Pros: Great hack-n-slash-n-gun gameplay. Nice graphics. Just really fun overall.
Cons: A bit confusing in multiplayer, bosses are tough.
The Bottom Line: I highly recommend renting before buying. If you like it, buy it. You won't be disappointed. It has great graphics, sound, control, and everything else. An all-around great game.
It seems as though this game is getting a lot of bad reviews. They say it's boring, too difficult, the control scheme is bad. I say, "BAH!" Hunter is, without a doubt, the, no, wait, THE best game for the Microsoft X-Box hands down.
The story may not be great, but it keeps you interested. One year ago, a man named Nathaniel Arkady was executed at the Ashcroft Penitentiary. It seemed like any other execution, but for four people, their lives were about to change forever. You see, when Arkady was executed, his death opened up a hole in the space-time continuum (something like that) and it let out all of the people who had died at the prison for the last 100 or so years. I know it's kind of cheesy, and I'm not even sure if it's right, but it got me. Anyway, these four people were given the ability to see who was a zombie and who was a human. Naturally, zombies greatly outnumber humans (probably 60 to 1). These four were given the weapons to defeat the zombies. They were called Hunters.
The game takes place a year later, after a rave at the prison. The prison, where the zombies were locked in, was opened, and let all the evil escape. So, the Hunters were called back to exterminate them and finish off everything once and for all.
Now, on to the game. The first thing you'll notice is the excellent graphics. Not only are they great in the in-game cinemas, but the in-game graphics are better than anything I've seen on X-Box (with the exception of Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee). The four character graphics are great, as are the zombies, vampires, and various other things running toward you. But, wait. I haven't even told you about the Hunters yet. I will do that now.
There are four different Hunters, each with their own specialty and weapons. There is Spenser "Deuce" Wyatt AKA the Avenger, a big mean biker who wields a battle ax and a shotgun. If you couldn't guess from the weapons, he's the powerhouse of the bunch. There is Samantha Alexander AKA the Defender, an ex-cop who presided over Arkady's execution. She wields a katana and a magnum revolver. She is the accuracy specialist. She can pick off zombies from over 50 feet away (estimate). There is Kassandra Cheyung AKA the martyr, a raver. She wields twin daggers and dual auto-loading pistols. The's the speedy one of the bunch. She can run around zombies and lure them to her so the others can pick them off. And finally, there is Father Esteban Cortez AKA the Judge, a priest. He wields a crusader sword and a crossbow. He has a lot of conviction (explained later).
In case you haven't noticed, this is a very in-depth review. If you're still awake, read on. You won't be disappointed.
Each Hunter has his or her own special attacks called Edges. These are attacks that boost the Hunter's abilities, protect others, or destroy enemies. The Avenger's Edges are mostly power-based, so you'll be stronger and kill enemies faster. The Defender's Edges mostly have to do with protection and "defending" the other Hunters. The Martyr's Edges have her running in and using herself to protect the other Hunters. The Judge's Edges are called Word of Power. He can massacre enemies with it. Each Edge takes up a certain amount of Conviction, which is monitored on screen by a blue bar. Not to be confused with the Health bar, which is red.
I'm not done, but I'll stop here, to give you, the reader, some time to think. If you're interested, wait a little while and I'll get back to this. It's really a fun game. Unless you're scared of blood or zombies, Hunter: The Reckoning is for you.
I'm back, and here to hopefully finish the review.
Where was I? Oh, yes, the game. After you select your Hunter, you begin the game. You start off in a subway, so you can get the feel for the game. HINT: if you run behind where you start you will pick up a machine gun. Very helpful later on. Anyway, you move through the subway, picking off the sparse amount of zombies and saving the subway operator. He tells you that unless 50 people come to help him, no one will be able to get out of town. That's your first real ongoing mission: save at least 50 people, called "innocents." I'm probably half way through the game, and I have over 40 already. It's not too hard to find them.
Along the way, you'll find secondary weapons. There are shotguns (very powerful but very little ammo), machine guns (fast and tons of ammo, but bad power and bad aim), flamethrowers, chainsaws, and everyone's favorite, the rocket launcher. As you progress, the guns get stronger and the shotguns hold more shells. Unlike your basic gun, each secondary weapon has a limited amount of ammo/power. You can hold 48 shotgun shells, 210 rounds for the machine gun, 16 rockets, a full battery for the chainsaw, and one tank of gas for the flamethrower. I have full ammo for each, but I don't use them very often, because my default weapons are easier to use.
On to controls. Some people complain because you fire with the right trigger button. I like it. Jumping is left trigger, jumping attack is left trigger, then right trigger, switching between default weapons is "X" button, switching between Edges is "Y" button, switching between secondary weapons is "B" button, and reloading before running out of ammo in each clip is "A" button or I believe the Black Button. White is taunt (useless). You control your Hunter with the left joystick (for lack of a better word) and aim with the right. It's a great system, once you get used to it. One more thing: you can roll, but it's kind of tricky. Run, while facing 90 degrees away from the direction you're running (running north and facing east or west) and hitting the left trigger. If done correctly, you'll roll. It's different for every Hunter, and I only use it when nothing's around.
Well, I guess I'll talk about the enemies for a bit. Over the course of the game, you'll meet many types of evil beings trying to kill you in various ways. You have your basic zombies, which shamble towards you and can easily be picked off. YOu have Skitters, the scariest enemies in the first couple of levels. They move faster than the zombies, and if they get within a certain range, they blow up, knocking you down and taking a good chunk of your life bar too. You have Gargoyles, giant stone statues brought to life. The hints you get during the game say they can't be hurt by bullets, but it's not true. You just have to pump 30 or 40 rounds into them. Or just run up and melee them to death. They're slow. Later on, you'll meet zombies with pistols, shotguns, and flamethrowers, as well as faster zombies that lunge at you and usually hit you. Also, there are vampires. They know martial arts, move very quickly, and they can jump. Did I mention they have machine guns? They do. If you stand far enough away, they pull their machine guns out and mow you down. Fighting four or so of them is a pain. Also, there are rats, crocodiles, tall zombies, and dogs. Dogs are also a pain. They move faster than you, and bite you. Luckily, it only takes three bullets to take them down.
And now, the hardest part of the game (so far for me): bosses! I've encountered three: a giant indescribably grotesque thing which is unharmed by bullets, a giant teddy bear, and some guy with tentacles. The first boss is pretty predictable. When it hits the ground with it's appendage that I guess you can call a hand, you can jump over it and slice it with your melee weapon. I hate it when it tosses out six or so Skitters at you. Then you have to pick them off before returning to the boss. The teddy bear chases you, and it has a gross attack where it pukes on you and if you're hit you die. Also, there are ghosts floating around shooting balls of energy at you. I forgot to mention those earlier. The creepy guy with the tentacles is tough if you like guns. I lost more than ten lives before I beat him. There's a big hint: stock up on lives! You won't be sorry.
You're probably asking, "How do I stock up on lives?" Well, all you have to do is complete a level and the level objectives. They vary with each level. Some require you to save a certain amount of innocents, some require you to kill a bunch of stuff, and there are more I can't remember right now. Each time you finish a level objective, you get a bonus continue. But be sure that when you play multiplayer mode, you have a bunch of seasoned Hunter veterans on your squad, because the lives are shared. If one person dies, your total amount of continues goes down. Run out of continues and when you die, it's for good.
Multiplayer mode is okay, but confusing. It's the four of you against the hordes of enemies. From my experiences, it's easier in single player mode. But I played with three inexperienced rookies. They did okay, though.
Well, I think I've covered just about every important aspect (and some unimportant aspects) of Hunter: The Reckoning. It's time for some final thoughts. My favorite Hunter is the Defender. She has the best accuracy of all four Hunters. That means she can pick off enemies from far, far away and deal out more damage with guns. She has the most useful Edge: it heals you. Not that you'll need to use it too much. I forgot that usually, when you kill an enemy, it will drop an orb. Red orbs recover your health and blue orbs recover conviction. Also, there are health and conviction restorers scattered throughout the game. Use them wisely. You never know when you'll be ambushed. And always listen. You'll hear when zombies generate.
And my last words: if you want power, go with the Avenger. If you want speed, go with the Martyr. If you want powerful Edges, go with the Judge. And if you want accuracy and the Healing Edge, go with the Defender. But please. Try this game. If you like games like Nightmare Creatures, Gauntlet, or Onimusha, Hunter is better than all of those. Hopefully, you won't be disappointed. I'm not.
Well, if anyone's out there reading this, I finished Hunter yesterday. The last boss I mentioned was the mansion boss, or the Warden. After that, the next boss to beat is Hadrian, a doctor with a weird talking arm. Next is Carpenter, the guy that helped you a little earlier. He was mad that you killed Hadrian (assuming that you did) and he attacks you. Some may think he can't be killed, but there is a way. Look for an inanimate object and destroy it. After you beat Carpenter, you move on to Arkady, the man who was electrocuted on that fateful night. He transforms into a giant werewolf. After you beat him, you (along with some help from Arkady) find out that the...well, I won't ruin the last boss for you. You just have to buy the game and beat it to find out who it is.
Also, when you beat the game, you unlock two new modes: Alternate Hunter Mode and Nightmare Mode. Alternate Hunter Mode just gives each Hunter a different outfit. Nightmare Mode makes the game harder. How much harder I have yet to find out. I will soon, though.
I seemed to grossly underestimate the Avenger. Because of his vast strength, it was relatively easy to run in to large groups of zombies, use the Smite Edge (a ring of fire exits from the body, killing everything in its path) and laughing at the poor, burning bodies. Actually, the game was a lot easier with him. So for now, here are my rankings for the Hunters, from best to worst and why.
1. Avenger, because of the Smite Edge and his raw power.
2. Defender, because of the Rejuvinate Edge and great accuracy.
3. Judge, because of the Word of Power Edge and ability to kill vampires in two hits with his crossbow.
4. Martyr, because of...uh...her...speed. Yes, her speed. Sorry folks, but that's about all she has. Her Strength and Accuracy stay pretty low throughout the game, and her Stamina also stays pretty low. She's good for running away from enemies.
Well, there you have it. I probably won't update this again unless I get a flood of comments and e-mails begging me to update. Maybe once I beat Nightmare Mode...but that could take a while.
Go beyond the wheel of the Interceptor to face opponents up close and personal for the first time -- using an arsenal of firearms, the latest special ...More at Amazon
the evil nostra corporation is preparing to unleash havoc on the world - only you and the g-6155 interceptor can stop them. utilize an incredible arse...More at UnbeatableSale, Inc.
Spyhunter: Nowhere to Run Xbox SpyHunter: Nowhere to Run takes the Spy Hunter franchise where it is never gone before-on foot. Featuring action supers...More at cameraworld.com
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2010 Shopping.com, Inc.