

Stun Allowance Payment

Don’t get stunned by the Skyplane’s beam plasma

Toughness Payment

Clear the stage without dying

(courtesy Gamefaqs):

Killer Is Dead Achievement and trophies:

Below you will find the complete list of trophies and achievements in Killer is Dead.

Kidnapper Executed (15G) — Completed Episode 1.

Toast to Forerunner (15G) — Completed Episode 2.

Alice in Dead Land (15G) — Completed Episode 3.

9 to 1 on Goliath (15G) — Completed Episode 4.

Had a Bad Dream! (15G) — Completed Episode 5.

No More Spoils (15G) — Completed Episode 6.

Scratch One Samurai (15G) — Completed Episode 7.

In Your Dreams (15G) — Completed Episode 8.

Brought Down to Size (15G) — Completed Episode 9.

The Skinny Controller (15G) — Completed Episode 10.

Won’t Play With You (15G) — Completed Episode 11.

Moon King (15G) — Completed Episode 12.

Bryan-Approved Sniper (15G) — Killed 100 enemies using head shots.

Brilliant Shoulder Throw (15G) — Used “Just Guard” 100 times.

Float Like a Gadfly (15G) — Used “Dodge Burst” 100 times.

Suck Like a Leech (15G) — Killed an enemy using the “Burst Rush.”

Feeling So High (15G) — Sliced an enemy upward and finished it in the air.

Have You Got Clean Hands? (15G) — Killed an enemy with an enemy attack.

Ultimate Physical Beauty (15G) — Increased HEALTH to maximum upgrade level.

Cash Enough For Love (30G) — Have a total of $100 million in cash.

Passport to Infinity (15G) — Changed costume to Ulti-Mondo.

Mondo’s Girls Collection (30G) — Collected all female costumes.

Right-Hand Man (30G) — Increased all Attack and Special skills.

Left-Hand Man (30G) — Increased all sub-weapons to maximum upgrade level.

Scarlett Chaser (15G) — Unlocked 6 challenge missions.

Scarlett Stalker (15G) — Unlocked 12 challenge missions.

Scarlett-Approved Stalker (30G) — Unlocked all challenge missions.

Office’s Affairs (15G) — Cleared 3 sub-missions.

Office Workers (15G) — Cleared 6 sub-missions.

Assassins Never Say Die (30G) — Cleared all sub-missions.

The Criminal is Dead (15G) — Ranked AAA executioner on 12 missions.

The Maniac is Dead (30G) — Ranked AAA executioner on 24 missions.

The Mass Murderer is Dead (100G) — Ranked AAA executioner on 44 missions.

Happiest Man on Earth (30G) — Received 20 rewards from the beauties.

Killer at the Gate of Dawn (15G) — Cleared all episodes on Normal Mode.

Obscured by the Moonlight (30G) — Cleared all episodes on Hard Mode.

Darksider of the Moon (30G) — Cleared all episodes on Very Hard Mode.

Perfect Job (15G) — Cleared all missions.

Reliable Friends (15G) — Got revived by Mika 20 times.

Gift Collector (15G) — Gave a present 50 times or more.

Note: This guide will updated once we have more information about the game. You can also check out the complete video walk-through of Killer Is Dead here.

Chairman and CEO of the Milestone Interactive Group Jayont R. Sharma stated that, “We are delighted to be partnering with Deep Silver to further strengthen our healthy product portfolio. Deep Silver is a leading publisher that has grown from strength to strength by successfully creating new IP’s such as ‘Dead Island’ and has elevated acquired brands such as ‘Metro’ and ‘Saints Row’ to new heights through their strategic IP development strategy. Deep silver’s progressive approach to the Business and Milestones expertise in the Indian market will undeniably result in a successful partnership.”

Patrick Lorkin, International Sales and New Business Development Manager at Koch Media, stated that, “Koch Media is really pleased to be working with Milestone in India. There is still a growing market for video games in India and we are excited to be bringing the Deep Silver properties to new consumers.”

Game Overview:

Killer is Dead features unique visuals along with stylish combat. Players takes control of Mondo Zappa who has a katana and  interchangeable weapons. You need to assassinate various criminals across the world.

The game is published by DeepSilver/XSEED and developed by Kadowkawa Games and Grasshopper Manufacture. The game is now available on the PS3 and Xbox 360.

Check out the video walkthrough of Killer is Dead below and let us know if you have any questions in the comments section below.

For video game guides, tips and wikis, check out our gaming portal here.

The Fan Edition includes the Smooth Operator Pack, which includes the Episode 51: The Man Who Stole Blood mission, Gigolo Glasses, the mysterious Betty for “access” in Gigolo Mode and police bikini uniforms for Mika and Vivienne. It will also include a poster, the full soundtrack on CD (composed by Silent Hill composer Akira Yamaoka), an art booklet and exclusive packaging.

There’s also the Limited Edition, which retails for £49.99 and includes the Smooth Operator Pack DLC. Overall, the game has seen some pretty limited sales in Japan and lackluster critical reception. Nonetheless, the visuals are amazing and the action is violent enough. Also Gigolo Mode, for those who care. Killer is Dead is available for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Killer is Dead sees assassin Mondo Zappa hunting cybernetically-enhanced criminals in the name of justice and flashy blood. Of course, in between missions – and as a part of some of them – Zappa will be able to partake in Gigolo missions to flirt with women. You can use special Gigolo glasses in order to see through the “hearts” (and clothing) of these women to curry favour, and thus garner special gifts.

No, we’re not quite sure if those gifts were worth the trouble or not. At least you can cut up cyber-enemies in flashes of animated frenzy.

Critical acclaim hasn’t been so hot for Killer is Dead, with the Xbox 360 version garnering a Metascore of 61, with the PlayStation 3 version receiving a Metascore of 65.

We have CD Projekt RED’s upcoming open world RPG The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt which has been looking nothing short of amazing since being revealed this year. If “Killing Monsters” does nothing for you, maybe the below screenshots will. The Witcher 3 releases next year for PS4, Xbox One and PC.

We have Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z, which showcases the different enemies you’ll fight against in the game. Known as Stiffs, they come in all varieties including Electric Stiffs, Normal Stiffs, Fire Stiffs, Bile Stiffs and even something called the Terrible Two, which is a Baby Bruiser of sorts. All hope seems to rest with our protagonist, but he’s too busy going around murdering everyone. Stay tuned for more details, with Yaiba heading to Xbox 360 and PS3.

Grasshopper Manufacture’s Killer is Dead will be releasing next week in North America on the 21st, with a European release to come on August 30th for PS3 and Xbox 360. Initial reviews have been less than great, but maybe Suda’s genius will shine through. Check out the newest screens from Gamescom 2013 below.

Players take on the role of executioner named Mondo Zapp, who is tasked to take out criminal and assassins. The game was released on August 2013 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

• 1. Development
• 2. Story
• 3. Gameplay
• 4. Characters

Development

The groundwork and planning for Killer Is Dead began in late 2009 with development starting in early 2011. The game does have some content which is mature, but vice president Ken Berry thinks the game can appeal to wider audiences.

“It can appeal to a wide group of people, not just our usual core audience that mainly focuses on RPGs. The key will be getting the additional retail exposure at the mass market retailers like Wal-Mart, Best Buy and Target, which is essential to branching out to the more casual gamers that may not closely follow gaming news and upcoming releases.” [reference]

The game took inspiration from Transformers: Dark of the Moon with its premise. Goichi Suda stated in an interview that, “When I was creating the script had to do with the moon, earth, and sun. I started with a plot that related those elements, but it wasn’t working out so I took that out. I still wanted to have some kind of focus with the moon.

You know the latest Transformers movie? Nobody has seen the dark side of the moon. There could be a house there with somebody living in it and the main character needs to kill that person, but how do you get over there. That’s how I started creating this game.” [reference]

The game would also rely on Unreal Engine 4 as Suda explained in an interview “As a developer, we’re heavily relying right now on Unreal Engine 4, That works really well with both systems – or in the sense that we could go either way.” [reference]

Story

The story takes place in the near future where the player takes up the role of an executioner named Mondo Zappa. The player gets contracts from the Bryan Execution Firm. This firm is run by a cyborg named Bryan Roses, who commissions Mondo and as you can imagine the player needs to kill various criminal across the world. Due to profession, Mondo does not show himself much in the world and lives a private life.

The game will also involve serious themes like “how far can you protect someone”  and “love and execution”, hence mixing action along with player emotions.

Gameplay

The game is a hack ‘n slash sword play combined with wild gunplay, and even some wrestling thrown in for good measure. The main character Mondo handles a sword with his right hand but has his cybernetic left arm that transforms into different weapons, which include guns, drills and more. In addition, his arm absorbs blood from the people that he slaughters and the collected blood is used for a powerful strike called Adrenaline Boost.

Suda stated that, “One thing we got to do with this game, is you fighting against a Yakuza guy riding a tiger. You’re in Kyoto, among all these old-style buildings, and [hero] Mondo is on this motorbike fighting against a Yakuza on a tiger! And the game’s packed with these sorts of situations, the kind you won’t see in any other game. That Kyoto battle got concepted out surprisingly early on, too; I guess we felt like overseas gamers ought to see what Kyoto looks like”.

He further stated that, “Mondo’s an executioner, not an assassin. You have that ‘execution’ nuance added to the act of murdering your foes. The hero’s job is to wipe out these serious villains, real AAA-class international terrorists. He’s dressed so smartly that you might wonder if he’s actually capable of killing, but once the ‘work’ switch is pulled, his aura completely turns around.

“The story depicts him as a man who just does his job without putting much of any emotion into it. I think Killer7 was the best we could do in art expression at the time it came out, but if we just recreated that, it’d merely seem old at this point. So we really pursued an art style that seemed modern with our shading technology. There was a lot of trial and error behind what you see now.” [reference]

As the player performs more and more combos, your combo level will increase which will give rise to four different finishing moves. They are called as the Final Judgement. They are:

• Assassination
• Slaughter
• Punishment
• Execution

Characters

Mondo Zappa – The hero of the game is  a 35-year-old man hailing from America. As mentioned above he who is hired by the Brian Execution Firm in order to kill criminals around the world. He uses  is his pair of Katanas (Gekkou)  to take his foes down.

Hamadayama – He is Yakuza and yields a Katana and is one of the antagonists in the game. He has a tiger tattoo on his back.

Giant Head – Another enemy in the game, Giant Head is an alien.

Vivian Squall – She is a 25-year-old woman from Europe. She  works in the Brian Execution Firm as Mondo Zappa’s boss. She is a very serious and upto the point kind of person.

Victor – He steals sounds from music makers to create his sound of evil. He can transform himself into a powerful robot.

Mika Takekawa – Takekawa  is Japanese woman who works as Mondo Zappa’s assistant.

Brian Roses – Brian is a 65-year-old American and is the chief of the  Brian Execution Firm. In the past Brian Roses was a executioner himself but now, he is turned himself in to a full fledged Cyborg.

Damon- Not much is known about him except he described as a mysterious man with eyes of madness.

This wiki was last updated on 5th, January 2015.