Mace Griffin Bounty Hunter

"A frustrating experience but by no means terrible"

I fired up this game with high hopes, I love FPS games above all but what I got was a little ''different'' to the other ones available. Think of this game as Red Faction without the geo mod and you are almost there, it has a similar feel to it in any case. What struck me first was one of the biggest story driven FPS no-no's...spawning enemies! I walk into a room and see 3 doors, 2 have a red light above them (locked) and 1 has a green light above it (unlocked, simple huh?), I walk through the green door and within seconds there are 5 guys shooting me in the back, where the hell did they come from????? So I backtrack and find that the doors are still locked. The first few times this happens isnt so bad but its almost every time that you go through a door that this happens, mix this in with enemies that are already in the room you are entering and you die very quickly. I feel I must also mention that you are always spotted, even in ''stealth'' mode (crouching) I still hear ''there he is...GET HIM'' from the other side of a door. I could go on all day about these little accidents (like the time I walked through a door and was struck by 3 grenades and killed before I even had time to react). And finally - My grandma can turn faster that Mace can :)

The 2nd main feature of the game is the space combat. This is also quite hard to get used to as you need to be flying at a snails pace to be able to hit anything. But once you get into it, I found it more thrilling that the rest of the game. This feature's main claim-to-fame was the total lack of a loading screen when you land your ship afterwards, you just land and then get out of the seat and start kicking ass, very cool.

Graphics 8/10: They are nice in all but this seems to be what causes most of the slowdown, especially while turning. Never buy a game because it looks good BTW

Sound 5/10: I don't really notice any kind of soundtrack and the gun noises are very ''blam-blam'' average

Gameplay 3/10: This is where the game really falls on its face, note all of what I said in the first big section and add it to very few redeaming features :( Also, dont assume that saving you game will actually save your game, you just end up back at the last checkpoint you passed (along with whatever equipment you had when you passed it the FIRST time)

Lifespan 8/10: If you like a challenge then this will last you forever (to finish it that is). If you are easily frustrated by being killed at the same point all the time then this isn't for you.

Comments: If you like story FPS games then I would suggest Red faction (both) and Return to castle Wolfenstein. Only buy this if you are sure that you will enjoy it.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 09/28/03