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SCENE
GENRE
GRAPHICS
SOUND
PLAYABILITY
VALUE
OPINION
REVIEW
INDEX |
| Setting
the Scene |
Ever
just want to unload on someone? Having a bad day and feel
semi-postal? Need to just get your aggressions out on something?
Well look no further! Machine Hunter is a regular blast feast that
will surly get you back in the right frame of mind.
Set in a rather dismal future (aren't they all?), earth is now all
but drained of it's natural resources. Robots are created to begin
excavating resources from Mars to help replenish our dying planet.
Suddenly, an alien invasion is mounted on Mars and the robots there
are reprogrammed to do the bidding of the invaders. Fearing a
possible attack on Earth, special task forces known as the 'Machine
Hunters' are created. The MH's are equipped with a suit that enables
the wearer to mentally and physically inhabit a powered down robot.
The task force is sent to Mars to try and stop the aliens and the
renegade robots and so begins the hunt.
|
| Genre |
Machine
Hunter is an action packed top-down perspective shooter style game.
|
| Graphics |
The graphics in Machine Hunter are dark and moody, fitting in
perfectly with the overall atmospheric / futuristic feel to the
game. Your view is from a top down perspective with several camera
angles to choose from such as rotating, fixed and tilted with some
combinations of each.
The details of the environments are quite stunning to the eyes.
Extensive, and I do mean extensive use of light sourcing is used
throughout the game. Vapor weapons used by some of the creatures
slowly dissolve as it tracks down a corridorhuge chunks of flaming
molten lava spit up from a lava bed and then rain down on the screen
and all of the walls are appropriately done with light and shadowing
effects. Large explosions are also nicely done and are followed with
a neat little rippling effect.
Excellent scrolling techniques are used to move all of the action
around effortlessly with minimal slowdown. Only on some very busy
screens with loads of characters and weapons firing simultaneously
did I notice even a hint of sluggishness.
Character definition is done pretty good for a top down shooter as
well. Hostages are easily distinguishable from the enemy, and the
animation of the characters is quite unique. Shooting an enemy is
greatas you hit one, they tend to stumble backwards and ultimately
crumble to the floor with a puddle of blood forming around them.
Walk through the gore and your character leaves bloody little
footprints behind you for a few steps.
Overall, the graphics in this game are very well done and fit the
game appropriately.
|
| Sounds
and Effects |
Very
nicely done weapon sound effects abound in this game. You get the "thwep,
thwep thwep" sound when firing and a nice gooey, squish sound
when you connect with an enemy. Depending on where you are firing
from, you also get varying degrees of echoing. There are loads of
other sound effects as wellall nicely done and effective.
The music is futuristic and matches the game nicely, but tends to
get rather repetitive during each level. It doesn't get too annoying
as it is mostly mood type music and remains at a lower volume when
compared to the sound effects for the most part.
There is also an announcer's voice that alerts you went shutdown is
eminent or a level has been completed, etc. Nothing real intrusive
here.
|
| Playability |
Upon
first glance one might think that this game is just a rip-off of the
game Loaded. Yes, there is a lot of gratuitous violence and the top
down view and presentation is very reminiscent of that shooter, but
the similarities pretty much end there. While it seems that Loaded
was certainly an inspiration for Machine Hunter, the strategy
aspects and depth of this game pretty much set it apart.
Machine Hunter is a mission/goal based shooter that places the
gamer in a violent and desperate future. You play the role of a
Machine Hunter; a human with a special suit that enables the bearer
to assume the mental and physical characteristics of a robot once it
has been defeated in combat. There are nine classifications of
robots that you will come into contact with while journeying through
various worlds. Each one has it's own attributes, strengths and
weaknesses. Bonding with a robot is probably one of your primary
goals early on in the game as it gives you more protection and loads
more fire power that your puny human form. Besides all that, it's
just plain cooler motoring around in a robot shell!
As I had stated earlier, Machine Hunter is mission based. You have
16 missions to complete, each with their own primary objective.
Examples of some missions are as follows:
Collect explosive devices for two mine sub-worlds. Locate the
furnace on sub-world 2 and plant the explosives. Find the exit lift
on sub-world 1 before detonation.
Collect explosive devices for two mine sub-worlds. Locate the
furnace on sub-world 2 and plant the explosives. Find the exit lift
on sub-world 1 before detonation.
That's just a sample of what to expect. Along the way you also need
to rescue as many hostages as you can. They will be the ones waving
their arms madly above their heads. To complete a mission you have
to mow down hordes of nasty creatures, and often need to blast up
certain walls to create an exit or path. These areas are usually
pretty obvious, so the frustration factor of finding a path is
minimized.
Enemy's come in many forms and sizes from the lowly ground grub to
the rather large aliens. To survive the attacks, different methods
must be deployed for success. Some creatures you will want to charge
right in and waste, while others require an attack and fallback
strategy. I also like the fact that you can inhabit the robot bodies
after you defeat them. This adds an element to your strategy,
because when there are several different Classes of robots on screen
at the same time, you need to determine which one will suit your
needs, and be careful not to pass over one that you don't want.
Power-ups are scattered all around for you to find. Some will
increase your weapons from a grade 1 to a grade 2 or 3. These last
for as long as you survive in that current body. Other power-ups
will increase you health. Secondary weapons are also littered about.
Some of these weapons are brutal. One particularly nasty device is a
spike ball that circle around your character, totally smashing
everything it touches.
Another player can also be thrown into the mix for cooperative
gaming action. In this mode, you have the option of making your
weapon fire friendly or deadly to the other player. Things can get
pretty hectic in this game, so it's also fun to include a friend to
assist you throughit also adds another element of gameplay.
The only drawbacks that I found with the game was that #1 - the
control really didn't suit me at all. The directional pad is used to
move the player while the buttons aim your fire. For example,
pressing the triangle key sends your fire up, the circle to the
right and so on. During a heated battle, I often found myself
getting wasted because I was all over the place with my aim. I could
never really get it down to the point where I would consider myself
an efficient shooter. Switching to the Sony analog certainly helps
to tighten things up a bit but overall the control could have been
better! #2 - No memory card support? Damn, I hate writing down
multiple letter password codesI always end up losing them anyway.
Otherwise I could find very little else wrong with the title. It's
not something that I normally go to pull off the shelf first, but
once I pop it in I get absorbed into the action for hours at a time.
|
| Value
for Money |
You
are presented with 16 considerably long missions. Some are very
tough and will take time to complete. In addition, you can always go
back and try to get hostages that you may have foregone the first
time around or find secrets that you may have missed. Overall
though, I would think the replay value of this game would be around
average. Once you're done, in all likelihood you are done.
|
| Opinion |
| TOM |
|
|
|
|
| GRAPHICS: |
Good |
A
very well made game. It adds some strategy elements to a basic
top-down shooter format. If anything, this game probably resembles
Project: Overkill more than Loaded because of its mission based
objectives. Overall though, if you enjoyed either of those two games
you will probably love this one. It takes the top-down shooter up
another notch with the graphical detail and environment layout. |
| SOUND: |
Average |
| PLAYABILITY: |
Average |
| VALUE: |
Average |
| OVERALL
|
73% |
|
