Hunted: The Demon's Forge Reviews

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Written by WorstUsernameEver on June 16th, 2011

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Hunted luckily doesn't take itself too seriously. After opening the umpteenth door together, E'lara mused (how do people that come here alone get anywhere?) And what it lacks in gameplay, graphics, and story it makes up entirely in cleavage. No seriously, there are a lot of boobs. Hunted shamelessly dangles a sexy elf in front of us, and it's not all bad. Some of the tumbles E'lara does over cover do look sort of elegant. In one part I was doing multiple back handstands away from a rampaging witch and Caddoc came running in from the peripheries to slam her with his sword, saving my scantily-clad ass. It looked freaking awesome. Further, while you may grow tired of the same enemies and the same hacking and slashing, the environments are about as varied as it gets. You'll never feel like you've seen the same place before.

Hunted is not pretty, it's not a game-changer and it isn't going to inspire any fan fiction. It tries to do way too much at once, and doesn't do much of it well. This being said, I will admit I had a really good time playing. Is Hunted a good game? No. But it sure is fun.

If you get tired of trekking through the campaign mode, there's also a map editor in the form of The Crucible, which provides the opportunity to chain a number of combat rooms together, dictate various enemy types, modifiers/penalties, and a number of other tweaks. The options are unlocked by collecting gold throughout the campaign or Crucible mode, and getting enough can be a bit of a grind, but it's a neat distraction. However, your character progress doesn't carry over from the campaign, meaning your time in Crucible mode will depend entirely on how much you enjoy the combat, and defeating waves of enemies with no real purpose. It's not a bad inclusion, it's just not a particularly exciting one either.

That's Hunted: The Demon's Forge in a nutshell really. It's fun, particularly the middle of the game, and it's enjoyable enough to play through. It's nothing too special to look at and not especially fluid to navigate, powered by the now-creaky Unreal 3 engine. The cover shooter mechanics are fairly cursory, as is the looting, the progression, the plot... It's a decent enough game to play through, but certainly one you'll forget in a hurry. It's the kind of game perfect for a lull in gaming when there's nothing else left, and you fancy something disposable but enjoyable.

When you start playing, it's easy to think "This is my new favorite game." Then, when you've opened your 70th door and battled your thousandth sword-wielding skeleton, it's easy to think "Again?" There's just not enough variation to keep interest in this game over 36 stages, despite a really great core concept, solid controls, a story you might actually want to follow and impressive voice acting. The many glitches and the fact that I couldn't get an online game going in a title built for co-op play didn't help either. Flaws aside, there's enough to enjoy to say it's absolutely worth a rental or worth picking up if the price comes down.

There are also some definite negatives, mind you. The plot is cookie-cutter basic and our protagonists are so forehead-slapping stupid, particularly with regards to working out when people might be fibbing, that the box should come with a warning that you might inadvertently crack your own skull. The game falls apart a little at the end, too, with the last pair of acts featuring a load of invisible walls boxing you in.

But these aren't big problems, and I actually feel bad for damning Hunted with faint praise. It's categorically not a bad game, and there are some wonderful ideas on display. Did I mention that the leads are well voice-acted and have a genuine and enjoyable camaraderie? Did I mention that there's a fairly comprehensive level editor, with new options unlocking as you collect gold in the main game? These are very good things, and both are distressingly rare in games.

If you're after a stop-gap before Gears of War 3 comes out, this might well fit the bill. Take your time, root around for secrets, play sporadically, and chances are good that you'll warm to the game. It's just a shame that the wonderful ideas aren't pushed nearly hard enough and that the game, as a result, feels overwhelmingly generic.

Hunted: The Demon's Forge could have been something special if it had gone for more creative and risky co-op elements, but instead it plays it safe, which leads to something that feels only vaguely cooperative. Its glimpses of ambition, like its utterly massive secret areas, only make the humdrum majority of the game more apparent. It's certainly not a bad game, and if you're really hankering for some co-op fantasy action you and a buddy will have a decent time with it. Just don't expect a co-op revolution.

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