Which do I choose? My brain can't make up its mind. Garcian is cool and confident, but Kaede is an excellent sniper. Con, Coyote, and Kevin – each of them have their advantages, though I'm not sure I want to be one of them either. I could be myself, but that'd be crazy. But wait ... Isn't that what I am? Or is that thought purely insane? Ha-ha-ha!

Remember the song, "Things That Make You Go 'Hmmm'"? Killer 7 could've been the star of the video. It's an entirely original concept from the mind of the man who brought us Resident Evil. Style has become an important factor to game developers ever since Devil May Cry was released, and Killer 7 delivers it in a big way. I was excited, I was intrigued, and at times I was turned off. Hence the "Hmmm" part, and the difficulty that comes with scoring a game that achieves so much yet does so little.

In a turn of events that will surprise almost everyone, Killer 7 is not a third-person action game. It's not a first-person shooter either, or much of a shooter at all. Players guide, but do not control, seven different personalities through a corrupt world of evil demon-like creatures. By guiding I mean that you have the power to influence the direction your character takes, but you do not actually get to take him or her there.

The controls are vastly different from what the screenshots indicate. GameCube's highly sensitive analog stick is used, though half its function could've been assigned to a 20-year-old directional pad. Player movement is restricted to the A button. Get this – you hold the A button to make the character move forward. To turn around, press the B button. Pressing the analog stick won't help until direction icons pop up. It's at this time that you use the thumbstick to decide (point to) the area you'd like to explore. Example: the north stairway. There are many stairways, hallways, elevators, etc.

All battles are in the first person and are played from a stationary position. Looking back this makes perfect sense. That's how Resident Evil started. It had a weird control scheme and we loved it.

But Killer 7 is a very different kind of game. My killer instinct is to avoid contact with enemies by strafing, shooting them while on the move. This isn't possible. Yet, to make things really interesting (and really difficult), Killer7's demonic enemies are built with explosives. Or maybe they grow the explosives from within, that wasn't clarified. They explode on contact, and as I'm sure you can imagine, the results can be very deadly. Certain personalities die after one big explosion.

The personalities I speak of are individual, fully playable characters that live within the mind of an insane assassin. Seven personalities are available, each of which has a special weapon, special abilities, and different attributes (health, reload speed, etc.). Their mission: to destroy the world's demons, known as the Heaven Smile, before they take over the world. Killing them triggers a stylish dematerialization effect where their bodies turn into droplets of blood. The blood scatters and is quickly sucked up by whichever personality you are controlling. In Killer 7, blood is currency. Trade it for stat upgrades.

Personalities are awakened via TV sets, which is the same place you upgrade your states. If Samantha (a mysterious maid) is nearby, the TV set doubles as a save spot. Harman Smith is the star assassin (it's his personalities you're controlling), which is why these TV rooms are labeled with his name.

The best part of the game is somewhat ruined by one of the worst parts. Killer 7's graphic style is unlike anything gamers have ever seen before. Its graphic novel appearance brings images of Sin City to mind, though this game started development long before that movie was announced and is in no way trying to mimic its style. It just so happens that game developers and filmmakers have finally realized that there's more to special effects than high-tech realism.

The developer's decision to create something artistically rewarding was well worth the effort. The movie sequences are a treat for the eyes and the ears (Killer 7 has a great soundtrack), as is the demon dematerialize effect. Bright colors, strong contrasts, vibrant imagery -- these are things that a true artist thinks of.

Killer7's graphics are not diminished but they are at times overlooked when story details are presented, and whenever puzzle hints are given. This game has a few good voice actors, but none of them were used outside of the movie sequences. The sleazy, ghostly, I'll-give-you-a-hint-if-you-listen-to-me-ramble characters do not speak English, or any other language for that matter. They speak gibberish, which means the only way to understand what they're seeing is to read the translation of their gibberish.

I wanted to make progress, and be treated to more entertaining movie sequences. Instead I spent the majority of the game holding the A button, stopping when necessary to search for and to shoot enemies. The boredom of reading repetitive text (each character has a list of introductory and ending lines that are recited every time he/she speaks) took its toll.

It's unfortunate that great concepts don’t always translate into perfect games. Our feelings toward them sends the wrong message. It says that we'd rather have what we already know, because that's what we praise the most and that's what sells. Killer 7 may not be the killer game it could've been, but I'd rather play five games that took a stab at doing something different than play 20 games that attempted to one-up Grand Theft Auto. What Dodge tried to tell us in the late 90s was true – different is good.

Gameplay: 7.5
Killer7 is a step up from a point-and-click adventure, but lacks the amount of gameplay that is necessary to create a killer game. It's not that I spent the whole game with the controller in my lap (there weren't that many text messages), but I never stopped longing for something more. Hold the A button to move? What gave them the idea that that would be more fun than being able to move with the analog stick?

Graphics: 9.0
Killer7 has the power to launch a new Game of the Year Awards category: Best New Visual Style. Killer 7 takes cel-shading to places you've only dreamed of. If a graphic novel could spring to life, jump into your TV screen and start moving, it would look something like this.

Sound: 8.0
Great music, odd sound effects. Great music, professional (though not perfect) voice acting. Great music, but not enough of it. Great music, that's what really stood out. Killer 7's soundtrack is a lot like Parasite Eve: a techno/orchestral style with a dark and eerie theme.

Difficulty: Easy/Medium

Concept: 9.0
Almost every aspect is worth noting. The graphics, the story (convoluted and offensive at times, but also intriguing), the way in which demons die, et cetera. Even the gameplay mechanics – good or bad, there aren't any other games quite like it.

Overall: 7.9
Killer 7 dares you to step into the mind of an assassin, which makes me wonder: if assassins were this disoriented in real life, would they ever get anything done? In a nutshell, Killer 7 is an adventure with point-and-click gameplay. Real first-person shooting occurs, though you're stationary the whole time. It's a strange collection of weird imagery, gorgeous graphics, impressive music, and a crazy story that'll hold your curiosity. Note that in that list I didn't say anything about the gameplay.