Star Wars: Bounty Hunter Review #2
Oh no!! It’s Jango!!
Yet again we go back a long time ago to that galaxy far, far away. Set between Episodes One and Two, we follow the soon to be cloned Jango on his mystery ship tour of the galaxy. Along the way, we find out that bounty hunting (at least in this game) isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be.
The game has some very nice graphics. The Gamecube’s potential is brought to light, but there is some room to spare. Up close, the visuals are excellent. The model used for Jango is very detailed and looks almost exactly like the movie. The same goes for the other characters (all three or four of them) in the game. Problems do occur when they are further away though. Jaggies start to become noticeable in both the character models and in the surrounding environment. Action is smooth except when multiple enemies are on the screen. The frame rate drops too much for wide-open areas and it is only amplified when crammed in a narrow passageway. Spoiled by games like Metroid Prime and Super Mario Sunshine, well, lets just say that Bounty Hunter leaves something to be desired.
Lighting and environmental effects are the highlight of the game. Each level is properly lit giving the game some very dynamic shadow effects. Jango’s blasters light up the immediate area while his flamethrower blurs the view of objects behind its heat wave.
Help us John Williams! You’re our only hope!
Sound quality is rather lack luster. Different blasters seem to all have the same sound to them. Explosions also sound the same and lack any kind of punch to them. When any character talks it seems to know only one line of speech. What Dolby really should be embarrassed about though is the pathetic BGM in the game. They would have done better to buy the movie soundtrack and copy that – track by track – into the game.
Tools of the trade
Besides his blasters, Jango has an assortment of weapons at his disposal. Everything from a cutting laser to get through grates to a back mounted rocket launcher, you have all the firepower you need to bring in the bounties. Most of these are either overkill (OOOO! A flamethrower!) or underpowered (khybar darts off your neighbor’s dart board). For most of the game you’ll be relying mainly on his basic blaster pistols and his lasso as the rest of the weapons are useless.
Where’s Obi-won when you need him?
You will definitely need some Force assistance to play this game. The controls are loose at best. Speed control for Jango is simple – you have your choice of fast or stop. Once you’ve decided that, you have to do your best to maneuver around corners or walk in a straight line without running into walls. Flying with the jetpack causes you to notice the sloppy controls even more. Lining up for a jump requiring jetpack assistance can be tedious. What complicates the issue further is the camera. You have to constantly baby-sit the camera to keep a good view of the action.
The auto-targeting system is good and it allows you to take charge of a situation by targeting multiple enemies that are close to you. However while you zero in on long- range targets, they are pegging you from well beyond your range.
The scanning system is an interesting idea but poorly implemented. Scanning each person you walk by for bounties is boring. It takes the focus off of the main object of each level and slows the game way down. It is also hard to check for bounties while getting hit from multiple directions or in a heated firefight. You have to make a choice between scanning for bounties and potentially be killed or defending yourself.
No clones, please!
I had to force myself to keep playing this game past the first couple of levels, hoping Star Wars: Bounty Hunter would get better. I wasn’t surprised when it didn’t. How many times can you kill the same three-eyed guy before it gets boring and repetitive? The movie portrayed Jango Fett as the most fearsome bounty hunter in the galaxy. I believe the commercials say the same thing. However I got no such experience while playing this game. You could put Mario and F.L.U.D.D. in Jengo’s place and get the same experience (actually that might be an improvement). All in all, this is one Jengo Fett that isn’t worthy of being cloned.
Visuals: 3.5
Sound: 2
Originality: 2
Replay: 0
Overall: 2