|
Star Wars: Bounty Hunter PS2 Lucas Arts I never thought any game manufacturer would actually want to punish people for playing their game, Until I played this game. Yes this game is so bad it could be as a form of punishment. No, not bad, sadistic . It is as if the spirit of Andy Kaufman had been summoned forth and added to the game’s design team. But before I start ripping into this game, let’s have a short review of the plot. You are Jango Fett, the notorious bounty hunter, yada, yada, yada. The game takes place before the second movie (Attack of the Clones, if anyone is confused). You eventually take a contract to capture a criminal from an unknown employer. This is actually a secret test by Darth Sidious to find the best specimen for his Clone Army. That is pretty much the game. You get drug around from planet to planet looking for clues to find this bounty. I should warn you, I did not play this game all the way through, the cost of the replacement televisions got too high. I will start with the little annoyances and work my way up. The first thing is the save points, they are too few and far between in my opinion. And they don’t matter at all once you have spent all of your continues; you have to start at the beginning of the level all over again. Too often I was at the boss, on my last guy, half dead. But maybe I just suck at game. If that was the only problem I could accept in ineptitude, but it is not. Next there are the weapons. You start with the two laser pistols, just like in movie. And you end with the two laser pistols, just like in the movie. That would not be so bad except they do jack for damage, and there is no way to power them up. There are other weapons, but only two of them, some ion cannon thingie and the standard trooper rifle. But they are so rare that they are hardly useful. There might be ONE in a level, and they only come with 99 rounds, which on full auto (the only setting) goes VERY fast. There is NO Ammo spewed to pick up, nor do enemies drop weapons, except for the occasional plasma bomb, or health power-up. There are also the poison darts that kill anything instantly, but they are also too rare to help. The flame thrower is there as well, but is too slow and short ranged, and you can not run and fire it at the same time. Hitting enemies is even made even more difficult because of the targeting system. The game has an ‘auto-target’ function which is the only way you can hit anything. The problem is the auto-targeter only finds enemies that are horizontally level with you. And there are a lot of enemies that are either above or below you. To kill them you need to go into first person mode. But in first person mode your feet are frozen in place. So you must run out from cover, go into F.P. mode, aim, and fire. All while red electric death is being rained down on you. The next infuriation is the “jump puzzle at 10,000,000 feet”. These seem to be required in every Lucas game, but Bounty Hunter goes over board with them. Now a jump puzzle at 10,000,000 feet is similar to a normal jump puzzle, except that when you miss you get to see you character falling, screaming with their arms flailing through the air for about a 45 seconds before the game mercifully decides to let you try it again. I found this especially odd since Jango has a jetpack on his back!! And yes I know to runs out of fuel, but the thing recharges!! He could feather to the ground! And finally there is the Neuxes, The final straw that takes this game from bad to evil, like a kick in the nads. For a few levels you are on the home world of the Neuxes (The big furry things with broad heads that almost ate Padmé the movie). If you see one, you are dead, that’s it, just dead. Your only hope is if you happen to see one before it sees you. Then you can use an insti-kill dart on it. But most of the time they jump out from the shadows, were you can only discover them at the expense of a continue. And your death is not pleasant, the Neux does not kill you quickly, noooo. It pounces on you taking about 1/4th of your HP, and then backs off and waits for you to get up. But before you can get all the way up or have a chance to do anything, it bounces on you again. Repeat until dead. Let me make this clear, after the first pounce there is no way to escape death. You can not shoot. You can not dodge or run. So why have the player watch and struggle for Jango’s life when there is no hope? Simple, this game is sadistic. What I liked: Umm, give me a minute…, hmmm. OH! The cut scenes were good as were the graphics of the game. They also got the actors from the movie to do the voices. What I disliked: See Above. Most of this review answers this question. What to Expect: Frustration, lots of frustration. What not to Expect: An easy, flattering, ego boosting game. What's so different from this and other games of it's genre: This game is not only out to challenge the gamer, but to infuriate, irritate, and humiliate. Andy would be proud. Ratings on: Control: 5 – The auto-targeter sucks, and the first person mode is not much better. Graphics: 8 – For all it’s other problems this game does look good. It’s too bad they could not have spent more effort on the controls, weapons, or plot. Sound: 8 – This game has all the Star Wars effects we know and love and the voices from the movie. Style: 3 – This is a game only a masochist would love. 1st hour: 8 – You don’t realized how bad this game is until a few levels into it. 5th hour: 5 – I wonder what kind of splatter mark Jango will make when he finally hits the ground? 1st week: 2- Neux!! AAAAAHHHhhh!!!!! 5th week: 0 - The game is on top of a pile of broken TVs on the curb. #1 reason why I hate this game: I know game developers must put things in their games to annoy the player, but why a make the entire game that annoys your customers? Eh, what do they care, they already have their money. |
