Hunter: The Reckoning Wayward

"A nice party game."

Introduction
In this game, you basically kill the undead. This is a fast action shoot 'em up game and is perfect for a small party. You can have fun all night with this game. The only downside is that it is only a two player game, but other than that there are few flaws in this masterpiece.

Story 9/10
The city of Ashcroft has been invaded by a cult of the undead. Two hunters discovered this cult, but they were outnumbered by them and were forced to retreat. The original four hunters are summoned to this city to once again destroy the evil in this city.

Gameplay 10/10
The controls are slightly difficult to learn; but after a few levels of this game, you should be ready to go. The controls are setup so that you can easily switch weapons, run around, and attack enemies at the same time.

This game seems like there is no strategy, but there is a little. You have a limited number of health glyphs, so you need to decide if you need them now and who gets them. Another part that requires strategy is fights against the bosses. These fights take a while and are tricky; but with some teamwork, no enemies will be able to stop you.

This game isn't too hard, but it can be very challenging at later levels in the game. At first enemies die in a few hits; but later on, it takes ten hits to kill some enemies and a it is extremely hard to kill large groups of enemies. But if you have enough lives, you should be able to kill any group of enemies.

Graphics/Sound/Music 10/10
The graphics are stunning. You can clearly pick yourself out of a group of enemies you are stuck in. The blood animation looks nice, too. When you hit an enemy, blood shoots out but not too much to block some visage. Everywhere you go, you can see some odd things in the scenery such as a person impaled by a street light pole.

The music is creepy most of the time, but it is still really good. Most of the time, the music is soft and slow; but when large group of monsters surround you, the music speeds up and changes to heavy metal music.

The sound is very good and not the least bit irritating. You can hear skitters(spider like bombs) scurrying towards you and a nice explosion when they blow up at your feet. I like the sound that your foes make when you hit them or they die. They have a low-pitched groan that sounds like what you'd think a zombie would make. Graphics, sound, and music are a great edition to this game.

Replay Value 7/10
The replay value is amazing on this game. There are five characters to play as and so many weapons to use. There are many secrets to find that you may not be able to do in one play. I say that the replay value is pretty decent for this game.

Buy/Rent/Skip
This game takes only a two days to beat. So you can unlock all of the secrets in five days. I think that this game is only worth a rent; but if you really like it, buy and play at small parties. This game is good fun.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/24/06