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Headhunter for PlayStation 2
In Headhunter for PlayStation 2, you play Jack Wade, a bounty hunter who has lost his memory. Angela Stern asks you to investigate her father's murder, taking you back to a city where crime fighting and power are closely connected. You explore buildings, collect items and seek access to new rooms. Armed enemies sometimes call for accurate shooting and sometimes for approaching unseen. The adventure thus combines a criminal investigation with stealth, combat and puzzles based on the layout of the environment.
Between important locations you ride Jack's motorcycle through the city. Careful riding earns skill points, while collisions can delay your progress towards the next licence. At LEILA you take virtual tests of your mastery of weapons, movement and riding. Higher licences open the way to further equipment and missions. You are therefore not merely learning new buttons: the tests are part of Jack's return as a bounty hunter and form part of your progress through the story.
The campaign is for one player and works with an ordinary PlayStation 2 controller; there is no local co-operative play between several bounty hunters. In combat you seek shelter and use aiming to hit an opponent from a better angle. The original PS2 version saves automatically at set points on a memory card in slot 1 and also offers manual saving through the main menu. News broadcasts, conversations and short scenes gradually reveal how this apparently orderly society treats prisoners, human organs and information.
Region and language
Our PlayStation 2 games are PAL editions and come with a Dutch or English box, unless stated otherwise. By default, you receive the version for the European market. We note it in the product details if the region is different or the box is in another language. In almost all cases, the game is playable at least in English, and often in the other five common European languages too.
Manual
Headhunter for PlayStation 2 includes the manual unless the product title states otherwise. If the booklet is missing, the title says “No Manual”. This lets you see before ordering whether the game comes with a manual.
The manuals included with our games usually contain at least English and often around six European languages. The exact languages vary by edition, so Dutch is not always included. The booklet explains the controls and the main rules. You can use it to check how to control the game, which actions are available and how its different features work.
The history of Headhunter
Swedish studio Amuze developed Headhunter. Sega released the game for Dreamcast in 2001; the PlayStation 2 version followed in 2002. Sega and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe were involved in the European PS2 release, which appeared in March. It was a period in which Sega was withdrawing from console manufacturing and releasing its games on other systems as well. On PlayStation 2, Headhunter retained the core of the original adventure: Jack Wade’s investigation, motorcycle journeys and virtual licence tests.
The developers wanted to bring together different aspects of an action thriller. The story of a bounty hunter with memory loss gave a reason to relearn fighting and earn access to equipment. Against this they set a society in which a private crime-fighting organisation holds considerable power and convicts' organs are valuable commodities. Brief news segments give that world a satirical tone. In interviews, developers involved cited action films, television series and comics as inspiration for the characters and the way news supports the story.
The music also contributed to the cinematic direction. Richard Jacques wrote an orchestral score accompanying Jack's investigation and confrontations. The combination of stealth, puzzles, shooting and motorcycle riding distinguished Headhunter from games concentrating almost entirely on one of those elements. Amuze later made Headhunter: Redemption, in which Jack returns alongside Leeza X. This listing, however, is for the first Headhunter on PlayStation 2: the original introduction to Jack and Angela, not the sequel's later story.
Similar games for PlayStation 2
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty for PlayStation 2 combines stealth, weapons and a story full of conspiracies, just like Headhunter. Snake and Raiden mainly move through carefully constructed military and industrial locations, with guards and alert phases as important systems. Headhunter alternates such passages with motorcycle riding and LEILA tests. Both ask you to read an environment before acting, but the licences and urban investigation give Jack's adventure a different structure.
Headhunter: Redemption on PlayStation 2 returns to the same fictional world and has Jack Wade investigate another conspiracy. It takes place later and introduces Leeza X as an important second lead. The first Headhunter instead explains Jack's memory loss, Angela Stern and his renewed licences. The similarities lie in cinematic action and social criticism; the sequel's characters, events and structure make it a separate adventure, not an expanded version of this game.
Operation WinBack for PlayStation 2 shares Headhunter's use of cover and aimed third-person shooting. WinBack focuses more strongly on a military counter-terrorist operation with successive combat areas. Headhunter weaves its gunfights together with an investigation, item puzzles and motorcycle journeys. Comparing the confrontations behind walls and obstacles reveals clear similarities, while Jack's licence tests and exploration outside combat introduce a different pace.
Spy Fiction on PlayStation 2 also uses stealth, technical gadgets and a cinematic conspiracy. You can assume other characters' appearance and identity to enter forbidden places. Headhunter mainly builds access to areas and equipment around investigation and higher LEILA licences. Both combine observation with action when things go wrong, but disguises give Spy Fiction a different method of infiltration from Jack's motorcycle journeys, puzzles and aimed combat.
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell for PlayStation 2 shares the emphasis on careful movement, observing enemies and reaching an objective without immediately shooting. Sam Fisher uses shadows and gadgets during clearly defined espionage missions. Headhunter allows open combat more often and connects its locations with motorcycle journeys and licence tests. The difference therefore goes beyond the protagonist: light and sound guide Fisher's infiltration, while Jack's investigation brings together different kinds of action and environmental puzzles.
