Xbox

Hunter: The Reckoning

Hunter is a joy. A true pleasure to play. I dream about this game. I don't have to stop to think "what game do I wanna play tonight," because I already know. It's all about the Hunter. The only downside is the length of the adventure, but even after getting through it once, I'm ready to go again.

Hunter: The Reckoning has only one major flaw: beating the game unlocks alternate character costumes and an increased-difficulty mode, but neither one of these features was cool enough to con me into playing through the game again. But even though you'll beat Hunter: The Reckoning in a day, it'll be a most enjoyable day -- especially if you have one to three friends to savor the joys of hunting with you. •

This is a graphically strong game that is crammed with action. It is not for everyone, and does have an undercurrent of pure evil in the story. But the Hunters are the good guys, capable of extreme violence but with the intent to set the world right. Hardcore action fans should enjoy this game.

Hunter: The Reckoning is based on the popular White Wolf pen-and-paper role-playing game by the same name. However, don't expect to see any 100-sided die or other traditional role-playing elements in this game: Hunter is all about straight-up no-nonsense killing. Sure, there are fundamental RPG additions like standard experience-based enhancements, but that is secondary to its nonstop action. There is also a background story involving an underground population of various monsters, vampires, and werewolves that are scheming to take over the world - but any preconceptions that Hunter is reliant on its plot are immediately thrown out the window after five minutes of playing the game.

Hunter: The Reckoning is a dark, adult version of Gauntlet, and you will replay this game for the same reasons you are compelled to play those other “party games”. The entire game has this foreboding, evil element to it that makes you want to take a shower or perhaps go to church when you are done playing. But after having my ass beat up and down the chapel by a giant teddy bear, church might not be the best place for me right now.

Overall, a well-made game by Digital Mayhem. Hunter deserves at least a rent just to see the fantastic graphics and the hack-n-slash gameplay. Even though I finished one character in under three hours only dying a few times when I met bosses, an average gamer can spend 10-12 hours completing each character. So if you have a weekend and are looking for a decent game to wile the time away, pick up or rent Hunter: The Reckoning for all your supernatural, zombie-killing obsessions.

Wer bei Hunter - The Reckoning ein komplexes Action-Adventure oder gar ausgewachsenes Horror-Rollenspiel erwartet hat, wird wohl erst einmal enttäuscht sein. Freunde unkomplizierter Hack`n`Shoot-Action mit einer Vorliebe für Splatter-FX werden von Digital Mayhems Xbox-exklusiver Schlachtplatte hingegen erstklassig bedient. Vor allem zu viert sorgt das bis auf wenige Ausnahmen banale Zombieschlachten für unkomplizierten Spielspaß.

In singleplayer mode, hacking, slashing and blasting your way through dozens of lumbering undead can become boring, but in multiplayer mode up to four characters are on the same screen together, much like in the old arcade favourite Gauntlet. This is not without its drawbacks, however, as players cannot go in opposite directions and can be trapped in one corner of the screen by the actions of the others. The camera angles take some getting used to but the action is fast and the game play addictive.

Hunter: The Reckoning is definitely a fun game, but it's also a short one. It shouldn't take you more than five hours to go from beginning to end. Unfortunately, there isn't much in the way of extras except for an alternate hunter mode, which gives you alternate costumes for the hunters, and a nightmare mode, which makes the game even more difficult. There's some inherent replay value to be found in trying to play through the game using different hunters (or different combinations of hunters), but that's about it. So if you're willing to look past the lack of substantial replay value, and if you're looking for a quick dose of single-player or multiplayer mayhem, then you'll definitely want to check out Hunter: The Reckoning.

A la fois jouissif et très répétitif, Hunter : The Reckoning est un jeu qu'il conviendra d'essayer à plusieurs pour éviter à la lassitude de d'installer trop rapidement. Le jeu est tout de même un peu court, et l'on aurait aimé trouver de nouveaux personnages à débloquer. Les puristes du jeu de rôle papier n'approuveront pas forcément le choix qui a été fait de transformer Hunter : The Reckoning en un pur jeu d'action.

So the game is good if you're young enough to overlook its conceptual faults. For anyone over the age to drive I'd say to avoid it. Even the attempts at humor fall short. I laughed when I saw the source of the undead was named 'Ashcroft Prison.' It's worth a laugh, but it's the only attempt at an interesting joke (for adults) in the whole thing. I shouldn't really slam Interplay for this one. It's clearly a game aimed at the younger set who likes just this sort of thing. But I actually like the folks I know at Interplay and hoped for something with a bit more to recommend it.

When Buffy Met Gauntlet based on the White Wolf pen-and-paper RPG, Hunter: The Reckoning is an old-school hack-and-slash game to the core think Gauntlet with blood, Smash TV with zombies, or any other classic shoot-first-ask-never quarter-cruncher with a dark streak. Limbs fly, heads get lopped off, and blood quickly covers the floors of all 23 levels. The carnage gets intense in four-player mode, when a good two dozen zombies attack the party at once, but the pace never slows. While the world is nice spooky, the game suffers from some nasty camera problems and annoying object inconsistencies. If a run-around-and-kill-things actioner is what you’re looking for, then Hunter: The Reckoning will definitely slake your unholy thirst. It’s stylish and fun for four people, but it still feels a little empty.

If I had my druthers, I'd like to see more firepower and infinite continues in the game along with some difficulty settings. I mean, come on – give us a prize for beating the game with no continues, but don't stymie us from playing in a group. Hunter is beatable, and perhaps if each of the four people you're playing with have beaten it on their own, then you may stand a chance of beating it in a group. But the limitations imposed by the game just kill the fun, and that's a real crime. If anyone ever figures out the code for invincibility (Interplay has confirmed it exists, but is unwilling to leak it) Hunter could become a really fun party game like Loaded on the PSone. Lots of folks will love Hunter in spite of its flaws, which I take as a sign that the Xbox needs some good multiplayer titles. Just like I felt after beating Dark Alliance, I'm sad that Hunter didn't live up to the hype, and I'd really like to see Interplay take another shot at it.

This is one game where being aggressive is actually rewarded. You can cycle through three types of weapons: blades, guns, and magic. The bosses range from gruesome to wacky (a demonic teddy bear?), but your enemies are mainly shambling zombies, and you'll get tired of facing them. I'd like to describe the background story, but I couldn't make out the voice-over in the loud, cinematic introduction, and the cut-scenes make little sense. Hunter does offer a two-player simultaneous mode, but overall the game reeks of mediocrity. It's too repetitive and not very exciting.