Hunter: The Reckoning

"I RECKON it's only worth a rental!"

Haw-Haw, I'm clever.

In case you didn't know already, Hunter: The Reckoning is an action game about Vampires and stuff. It's kind of like the newer Gauntlet games because of the four-player co-op and running around on the same screen destroying a seemingly endless amount of monsters. If that doesn't sound appealing to you, keep reading anyway so that you'll have more reasons not to buy this game.

Gameplay
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You can choose from four different character classes (or creeds), and only one player gets to pick a certain type. So, if you wanted to be the bad-ass 'Father Cortez', too bad 'cause your friend already picked him! Each character type has certain strengths and abilities, which are all fairly obvious to tell by looking at your character. The buff Avenger's strong, the skinny Martyr is quick, the old Judge is good with magic (or Conviction), and the sexy Defender is good with a gun.

As I said earlier, this game is something like Gauntlet. Up to four players can play, sharing a single screen. This causes a lot of problems, because the camera won't zoom out to allow one character to run and pick off a pesky shotgun-guy while your stupid teammates stay back getting their butts blasted off. It's especially annoying while fighting a boss, because with more players, the bosses do more damage and can sometimes kill you with one or two hits--not a good thing since you all share lives. Another thing like Gauntlet about Hunter is that the game's boring for single players.

The controls for this game are fairly simple--Left stick moves you around, Right stick lets you turn, R trigger attacks, L trigger jumps, and the buttons shuffle through abilities and weapons. Everything seems easy enough to do, except getting the jump-kick to work right is sometimes a little tricky, and unlike in many other arcade-style games, it's not all-powerful and super-helpful. It actually sucks pretty bad.

Your techniques are shown as black and white circles with different designs on them. It's easy to pick the wrong one in the heat of battle, as some look quite similar. You search through items and techniques with the face buttons and select one with the ''attack'' trigger. You might have guessed that this'll cause some problems--one could accidentally choose a technique while fighting, then go into combat again thinking that they're going to attack, but cast a spell instead.

Attacking is simple enough, so it will get repetitive. Unlike in Gauntlet, you need to manually switch between your ranged weapon and melee weapon (it makes more sense, I think). Guns can be difficult to aim with this over-head view. The earlier levels are a bore because you'll only fight Zombies, Zombies, Zombies, Zombies, and Zombies.

Oh yeah, and the AI is awful.

Story
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The game starts off with some dude being executed, then somehow, all hell breaks loose and the prison needs to be sealed off because it's flooded with freakin' zombies. Much later, the city is overrun by walking dead things, Gargoyles, and Vampires, so it's up to you to . . . er, stop them, I guess. You also need to save Innocents to help move the train that's blocking the only way out of the city. You'll receive an extra life for rescuing one, so it's worth it to put up with their rudeness.

Audio/Video
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The sounds are all fine and dandy with the happy screams and arousing grunts. Some of the voice actors are tolerable, while others sound almost as great as a sheep being slaughtered.

The character models have nice little details that you can't really see, unless you're playing single player, then you can 'zoom in' (and be bored out of your mind). Environments look nice and spooky like a sad day.

Replayability
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Very little! The game ain't so long, it can be finished in a single night if you're good enough. After the Winner is You, newer, crappier costumes will be available as well as another difficulty mode, which isn't very much harder. You can't even continue playing with your old characters. If you must play this game, rent it--Don't waste fifty dollars when you can waste five. Especially stay away if you don't have any friends to play it with.


ESRB
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This little section will help you decide whether or not the game is suitable for your easily scared 'friend.'

The blood flies off in patches but never splashes. It stays on the ground, but doesn't make much of a sound. Some people swear, but who gives a care?

The game's rated 'Mature,' but there's nothing that'll make your stomach turn or scare you out of your little booties.

Goodbye!
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Hunter: The Reckoning isn't a terrible game, but it certainly won't be played much after you finish it, so you'll be better off leaving it on the store shelf unless you're starting a dust collection. Maybe you'll like it more if you're a fan of the other White Wolf games.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 05/28/02, Updated 05/28/02