Hunter: The Reckoning

"Quite a fun game, but lacking in substance."

RE, eat your heart out. Then again, maybe I shouldn't say that. While this game will undoubtedly draw comparisons to the RE franchise, it is significantly different. Rather than being a slow-paced game that involves running like hell from zombies, this is more of an arcadey (if that's a word, at least) game. Essentially, you run around shooting stuff. Depth is added to this with environmental elements. For example, in an earlier outdoor level, you will encounter hordes of zombies at a gas station area. You can blast one of the gas pump things and it will explode. Provided you were smart enough to lure some enemies near it, it will pretty much take them out. I know, it's pretty standard fare stuff, but some games offer less. You can also have up to four of your buddies join you for even more action. (Undoubtedly a lot of people are thinking Gauntlet The problem here, though, is that the difficulty increases as you add more players. Not just a logical increase (as in House of the Dead 2), but a ridiculous increase to the point that if you reach some of the later stages in four player mode, you won't be able to handle it, even if you are incredibly skilled. Seriously, me and a couple of my friends could all beat the game individually without even losing a life. Playing in four player mode though, we couldn't even beat the game (at least for a couple of tries), much less not lose a life.

Of course, what really separates this from RE is the graphics. Basically, think RE on Gamecube, except it doesn't have any of that pre-rendered background crap and still retains the detail. This game really shows off what the Xbox can do graphically, right down to some amazing bump mapped, perfectly reflective floors. The characters are also very detailed, with convincing fabric textures and very high poly counts.

Sound wise, Hunter is all I could want in a game of this nature. Zombies grunt and groan, and guns sound fairly realistic. The voices are done nicely, and the music is nice. Basically, you have your normal music and your ''drama'' music that kicks in when you get a lot of zombies all chasing you at once.


The biggest problem with this game, though, is that it lacks any real replay value. You'll probably play this game, and then either shelve it or trade it in at EB. Playing it with your friends does add some value, but overall it's not worth more than a rental. Unless you have a lot of bad days, because this is one of the most gratifying games to play on a bad day...

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/07/02, Updated 07/07/02