Hunter Hunted (video game)
Encyclopedia
Hunter Hunted is a side-scrolling action
computer game developed by Sierra Entertainment
and published on October 31, 1996. The player controls a humanoid creature (either a muscular human called Jake or a minotaur-like creature named Garathe Den) who fights enemies, completes objectives, and tries to find the hidden exit in each level. Of the two, Garathe possesses superior strength and stamina, while Jake can take advantage of more sophisticated weaponry.
-like inhabitants there are herded into concentration camps, then also forced to play the "Hunter Hunted" game for the entertainment of the aliens.
Scattered deep in the battle arenas are car parts which the game's two protagonists, Jake and Garathe Den, try to salvage, in order to construct a working vehicle and escape the Masters. The nature of Garathe and Jake's relationship is unclear in the game, as in some of the game's videos it appears that Garathe is hunting Jake down, and yet they appear to escape together in the hover car when all the car parts are found.
The story of Hunter-Hunted was tied in to the Metaltech: Earthsiege universe as a prequel of sorts. While Hunter-Hunted and the first two Earthsiege games make little or no reference to each other, the storyline for Starsiege
retroactively makes Hunter-Hunted a major part of the backstory. While most of the reference to story based on Hunter-Hunted is only found in the printed companion materials, several game characters reference the religious figure "Jake Hunter", who (according to followers) saved humanity from a race of aliens.
The missions can be completed in any order, the traditional ascending one just takes fewer clicks to go. Also, the first few missions are tutorials that provide some tips. Each level has a name, some of which may be considered funny (e.g. "Jake and Heavy Metal
", "Apocalypse Now
", "The Descent
" etc).
Missions fall into two major groups: "Hunter" and "Hunted". "Hunter" missions feature slaying numerous monsters with good amount of ammunition, while "Hunted" ones emphasize staying alive with limited resources while facing dangers like numerous obstacles or AI hunters.
It is notable that the game has a third dimension despite being a side-scrolling one. Most levels consist of several parallel planes that the player character
can move between. Having noticed a door or a window with another room in it, a player can make him run through it into that room with the up button. In that room, there will be a platform extending from the floor. From there, pressing the down button would make the character slip back into the room he came from.
Player characters can press against walls to avoid incoming projectiles, just like in Blackthorne
. AI
-controlled human and minotaur opponents can do the same.
Action game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
computer game developed by Sierra Entertainment
Sierra Entertainment
Sierra Entertainment Inc. was an American video-game developer and publisher founded in 1979 as On-Line Systems by Ken and Roberta Williams...
and published on October 31, 1996. The player controls a humanoid creature (either a muscular human called Jake or a minotaur-like creature named Garathe Den) who fights enemies, completes objectives, and tries to find the hidden exit in each level. Of the two, Garathe possesses superior strength and stamina, while Jake can take advantage of more sophisticated weaponry.
Story
The game is set in 2015, years after Earth is invaded by a race of technologically superior alien warriors known as the Masters. Following the rapid invasion of Earth by the alien race, the vast majority of humanity is exterminated, and the few survivors are enslaved and forced to fight in the ruins of Earth's cities for the entertainment of the Masters. A fictional planet Kullrathe is also invaded by the Masters, and its MinotaurMinotaur
In Greek mythology, the Minotaur , as the Greeks imagined him, was a creature with the head of a bull on the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, "part man and part bull"...
-like inhabitants there are herded into concentration camps, then also forced to play the "Hunter Hunted" game for the entertainment of the aliens.
Scattered deep in the battle arenas are car parts which the game's two protagonists, Jake and Garathe Den, try to salvage, in order to construct a working vehicle and escape the Masters. The nature of Garathe and Jake's relationship is unclear in the game, as in some of the game's videos it appears that Garathe is hunting Jake down, and yet they appear to escape together in the hover car when all the car parts are found.
The story of Hunter-Hunted was tied in to the Metaltech: Earthsiege universe as a prequel of sorts. While Hunter-Hunted and the first two Earthsiege games make little or no reference to each other, the storyline for Starsiege
Starsiege
Starsiege is a mecha-style vehicle simulation game developed by Dynamix and released in 1999. Starsiege is set in the Metaltech/Earthsiege universe, which contains its predecessors Earthsiege , Battledrome , and Earthsiege 2 , as well as action game Hunter Hunted , strategy games Mission Force:...
retroactively makes Hunter-Hunted a major part of the backstory. While most of the reference to story based on Hunter-Hunted is only found in the printed companion materials, several game characters reference the religious figure "Jake Hunter", who (according to followers) saved humanity from a race of aliens.
Gameplay
The game can be played by either one or two players: it has 65 single-player missions and 35 multiplayer missions (20 head-to-head missions and 15 cooperative missions). An optional add-on provides 15 new single-player missions, two new head-to-head missions, and three more cooperative missions. In total, there are 120 missions in the game.The missions can be completed in any order, the traditional ascending one just takes fewer clicks to go. Also, the first few missions are tutorials that provide some tips. Each level has a name, some of which may be considered funny (e.g. "Jake and Heavy Metal
Heavy Metal (film)
Heavy Metal is a 1981 Canadian fantasy-animated film directed by Gerald Potterton and produced by Ivan Reitman and Leonard Mogel, who also was the publisher of Heavy Metal magazine....
", "Apocalypse Now
Apocalypse Now
Apocalypse Now is a 1979 American war film set during the Vietnam War, produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The central character is US Army special operations officer Captain Benjamin L. Willard , of MACV-SOG, an assassin sent to kill the renegade and presumed insane Special Forces...
", "The Descent
Descent (video game)
Descent is a 3D first-person shooter video game developed by Parallax Software and released by Interplay Entertainment Corp. in 1995. The game features six degrees of freedom gameplay and garnered several expansion packs...
" etc).
Missions fall into two major groups: "Hunter" and "Hunted". "Hunter" missions feature slaying numerous monsters with good amount of ammunition, while "Hunted" ones emphasize staying alive with limited resources while facing dangers like numerous obstacles or AI hunters.
It is notable that the game has a third dimension despite being a side-scrolling one. Most levels consist of several parallel planes that the player character
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
can move between. Having noticed a door or a window with another room in it, a player can make him run through it into that room with the up button. In that room, there will be a platform extending from the floor. From there, pressing the down button would make the character slip back into the room he came from.
Player characters can press against walls to avoid incoming projectiles, just like in Blackthorne
Blackthorne
Blackthorne is a computer and video game, a cinematic platformer, that was developed by Blizzard Entertainment....
. AI
Ai
AI, A.I., Ai, or ai may refer to:- Computers :* Artificial intelligence, a branch of computer science* Ad impression, in online advertising* .ai, the ISO Internet 2-letter country code for Anguilla...
-controlled human and minotaur opponents can do the same.
External links
- A review at GamespotGameSpotGameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
- Gameplay demonstration on Youtube