Gaming Target - GameCube: Star Wars: Bounty Hunter

Written by Tim McGrew on September 17, 2002

First Impressions: Finally, everyone's favorite intergalactic bounty hunter gets a game to call his own

Speaking as an utter Star Wars fanboy, a title that has earned me the other title dork, there are some interesting and superb characters in the Star Wars universe. In particular, there is a group of characters classified as bounty hunters that just stand head and shoulders above all others. Each of them shares a different past, different characteristics, different weapons, and a host of originality that is unmatched in the Star Wars universe. A group of these bounty hunters are particularly notorious and is actually a duo known as Jango and Boba Fett.

Jango Fett is the father of Boba Fett and is, quite possibly, the greatest bounty hunter of his time, hunting and killing anything for the highest bidder. He's a protector, an assassin, a hired soldier, and most of all, Kimino's tool, paid to provide DNA for the clone troopers we saw in Attack of the Clones. On top of being a father to his son, who's cloned from his own DNA, he's also undergone countless missions for a number of affiliations earning his keep aboard his SLAVE 1 craft. Although he is all of these things, neither he or his son have ever been the sole protagonist of his own video game, until now.

Star Wars Bounty Hunter will take place all across the galaxy in a number of shady establishments with a wide variety of goals and targets to capture or to deliver dead or alive. So long as you keep your kills clean and your targets sedated, there shouldn't be too many problems that this wicked bounty hunter can't handle. At your disposal will be a number of weapons ranging from twin blasters, thermal detonators, capture ropes, a missile pack, and, of course, his ever useful jet pack that propels him over large distances allowing him to avoid enemy fire and engage enemies from a number of different positions all across the level. With such a variety of movement and actions, the world itself is crafted entirely in real time with a high polygon count including some excellent textures, but I'll cover that more in a moment.

Playing Bounty Hunter is going to require a fair amount of skill, but LucasArts is shooting to make the job simple. First, there is going to be a lock-on button allowing you to focus on a single target. While locked on, Jango will be able to strafe, run, sneak, shoot, and fly. Additionally, Jango will target multiple enemies at a time making a group of enemies no less deadly than a single enemy. There is great joy in targeting an enemy to your direct left and targeting one to your direct right and blasting them both at the same time like some spaghetti western starring Clint Eastwood. While not locked on, Jango will perform an array of maneuvers including rolls and sniping, which can become very interesting if you don't want to deal with a number of enemies in order to get to your client. Most importantly, the controls themselves and the action you perform are going to be incredibly responsive and the goal is that you'll feel like you are one with the bounty hunter in no time.

The game's transitions will be a sight to behold as Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) themselves will be handling the cut scenes to further the story at several different points in the game. Their style and pure skill will add immensely to the title, making the story flow with characters that look as if they were ripped straight out of Episode II.

The graphics outside of the cut scenes are looking quite good as well. The texture work is absolutely phenomenal with a great usage of color and detail. The title will also have high-res textures on the Gamecube as well as a smooth 60FPS take on the title rather than the Playstation 2's steady 30FPS treatment. Plus, there are a host of particle and lighting effects that are incredible to watch, including Jango's jet pack effects, explosions from his blasters, and reflections off of his battered silver and blue suit.

The sound itself has yet to be added to any build to date, but if any of you have played any Star Wars titled game officially licensed by Lucas, you'll know that they are not slouches when it comes to music and sound effects. The final build of the game will contain tracks off of the Episode II soundtrack as well as a number of new tracks mixed by the Rogue Leader sound director. In the end, we hope the original Episode II voice talent will return for Jango Fett, but no confirmation has been given for any voice work for the title.