Headhunter (video game)

Headhunter is an action-adventure video game developed by Amuze for Dreamcast and PlayStation 2.

"Headhunter (series)" redirects here. For other series, see Headhunter (disambiguation).
Headhunter
Developer(s)Amuze
Publisher(s)
Director(s)John Kroknes
Producer(s)John Kroknes
Stefan Holmqvist
Designer(s)Peter Johansson
Artist(s)Johan Lindh
Writer(s)Philip Lawrence
Composer(s)Richard Jacques
Platform(s)Dreamcast, PlayStation 2
ReleaseDreamcast
  • EU: 16 November 2001
PlayStation 2
  • EU: 22 March 2002
  • NA: 14 May 2002[1]
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

According to John Kroknes, creative director at Amuze, the game was strongly influenced by 1980s action movies and Paul Verhoeven's science fiction films.

For the majority of the game, the gameplay is that of a third-person shooter as players control protagonist Jack Wade. Jack travels between the main levels of the game on his motorcycle, and these sections take the form of a racing game, with the motorbike's acceleration and braking controlled using the sensitive analogue trigger buttons of the Dreamcast control pad.

A sequel was released in 2004 called Headhunter Redemption and it was released on PlayStation 2 and Xbox.

Plot

The game takes place in the near future in a city similar to Los Angeles, California. Criminals are punished for their crimes not only by serving time in prison but by having their internal organs surgically removed (if they lost to another prisoner in an underwater arena) and transplanted to benefit the wealthier members of society. Officially responsible for law enforcement are the Anti-Crime Network (ACN) organisation and their employees, the bounty hunter-like Headhunters. In order to prevent damage occurring to the criminals' organs as they are apprehended, conventional firearms have been banned, replaced by Electric Neural Projectile (ENP) guns that fire special bullets which do not damage flesh but instead emit an electrical charge that causes severe pain in victims, paralyses muscles and eventually kills the brain. According to the game, ENP technology was developed by Biotech and the main manufacturer of ENP handguns is Smith & Easton (a reference to the firearms manufacturer Smith & Wesson), although the technology can also be used with grenades, proximity mines, rocket launchers and other explosives.

The game begins with Jack Wade escaping from a secret laboratory, but soon after going outside he faints and falls unconscious. He wakes up in hospital and learns that he is suffering from amnesia and that although he was once the very best Headhunter, his license has now been revoked. In order to investigate the murder of ACN founder Christopher Stern, he must re-earn his Headhunter licence by taking part in virtual-reality tests (called LEILA tests) and capture some of the most dangerous criminals in the city. Throughout the game, Jack is aided by Christopher Stern's daughter Angela and his old boss Chief Hawke; although he also finds that his main rival to the title of best Headhunter is the unpleasant Hank Redwood.

The game's storyline progresses through standard FMV cutscenes, propaganda commercials and satirical news broadcasts (presented by the fictional Bill Waverley and Kate Gloss).

Reception

The Dreamcast version received "generally favorable reviews", while the PlayStation 2 version received "average" reviews, according to video game review aggregator Metacritic.[2][3]

The Dreamcast version received a highly favorable review from Eurogamer's Tom Bramwell. Bramwell in his review noted that it had been compared to Metal Gear Solid, but considered the setting and story to be superior in Headhunter. The game was described as "a masterpiece of modern videogame development".[5]

References
  1. Cove, Glen (14 May 2002). "Headhunter Ships". Archived from the original on 17 August 2004.
  2. "Headhunter (Import) (drm: 2001): Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 13 September 2008. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  3. "Headhunter for PlayStation 2 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  4. Edge staff (December 2001). "Headhunter (DC)". Edge. No. 104. Future plc.
  5. Bramwell, Tom (29 January 2002). "Headhunter (DC)". Eurogamer. Gamer Network.
  6. Satterfield, Shane (10 May 2002). "Headhunter Review (PS2)". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  7. Retrovertigo (7 December 2001). "Head Hunter [sic] (Euro Import)". PlanetDreamcast. IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on 25 January 2009. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  8. Davis, Brian (16 June 2002). "Headhunter (PS2)". GameSpy. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 8 March 2005. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  9. Chau, Anthony (7 January 2002). "Headhunter (PAL Import)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  10. Dunham, Jeremy (14 May 2002). "Headhunter (PS2)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  11. "Headhunter". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. Ziff Davis. June 2002. p. 98.
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