Hunter is a 3D action-adventure game

Action-adventure game

An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...

 in which the player navigates around a series of islands. Hunter was developed by Paul Holmes and Martin Walker (music), and it was released by Activision

Activision

Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...

 for the Amiga

Amiga

The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...

 and Atari ST

Atari ST

The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...

 home computers in 1991. The combination of the game's 3D graphics and sandbox-type gameplay has been subsequently compared to the Grand Theft Auto series

Grand Theft Auto (series)

Grand Theft Auto is a multi-award-winning British video game series created in the United Kingdom by Dave Jones, then later by brothers Dan Houser and Sam Houser, and game designer Zachary Clarke. It is primarily developed by Edinburgh based Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games...

 and similar sandbox games, such as Far Cry 2

Far Cry 2

Far Cry 2 is an open world first-person shooter developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It was released on October 21, 2008 in North America and on October 23, 2008 in Europe and Australia. It was made available on Steam on October 22, 2008...

.

Gameplay

The player controls a soldier in a large three-dimensional world where he can move freely by walking, swimming or using various vehicles such as cars, vans, tanks, ships, bicycles, helicopters, hovercrafts or even rowboats and surfboards. Each vehicle type has its unique properties. The game world also features a large variety of buildings, most of which can be entered and explored. Other in-game characters include enemy soldiers, civilians and animals such as seagulls, sharks and cows. The player also has a wide range of weapons ranging from a regular pistol to SAM-missiles, grenades, land mines and timed explosives. Surrounding terrain can be surveyed with aerial observation units and radar. Food and money can be used to bribe and gather information from other characters. Target coordinates can be recorded into a log book, and the player can see his position in the game world on an overlaying map.

Hunter features a rather sophisticated AI for its time. In addition to shooting, enemy soldiers can also drive vehicles and track the player down. Guard towers, tracer guns, cannons and SAM launchers have the ability to shoot towards the player, and homing missiles launched by the enemy accurately follow the player's vehicles. Birds can also flock around the player, which can cause them to get killed by a vehicle.

The game is controlled mostly via joystick and mouse. The joystick controls the directional movement of the character, and the mouse is used in the selection of weapons and items. Keyboard can be used to give input and zoom the view towards or away from the character.

Graphics and sound

The game world consists of a 3D polygon terrain with islands, hills and lakes. In addition to various buildings and vehicles, also some trees, plants and rocks are modeled in 3D. Use of colors is limited, and shades of green, orange and blue are emphasized. The game features a 24-hour clock, and the brightness of the environment depends on the time of day. Flares can be used to illuminate the surroundings during night.

The only music in the game is the main theme composed by Martin Walker, and it can be heard during the title screen. Sound effects include engines, gunfire, explosions, waves and squawks of seagulls. Although visually the Amiga and Atari ST versions are almost indistinguishable from one another, the sound effects are slightly different on the two platforms.

Game modes

There are three different game modes to choose from. Each mode has different objectives and a map of its own.

• The first mode, Hunter, is an action-adventure game in which communication with other characters is important. The player's mission is to track down and assassinate an enemy general and return to headquarters with his head before time runs out. The mission can be accomplished by collecting clues from civilians, bribing enemies and using various vehicles and weapons.
• In Missions mode, the player has to complete a short mission and then return to headquarters in order to receive another assignment. The objectives become subsequently harder and the time shorter to complete each mission. The last mission is to destroy the enemy headquarters.
• The last mode, Action, is one large mission in which the player has to destroy a preset number of targets in any order he wishes. The player is given a long list of enemy targets, and it is up to him to use the map and log book to locate each target and destroy them before time runs out.

Reception

Review scores
Amiga Action	89%
Amiga Computing Amiga Computing Amiga Computing was a monthly computer magazine of a serious nature, published by Europress and IDG in both the UK and USA. A total of 117 issues came out. The games section was called Gamer, although later Amiga Action was incorporated into the magazine and became the games section.- External...	90%
Amiga Format Amiga Format Amiga Format was a British computer magazine for Amiga computers, published by Future Publishing. The magazine lasted 136 issues from 1989 to 2000. The magazine was formed when, in the wake of selling ACE to EMAP, Future split the dual-format title ST/Amiga Format into two separate publications...	86%
Amiga Joker (Germany)	89%
Amiga Power Amiga Power Amiga Power was a monthly magazine about Amiga computer games. It was published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing, and ran for 65 issues, from May 1991 to September 1996....	85%
CU Amiga Commodore User Commodore User, known to the readers as the abbreviated CU, was one of the oldest British Commodore magazines. A publishing history spanning over 15 years, mixing content with technical and games features...	89%
Datormagazin (Sweden)	95%
Génération 4 (France)	93%
The One The One (magazine) The One was a video game magazine in the United Kingdom which covered 16-bit home gaming during the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was first published by EMAP in October 1988 and initially covered computer games aimed at the Atari ST, Commodore Amiga, and IBM PC markets.Like many similar magazines,...	92%
Zero	89%

Hunter received very positive reviews (ranging from 85 to 95 points out of 100) in various game magazines. Although occasional graphical glitches and simplistic animation were noted, most of the reviewers considered Hunter one of the first serious takes on 3D gaming. The game was characterized as an innovative addition to 3D vector games and a bold step forward.

What gathered most attention, however, was the scope of the game and the freedom of movement inside the game world:

[R]egardless of which mission you are on there are no restrictions, apart from time, over how you do it. You can use whatever transport or equipment you like. This sense of freedom allows exploration and experimentation over transport and equipment mixes.

Although the missions have time-limits there are no constraints as to how you must complete them, and this flexibility is severely lacking in past attempts at accessible 3D games.

I loved the idea of controlling your character with freedom to travel around the various locations, using the various means of transport and going into buildings without so much as a "by your leave".

Although most reviewers were enthusiastic about the game world and its absorbing nature, some argued that the game world was small and could be explored in a few hours. Another aspect considered negative in the reviews was the lack of music and the quality of sound effects. Despite these minor downsides, Hunter was heralded as a believable 3D action-adventure by many reviewers. Jonathan Davies, for example, summed up his review in the Amiga Power

Amiga Power

Amiga Power was a monthly magazine about Amiga computer games. It was published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing, and ran for 65 issues, from May 1991 to September 1996....

magazine like this:

Hunter is a real all-rounder. There's something for everyone in there, all wrapped up in a believable 3D world you can get lost in for hours.