There are few things cooler than a bounty hunter from the Star Wars universe. Ever since we first encountered Boba Fett, fans have been enamored with the enigmatic swagger of the armor clad, masked gunslinger. Kids everywhere dreamed of growing up to become bounty hunters, at least until we could research the profession and found pictures of real life bounty hunters like Dog the Bounty Hunter. Seeing that was a swift death to that dream. Nevertheless, I can't get over how cool these types of characters are in Star Wars. I always have been most drawn to the Star Wars stories and characters that revolve around the crime syndicates and seedy underworld of the galaxy.
We occasionally received Star Wars video games that would delve into these types of plots. The MMOs Star Wars Galaxies and The Old Republic offered playable Bounty Hunter and Smuggler character classes that somewhat scratched the itch. In Galaxies, you could even hunt down other players in the open world and claim the bounty on their head. For anyone who really loves Boba Fett specifically, Star Wars 1313 was the absolute dream. It was supposed to be a Boba Fett themed action-adventure game that took cues from incredible gaming icons like Uncharted. Unfortunately, it never saw the light of day. The project was cancelled following the disastrous sale of the Star Wars brand to Disney.
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| Image Credit: CGM |
There was however one fully bounty hunter-centric Star Wars game that did see release. In 2002, the same year that Episode II - Attack of the Clones came out in theaters, we received the aptly titled game Star Wars: Bounty Hunter. The game focused on Boba Fett's "father" Jango and covered some critical events that occurred in the years prior to Attack of the Clones. While this game wasn't perfect, it has earned a reputation as an underrated gem, and a unique entry in the Star Wars video game catalog.
Bounty Hunter places you in the iconic armor of the mysterious Mandalorian Jango Fett. I was glad that we got the chance to play as Jango. His role in Episode II was brief and his death unceremonious, but he cast a long shadow over the events of the Star Wars saga, between his involvement in the clone project and his rearing of Boba Fett as his son. This game gave us the chance to get to know Jango better, and the opportunity to play as a cunning, ruthless and efficient bounty hunter pursuing targets across the stars to bring them in dead or alive.
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| Image Credit: Xbox Tavern |
The story is really entertaining and quite action-packed. The events of Bounty Hunter are set roughly a decade before Attack of the Clones and center around a rogue Dark Jedi, Komari Vosa, that Palpatine and Count Dooku want dead. Dooku hires Jango Fett to hunt down the target and the Mandalorian is immediately thrust into a galaxy-spanning mission that has him confronting drug-smuggling gangs, corrupt politicians and other bounty hunters. Naturally, with any good crime caper, the story gets much more complicated as it goes on. The pursuit of Jango's target takes him across several different planets (and planetoids) in a variety of distinct stages. You'll blast your way through the flashy, glamorous Entertainment District of the massive city-planet, Coruscant. You'll facilitate a brutal prison riot on a remote asteroid to break out an important ally of Jango's. As you might expect with literally any Star Wars project, you're obligated to go to the arid, desert planet of Tattooine during the course of your journey as well. The developers made great use of the scale, scope and biodiversity of the Star Wars galaxy to design levels that felt visually distinguishable from each other and like believable scenarios that a skilled assassin would have to navigate through.
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| Image Credit: Instant-Gaming |
The gameplay of Bounty Hunter is where the game really shines. Jango has access to an arsenal of weapons, tools and gadgets that really make you feel like a professional and lethal force to be reckoned with. He can wield blasters akimbo, or a few different blaster rifles of different strengths and speeds, as well as a sniper rifle. He has access to a Whipcord that fires out and can bind a target, which makes them easy to capture for their bounty. There's a Flamethrower that can be used to set your enemy on fire, sending them into panicked state as they run around and scream. He also has toxic darts that can quickly kill a target. Lastly, Jango receives a jetpack that can be used for vertical and horizontal maneuverability, as well as being able to fire missiles at his foes. Occasionally janky controls and sudden difficulty spikes aside, Jango truly feels like dangerous, competent bounty hunter, and it's a incredibly satisfying to work through the game, making full use of his weapons and accessories.
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| Image Credit: GamingTrend |
Most missions involve a great mix of combat and platforming. The platforming is really surprisingly robust. It's far from perfect, especially when considering the frustrating camera, which was a common problem in the early 3D era of video games, but it's very fun nonetheless. Once they give you the jetpack, many of the challenging platform sequences involve Jango having to fly high into the sky or across vast gaps to reach his destination. This was a brilliant inclusion, as it makes the stages feel enormous. I'm still awed by the section on Coruscant where you're in the upper reaches of the city and have to fly up and grab onto sky-high apartment railings and carefully navigate your way around these staggeringly tall buildings as they loom high above the clouds.
Star Wars: Bounty Hunter is a stone cold classic. It has a few annoying quirks and can be unexpectedly tough at times, but the pros far outweigh the cons with this game. Between the unique bounty hunting and maneuverability mechanics, great combat and incredible stage design, we not only got a really solid Star Wars video game, but a phenomenal action-adventure game that you should absolutely check out.
VERDICT: Recommended
Reviewed on GameCube
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