BOUNTY HUNTER (XBOX)
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Bounty hunters? Scum of the galaxy...

By WILLIAM BARKER

The biggest question being put to Microsoft's lips at the moment is how it plans to capture the huge Japanese game-playing public. Many analysts and other over-paid monkeys are claiming it'll never work and that Japanese people hate American products and so forth. Who cares. The games are going to rock and, if the Nihon doesn't want it, so be it. End of story.

One such game, which is already stirring up quite a storm at this early stage, is Bounty Hunter. Developed by Warthog, which is most famous for its work on the epic PC journey Starlancer and, after porting the Dreamcast version of Starlancer, Crave will be publishing the title. But for those interested - this title is not to be confused with another similar title in development by Capcom for the DC and PSX - Bounty Hunter: Sara.

This Xbox title is looks very intriguing for a few major reasons. First - the graphics. The Xbox has some serious horsepower under its polymer shell and, even at this stage in development, Bounty Hunter looks very cool - like a jazzed-up, bump-mapped PC game, really. The second point worth considering is that Bounty Hunter is combining two genres which, to my fuzzy memory, may be the first of its kind. The third point is plot - who doesn't love the idea of being a bounty hunter?

The game combines Starlancer-style space combat with first-person shooting sections. Ever since playing the original TIE-Fighter and X-Wing games, the idea of being able to land on a space station, then exit your spaceship and take things to a more interpersonal level has been something I never though possible.

Crave has stated that the split between first-person shooting and space combat will be about 70/30 respectively, or, for those who don't like fractions, there'll be more on-foot action. If Warthog can pull this off with even a single iota of style, the game will be awesome. We know that Warthog can do killer space sims, let's just hope the run n' gun bits will be up to scratch.

As it stands, the game is looking at an early 2002 release, probably two or three months after the Xbox launch. Combining a semi-linear mission structure (we have no idea what that means), next-gen visuals and some very innovative gameplay, Bounty Hunter may be the game worth owning on the Xbox.