Headhunter Review

Headhunter marks one of the last Dreamcastâs big releases. The game has been in development for a long period (what is it with these SoE 1.5 party releases), and has widely been speculated as the Dreamcast answer to Solid Snake.



The game is set in the near future, in a move akin to the great Paul Verhoeven, everything is styled in a very satirical manner. Crime has virtually been eliminated thanks to the Anti-Crime-Network, or ACN for short. Criminals that canât afford bail have to hand over their internal organs instead, yes you heard me right, the market has changed organs rule the day, and thereâs even a black market making a tidy profit on your kidneys, so watch out!



You star as Jack Wade, a HeadHunter assigned to bringing criminals to justice, and part of the privately owned ACN. Unfortunately after escaping from a building, you wake up to find yourself in a hospital bed with a nasty case of amnesia. Before you can work out whatâs what, Angela
Stern, daughter of the ACN president whoâs recently been murdered, contacts you to help find the killer.

Before long youâll have access to Angela`s high powered motorbike that provides one of the key elements to the game, as the city that youâll be
traveling across is huge, and there doesnât seem to be any signs of public transport! The first port of call is the The Law Enforcement Intelligence and License Approval (LEILA) training facility, set up to test Headhunters and provide them with licenses. However to get there youâll need to earn skill points on your bike, to gain these you need to drive fast,
skillfully and without crashing. 



The bike feature adds a much needed âlightâ element to the game, itâs very cool just to burn around the Terminator themed Californian city. At first youâll be swerving around the road like⦠well a man whoâs forgotten how to ride a bike. The bike handling has come into some criticism for being too twitchy however the key is in nurturing those shoulder buttons, ease on the acceleration and soon youâll be riding around like a pro. My particular favourite section is cruising through the sewer channels just like in T2!



Once youâve reached the first skill point level you can access the LEILA facility, here you can gain access to a Level C Headhunter pass, giving you access to limited information and basic firearms. These tests take the form of Metal Gear Solids VR Missions; youâll be tested on your stealth ability, your shooting ability and your driving skills. Once youâve passed the test you can move on to the next chapter in the story. As youâve probably gathered there is quite an extensive story behind Headhunter, which is told through the use of real-time TV FMV cut-scenes, spoof news transmissions frequently pop up detailing the latest on-goings, and the consequences of your actions in the game. For example after killing the first âboss characterâ, a news transmission will pop up, crediting another Headhunter with the arrest of the felon. Itâs a real neat feature, and thankfully has been well implemented, it would have been very easy to mess them up, but because of the satirical and tongue-in-cheek nature of them, they are always amusing rather then frustrating. 



Copying the codec feature from MGS, Jack is equipped with a Casio video-watch that allows you to link up with other characters for vital information. OK so itâs blatant plagiarism, but it works well.



The main game is played like a cross between Resident Evil and MGS, actually it is the birth-child of both of these games, and it does nothing to hide the fact that it takes so much from these titles. The Resident Evil style puzzles make occasional appearances, and like that title the solutions are often obsure to say the least, the first puzzle sees you having to collect various items, just so you can collect a fire extinguisher to put a fire out! Thankfully these puzzles donât occur that frequently, the main element is the stealth based combat, i.e Metal Gear Solid.

As with MGS playing with a stealth-based approach is advisable, although there is a greater scope for a more action-orientated approach, guns blasting, ducking behind crates, the usual Bruce Willis/Arnold Schwarzenegger malarkey. During these moments the game feels great just like a big blockbuster action flick, control of Jack is intuitive and stylish. You can peek around corners, somersault to dodge bullets and end up in a crouching position ready to take the enemy out, targeting the enemy is easy; evading their attacks is instinctive and movement is wonderfully graceful. John Woo would be happy with the visual style portrayed during these heated moments.

Headhunter is a true tribute to the visual power of the Dreamcast, easily holding its head up with the current second generation titles found on the PS2. Textures are clear, crisp, varied and packed with detail, whilst the scope of the huge city is daunting. Lighting effects are extremely impressive, especially when the lightning rolls in and the rain sprays off of Jacks back. The only complaint I have is with the naff explosions when you shoot a barrel, bad memories of the Saturn came flooding back, however that is the only complaint, truly Headhunter is a visual masterpiece that will hold its head high for awhile yet, even with the release of the Xbox and GameCube!

The music was recorded at Abbey Road Studios by in-house musician Richard
Jacques & The London Philharmonic Orchestra, and this shines through as the
whole set is easily of Hollywood movie quality and greatly enhances the game's
atmosphere. 

Credit has to be given for giving the lead character amnesia, this way you as
a player are in the same boat as Jack, so whilst he must retake the tests to
regain his Headhunter license, so even though you're really just learning the
moves, you still feel as though you're progressing through the story.

Thankfully there is a big game at heart as well, appearing on two
discs.  The game is driven by its plot extremely well in the same manner as
Deus Ex, and what begins as a simple murder investigation turns out to be far
more!  I don't want to ruin too much, suffice to say those disappointed by
Metal Gear Solid's length will find solace here.