MouthLondon - London Student & Youth Magazine
Retro Game Review: Star Wars: Bounty Hunter
Pin ItStar Wars games have always, in my opinion, dominated the gaming market. It’s a fan boy’s wet dream to take command of Jedi, soldier, ship or vehicle in anything related to the Star Wars galaxy because who doesn’t like blowing stuff up, using godly powers to crush your enemies or even destroying whole planets with a flip of a button?
The Force Unleashed brought us closer to the films by intertwining what we knew with a dark and horrifying back story of the events between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. Its sequel fared worse with lazy storytelling and an ending that begged for a superior sequel; something that will never be delivered as the franchise was cancelled and replaced with the fantastic The Old Republic.
…phenomenal in storyline and gaming experience…
But in my opinion the older games were better. The Rogue Squadron, Dark Forces and X-Wing versus series were phenomenal in storyline and gaming experience. And in 2002 a little known game that was all about Boba Fett’s dad turned up which explained how this character, Jango Fett, was incredibly significant in the whole plan of Star Wars.
This was Star Wars: Bounty Hunter. A game that had an amazing storyline that slotted perfectly into the expanded and known universe of the prequel films.
…you must hunt down a dark Jedi…
The storyline is set shortly after The Phantom Menace and puts you in control of Jango Fett. Being an amazing bounty hunter you are selected to join in a great hunt in which you must hunt down a dark Jedi who controls a massive criminal, cult worshipping, drug organization that is threatening your employer’s operations. On the way you make friends with Zam Wessell, steal a ship you rename Slave 1 and battle zombie cultists. It really is quite fun.
The game mechanics revolve around you shooting your way through baddies, using your jetpack to get to places and even hunting additional bounties.
…generally frightening…
I suppose the greatest thing about this game is the mood and tone it delivers in gameplay. For a kids’ game it is incredibly dark, with characters dying left and right and underlying aspects (drugs, corruption, and revenge) featuring prominently. Also what makes it appealing is that the game is in some places very difficult and generally frightening. The end levels takes place on a graveyard moon where the cultists (people corrupted by death stick drugs and mutated into monsters) keep coming in waves and from the shadows. I still find it difficult to play even now.
Great storytelling, action and ties to other Star Wars mediums (graphic novels, books and films) make this a gem in the Star Wars games saga. It’s a contender for darkest game, but with 1313 coming out soon perhaps it will lose its title.
4.5 Stars
About the author
I'm the Editor of MouthLondon, with a specific control over our Online features and implementation. As a Film graduate with a particular interest in Scriptwriting, Production and Cinema, I enjoy talking about and making short films with a production crew of non professional enthusiasts.
Further articles by David Holloway | Editor →
Leave a response for ‘Retro Game Review: Star Wars: Bounty Hunter’
All fields marked with an asterisk (*) are required. Your email address is confidential and will not be published on this site or passed onto any third parties.
By submitting a comment, you grant this site a perpetual license to reproduce your words and name and/or website in attribution. All comments are moderated before being published.