The Last Bounty Hunter
Rosalyn Pomposo
The Last Bounty Hunter is a live-action laserdisc video game released by American Laser Games in 1994. Like almost all of the games produced by the now-defunct company, it is a rail shooter and, like the two installments in the Mad Dog McCree series before it, is set in the Old West. However, it takes a more comedic approach than the Mad Dog McCree games in both its story sequences and the characters' comically exaggerated reactions to being shot. Filmed at Old Tucson Studios in Tucson, Arizona, it was one of the company's last releases before it was forced to close down. It was re-released by Digital Leisure in 2002 and was eventually packaged with Fast Draw Showdown by Global VR as an arcade cabinet under the name Six Gun Select.
The player steps into the shoes of an anonymous bounty hunter who rides into a busy town in order to track down and bring to justice four outlaws whose control over the territory is widespread: Handsome Harry, Nasty Dan, El Loco, and The Cactus Kid.
The bounty hunter first fights against a group of bandits attacking a fort commanded by a United States Army general, Clinton Briggs. With each scenario, the bounty hunter fights his way to the final enemy, one of the four outlaws, each of whom can either be wounded and apprehended or shot dead. The ending sequence depends on the way in which the criminals were brought to justice.
The player receives an amount of money for each neutralized outlaw; this money translates into points. Throughout the game, three different weapons can be used: the standard six-shooter, the seemingly more powerful shotgun, and a gun that holds more bullets than the normal six-shooter, which can be found as a bonus at times by shooting oxen skulls, hanging lanterns, and wooden wheels. Showdowns take place at random, though more frequently and with greater diversity than in Mad Dog McCree; one of the gunfighters is Wes Flowers, the star of another American Laser Games release, Fast Draw Showdown.
As in related games, the 3DO and CD-i versions are compatible with both mouse and light gun as well as the console's standard control pad. Getting hit or firing upon a civilian results in the loss of one of three lives and an appropriate sequence involving a gravedigger. There is one load/save slot and a second player can be introduced at the start of the game.
The point, or "cash", bonus for completing a stage is higher if the boss is taken alive, by means of shooting the gun out of his hand before he can fire. Depending on who was captured alive, spared bosses may come back and try to either bribe or shoot the player character. Once in a while, the action will take a break to a setting which involves a duel with one enemy or a group of men standing in which only one actually takes part in the duel. The player must shoot only after the shooter goes for his gun and not shoot any of the other men.
RePlay reported The Last Bounty Hunter to be the eight most-popular deluxe arcade game at the time.[1] Play Meter also listed the title to be the thirty-fourth most-popular arcade game at the time.[2]
Reviewing the DOS version, a Next Generation critic criticized that the gameplay is boringly simplistic. He concluded, "As full-motion video shooting games go, this is the best of the bunch, but that's not saying much.", and scored it two out of five stars.[3] The magazine's review of the 3DO version focused on how the game was overly similar to previous American Laser Games releases, particularly in that it is impossible to respond in time to certain enemies without the foresight of having been shot by them before, and that the cursor moves too slowly for the game to be playable without a light gun. The reviewer scored it two out of five stars.[4]
First up we have 4-LOM, a protocol droid gone rogue, turning into a life of thievery and bounty hunting. His head looks like a giant robotic mosquito or insect thanks to the large orange compound eyes and proboscis-like mouthpieces.
Fans will no doubt be very happy with an affordable way of getting an IG-88, (instead of dropping a thousand dollars for the SSD) and it being slightly superior to his predecessor is yet another big plus.
Next is Dengar, who has had a bit more face time throughout the LEGO Star Wars universe, recently showing up in the Freemaker Adventures set, Eclipse Fighter. As far as I can tell, Dengar is almost identical to the one from the Eclipse Fighter set.
His popularity has also had a bit of a resurgence thanks to being included as a playable character in the Star Wars Battlefront game which has done a pretty good job solidifying his character as a bona fide galactic bad-ass.
Bossk is hands down my favourite minifigure in this battle pack. The moulding and details of his reptillian head are just stunning. His sallow orange eyes and toothy smile are superb, I especially like how they managed to get the white teeth inside his mouth painted.
His torso design has also received a massive upgrade from the Super Star Destroyer version, with plenty of intricate details on his suit. I also really like the printing on his legs, which has clawed feet on it!
If I could pick out one flaw in this otherwise outstanding set, it would be the choice of weaponry that the Bounty Hunters are given. The stud blasters are poor substitutes for regular Star Wars blasters. The entire squad looks so much cooler and deadly when you place proper blasters in their hands.
I do get the playable aspect of stud blasters, but I wish LEGO would stop forcing them into sets in place of proper guns. For most fans with decent Star Wars collections, this is a really minor issue as you should have enough blasters to swap in for the stud blasters and give these bounty hunters a more appropriate arsenal.
All the minifigures feel special and the designs are fantastic, but Bossk and 4-LOM gets a special mention for their hyper-accurate designs and for the overall quality of printing and moulding.
The set could really use some additional Star Wars blasters, but that is such a minor, minor complaint in the face of what is quite possibly the best* and most exciting LEGO Star Wars sets out this year.
The 4-LOM minifig is incredible, but IMO no bossk minifig deserves praise until lego stops skimping out on much needed dual moulding for him. All the new star was sets, except the two big freemaker ones, are available at the Chadstone discovery centre, by the way
I just found a store that sells Lego Batman Movie sets and the Minifigure Series really cheap! Also, thanks to your review on the Lego Batman Movie Minifigure Series, I am able to touch my way to getting Clan of the Cabe Batman, Eraser, Calculator, Dick Grayson and Mime!
An interactive shooting game that takes place in the Old West. You play a bounty hunter who goes after the territory's four most wanted outlaws: Handsome Harry, Nasty Dan, El Loco, and The Cactus Kid, along with their respective gangs. Bring them in dead or alive, but the rewards are greater if they are captured alive.
Other machines made by American Laser Games during the time periodLast Bounty Hunter, The was produced include: Crime Patrol, Drug Wars, Crime Patrol 2 - Drug Wars, Gallagher, Mad Dog II - The Lost Gold, FastDraw Showdown, Shootout At Old Tucson, Way Of The Warrior, Orbatak, and Mazer
The object of the game is to capture or kill four bad guys. If you capture the enemies they escape and at the end of the game there is a showdown. During the game there are various quick-draw situations.
The player has to make quick decisions on who and what to shoot: innocent people or bad guys. If an error in judgement has been made, the player is chastized and penalized with the loss of a life. The gameplay is similar to Mad Dog McCree.
You can also shoot any certain type of object that appears in certain scenes throughout the game to receive extra bounty. These objects are moonshine jugs, wagon wheels, lanterns and cowskulls. The items will also sometimes give you a shotgun with five shots in it.
At the beginning of the game, you must help the Union Army fight against a small group of brigands. After this, General Clinton Briggs will assign you to hunt for the territory's four most wanted outlaws: Handsome Harry, Nasty Dan, El Loco and The Cactus Kid, as well as the outlaws' respective gangs. To choose the outlaw you want to go after, you must shoot the picture of that specific outlaw. After you have chosen which outlaw you want to hunt, you will get to chose to either go directly after the outlaw, go to a target practice session or go to a quick-draw gunfight. To select, shoot the specific symbol on the sign post.
In the quick-draw gunfight, you must draw your gun and shoot a bad guy as soon as he draws his gun and before he shoots you. Whenever you go after one of the outlaws, there will sometimes be certain scenes where you will have to decide whether to shoot bandits before or after. For instance, when you go after Handsome Harry, you will be in a casino where a scoundrel will try to shoot and kill a dealer. Here, you can shoot the killer before or after he kills the dealer, but it would be a better decision to shoot him before he kills the dealer. Also, when you go after The Cactus Kid, there will be a scene in a saloon where a gunman will try to shoot and kill a gentleman who tells him to leave the barmaid alone. Here, you must shoot the gunman before he kills the good fellow. If you don't, you will shortly afterwards be killed by three outlaws who will all shoot you at the same time. But if you succeed, however, the barmaid will give you a shotgun to kill those three gunslingers as well as the other remaining outlaws in the saloon.
As you hunt for any of the four most wanted outlaws, throughout each stage you must shoot and kill any armed bandits that try to shoot you while trying not to hit any innocent bystanders. Whenever you finally meet with the outlaw you are after, he will have a certain object, visible weapon or concealed weapon that you will try to shoot out of his hand. For instance, Handsome Harry will have a rifle concealed in his cane and Nasty Dan will have a cigar in his hand which he will dare you to shoot before he shoots you. El Loco and The Cactus Kid will just have revolvers when you confront them. Everytime you shoot a weapon or object from the outlaw's hand, a local lawman or federal trooper will take that outlaw into custody and you will have him captured.
c80f0f1006