The Final Word game review

In The Hunt -- XING/Kokopeli/Irem

Send the enemy to Davy Jones' locker by yourself or in simultaneous two-player action. In The Hunt, for the Sony PlayStation is the home conversion of IREM's coin-op by the same name. Combat spreads out before you in six levels of action, with a whole arsenal of weapons at your disposal. And it's a good thing too, because you'll need every once of firepower you can muster to complete this mission.

Benjamin
The details to the graphics is what makes this game awesome. That and the intense action. I had thought I was worn out with the concept of a shooter -- especially on a 32-bit system -- but In The Hunt was a sheer joy to play. If not for the pleasure of laying waste to ships, then to watch the precision animation of the graphics. Explosions, windows shattering, people running as their homes were laid waste. Ah... war. The music is equally as good, with plenty of bass-hitting explosions and other sounds o'war. The control is standard for a shooter, and the layout of the stages along with the overall game -- while not being wholly original -- are a solid Irem shooter. Eat it up.

R.I.P.
Up until I played this game, I was still toying around with the idea of buying a Neo*Geo, specifically for the arcade shooters on the platform. Now I don't really see any point in that. In The Hunt is the first non-Neo*Geo, console game that really feels exactly like an arcade title. What do I mean by "feel"? Well, arcade games usually have a sort of (excuse the phrasing but I'm at a loss for words) "meaty" feel to them... the screen is alive with action, the sound of explosions boom and surround you, your ship and it's interactions with its environment are totally predictable in that when you shoot something, if it hits, it hits... and when something hits you, boom. Also, this game supports two-player, simultaneous, on the same screen, co-operative play, YES! The music in this game is really good as well, and the package is almost 100 percent solid. My complaints numbered in the quantity of one... this game was not long enough! Sure I'll be replaying it quite a bit to try and get my solve down to where I don't use any continues, but even so... Oh well, I guess you can't have everything. Another thing I should point out is that this game is not a "fast" shooter. As with Irem's past hit R-Type, the game is perceived to be slow, but don't let that fool you, this game is very demanding and keeps you on your toes -- just as R-Type did. In any event, if you're a shooter fan, this game is an absolute must.

>>>>> 46.0/50 <<<<<		Benjamin	R.I.P.
Graphics		5.0	5.0
Sound		4.5	5.0
Gameplay/Control		3.5	5.0
Longevity/Playability		4.0	4.5
Overall		4.5	5.0
Total		21.5	24.5

(07/96)