Namco's kill.switch (KS) is a fast-paced arcade shooter that's primary feature is the ability to use cover to lay down suppressing fire. It's very well executed and the game's fun, but unfortunately, a confusing story, repeating enemies and a soulless main character keep it from achieving greatness. It's a perfect rental, but not a long-term addition to your library.

In KS, you play as a cybernetic enhanced mercenary whose memory has been wiped clean, a man with an itchy trigger finger who's used as a pawn to help start a war, but he acquires a lust for vengeance when some of his memories come back. You're sent to various locations armed with tons of machine guns and a truckload of ammo and kill everyone that gets in your way.

Don't confuse KS with plot-heavy titles such as the Metal Gears. It exchanges complex story telling in favor of straight up arcade action with a twist. Rather than run and gun (though in some levels you can get away with that), you have to methodically wade through each level pausing to take cover from enemies, then play a game of "who looks first." You duck, the enemy ducks, they shoot and you pop up and shoot back, or you don't pop up at all. If you want, you can bring the gun over you head and fire without looking. It's a cool feature, and the possibility of you hitting someone is always up in the air because it's hard to aim, so sometimes you'll shoot a guy in the head your first shot and other times you'll empty a clip without hitting anyone. With that being the case, short controlled bursts are recommended, or you can toss grenades (flash grenades are very cool), and then pop up and kill everyone.

Since the game's primary focus is action the story appears tacked on. In fact, it's easy to overlook the story in the beginning of the game because it makes little sense, and since all you're required to do is run around and kill people, the attempt at depth isn't necessary. However, the uninteresting narrative comes at a price, because it only enhances Bishop's lack of personality. It's one thing to craft an arcade shooter and throw a faceless character into it, but you shouldn't give him a name and craft a weak story around him when it doesn't provide him the necessary characteristics to appear real. In fact, it only exposes Bishop as being two-dimensional.

Unfortunately, the complaints don't stop with the game's character development. I can deal with KS being repetitive. Some of the best arcade games get boring after extended periods of play, but I can't stand glitches, and sadly, KS has some glaring ones. Enemies sometimes clip, and walk through walls, and they can shoot through them as well, making the game's primary feature of taking cover somewhat pointless. However, for the most part it works, so the occasional glitch doesn't cripple the experience.

The game's visual and aural experiences are a mixed bag. KS's graphics are rather dull-looking but they're satisfactory, but the game's music is pretty bad. It's filled with typical arcade-themes, fast and furious, but they're not memorable.

Finally, KS's gameplay is pretty damn frustrating. There were times where I was pinned down for at least ten minutes, and when I finally cleared the area, I was killed by someone that magically appeared. Getting stopped at the same point several times because of cheap shots wore thin on me and I began to lose interest.

I enjoyed kill.switch but in very small doses. If I played more than an hour I lost patience and gave up on taking cover, which usually resulted in quick deaths, which made me angry. That, combined with the lack of a deep story or point for all the mayhem I was causing made the game feel rather hollow. However, if you're looking for a quick arcade fix, kill.switch should satisfy, but I'd wait until the price comes down.