Deadhunt Review

Written by: David Laprad Published: June 16, 2005 The evolution of the first-person shooter has left some fans disillusioned. It used to be enough to sprint helter skelter through a maze, gunning down everything in sight and hunting for keys. These days, developers of action games almost always weigh down what was once a purified form of gameplay with puzzles, strategy and heavy doses of realism. All of that is well and good, but what about those of us who still enjoy the simple pleasures of the run-and-gun routine? Have we been forgotten? Not entirely. Rel Games has released a shooter that will put a knowing grin on the face of any Doom fan. Deadhunt plops you in the middle of an open field of battle, gives you a weapon and challenges you to mow down wave upon wave of zombified warriors. Picture a cross between Robotron and Serious Sam, and you'll have an idea of what this game is about. From basic moaners and groaners armed with machetes to undead archers with skills that rival Robin Hood's, Deadhunt spews a veritable smorgasbord of malice your way. Although the creature models aren't as detailed nor as smoothly animated as we've come to expect, eye-catching touches abound: If you aim just right and shoot an arm off an enemy, leaving him without a weapon, he might use his remaining appendage to unsheathe a knife from his tattered threads and continue attacking. Cap an opponent's knees and you'll sever his lower leg, leaving the creature helpless. Perhaps the most satisfying kills in Deadhunt involve decapitating an assailant with the shotgun and watch the head soar across the map. You might remove just half of its head, though, allowing the creature to continue its assault as blood squirts from its wound. If you have even the slightest aversion to gore, Deadhunt won't be your cup of tea, as you can blow chunks from arms and legs and reveal the bones underneath. To help you tear through monsters sporting more than 50 different weapons and ten varieties of armor, you're given seven guns and one kind of grenade (the kind that scatters bloody tissue everywhere). I've already mentioned the shotgun, which matches the double-barreled version from Doom II in terms of sheer gratification. It has a rapid firing rate, packs a lethal punch and features a sonic boom that can rattle your chest cavity if you have the right speakers. Unfortunately, the shotgun was the only weapon I enjoyed. While the dual-fisted Uzis and machine gun both spit out a hailstorm of bullets, they do less damage and take longer to reload, making them less satisfying to use. In most missions, you're assigned a single weapon, so if you don't connect with the particular gun in your hands, too bad. Clearly, this was done to make you adjust your tactics to the specific strengths and weaknesses of the different weapons and the enemies attacking you, but I preferred the levels that allowed me to choose my implement of death. If you find yourself with a weapon that doesn't suit you, take heart: Deadhunt features a powerup system that allows you to augment your weapons and character stats. As you wipe out groups of enemies, runes appear. Each of the several different kinds of runes confers a unique bonus, such as bigger clips, deadlier ammo, faster running speed, higher maximum health and the ability to take less damage per hit. You can only collect a limited number of runes during a mission, so you have to choose wisely based on the kinds of enemies you're facing. If you're fighting a lot of heavily armored characters, it's a good idea to increase the amount of damage you do per hit; if you can't elude the mace-wielding multitudes, enhance your running speed. In addition to runes, powerups appear that augment your stats for a limited period of time, refresh your health, give you a different weapon for a few seconds, increase your score and so on. In a clever twist, you can collect runes and powerups by placing your aiming reticule over them and pressing your right mouse button. This allows you to grab a health bonus hovering in the distance as you lay down the law with a pesky gang of undead skeletons. The bonus and powerup system in Deadhunt is very well implemented. With four episodes totaling 40 missions, it couldn't have been easy fooling you into thinking you're doing anything more than running away from and shooting down an endless surge of zombies, but the developers give it a go. Many missions contain a special twist, the best of which involve shooting down superior creatures. For example, an early mission continues throwing undead your way until you kill their leaders. First, one leader appears; after you do away with him, two more appear, and so on. It's a challenge to avoid the dozens of zombies that fill the screen while you concentrate your firepower on the one guy that matters. All of the missions take place in just one of two arenas, however, so the most common enemy you'll face in Deadhunt is monotony. Rel Games did their best to shake up the action from one mission to the next, but in the end, the tediousness of running through the same two maps shooting the same creatures over and over will probably diminish your enthusiasm. The end point for me came in the fourth episode as I tried to reduce the number of zombies on the screen to less than ten in order to make their skeleton bosses vulnerable. After trying, unsuccessfully, for several minutes to accomplish this task, I realized I was no longer having fun. Still, if you're a first-person shooter fan with a strong stomach, you should experience Deadhunt for yourself. It remembers 3D action fans like things simple and fast; it also features the best shotgun and some of the most gleefully excessive gore since Doom II. You might not have the patience to make it to the end, but you'll definitely have some fun.