Developer
Amuze

Released: May 14, 2002
Genre: Action
Players: 1
ESRB: Mature

9
9
9
9
9.0

Supported Features:

Headhunter is a quasi-futuristic journey into one possible evolution of our society where criminals are ranked and tracked much like the stock market of today. As their criminal rating increases, so does their bounty. The financial rewards can become quite substantial and crooks will often turn in their “co-workers” or find themselves being snitched on by greedy family members. Just ask little Jimmy down in Florida who scored a cool two million credits for turning in his Dad.

Of course society can't totally rely on greedy informants, so the ACN (Anti-Crime Network) was formed. This organization is government sanctioned and made up of an elite force of bounty hunters, or Headhunters. And this is where you, Jack Wade, the best of the best, enter the story.

The game opens with a FMV newscast that is informative and humorous, mainly due to the ridiculous comments made by our news team who maintain total seriousness despite their inane ramblings. The newscast also briefs you on the futuristic practice of “mandatory organ donation”.

Apparently organ transplants are big business in this futuristic society. Crime lords are smuggling shiploads of organs in from overseas and conventional “organ damaging” firearms have been outlawed. There are now new pulse weapons that act like a stun gun resulting in brain death, thus preserving those valuable organs. This seemingly sick practice is lightened up with a series of humorous posters and advertisements shown during the frequent load screens.

Of course what fun would a game be if you started at the top of the food chain? Jack begins this adventure strapped to some experimental chair while sinister technicians shrouded in biohazard suits conduct secret experiments. Jack manages to break free and escape the complex before passing out in the alley outside. When he awakens it is in a hospital bed where he is greeted by his boss, or rather ex-boss. Turns out the agency has terminated his employment and now he must go solo. He leaves you with these parting words. "Just remember – don’t trust anyone you don’t know. Oh, and by the way – YOU DON’T KNOW ANYONE!"

And thus begins Jack's rise through the ranks as a freelance Headhunter. While his reputation is well-known by both agency and freelance hunters, he must still start from square one and pass several tests to get his license and his first gun. He is aided and motivated by the beautiful Angela Stern, daughter of Christopher Stern, the founder of the ACN. She hires him to find her father’s killers, and with two million credits as a reward, why not? Oh yeah, she also loans him her cool new motorcycle, which becomes your primary mode of transportation around the large city.

As you can tell, the background story is very inventive and quite involved, partly due to the fact that X-Files writer, Philip Lawrence contributed to this story. You are treated to even more plot developments through additional movies, communication through your nifty new CASIO watch, and additional newscasts between the levels.

Control is flawless and moving Jack around is close to perfection. The analog stick is put to great use by controlling the direction and speed of your movement. There are no camera controls other than the ability to snap the view behind you, and while Jack can crouch, roll, and hug the wall, he cannot jump, which means, “no jumping puzzles” – yeah!

Controlling your motorcycle takes a bit of getting used to. The first thing you have to remember is that when you initially punch the gas your front wheel comes off the ground negating all ability to steer. You will also need to learn to drive around town at great speeds, dodge traffic, and interface with the map to locate your destination. A careful combination of gas and brake is all that is required. You can even do a power-brake spin by holding the brake and gas at the same time to do a 180 or even a 360.

Picking and arming your weapons is done quickly and easily by pressing a single button then using the L2/R2 button to cycle the items and pressing L3 to ready that weapons. There is also a quick-select that allows you to toggle between two favorite objects like a pistol and grenades.

Things get a little clunkier when you press START to enter the main interface. You use the R1/L1 buttons to cycle several main menu headings and each of these have their own sub-headings. I doubt I could come up with a better way to interface all this information, but it just seemed to take me “out of the game” whenever I had to use an inventory item or read a government document.

There are plenty of puzzles in Headhunter but none are terribly brain intensive. They tend to be of the “find object A to use in area B” variety, and you will often have already found the item/solution to a puzzle before you encounter the puzzle itself. This gives you more time for the action, which is what this game is all about.

When you begin the game you will have to undergo VR training to get your “hunting license”, then you will have to take additional tests as you earn skill points to qualify for a higher license, better weapons, and higher level access to classified information. These tests consist of three sections; motorcycle training, stealth, and combat, followed by a final exam that combines all these skills. I found it a bit odd that the training sim “knew” I had a motorcycle, or perhaps riding a crotch-rocket is a prerequisite for becoming a bounty hunter.

I found the concept of Skill Points interesting but its implementation was lacking. I was hoping to get points for doing cool things, completing objectives, or catching crooks. Instead, you earn these points by driving around town REALLY fast. When you achieve a certain speed the Skill Point counter starts ticking. The faster you go and the longer you ride the more points you earn. If you wreck you lose points, but not that many, so it’s inevitable that you will achieve your next skill point quotient as long as you keep driving.

Most of the game takes place on foot, as you track down the bad guys in an increasingly complex plot leading you toward an underworld crime syndicate. Your first target is the local biker gang, then you move on to bigger criminals like terrorists who have taken over the local mall or the Cyber Cowboy trying to make a premature withdrawal at the local bank. It’s up to you to enforce the penalty for such activities.

Combat is a mix of stealth and weapons. If you can sneak up on an enemy you can silently snap his neck. You can toss ammo casings to distract your target then slip by or you can target with your favorite weapons and blast him. Combat reminded me of the arcade game Time Crisis where you unload your weapon then take cover as you reload then repeat. The game features a very nice wall-hugging mode that sticks you to a wall until you press the un-stick button. You can then peek around corners, fire, and duck back.

My only real complaint with the game is the load times. Individually, these load screens are only 5-10 seconds long, but the problem lies in the fact that you will encounter them every few minutes; sometime even seconds. A classic example is the Wolfpack hideout where I climbed a ladder – load screen – ran across the roof and entered a door (took about 10 seconds) – load screen – walked down two flights of steps and opened door (took about 5 seconds) – load screen.

Additionally, the city is broken up into districts and you may have to pass through several checkpoints to get to your destination. Each checkpoint features a lengthy animation sequence and load screen. It’s not as annoying as the other screens only for the simple fact that you are on your bike a lot less than on foot.

The game is really good about auto-saving your progress at major parts of the game (usually whenever you see a load screen). If you die you get to restart at that location with full health; however, this can be exploited by allowing yourself to die just to get full health without using a medkit. You still need to save to a memory card before turning off your system, but this will not save your exact location – only the last checkpoint. The game also auto-saves after each VR training exercise and logs any records you may have set during training.

The character models are perfect with plenty of polygons and detailed textures including some of the best facial features of any action game. Jack really has a personality that is depicted in real-time through his facial expressions. He also sports a rugged muscular form and facial hair that would make him the perfect body double for actor, Chuck Norris. Angela Stern is hot – not in a Lara Croft way, but in a “sexy rich daughter of a recently assassinated politician who also happens to be a computer wiz” way – the perfect woman.

The overall cityscape can become sparse at times and the variation of building designs and textures tends to get repetitive, but you should be watching the road anyways. Traffic varies in density and type and is usually spaced so you can do some slalom action as you speed through town.

Special effects such as explosions, weather effects, shattering glass, bullet holes, etc. are all quite convincing, but perhaps one of the most interesting visual effects is the VR training levels. These levels are cast in a bluish tint with checkpoints and enemy soldiers composed of wireframe mesh models. Architecture such as walls, floors, and ceilings all pulse with a cyber-glow that makes the entire experience very surreal.

The only thing left to talk about in the visual department is the overall presentation, which is cinematic perfection. It all starts with a very professional looking FMV newscast shot with real actors then moves into a great mix of gameplay intercut with amazing CG movies.

Camera angles during the game are also very cinematic, often sweeping around the area, zooming in or pulling back, always adding to the intensity. You have no real control over the camera, which can lead to some targeting and maneuvering problems if you aren't quick to tap the camera reset button to swing the view back behind Jack.

The lead characters, Jack and Angela, are voiced by some of the best actors since Metal Gear Solid 2. Jack has that slow raspy voice that would easily pass for a voice double for legendary actor, Clint Eastwood. Angela sounds as sexy and intelligent as her character is rendered. Even the supporting cast of villains and random extras are all given great lines and equally talented actors to speak them.

Sound effects are right on par with the rest of this game. Your motorcycle sounds just like it looks – fast and futuristic, and all of your weapons deliver great audible effects along with their payload. Explosions will shake your speakers and your controller and all of the subtle ambient noises are given special attention. Push a button on the photocopier and it beeps and whirs as papers spit out.

And finally the music, which compliments an already perfect audio experience was composed by Richard Jaques and The London Session Orchestra. You get the standard network news track when the ABCBS logo spins onto the screen, then things settle down to a perfect orchestra score that fits every action segment in the game. It gets suspenseful when you are slinking around in stealth mode and it shifts into something upbeat for combat.

You can probably expect 15-20 hours of gameplay depending on how good you are at these types of games. The auto-checkpoint system will keep you from replaying anything more than a few minutes of any level if you die. While this definitely eliminates the frustration factor, it also reduces the overall game length, but I’m not complaining. This game is a movie-like experience, and if I can play an interactive movie for 15+ hours it is money well spent.

If you own a PS2 and haven’t already played the Dreamcast version of Headhunter then you owe it to yourself to stop reading this review and head to your nearest software store and pick-up a copy right now. You won’t be sorry, and you will probably be writing me in a week or so to thank me. Now go get this game!