Back when the Sega Dreamcast was seeing the end of its last days of its existence, a game called Headhunter was nearing completion.  Yet when Sega finally dropped out of the so-called Console Wars, this third-person shooter with a lot of practice never really died with the Dreamcast.  It wasn’t until the PlayStation 2 that Headhunter was finally released and despite its little flaws, that game turned out quite fun--fun enough, of course, to warrant a sequel.  In Headhunter: Redemption, we’re back to bounty hunting the Jack Wade way but now he’s got a partner. 

The last time we saw Headhunter Jack Wade, he was knee-deep in a conspiracy that involved corporation heads among other shady characters close to him.  Now, much older and emotionally scarred by the death of his son (a son he had with the original game’s secondary character, Angela Stern), Jack takes in a young apprentice named Leeza X who, as a child, witnesses Jack take out her criminal father.  Together the mismatched pair go up against a new terrorist faction known as the Opposition that consists of migrants and criminals cast down Below (in this future world, misfits and criminals are sent into subterranean colonies).  Both Jack Wade and Leeza X confront their pasts as they fight to bring order from chaos.  It sounds rather clichéd, doesn’t it?  Well it is but the story is told rather well.

Much of Redemption will feel like the original and that might seem both good and bad depending on how forgiving the gamer was of Headhunter’s clunky controls . . . but we will get to the controls in a little bit.  Redemption quickly places you in the role of Leeza X, a bitter young woman with plenty of attitude and a desire to get into the action.  She can roll and press herself against the wall to shoot at enemies Solid Snake style.  So far, none of this is new to gamers but part of the charm of the original Headhunter was that the world around the characters you controlled is huge and the missions are quite interesting.  This sequel offers these things as well.

Leeza starts by learning the ropes via contact with Jack but she thrusts herself in dangerous situations pretty quickly.  Her methods of investigation are much like Jack’s in that she shoots first and ask questions much later.  Luckily she carries useful Headhunter gear such as her trusty IRIS Scanner (used to scan items of importance), a Code Breaker (used to break security codes) and the usual assortment of Headhunter weapons (pistols, shotguns and automatic machine guns).

Combat-wise, both Leeza X and Jack Wade are proficient in weapons and hand-to-hand combat.  What sets these two apart besides appearance and attitude (Jack Wade is noticeably affected by the death of his son while Leeza insists on being a complete brat all the time) is that Leeza is graceful while Jack is more brutish in his hand-to-hand combat skills.  The enemies you face, known as MIGS, are well armed and, for the most part, are intelligent enough to find cover when you start shooting, attack in groups or even attempt to pin you down.  However, many times the enemy might make questionable tactical decisions such as attempt to sneak up to your position by doing so out in the open where you can shoot them easily.  There are even boss fights but defeating them is a question of just memorizing their movement and attack patterns.

You’ll also encounter a small number of puzzles to solve but all of them seem straight out of early Resident Evil games.  These are door-opening puzzles that really seem out of place nowadays.  These aren’t incredibly hard puzzles (they’re mainly the shift-things-around-until-they-make-a-match variety) but they do tend to show how aged this game feels.  Yet my biggest gripe is aimed at the game’s controls, which still suffer from the same failings as the original.  Leeza and Jack don’t lock on to their targets instantaneously, thus making for some very frustrating shooting and missing.  Add the fact that the camera isn’t often your very best friend (you’ll often have to swing to camera around to see what’s in front of you) and you’ll see that all is not perfect with this game.  Still what will truly turn off fans of Headhunter is Leeza X--she’s annoying and very unlikable.

Visually, Redemption’s graphics are slightly better than the original Headhunter and that’s saying a lot considering the fact that the original looked mighty good.  The character models look great in action and in cut scenes and while there isn’t much of a variety in the appearance of each enemy, watching them drop dead rag doll-style never gets old.  The environments are also nicely detailed but there’s a soft hue to lighted areas that make everything look rather hazy. As for the visual effects, they’re not bad but could have been a lot better . . . especially when it comes to explosions.  Yet aside from the obvious clipping issues, this is one great-looking PS2 game.

The game’s sound, on the other hand doesn’t fair as well mainly because the dialogue is campy and the voice acting is delivered with little or no emotion at all.  Jack Wade still sounds like a bad imitation of Clint Eastwood and the actress the voices Angela Stern sounds as though she was having trouble reading the script.  All of this, though, can be forgiven since the score is pretty good and the sound effects even better.  Guns have a resounding sharpness and they even echo in hallways.  And it is great hearing those wacky futuristic commercials (they are played via PA systems found throughout the various locations).

Headhunter: Redemption is the type of game that will hook you in despite its far too numerous faults.  It is hard not to like a game that brings its own sense of style to its classic third-person shooter appeal.  While the game still struggles with things such as camera problems, awkward aiming, long load times and a somewhat annoying secondary character, Redemption is still a game fans of the original will want to play.  This one is a recommended rental. 

Gameplay: 7.0
The controls are still very much as awkward as the first game and thus making gunfights seem slightly frustrating.  Yet the game’s interesting missions will keep you more than entertained and, with much practice, gamers will get use to the clumsy controls.

Graphics: 7.5
Redemption is also a nice-looking game on the PS2 much like the first game.  There is a kind of haziness to the game’s visuals that gives light a soft glow.  The character models look good in action as well as in cut scenes but there are a few clipping problems here and there.  Not bad at all, actually.

Sound: 7.0
Much like the original Headhunter, Redemption features a pretty good B-action movie styled soundtrack that works well.  The funny advertisements are back, this time in audio form.  The sound effects are loud and the sharp pops of your machine gun firing are particularly spectacular.  As for the voice acting, the dialogue is campy and delivered poorly.

Difficulty: Medium
While not an incredibly intelligent bunch, the enemies you’ll face do at least have the sense to take some cover and they’re not bad shots either.  There are times when they do ambush and kill you, but there are more times when they run into your line of fire and kill themselves that way.  The boss fights aren’t bad at all, but the Resident Evil-type puzzles really feel quite out-of-date. 

Concept: 7.0
There is little reason to play this game again once you finish and the unlockable features (mostly concept art, cut scenes from the game and the fun commercials heard throughout the game) really don’t inspire gamers to collect them all.  I rather enjoy the idea of Jack Wade taking in an apprentice but does Leeza always have to be such a royal pain throughout the game?

Overall: 7.2
While the game has its share of obvious problems, Redemption is, oddly enough, an enjoyable action game.  It might not satisfy quite like the third-person shooter action games of late but the game offers lengthy missions that just get better the further you go.  It’s a shame that many of the original game’s flaws return in full force in this sequel, but if you can get past them (or get use to the controls) this game will not fail to entertain.