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20
years after the devastation caused by the Bloody Mary Virus
a
new order has emerged based on two distinct but totally independent
worlds, divided by the ultimate consumerist society - 'Above'
and 'Below'. 'Above',
a glittering metropolis of glass and steel towers, entwined
by elevated highways, its citizens controlled by ever-present
media and the powerful corporations behind it. 'Below' is
the home to criminals, undesirables and misfits meeting all
the needs of 'Above' in return for the right to survive. Maintaining
law and social order is veteran Headhunter Jack Wade, older,
wiser and battle hardened. At his side his new sidekick, rebellious
street kid Leeza X...
Headhunter:
Redemption wants
so much to be a great game. And the sad thing is that, with
a little more care and effort on the part of the developers,
that is exactly what this game could have been - great. It
is probably best described as a more fluid Metal Gear Solid
clone.
But
there are just too many unforgivable bugs and annoying problems
with the gameplay that bring this well short of being anything
other than pedestrian.
While
the Xbox version is nowhere near as slow as the PS2 offering,
there are still plenty of long pauses. On the first level
after you are killed, it takes exactly 47 seconds before you
are allowed to restart from your last save point (and then
you have to endure another run thorough of the movie sequence).
And when you finally meet the boss at the end of the first
level the wait is even longer. Get killed by him and you will
have to wait just short of a minute before you can take up
play from your last save point (which, incidentally is quite
a way away).
The
aiming mechanics are awful. If there is more than one enemy
in the immediate vicinity your gun just locks onto one at
random. And more often than not that's the enemy that is hiding
behind something - so you can't even shoot them.
You
are also supposed to be able to switch characters between
Leeza and Jack in later levels, and another bonus is that
you get to engage in some lightning-fast motorcycle thrills
on futuristic highways. Well, at least that's what the press
release states. I have to be honest and say that after over
ten hours of playing this game I was bored. I never managed
to see the bike chases, nor did I get to play as Jack. In
fact, the last thing I saw was some moving crates, which you
have to use as a cover to run past some deadly lasers which
slice you in half. Several unsuccessful attempts at getting
past them and I had had more than I could take.
What
could, and should, have been a must own game is reduced to
the ranks of barely acceptable. Don't waste £40 on this
unless you enjoy frustrating games.
Nick
Smithson
Buy
this item online
We
compare prices online so you get the cheapest
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£29.99
(Amazon.co.uk)
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£31.99
(MVC.co.uk) |
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£31.99
(Streetsonline.co.uk) |
All prices correct at time of going to press.
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