PS2: Bounty Hunter

.ak

So, another wild mad weekend of gaming at DA's house! (Not to mention the wild mad nekkid chix and stuff and.. Wait. Dream.) Anyways... Due to unforeseen circumstances, Mr. Spiral came down with Star Wars Bounty Hunter, all covered in brand new PlayStation2 plastic and that freshly sealed smell. Well, what a change from preowned games that usually crawl through my door.

Enter Bounty Hunter

GamePlay

So giving Jango a spin before Spiral ripped the control from my grip like some sort of crazed bitchass junkie, I found the movements of Jango fluid and smooth, with a very easy button configuration. With your guns autolocking onto the first beast you encounter, and the ability to concentrate your lock on one person. The rolling and tumbling comes very natural and is cleverly linked into aim and look buttons. You'll find that Jango is the most interactive thing on any of the maps, unfortunately.

Levels/Maps

This is where the game died for me. Even was I watched it on the screen as Spiral hogged the controller, I found the levels all too.. Platform-ish. With the promise of being able to scan individuals to see if they have bounties on them in a bar or whatever sounds promising.. The problem however comes into the fact you can't really.. Most of the levels are constant shooting, some involve a little stealth where most involve some tactical firing. You're pushed along the game like a rollercoaster most of the time, and going 'backwards' in a level is just boring. Aside from Coruscant, the maps are quite crude. The pro's to this section, however, is the fact the levels are HUGE. You'll find yourself dreary eyed by the end of one. From sprawling space-stations to Coruscant to wildlife worlds, the textures and atmosphere aren't well placed. You'll find yourself displeased with background graphics that could’ve been a whole lot better. You can't help feel the game has been rushed.

Combat

This is where the game picked back up for me. The combat is just bliss. You can watch Jango do the same thing over and over and never get bored of it. Using your dual blasters on separate targets, rocketing up into the air away from an attacking beast and unleashing your blaster bolts onto it, taking a Light Repeating Blaster into a bar and slaughtering everybody in it without a single thought, and sniping targets from the other side of the map. It goes on. Sometimes the combat gets repetitive, especially due to the fact the game is quite difficult and long. And unfortunately there's not many other choices to combat then SHOOTSHOTOSOHTOOSZOFOSDODSOHGOT!"111231 .. and keep shooting.

Graphics

Beautiful. Well.. The characters are, atleast. Most of the characters are well detailed, even the joe-schmoes. You'll see Dugs with perfectly modeled whiskers, Rodian's with 3d headspikes and whatnot.. But the best of the graphics are simply Jango. Jango's armor glistens with a crome reflection, his visor reflects the blaster bolts he shoots at his enemies, and his gadgets are all masterfully crafted. Unfortunately, the rest of the graphics aren't great. Apart from a few select levels, the graphics really die a death with bad platform levels.

Storyline

The storyline is involving, it's deep rooted and explains allot of Jango's mysterious past. It is, however, painfully strung out. With, to be blunt, boring sub-plots. The main plot, however, is well thought out. And is most likely very cannon in relation to the Star Wars Expanded Universe.

Overall:

Meh. The game has allot of ups and downs, and unfortunately, too many downs for me. Great action that lasts too long and no chances for any stealth or guile - You simply feel the game is too rushed. It's a platformer, at it's best, or worse, if you follow. You see, if you love platformers where you can't do anything else then what you're told, you'll probably love this. If you don't, then you'll hate it. It has no replay value, or atleast very little (you might go back to the good levels). All I know is, Spiral ended up bringing it back to exchange it for another game. Cheapo.

Three Death Sticks out of Five.

-DA-

Thorbar

Good review, might rent it and give it a try myself.