There have been many ‘Star Wars‘ games over the years Star Wars Bounty Hunter being one of the . Some good, some bad and then the few which are truly legendary games. It’s a shame given that ‘EA’ had the ‘Star Wars’ license for 10 years and in that time we saw only a total of 4 console games and 1 mobile game. You’d think that having a license as big as ‘Star Wars’ a big-name studio like ‘EA’ would jump at the opportunity to make as many games based on the property as possible, but alas it just wasn’t meant to be.
For one It started off very rocky with two ‘Battlefront’ games which varied in quality (not to mention the loot crate controversy). It then started to pick up with ‘Respawn’s’ ‘Jedi: Fallen Order’ and then followed up with ‘Jedi: Survivor’. Oh and let’s not forget the mediocre ‘Star Wars: Squadrons’.
But for a ‘Star Wars’ fan it just didn’t feel like enough. Luckily the exclusivity has now ended and we have ‘Ubisoft’s’ ‘Star Wars: Outlaws’ on the horizon to look forward to. Yet it still doesn’t feel like enough.
Back in the day during the ‘golden age’ of gaming we were treated to loads of ‘Star Wars’ games. There was so much to pick from and so many great games.
Now even though the quality of Lucasfilms ‘Star Wars’ projects has gone down the pan recently with ‘Star Wars: Acolyte’, at least their gaming division (Lucasfilms Games) has the right idea by bringing back many of the classic ‘Star Wars’ games that we love so dearly.
The ‘goat’ of classic ‘Star Wars’ games is often referred to as ‘Star Wars: Battlefront 2’ and quite rightly so, however, the game that trumps that in my opinion is the 3rd person action adventure ‘Star Wars Bounty Hunter‘.
The memories, the nostalgia when I just say the title is enough to make me want to play it again. And we have none other than classic ‘Star Wars’ wars games Alumni ‘Aspyr’ to thank for bringing it back.
Now I admit I was a little cautious given the rocky release of ‘Star Wars Battlefront classic collection’, but I’m happy to say I was overjoyed with the remaster of ‘Bounty Hunter’.
So, let’s take a look.
Now a quick recap of the plot of ‘Star Wars Episode 2: Attack of The Clones’. Count Dooku hires a bounty hunter called Jango Fett to assassinate Padmé Amidala. This then spurs Chancellor Palpatine and the Jedi council to appoint Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi as Padmé’s bodyguards. When they learn about Jango Fett it leads to the Jedi finding out about the Clone army, then we go to Geonosis and then the Clone Wars begins. The story of ‘Star Wars Bounty Hunter’ serves as a prequel to this plot line and sits in between ‘Episode :1 The Phantom Menace’ and ‘Episode 2: Attack of The Clones’.
When the leader of a force-sensitive cult called The Bando Gora poses a threat to Darth Sidious’s master plan, he instructs Count Dooku to take them out but also to find a suitable subject to be the template for the clone army. Dooku decides to kill two birds with one stone and hire the two best bounty hunters for the task, Mandalorians Jango Fett and Montross. So the game not only serves as the set up for how Jango was embroiled in the assassination attempts on Senator Amidala but also for how he became the source and template for the Clone Army. It’s a great story that adds more depth and meaning to ‘Attack of The Clones’.
‘Star Wars Bounty Hunter’ was originally released back in 2002 on the PlayStation 2 and the GameCube. It was one of my favourite games back in the day. It was then re-released on the PlayStation 4 which was an emulated version of the PS2 game. But now Star Wars Bounty Hunter has a new life on next-gen consoles. So what’s new? Well for one it’s a native port of the game meaning it’s not an emulation like the 2016 PS4 version which means it can run natively at 60fps with resolutions of up to 4k.
The graphics have also had an upgrade to make Star Wars Bounty Hunter feel more modern with dynamic lighting & shadows along with motion blur. It gives the game a sharper and more appealing look than the outdated original version. You can spot this the most with Jango’s armor which looks almost reflective at times. Gotta love that Beskar.
But that’s not the only thing that’s new. The controller has come a long way since the days of the PlayStation 2 and the GameCube and to reflect this the controller system of ‘Bounty Hunter’ has also been updated to a more modern layout. But if your old school and this new controller layout isn’t for you then don’t worry, ‘Bounty Hunter’ offers up a Legacy option which features the original layout. It’s certainly a different feeling for new players playing Star Wars Bounty Hunter for the first time, but if you’re old like me and played Star Wars Bounty Hunter when you were growing up then the legacy controls are a trip down memory lane.
And that brings me to the nostalgia factor. And Star Wars Bounty Hunter reels it in for me. Playing the first chapter of the game I suddenly remembered playing out one of the cutscenes with my ‘Star Wars’ figures back in the day making a home movie on my dad’s old HI 8 video camera.
I was glued to Star Wars Bounty Hunter back then and to be able to play it again with the new controls, updated visuals and additional achievements is a welcomed gift. I have high praise for ‘Aspyr’ for bringing back many of my favourite Star Wars games like ‘Republic Commando’, ‘Knights of the old republic’ 1 & 2 and also ‘Star Wars Racer’. Yes, they had a miss with the launch of ‘Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection’, but they bounced back and proved their worth with the brilliant remaster of Star Wars Bounty Hunter’.
So If you want a Star Wars game that feels like proper Star Wars and makes you feel like a kick-ass bounty hunter, then’ Star Wars Bounty Hunter‘ is the game for you!
Star Wars Bounty Hunter Launch Trailer
Star Wars Bounty Hunter is available now on Xbox Series S & X, Playstation 4 & 5, Nintendo Switch and PC.
This review was based on an Xbox Series X playthrough.
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