Star Wars: Bounty Hunter - Review

I still remember when Star Wars Bounty Hunter first released. Not only was it a game that helped set up a character that got very little screen time in Episode II, it also was one of the first games that ILM directly worked upon. And when it did release, I remember playing it and enjoying it immensely, so much so that I own the game on the GameCube and the PlayStation 4 version that released a few years ago. And now I have it again, but the question is, was this a bounty worth tracking down again?

While now considered to be an expanded universe story, originally, Star Wars Bounty Hunter was a prequel to Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. In the game you took on the role of Jango Fett, who before he was the template for the clone army of the Republic, was a bounty hunter who worked with his companion Roz in order to facilitate a life of tracking down would be nerf herders and other villains. Upon being approached by Sith Lord Darth Tyrannus, also known as Count Dooku, he was tasked with the simple job. Well, simple in the context of it being one objective, eliminate the Dark Jedi known as Komari Vosa. However, with this simple request came a whole lot of Galaxy hopping for Fett. While this starts out as another job for Fett, once he realised that Vosa’s group known as the Bando Gora, were starting to poison what was otherwise a standard recreational drug, he digs in a little more. Along the way Fett meets Zam Wessel, another bounty hunter that made her debut in Episode II, but then also met her untimely death in that same movie. It also explains how he picked up his iconic Slave 1 gunship, the ship that we saw Boba Fett using in Empire Strikes Back.

It is a real shame that the game is now no longer considered to be cannon because it does tell a fairly great story, it is a continuation of the Jango Fett comic series, which is still included in this release as an unlockable, but even without that context it's still a great story. While Disney had gone out of their way to undo a lot of the work that countless artists have created over the years in comics, books and games, it's always fun to see something like this make a comeback. While the story may no longer be considered cannon, it's still a fun tale to enjoy and I do like the fact that they did not make any changes. The story that you saw when the game first released in 2002, is the exact same story that you're getting today.

Gameplay wise this is where things have completely changed, ok, maybe not completely changed but there is a definite improvement across the board to how the game plays. As I said earlier I own the game in many formats already, and as part of reviewing this version I wanted to see just how much had changed or improved from the original release. Having played through the first 3 chapters of the story in this enhanced release, I booted up the PS2 version as I have it on my PlayStation 5 and quickly discovered just how bad that game plays now. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed the original release greatly, but the improvements that Aspyr have made to this version, make the original release unplayable. In the original release Jango was controlled via the left stick and the camera was tied to that, so the moment you went left the camera went with you and at times made the game very nausea inducing. Here the camera is independent, it will still trail after Jango, but you also have full control over it. This meant you could actually now put the camera in a place in order to get a sneak peek around a corner rather than running in blind, it also meant that the gunplay was very much improved.

One of the best things about is Jango, is that he has these twin blasters, this means that while you can target a single enemy ahead of you, he will also automatically aim for two different enemies if they're within range.  In the original release, if you wanted to target any enemy, you had to hold down a button to keep the lock-on trained on them, that is no longer the case. The game will also automatically adjust to pull your targeting to the next nearest enemy, until all have fallen before you. This way of targeting does make encounters with a lot of enemies much easier, more so when you encounter some bosses, but it has one major drawback. The camera reset function, which snaps it back behind Jango, is also tied to the right stick being clicked into place. If you are attempting to lock onto an enemy, but you are just out of range, the action triggers the camera’s position reset, which in turn sends the camera of on a wacky ride, which is a little disconcerting. The problem is exacerbated more if you are still moving, as the camera will attempt to get behind Jango and if behind is always in motion, so is the camera.

Something that may turn players away is the games often chaotic difficulty level, there are times when the game will seem like a cake walk, but then it will kick your butt. The game still uses checkpoints, which is nice and you do get a number of lives, but if you die or I should say when you die, you will just restart at the last one you passed. The game has a weird thing though where your work until you died remains, so if you are 2 of 3 objectives done and you die, those 2 others will remain. Same with all the enemies that you have taken out, which does result in the levels feeling a little empty, but it is not the worst thing the game could do to you. The only thing is that there is nothing for players who may struggle, if you are not familiar with a 3rd person shooter, the game has no difficulty options, meaning you just have to make do with what is on offer.

As for the games presentation, things look fine, nothing special is happening here. As Aspyr have done in the past, they have made the game look as good as they can, without changing anything and the end result is it looks fine. The levels are still the same basic drab colours that they were in the original releases and the in-game cutscenes can look especially janky at times, thanks to the models looking a little old. The cinematics that ILM produced look ok, but they are also very dated, the actual animation still holds up, but the level of detail across the models and ships is just not where you would expect to be today. This is not a negative, they have just brought across what was already made, you have to remember that these were made 4 years before The Clone Wars tv series released, so it was very much a first for the group to make. The game won’t win any awards for its visuals, but when the action kicks in, the game doesn’t struggle, so I count it all as a win. There were a few issues I noticed, the first is that shadows of characters, both Jango’s and others, would often show through walls. Which was great for me tracking where an enemy might be hiding, but sadly also meant that it would break immersion. There were also times when playing in Ultrawide Screen, which the game does support, that the black bars on the in-game cinematics were thicker and it covered up much of the story beats.

The game sound is as mystifying to me today as it was 22 years ago, if only because the game uses a lot of music from Attack of the Clones. Hearing the music that played in the Geonosis arena or when Obi-Wan and Anakin are running through the streets of Coroscant, is nice but sometimes it repeats a little too much for it to make sense. The main Jango Fett theme from the movie also plays a lot here and is usually used when you get into fights, which makes sense somewhat, except in the movie that music ends with Jango loosing his head. The voice acting still holds up, with both Temuera Morrison and Leeanna Walsman reprising their roles as Fett and Wesell respectively. All of the sound effects for the weapons, ships and the classic Wilhelm Scream, sound great, but a lot of the audio work was done by Skywalker Sound, who are the same folks that made the sounds for the movies, so you expect it to sound good.

If you are like me and have fond memories of playing Star Wars Bounty Hunter when it first released, then you are likely going to enjoy this version of the game. The enhancements to the camera alone make it worthwhile, just as long as you can get used to the weird snapping back into place you can trigger at the wrong time. The game runs fine, though I don’t know which version of the game this is based off of, the improved textures look fine, but there is only so much the team could do, without it becoming something else. For those coming in for the first time, there is a fun game here, tracking down all the bounties is a challenge all of its own and while there are some things that could be better, you will enjoy it. While not a cannon story anymore, Jango’s tale is still worth experiencing, you also can now unlock a Boba Fett skin once you complete the game, delivering on a 22 year old promise.

The Score

8.5

Review code provided by Aspyr

The Pros

Still a fun story that has a great cast of characters bringing it to life

The improvements to the games controls and camera, make it playable without you fighting against the game...

The Cons

... having the lock on and recenter camera being the same button can cause the camera to spin around at times

Some of the visuals haven't aged that well, which is a bit of a shame