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Kill Switch is a game that kind of came and went as far as I can tell. I don’t know if it’s considered an obscure title but I never forgot it existed. It’s one of those games I wanted to play as soon as I saw a clip of it and it never left my mind for some reason. I remember seeing a commercial for it showing the character shooting from cover and at one point I remember him shooting at a helicopter. I remember seeing it several times. I found a commercial on YouTube and despite it showing the character shooting at a helicopter, it wasn’t exactly what I remembered. However, it’s also possible my memory is inaccurate. Developed by Namco USA and published by Namco, Kill Switch was released for PlayStation 2 and Xbox in October, 2003, and PC in January, 2004. A version for the Game Boy Advance was developed by Visual Impact and released in September, 2004. For this review, I played the PC version. I have played the Xbox version before, well after it released, so this time I figured I would try the PC version and I did consult the game’s PCGamingWiki page before playing. As of this review, the game is considered abandonware or at least you can find it on certain abandonware sites so do with that what you will. I only mention this because some abandonware sites offer fixes to get this running properly on modern systems.
The plot is thin but it seems like the writers had an interesting idea. The player assumes the role of Bishop, a soldier controlled remotely via a direct neural connection. Bishop’s controller sends him on a series of missions to initiate a war and a man named Archer plans to benefit by selling the technology used to control him. One thing I do like about the plot is that it doesn’t provide too much information up front. You may have no idea what’s going on in the beginning but there’s often little hints and nods to what’s actually happening. Ultimately, the plot could have been a lot better with better character development. As it stands, the premise is more interesting than the actual story.
It’s not hard to see why Kill Switch is easily forgotten. This is an extremely short game with only one remarkable quality. The cover system. It’s not the first game to feature a cover system and it didn’t popularize it but it is the game’s core mechanic which made it unique for its time. Other than that, it’s a pretty average third-person shooter. It comes with two difficulty modes and you can beat it on Normal in a single sitting. I installed it in the late afternoon and beat it before going to bed that night. There is no multiplayer and it often feels like it was made on a budget.
When I first started playing, there was a few things I noticed that I think made this somewhat ahead of its time or at least unique in some way. The first is Bishop’s placement on the screen is off-center. He’s not positioned directly in the center towards the bottom. I’m pretty sure this was not a standard thing for third-person shooters in 2003. At the very least I can tell you Grand Theft Auto wasn’t doing it yet and Freedom Fighters which released around the same time didn’t do it. The second thing I noticed is that you can aim down sights which definitely wasn’t common for third-person shooters at the time. But I can tell you Metal Gear Solid 2 featured a first-person view that let the player aim down sights. The third and most obvious thing I noticed is the cover system. You can snap to cover, aim and shoot from cover, and blind fire.
For some reason, I had a feeling the controls for the PC version would end up being problematic but I really didn’t have any trouble. Once I mapped everything how I wanted, the game was easy to control and I think I had an easier time getting through the game this time on PC than my playthrough on Xbox years ago. Bishop can run, crouch, enter cover, dive and shoot. Cover mechanics have certainly improved over the years but I would say the mechanics here still hold up rather well. I had to get used to the crouch button doubling as the cover button but other than that, it really didn’t feel all that clunky.
The cover system is really the only thing the game has going for it. Now it’s not a terrible game by any means but without the cover system, it would be super generic. It’s already average as is but I feel the cover system makes it somewhat engaging. If you’re not in cover during a firefight, you can die quickly since you’re always outnumbered. You actually have to use cover to survive and it’s more than just simply getting behind something. You need to know when to stay down and when to pop out and shoot. You need to be aware of your surroundings and I would say the gunplay feels pretty good. There’s a decent variety of weapons, they have good feedback and muzzle flashes illuminate dark areas. The lack of gore is disappointing but I do like seeing wounded foes stagger around the battlefields. Ultimately, I feel the actual combat is fun.
The game plays out in a series of missions broken up into what I’ll call areas. If you die, you have to start the area over from the beginning. On Normal, I can’t say the game was all that difficult to beat. The challenge comes from being outnumbered and the lack of traditional checkpoints. Most areas aren’t that large but as I said before, death means you have to start from the beginning of the current area. You can find health and ammo pickups in the environments and enemies drop weapons when killed so running out of ammo should never be a problem. Enemies will run around and shoot at you, lob grenades, use turrets, and some fire rockets. They will also take cover and rush you from time to time. There’s only one what I would consider boss battle in the game and it’s really not that exciting or challenging.
Kill Switch does come with a decent variety of environments. You’ll shoot your way through areas in the Middle East, on an Oil Rig, North Korea, Temple Ruins, and a base and they all do look and feel different. Many areas look bland, visually, but I can’t say they all look the same. The Temple Ruins really stand out to me just because the way it’s presented makes for a unique tone and atmosphere that feels different than the others. The level design in Kill Switch is “simple” for lack of a better word and sometimes feels contrived but there are plenty of objects, structures, buildings, and walls that you can use as cover. Most areas are linear but some are slightly more open-ended which is usually because you’re required to complete multiple objectives. Enemies are found around almost every corner and will often come pouring in from one or multiple directions and even come rappelling down ropes at certain points.
I did consult the game’s PCGamingWiki page to see if and how I could get the game running in widescreen. I was able to do it and used the dgVoodoo 2 wrapper to apply certain things like anti-aliasing. Despite some reports I’ve read online, running the game in widescreen did not appear to stretch the gameplay. But the HUD looked stretched to me but that’s something I could live with. Ultimately, I can’t say Kill Switch is the best looking game of its generation. Not for it’s time and it’s age certainly shows now. The audio work is decent. Gunfire sounds okay although whenever there was a lot of gunfire, the sounds of my weapons seemed to get cut off. As for the soundtrack, it’s not bad and features some catchy and intense tunes that fit the whole futuristic and/or tech theme the game is going for. On the technical side, I’m happy to say I encountered no major bugs or issues.
I fully admit that Kill Switch is not a great game but I have a soft spot for it and I can’t even pinpoint why. Maybe it’s because of my memories of whatever commercial I saw as a kid. It’s one of those games I really wanted to play and never got the chance to until I was an adult. But even looking at it objectively now that I’ve played through it for the second time, I enjoy the gameplay for what it is. The cover system really does carry the game and is the only remarkable thing about it. But it’s fun. I find it fun to actually play and it’s one of those games I can come back to every so often. What really makes it interesting to me is that it’s just the cover system that fascinates me the most. I don’t even know if “fascinates” is the right word but I think the idea of taking cover during combat is what really interested me when I saw the gameplay in that commercial years ago.
Kill Switch does manage to maintain a unique identity all because of its cover system. It wasn’t really common during its time so I guess I just found it intriguing and still do for some reason. An early 2000s game with a cover system. The idea of hiding behind cover as bullets whiz past my head, blind firing, and simply shooting from cover is all pretty cool to me. The cover system creates a certain sense of intensity or something that just wasn’t conveyed in other games. Not only that, it’s implemented really well. It works well and still holds up today. That said, there’s not much else to the experience. Kill Switch is a simple game. It’s not really a bad game but it could have definitely benefited from more content. It’s way too short. At the very least, additional game modes would have been nice. Maybe an arcade mode or scoring system of some sort. Anything, really.
I would recommend Kill Switch because it’s fun and if you’re a shooter junkie, I think you might find this title interesting. I did a little research and apparently it was an inspiration for many of the shooters we’ve come to know and love and it’s not hard to see why. Unfortunately, it’s an extremely short game with little replay value and the cover system is all it really has going for it. It’s fun but it’s not great.