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PS2 | Action | Mace Griffin Bounty Hunter

Boxart for Mace Griffin Bounty Hunter
Mace Griffin Bounty Hunter 9 screen shots
  • GRAPHICS: 3.5
  • SOUND: 3.5
  • CONTROL: 3.0
  • FUN FACTOR 2.5
  • AVG USER SCORE 3.5
  • AVG CRITIC SCORE 3.0

Review: Mace Griffin Bounty Hunter

Review by FOUREYEDDRAGON | 07/03/2003 | 10:35:52 AM PST

The long-awaited space combat/FPS hybrid finally arrives, but it?s a less than stellar experience.

The wait was long: over a year since it was first announced. The concept was bold: to seamlessly combine space combat with first-person shooting. The result?unfortunately?became Mace Griffin Bounty Hunter, a game that didn?t fully materialize into what seemed like a winning design.

It?s the distant future, and you play ex-Ranger turned bounty hunter Mace Griffin. Your job is to collect wanted criminals throughout space, while at the same time, you try to figure out who framed you and your other Ranger crew 10 years ago. It?s a rough adventure for Mace. The game is broken into first-person gameplay with some space combat sprinkled in to break up the monotony. The transitions between the two gameplay styles work without a hitch, but the game?s troubles begin right at the start. Unintuitive controls that can?t be adjusted for smooth movement plague the first-person part of the game. Additionally, the hordes of angry creatures out to get you have been clumsily developed?a lot of times, they?ll stand motionless without firing a shot even if they?re being hit in the head. Sadly, flying your Pinto-like spacecraft is more cumbersome than thrilling. Here, too, the controls feel awkward and unresponsive.

The world of Mace Griffin may encompass multiple star systems, but the game feels cramped and limited. Linear levels where there?s little room to explore on your own attribute to unchallenging gameplay. Even the visual and sound effects don?t sparkle with creativity as they should in a game like this. All told, this is one bounty hunter that doesn?t deserve any bounty at all.