I originally received this game as a gift from a friend on my birthday back in 2004. I played it previously at his house and remember it fondly. I recently picked a PlayStation 2 up and thought I would go about reviewing my childhood games.
Star Wars Bounty Hunter is a third-person action game centered on the Mandalorian bounty hunter, Jango Fett. The game takes place prior to the Clone Wars movie and fills in a bit of back story of the mysterious bounty hunter and how the Clone Army came to be.
My initial impressions were a fairly positive, but that quickly turned sour when the game started dumping more enemies at you, which revealed the cracks at the seams. The game starts out with Jango losing his signature backpack. The early section is the typical tutorial section where the player learns how to move, aim, shoot and perform. There was grate cutting, wonky platforming, wall scaling and some introductory combat.
Once when Jango reacquires his jet pack, the game is on. The jet pack provides fantastic maneuverability during combat. Doing back flips while in the air, flying around guy’s heads, avoid blaster fire is just pure, unadulterated fun. However, when the game starts requiring delicate platforming with the jet pack, that’s when it turns from fun to tedium and frustration.
The camera constantly wants to position itself behind Jango. This combined with trying to position the camera in another direction and trying to simultaneously navigate tiny platforms while flying over city streets becomes nearly impossible and most often ends in failure. Expect to fight the controls during the rest of the game.
The aiming mechanics are subpar to say the least. The more traditional third-person shooter typically provides aiming with the right analog stick and movement with the left. This game takes that whole aiming aspect and just throws it away.
Most of the combat is done with a lock on mode initiated by holding down the R1 button. Jango locks onto a target that is directly ahead of him. Jango will fire on the locked on target, but will also shoot at anyone else with his other gun. This is actually a really great addition to the game. This allows the player to combat large hordes of enemies without having to constantly switch between targets.
The lock on mode is far from perfect. The target has to be in front of Jango, not where the camera is pointing. The target also has to be within a certain range, which is oddly shorter than the range that his pistols can fire accurately. This leads to situations where an enemy is perfectly visible and is shooting the player in the head, yet the lock on is unable to target him.
There is no simple way to designate targets other than positioning them in front of Jango. This can lead to frustration when there is a line of enemies, and the one the player wishes to target is in the back. (I remember one section where I had to destroy a turret, one that can kill me in three to four shots. There was a melee enemy in front. I ran around the corner, tried to get a lock on the turret, yet it would not lock onto anyone but the non-threatening enemy.)
There is, however, a free aim mode. This mode is initiated with the R2 button and allows Jango to aim freely. This is not an optimal mode for the heat of battle since the player cannot move while it is activated. Trying to aim at rocket enemies across a gorge, enemies you cannot normally lock onto, is nearly impossible. Free aim is only effective when enemies have yet to notice Jango’s presence.
Bounty Hunter is surprisingly difficult. This is mainly due to mechanical issues and several bugs. The game’s idea of increased difficulty is just add more enemies with more powerful weapons. Combat can be visceral and entertaining if there is a wide open area with plenty of enemies to shoot. Tight and contained corridors with pillars and walls become tedious due to the lack of maneuverability and the lack of precise, reliable aiming.
One system that is fairly unique and expected of a game titled “Bounty Hunter” is the bounty system. There are several enemies per level that have bounties posted on their heads. The player marks these enemies with Jango’s visor, ties them up and sells them for credits. These bounties contribute absolutely nothing to gameplay other than to interrupt game flow. It feels like a gimmick tacked on in the end of development and was used to unlock gallery pictures outside of the game. This system would have been more interested if the targeting did not feel clumsy and the credits could be used to upgrade Jango’s equipment such as extended jet pack flight or slightly more powerful pistols. Alas, this thought falls upon deaf ears.
Visually, the game is fantastic for a game released in 2002. The different places you visit are very diverse and exciting. Jango visits some iconic locations such as Coruscant and Tatooine.
Despite the amazing locations, the level design is really bad in this game (and I mean bad). The game is very linear yet the intended path is not always made apparent. Exploration in a game with nothing to discover is just tedious and annoying. Many times, the “obvious way” is just a locked door with no clear direction to take.
I’ll use the asteroid level (Chapter 3) for example. Many doors refuse to open, yet look exactly like a door you used previously. There are many doors that you CAN open, but immediately present you another door that you CANNOT open. (I’m assuming these double doors areas are used to spawn enemies and provide seamless integration instead of them just popping in randomly.) Most of the time, you are on the lookout for doors with green lights signifying a path. These trickery doors just mislead and confuse the player and are really bad for level flow.
The story is fantastic for a Star Wars lover. It is placed right before the Star Wars Episode II and provides some back story for Jango and fills in some key plot details leading up to the movie.
It is a Star Wars game, so the entire soundtrack is what one would expect. The soundtrack is filled with epic, orchestrated songs from the talented John Williams. The blaster sound effects sound as if they are right out of the movie. The voice acting can be hit and miss. They got Temuera Morrison, the actor that played Jango in the movies, to perform voice over for the game and plays the deadpan, grizzled bounty hunter perfectly. The other human voice actors are serviceable yet forgetful. The many aliens sound great, but I would recommend enabling subtitles to even understand what most are even saying.
I may be spoiled, reviewing this game from 2014, 12 years after the game’s release. Visuals have exponentially improved since the early days of the PlayStation 2. Theories behind game mechanics have become more solid and refined. My many criticisms may be harsh, but I really wanted to defeat my nostalgia and love for Star Wars and truly review this game.
Many a time, I found myself ripping the disc out of the console due to frustration, but I always found myself putting it back in after calming down. I am astonished, even after my many complaints; I had fun with the game. If you are willing to put up with lackluster controls and fairly difficult game play to see a decent Star Wars back story, I would highly recommend Star Wars Bounty Hunter.
TL;DR – Play this game if you are a Star Wars fan, have a PS2 and a lot of time to kill. Don’t even look in its direction if you are not able to cope with frustrating mechanics.