Kileak: The DNA Imperative

Kileak: The DNA Imperative
North American box art
Developer(s)	Genki
Publisher(s)	‹See Tfd› JP: Sony Music Entertainment Japan NA / EU: Sony Computer Entertainment
Director(s)	Nakaji Kimura
Designer(s)	Tomoharu Kimura
Programmer(s)	Kenji Shimizu Wataru Ishizuka
Artist(s)	Tadashi Shimada
Writer(s)	Manami Kuroda
Composer(s)	Kimitaka Matsumae
Platform(s)	PlayStation
Release date(s)	JP: January 27, 1995 NA: September 9, 1995 EU: September 29, 1995
Genre(s)	First-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player

Kileak: The DNA Imperative, known as Kileak: The Blood^{[lower-alpha 1]} in Japan and Europe, is a first person shooter video game developed by Genki for the PlayStation video game console. It was released on January 27, 1995, in Japan by Sony Music Entertainment. It was followed by a North American and European release in September 1995 by Sony Computer Entertainment as a launch game for the platform.

In Kileak: The DNA Imperative, the player controls an armored mecha – the SJ 107 assault suit – through the series of floor levels within a South Pole observation base. Each floor is connected by an elevator, which the player must find in order to proceed to the level below. The suit is equipped with various weapons, some of which require the suits battery power to operate. The story follows an International Peacekeeping Force operative named Matt Coda as he attempts to stop a scientist, Dr. Kim, from conducting unethical genetic engineering research. As the game progresses, the eponymous "Kileak" is revealed to be an ancient extraterrestrial creature that is the common ancestor of all life on Earth.

Kileak: The DNA Imperative was designed by Tomoharu Kimura, and programmed by Kenji Shimizu and Wataru Ishizuka, with the soundtrack composed by Kimitaka Matsumae. While Kileak earned praise from video game journalists for its 3D graphics, it was criticized for its level design and its control scheme. A sequel to Kileak, titled Epidemic, was released in 1996 in North America. Both Kileak and Epidemic were made available through the PlayStation Network store in Japan on September 16, 2015.

Gameplay

The player controls Matt Coda from a first-person perspective. The bottom of the screen shows the status of the SJ 107 suit, and the remaining ammunition for the current weapon. An automap is also displayed at the top-right corner of the screen.^[1]

Kileak: The DNA Imperative is a first-person shooter,^[2] in which the player controls an International Peacekeeping Force (IPKF) polar operative Matt Coda in an armored mecha, the SJ 107 assault suit. The player can move freely in a two-dimensional space and rotate the camera in any direction. The heads-up display shows an automap and the amount of ammunition for the currently selected weapon, along with the suits remaining health and power.^[1]

The game is set in a South Pole observation base, which is composed of floors connected by elevators. On every floor, the player must find an elevator in order to proceed to the level below. The requirements are varied between floors, with many levels requiring the use of key cards to open locked doors; some doors are opened by puzzle solving. Throughout every floor, the player can find ID Cards and Record Cards, which are used with the computer terminal for downloading a floor map and playing recorded messages respectively. At certain points in the game, the player can also acquire Armor ROMs to enhance the suit's defense system, which reduces damage from enemy attacks. When reaching the elevator to the next floor, the player is given an option to save their progress to their memory card, allowing them to continue in another session.^[1]

The SJ 107 can equip a variety of weapons, ranging from conventional armaments such as a machine gun and a rocket launcher to more exotic weaponry such as a laser gun and "erosion gun". While most weapons use ammunition, some run off of the suit battery. The energy decreases over time, and can be charged by picking up batteries or using an energy unit. When the energy is critically low, the suits driving power, radar and weapons would cease to function. If the SJ 107 suit takes too much damage or runs out of power, the game is over, and the player must restart from the beginning or from the file they have previously saved on.^[1]

Plot

On August 16, 2038,^[3] the International Peacekeeping Force (IPKF) headquarters receives an urgent message from undercover agent Franco Fukazawa in the Byfloss Group's South Pole observation base, where it is under control by a scientist named Dr. Kim.^[4] The IPKF's "White Lightning" team, consisting of operatives including Matt Coda^{[lower-alpha 2]} and Carlos Potrero,^{[lower-alpha 3]} is dispatched via a helicopter to investigate.^[3] Minutes before arrival, the helicopter is shot down by surface-to-air missiles, separating Coda and Carlos in the process.^[5] Coda emerges from the crash and successfully penetrates the South Base.^[3]

Within the South Base, Coda and Carlos learns that Dr. Kim genetically engineered a race of mutant creatures.^[6] During the course of the game, Coda find a series of recordings from Dr. Kim. Among them were where Kim reveals that a creature – known by the name of "Kileak" – is the first life form to have appeared on Earth,^[7] and the progenitor of Earth life.^[8] Elsewhere in the South Base, Carlos finds a researcher,^[9] who says that an intercontinental ballistic missile containing mutant DNA is ready for launch.^[10] Coda reaches the lower levels, and prevents an ICBM from launching.^[11]

Advancing deeper into the South Base, Coda encounters Dr. Kim, who turns himself into an alien-like life form.^[12] Coda succeeds in killing the monster, and escapes from the South Base. The voice of "Kileak" explains to Coda that the human race started long after the creature's civilization was obliterated by a comet.^[13] The base collapses, and a space station containing "Kileak" ascends into space.^[14]

Development and release

Kileak: The DNA Imperative was released as a launch title for the PlayStation in North America and Europe.^[15][16][17]

Kileak: The DNA Imperative was produced by a Japanese game developer, Genki. The game was designed by Tomoharu Kimura, and programmed by Kenji Shimizu and Wataru Ishizuka. Nakaji Kimura of Sony Music Entertainment Japan served as a creative director. The game's scenario was written by Manami Kuroda. The illustrations were designed by Kō Yokoyama, while Tadashi Shimada of Banana Studio served as an art director.^[14] The characters' voices in the Japanese version were performed by Akio Ōtsuka, Kenyu Horiuchi, Rokurō Naya, Yasuo Iwata and Yoko Soumi.^[18]

The music for Kileak: The DNA Imperative was composed by Kimitaka Matsumae.^[14] Matsumae was hired by the producer, who thought that his ambient works were considered "dark". Matsumae said that the music was inspired from the game's sound effects, and the development team gave him "a lot of freedom". The music was composed in Sony's development software. Kileak uses the PlayStation's sound processing unit for the in-game music, with 100-kilobyte samples and MIDI data. Additionally, the music for the game's cutscenes uses a CD-ROM XA audio format.^[19] Most of the tracks, along with tracks from its sequel Epidemic which Matsumae also composed, were included in an album titled Kileak: The Blood – Sound Tracks & Remix. The album was released by Sony Music Entertainment on March 21, 1996.^[20]

The game was released on January 27, 1995, in Japan by Sony Music Entertainment,^[21][22] and on September 9, 1995, in North America by Sony Computer Entertainment.^[15][16] Its European release was followed on September 29, 1995.^[17] Kileak was a launch game for the PlayStation in North America and Europe, along with other titles such as Ridge Racer and Battle Arena Toshinden.^[15][16][17]

Reception and legacy

Reception
Review scores Publication Score AllGame [23] EGM 6.875/10[24] Famitsu 31/40[21] IGN 3.0/10[2] OPM (UK) 4/10[25] Maximum [26] Next Generation [27]

The contemporary and retrospective reception towards Kileak: The DNA Imperative was mixed. The game was criticized for its gameplay, with the Official UK PlayStation Magazine (OPM UK) described it as "uninspired" and "shallow".^[25] Jeremy Parish of 1UP.com found the game's control scheme limited comparing to that of Halo: Combat Evolved and Perfect Dark.^[15] The level design was also criticized. OPM UK complained that two consecutive levels were identical apart from differences in their "wallpaper, mood lighting, and layout".^[25] IGN similarly felt that the levels are "all very homogeneous" as they shared similar enemies and graphical detail.^[2] AllGame's Shawn Sackenheim found the collection of enemies unoriginal,^[23] although OPM UK noted that the enemies are "suitably menacing".^[25]

The game also earned praise for its 3D graphics. Maximum's review stated that "the graphics looked incredible",^[26] while Next Generation opined that it helped to strengthen the environment's realism.^[27] IGN remarked, "The graphics are detailed and full, with enemies realized in 3-D for that scary, in-your-face feel."^[2] OPM UK praised the game's pre-rendered cutscenes, especially its "awesome" introduction and ending.^[25] Sackenheim also applauded the cutscenes, which tend to "jump in at major plot points and during transitional periods where the game needs to be loaded".^[23] In contrast, Richard Eisenbeis of Kotaku felt that Kileak had "tons of bad CG cut scenes".^[28] Sackenheim was impressed by game's ambient audio,^[23] although OPM UK derided it as "Brian Eno on valium".^[25]

The four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly repeatedly compared Kileak to Robotica, a very similar Sega Saturn game released at almost the same time as Kileak, with varying opinions: Danyon Carpenter said that Kileak, though "a little boring", was "definitely the best one", while Al Manuel held Robotica to be clearly superior in strategic design, overall fun, and most especially control.^[24][29] Maximum also commented on the striking similarity between the two games, and judged Kileak to be "far superior to the Saturn title" but mediocre in absolute terms due to its dull and repetitive gameplay.^[26]

Bob Mackey of USgamer listed Kileak: The DNA Imperative as one of the worst launch games for the PlayStation, alongside Street Fighter: The Movie and Total Eclipse Turbo.^[30] A sequel to Kileak, titled Epidemic,^[31] was released in Japan on December 29, 1995 as Kileak: The Blood 2: Reason in Madness,^[32] and in North America in October 1996.^[31] Both Kileak and Epidemic were re-released as "PSone Classics" titles through the PlayStation Network store on September 16, 2015, in Japan by Clarice Games.^[33]

References

Notes

Citations

External links

• Kileak: The DNA Imperative at MobyGames