Killer 7 trailer bloodies our nose

Connecting the dots on new Capcom titles is rapidly becoming something of a sport. Like Resident Evil 4, a trailer from Japanese Famitsu Wave DVD has given us a better impression of how enigmatic shoot-'em-up Cube/PS2 shooter Killer 7 will handle in gameplay terms, after details surfaced recently to go with the highly stylised cel-shaded visuals we've already absorbed at length since the original "Capcom Five" announcement way, way back in the day.

Unlike Resi 4, however, Killer 7 isn't quite so grounded in the realms of what we're used to. The cel-shaded visual style here is matched to stunning particle blood effects, giving headshots in particular an eerily realistic feel somewhat at odds with the patently unreal visual style. It ought to be incongruous, but it actually fits rather well; the plain, texture-less and line-free approach helping to emphasise the behaviour of the floods of gore that spout from every wound. The main thing we took from the trailer was a sense that we've never splattered blood quite this believably in the past.

The trailer also introduces us to wheelchair bound multi-personality assassin Harman Smith's mental offspring, showing Con Smith's pistols akimbo approach to gunning enemies down a flight of stairs, sharp-suited Garcian Smith strolling around and headshotting secretaries, knife man Kevin Smith slitting throats to send blood gushing, and oddball Kaedie Smith firing on foes in her slinky blood-splattered white dress. Then there's Coyote Smith, who looks like an extra from Grease and seems to behave like one to boot, aptly named Masked Magician look-a-like Mask De Smith, who strolls around with dual sawn-off shotguns flashing in and out of his cape, and black-suited Dan Smith, who nonchalantly caps somebody or something in the back of the head and then rests a gun wearily on his shoulder.

Along with the Resi 4 trailer, it all makes for a movie well worth downloading and watching, and ought to give you a still-firmer idea of how Killer 7 is grounded in traditional game mechanics. A few more obvious glimpses of gameplay towards the end of the trailer suggest that it may prove less conventional than it sounds, too, if indeed it does sound even remotely conventional. Whatever, it's almost impossible to do the imaginative graphics work any justice in words, so go ahead and see for yourself.