What can I say, I personally have such a strong love for Headhunter that its memory will stay in my heart forever.
The story was extremely well written, well planned and executed. I absolutely love dystopian films and video games (I wouldn't want to live it though) and Headhunter takes us on a journey in this environment.
You play as Jack Wade, a former bounty hunter who has woken up from a coma in a hospital room with amnesia. He gets a visit from his old boss Chief Hawke explaining to him that Jack has now been fired from his position at the ACN. He also gets a visit from the daughter of the CEO of the ACN, Angela Stern telling Jack that her father has been murdered, and that she wants to hire him to help find her fathers killer. Playing both as Jack and Angela, we get to zoom around fictional LA on Jacks motor cycle, completing missions set in biker hangouts, shopping malls, biotech labs and more. With the help of Chief Wade, Jack gets his Headhunter license again. He does so by having access to the L. E. I. L. A office, an integrative law enforcement virtual reality testing facility that will help Jack upgrade his license and proceed with his agenda. It also helps Jack with access to weapon upgrades, storage, gives us our mission objectives as well as information on criminals, weapons, case reports etc. Before each mission, you have to upgrade said license by taking the virtual reality tests. There are four tests in total that you have to pass before each of the four missions, and there are 16 in total. But before you can access the L. E. I. L. A offices, you have to reach a certain amount of skill points by riding your bike around town perfectly at high speeds without crashing.
The gorgeous graphics for Headhunter were unreal for 2001, as well as today imo. The game is visually appealing and the city of fictional Los Angeles were designed so beautifully that I absolutely love the world that Amuze Games created. The character design was done as well as it could have at the time, and I could only imagine what they could create today with our technological advancements. I would love a remastered edition.
The voice actors did an amazing job, all of the actors voices suited their characters. I cannot choose who my favorite was, they were all perfect. I loved how they included FMV's of real life actors to play news reporters Bill Waverley and Kate Gloss in which they give us the current news as the game proceeds.
And last but not least, that incredible soundtrack. Composed by Richard Jacques and performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Abbey Road Studios, the unforgettable music really gets you hyped up and excited to play.
Headhunter is such a wonderful game, but just a little too short in gameplay, I would say it is playable for 10 hours max. I would have loved at least an extra 5-10 hours of gameplay. Other than that, it is truly a masterpiece for me. I want to thank the developers at AMUZE for making such an exciting and outstanding game for me to play! Well done.
