Review of Hunter the Reckoning

Right up front, Hunter the Reckoning for X-Box can be summed up as follows: Gauntlet Dark Legacy with New, Improved Angst!

Based on White Wolf's Hunter the Reckoning pen and paper RPG, Hunter comes across as a passable action title with no real substance. The controls lack fine tuning, the graphics are not up to par for the X-Box and altogether it could have been more.

Story:

The muddled opening movie centers around the four Hunters gathered to witness an execution at the state prison. For some reason, the execution unleashes a posse of zombies bent on killing our heroes and they fight their way out. Luckily, once they battle their way to freedom they have a Condemned notice that they can nail to the doors of the prison. As we all know, Condemned notices are powerful barriers against the gates of hell. Jump ahead one year and a bunch of ravers decide it would be a great idea to hold a party in the prison. Seems the undead don't care much for glow sticks and techno music and they rise again, possessing the party goers and breaking free into the city. In steps our Hunters to take matters into hand.

Graphics:

While not terrible, the graphics do not stand up to what the X-Box can do. If you take into account that Hunter displays up to 25 zombies at one time, plus fighting animations, plus Hunter effects plus weapon effects I suppose the lack of detail can be excused. The graphics work for what the game does.

Control:

Press the attack button once, you get several chained swings of your weapon in a row. Hit it multiple times while surrounded by brain eating undead and you get one swing that misses 1/3 of the time. Weapon switching is a little awkward with a delay that can allow enemies to cause serious damage to your character. The controls are playable but could have been improved, wether through better accuracy control or easier weapon switching.

Sound:

Not much to say here, gunshots sound like gunshots, the hand weapons slice and swoosh through the air and monsters get a whole cacaphony of noises. Occasionally a little techno music pops in for dramatic purpose. Intermittently the sound would either delay or cut out completely for a short time.

The Rest:

At least the package looks nice. On a whole Hunter the Reckoning is alright but lacks the playability found in other games like Spider-Man or Blood Omen 2. The Multiplayer helps make up for some of its failings but the game is still a better rental than a purchase. Make it a weekend party game but not a longterm member of your game library.