HUNTDOWN

Not a revolutionary game, but an extremely well made one with a near flawless execution. The mechanics are simple: Attack with your weapon, attack with your alternative weapon, crouch, jump, dash, take cover, drop from your platform, switch weapon... I think that sums up all the actions you can do in this game. The richness comes from the well (very detailed really) made levels, with the varied kinds of foes you encounter, the environmental hazards and covers as well as the occasional scripted events that shake things up a little. Beyond your base gun and secondary weapon, there is also a variety of temporary weapons that you pickup through each level that feel suitably different and satisfying to use. Just don't expect to use each one for long: each one come with limited ammo/durability and there is a ton of them on each level so you'll be switching them around all the time. In terms of gameplay, the game feels like a cross between arcade action and tactical shooter. A lot of the time, you'll be able to out-shoot and out-reflex your opponents, but there are also several parts in most levels were you won't be able to brute force through and you'll have to proceed more carefully. Each level has a boss that is epic, over the top and will require you to just figure out their repetitive patterns to beat them. If you're experienced with those types of games, there are a few that you'll figure out on the go on your first try, but unless you're a real prodigy, you'll only beat most boss after a couple of retries, although I must say, they tend to be easy to figure out (I'd say not trivial, but slightly below average in terms of difficulty as far as games with bosses go). The game is not grindy at all. There are plenty of checkpoints on each level to respawn from and if you die at the boss, you'll restart at the boss battle with whatever weapon you had when the battle started. There are no lives limits. So, very well executed game. I recommend it.

captures the essence of what made arcade games great. fast pick up and play action. refined animations, beautiful background and it got a fantastic synth soundtrack to boot. if you cared enough to look for a review of this in a store, you won't regret your purchase.

I was born in 1981 so I remember a fair bit of that particular decade. And that is why I can say, with full confidence, that I haven't received such a highly concentrated dose of the 80s in thirty or so years. Huntdown takes all the tropes, cliches and style of all action movies from the 80s (and some stuff from the 70s as well) and triple distills it into a gorgeous looking and awesome sounding 2D side scrolling action game, fairly reminiscent of games like Contra and Mega Man. The gameplay is somewhat lacking however. What is here is solid, but fairly simplistic. You mostly run to left, and kill whatever happens to come into your line of sight. You can choose from three bounty hunters that only differ in minor ways and pick up a multitude of weapons as you slaughter your way through the gangs that stand in your way. However you can't shoot in any direction other horizontally, no up, down or diagonal aiming. This limits the game a fair bit as you are stuck on essentially one level. Sure you can jump up and down from a lot of platforms but once you are on a platform you can't really effect anything on anything on a higher or lower level except for jumping and shooting. I also feel the bounty hunter aspect could have been explored a lot further with a shop and/or upgrade system. As it stands, the game is extremely linear and your characters doesn't gain any abilities or weapons from the bounties you collect. There are some extra objectives in all levels but the only thing collecting them all amounts to is really not worth the effort. It's not the longest game either though that's really to be expected from this type of game. My first playthough on normal difficulty took about 8 hours and almost 2 hours more to finish all bonus objectives. TL:DR? Best 80s nostalgia game that money can buy, but the it is a bit more style than content.

In the vein of Metal Slug or Contra Hard Corps, Coffee Stain and Easy Trigger have brought us Huntdown. Much like Metal Slug, Huntdown brings a bit of humor in its dialogue and action movie cliches. Like both Metal Slug and Contra HC, Huntdown features swift and brutal action with a hard edged visual aesthetic. Like Metal Slug and Contra HC, Huntdown features local co-op BUT with the three selectable characters having different special attacks. And like Metal Slug and Contra HC, Huntdown features various weapon pickups and enemy types that require different tactics for plowing through the stages. Toss in the Arcade Mode and Huntdown fills out the check list while having its own identity, where it'd sit right alongside its obvious influences. My only gripe is no online multiplayer.

I absolutely love Huntdown, the graphics, the soundtrack, sound effects and of course gameplay are excellent. It has reminisence of 70-80 films like The Warriors, Escape Of New York, Akira, Blade Runner. ( there's secret rooms representing all this films ) If you were teenager in the 80-90s you going to enjoy the game like you did in the 80-90s.