Reviewed:September 19, 2003
Reviewed by: Scott Shirhall

Publisher
Black Label Games
Vivendi Universal Games

Developer
Warthog

Released: June 20, 2003
Genre: FPS
Players: 1
ESRB: Mature

6
7
7
5
6.5

Supported Features:

Unfortunately, the inspirations for Mace Griffin are much better than the results. The game, while fun to play, lacks a great depth in both the storyline and gameplay. The storyline can be forgiven because it isn’t awful; it is just very predictable and not overly interesting. Mace Griffin is a classic story of a man that was wrongfully accused of misdoings and must fight to clear his name in order to restore his reputation. Yawn! I’ve never heard of a story like that before.

While the story is passable, the gameplay needs some work. The gameplay, which is the heart and soul of a good FPS, definitely detracts from the overall enjoyment of the title. The controls are jerky and the combination of an unpredictable framerate and a camera that moves way too fast will most certainly cause some nausea. I’ll touch on this in the gameplay section.

Mace Griffin Bounty Hunter immerses players in a universe of huge corporations and futuristic gun-slingers as Mace seamlessly travels from the ground, to the air, to space tracking quarry and unraveling a deep, and very dangerous mystery.

Seamless transition between first-person land combat and space-action fighting created by the revolutionary Tusk 3D portal engine

17 unique player and spaceship weapons such as Tridal Nova Cannons, quad-barreled shotguns, and sonic shock cannons

Pilot 6 different ships, from powerful alien fighters to massive cruise liners

Cinematic storyline combined with lifelike NPCs that react based on their intelligence, bravery, and health for unparalleled immersion

13 expansive missions with diverse environments offering different obstacles and inhabitants

As I have mentioned previously the actual gameplay is kind of sketchy in Mace Griffin. I will go into more detail later but for now I would like to focus on the mundane options and setups that are available in the game. Mace Griffin is a FPS only and nothing else. There is really a story mode only and the lack of any multiplayer options really hurts this title. It is really hard to imagine that a game of this scope was shipped without any sort of multiplayer games that I feel are a necessity nowadays. So since this option isn’t available let’s describe what is available.

Mace Griffin’s story mode is everything to this game and it isn’t that great. The story, without spoiling anything, is a worn out tale of a man that was wronged and must fight to clear his name. As you can probably guess, Mace turns to the bounty hunting profession. This is really the only option for a man that was once a Ranger. Fighting and destruction is all Mace knows and he needs to make a living while tracking down those responsible for framing him.

Along the way Mace has access to many weapons in order to make his job a little easier. From the Electro-Cosh, which is an electrified club that can beat or shock your enemies into submission, to the standard rifles and plasma guns. There is really nothing in the weaponry that stands out and for those of you that have played any other space based FPS you will probably notice most of the same types of guns.

One of the nice twists available in this game is the fact that in a few parts of the game, too few in my opinion, you get to pilot space ships and use them to fight off some enemies. Unfortunately, the flying portions of the game are rather crude, as it seems to the gamer that the background nauseatingly spins around and the ship is always still. If you think you will be getting a Star Wars type fighter sequence you can think again. The controls of the craft, like all other portions of the game, are extremely touchy and difficult to master, which makes for less enjoyment and more frustration.

I really have to talk about the controls and the cut scenes to finish up the gameplay portion so since I have already mentioned it numerous times I will talk first about the control. Mace Griffin has your basic controls that are used in FPS games. Mace can gather weapons, move, look and shoot. The controls are not bad in the sense that they are hard to figure out but they are bad in the sense that they don’t react as you would expect.

I have to say that for me personally, Mace Griffin made me sick. The combination of the space settings that are rich in color, and the quickness of the camera made for a sickening experience for me. It took me a long time to work through this game, as I couldn’t play it for long each time I tried. Putting that aside, the controls are just not great.

The camera often suffers when the framerate dips and the targeting system is very fickle. The auto aim feature seemed to me to work when it wanted to and never when I really needed it. This was extremely frustrating as the game is not easy and all the help I could have gotten would have really been appreciated.

The last and second most annoying feature of the gameplay is the numerous and extremely long cutscenes. Since Mace is a story-based game the cutscenes are extremely important to the story but they tend to drag on forever. I realize that some setup and plot information is needed but if I wanted to spend that much time not interacting with the game I would have waited for Mace Griffin the movie to come out. The cutscenes can be skipped, which is truly a blessing, but they can only be skipped in segments and not in their entirety. This makes for a bit of an annoyance and again distracts the user to the point where they become detached from the game.

The gameplay graphics are much better. The characters and Mace himself are animated very well even if the graphics are a little dated. The settings are fairly decent and reminiscent of most space shooters. Why is it that the people in space games or movies have the technology to build these ships but they all look like they are about to fall apart?

Most of what you will see in this game is busted up space ships and filthy spaceports. There is apparently an abundance of this in the future, or past, and it will probably never change.

The battle sounds are good and kind of what you would expect in this game genre. There are numerous gun and laser blasts along with explosions and the hissing of automatic doors opening and closing. All of the sounds work well within the scope of the game and definitely add to the experience.

The game itself is really not that bad and is probably worth picking up at a discount or as a rental, but unfortunately there is not enough content to make this game worth a full price purchase. If the developers had thrown in some mini-games or multiplayer options the value of this title would have jumped greatly.

My advice is to rent or buy wait until it it hits the budget bins. At full price it isn’t worth it. I only hope that if there is a Mace Griffin 2 that they tap into the unlimited potential of the game and consider adding a multiplayer element.