The Hunter for Windows

1/14

The Hunter is the story of two young lovers, Michael and Gabriel. Their unlikely friendship quickly develops into a more intense relationship. A man secretly records a couple on a neighboring roof-top while they share a romantic game of capturing imaginary dialogue. His girlfriend at first objects but later engages in a game of placing imaginary conversations on the same tape. Slowly, they become an inseparable pair.

Like many "choose your own adventure" games, The Hunter follows a linear path with predetermined events, though it differs from the more common formula by having the player choose which path to follow, not by which actions result in certain outcomes. The main characters, Michael and Gabriel, follow a series of quests throughout the game that are instigated either by the environment or by Michael and Gabriel themselves, following in the footsteps of their friend, Jacob. The two seem to simply be following their destiny and like in many video games, there is no obvious path to take. There are, however, several optional side quests as well as several hidden items in the game, leading the player to return to previously hidden areas and collect new objects as they go. The two time periods in which the game is set, although familiar, are slightly varied, often providing a change of scenery, giving the player an opportunity to experience new things while expanding the gameplay.

The graphics and sound are fairly simplistic, but the scenes are picture perfect. The game thankfully avoids the dated cartoonish style of early PC games (such as Legend of Zelda) with its more modern style of cartoonish visuals and realistic sound effects. In fact, The Hunter is one of the few games to utilize motion capture technology, bringing to life the characters of the game in 3D, with believable facial expressions. Though the music score is standard fare, there is actually quite a bit more variety than is usual in the gaming music. The Hunter seems to be a game that will appeal to fans of the classic Mystery Case Files series, with fans of modern day mystery and suspense adoring the game. The Hunter might not be as popular as its predecessor, but it surely is still one of the best games for Nintendo Wii.