Review by Roc10304

"Mace in your face!!!! FPS glory!"

Mace Griffin: Bounty Hunter is a Sci-Fi FPS, as well as a space combat game. (mostly FPS though). I have been waiting for this game forever, and now that it’s here, it was definitely worth the wait!

The story is a touch generic, but it is pulled together pretty well. Basically, you are Mace Griffin, and you are part of a Ranger squad in the beginning of the game. You get framed for the murder of your squad, and get sent to prison. After your 10 year hiatus, you are released from prison, and are out for blood. While in prison you meet someone who after their release becomes a bounty hunter. The Rangers have been disbanded, and now bounty hunters are basically the last line of defense. Anyway, you get hooked up into bounty hunting because of the contacts you made while in prison, and that’s where the real story begins. Henry Rollins does the VA for Mace, and does a great job at portraying the grittiness of the character. For the most part, the VA is done pretty well.

The graphics in MG:BH are done well. The levels look beautiful, with a good amount of detail, as do the character models. The game is very, very gory., and the gore is done extremely well. Theres nothing better than using a grenade to send chunks of baddies bouncing off the walls! The cut scenes look good, they seem to be done with the in-game engine, so it keeps the same feel throughout the game. The space combat parts look great. Very detailed ships, as well as the mines/ports/prisons/ships that you have to dock in. One of the best thing in the game graphically , are the weapons and their lighting. While in a dark room, using the machine gun, the lighting that comes from the gun allows you to see the room. It is pretty amazing. The best animation in the game, and something you will see often, are the reloading animations. It almost makes you want to keep reloading.

The controls for the game are pretty easy to use, and become second nature quickly. Cycling weapons quickly is a key to your success after the first level, and the transition between weapons is great. The space combat at first was a little ho-hum, but that was the first flying mission. The following missions become more intense, and a lot more enjoyable. The interface for flying isn’t very deep, but it doesn’t really need to be. The transition between the FPS portions, and the flying portions is seamless. Basically hit Y, and you can take control, or let go, even while you’re flying! There will be times when you even get to board enemy ships, and while a scripted event, it still feels like it is something you would do at that time. The AI in the game is done well. It’s not HALO AI, but it does a great job of flushing you out when you take cover, and trying to flank you. Sometimes it feels as though the AI is too organized. Mace offers a very good challenge. The save system used is the Checkpoint system. I guess the worst thing that can be said of this is just that sometimes it feels as though the CP’s are placed a little too far apart.
My one gripe with MG:BH is this. I don’t like the fact that you really cant keep cover while shooting. There are times in the game where you sorta have to sneak, but you aren’t given any stealth moves aside from crouching, and walking slowly. I guess overall it’s a small gripe, because I really do love this game!

Mace Griffin:Bounty Hunter has given me what has been missing for quite a while. A great single player FPS with a solid story. There is a good deal of game here, so you wont be putting it away for quite some time. Even though the game does NOT include multiplayer of any kind, it’s a great game. If you had to choose to buy or rent, I would say snag it off the store shelf, and you wont think twice about your purchase. A ton of fun awaits you.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10 | Originally Posted: 06/24/03, Updated 06/24/03


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