Headhunter

"Something new and even more of a challenge for MGS fans"

Headhunter was a game that was originally on the Sega Dreamcast but when Sega went down, they started to sell the rights to several of their games to other companies. Headhunter was one of them that was sold to Sony. For us Sony fans, we should be down on our knees at both Sony and Sega for giving us this amazing game.

Graphics- 7
When Headhunter was made for the PS2, all the developers did was put the info on a PS2 DVD disk. They didn't do anything to update the graphics so they are a little out dated. Some textures are pretty flat but the in game movies are a real comfort for your eyes. It is nice to be able to ride a motorcycle through a entire city though. All of the buildings are different, none of them are the same. Also, none of the levels get a repetitive look to them. They all have their own unique look and are completely different.

SOUND- 10
This is one of the best aspects about the game. It has such amazing sound and music! The voice acting is amazing, it is no where like the sub par Resident Evil voice acting most of us are used to listening to. The game even has its own composed soundtrack which was made just for the game! The music goes along with the action. It can be very quiet while you are sneaking around but once you alert a enemy, the music picks up rapidly while you're in a shoot out. Just little things like shooting your gun or walking from carpet to tile are detailed. The sound is one of the things that really amazed me about this game.

STORY-8
You are Jack Wade, a member of a future cop organization called the ACN (Anti Crime Network). You are a Headhunter for the ACN and you just wake up from a coma not remembering a thing. The main goal of the game is finding out what happened to you and who killed your boss. The story seems like it could've been something from a movie, so it is pretty easy who is going to end up backstabbing you after a while of playing the game but then again, that just depends if you're a person who can easily catch the clues.

CONTROLS- 6
The controls are actually pretty good but there are two major problems I have with them. The first is when you sneak up on your enemy to break his neck when you are taking tests to get a higher Headhunter license. Sometimes you will think you are close enough to him but you will end up being to far and instead of breaking his neck, you will throw a decoy shell, which will result in a game over and you have to start over again. Another thing I have with the controls are when you ride the motorcycle. These controls are horrible. It is extremely hard when you first start playing because you aren't used to the controls but once you get used to them, you will just occasionally hit the sides of the walls.

GAME PLAY- 8

Some people say Headhunter is nothing more then a Metal Gear Solid clone. Sure, it may have taken some ideas from MGS like laying up against a wall or a radar, but it really is a completely different game. Headhunter is a game that truly requires stealth since the enemies are very strong and smart. Instead of looking for action, you will be trying to hide and then sneak up on a enemy and take him out silently. Health packs are very hard to find and when you do find one, you do feel lucky. You could make this a ''Kill em all'' type of game but you will have to have a lot of luck on your side. The puzzles are like the ones from Resident Evil but they make sense and are easy to figure out after a little bit of thinking.

CONCLUSION

For a measly little $20, you should run to your nearest video game store and buy this, race back home and start playing. Headhunter is one amazing game. Sure, when I bought it, I wondered if it was $20 because it was a cheap game that would suck but I was proven wrong. Maybe the beginning starts off slow but after the first 45 or so minutes, it takes off and you are not able to put it down!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 04/12/03, Updated 04/12/03