Review: "Star Wars: Bounty Hunter" Enhanced Edition

Recently, we got an unexpected treat when it was announced that a newly enhanced version of “Star Wars: Bounty Hunter” would be released. Initially, there didn’t seem to be much difference between this version and the previous ones- just some updated graphics and a few new features (the most notable perhaps being the “Modern Controls”). However, there was something that surprised me, caught my attention, and got me pumped — the inclusion of a playable Boba Fett, unlocked once you completed the game’s missions (bounties not mandatory). So, did this and the other features make this new release worth buying? Let’s discuss.

For those who might not be familiar with the game, I’ll give a basic rundown. “Star Wars: Bounty Hunter” tells the story of how Jango Fett was chosen to be the template for the Clone Army. In order to find such a worthy warrior, Count Dooku places a large bounty on Komari Vosa, a Dark Jedi who has now become a threat even to the secret plans of Darth Sidious. Dooku resolves to accomplish both tasks with a single stroke: any bounty hunter resourceful and deadly enough to defeat Vosa would make the perfect template for a Clone Army. Thus, he sends a transmission to the deadliest bounty hunters, and the hunt begins…

The story isn’t overly complicated, but it’s well written and makes great use of Jango Fett as the protagonist. In addition to returning characters such as Zam Wesell and Jabba the Hutt, we also meet new ones such as the aforementioned Vosa, the Mandalorian bounty hunter Montross, plus Jango’s friend and associate Roz. All are fantastic characters, and between their cutscenes mixed with epic fights and gameplay, experiencing the story of “Star Wars: Bounty Hunter” never gets old. In fact, it’s my favorite Star Wars “movie.” (For a more in-depth dive of this game, you can also refer to the BFFC exclusive Jon Knoles interview.) The only thing that could have topped this story for me was perhaps a spiritual successor to this game, but with Boba Fett.

Perhaps the biggest thing that might make you hesitate to buy this version of “Star Wars: Bounty Hunter” is the fact that Aspyr is behind it. I, too, have not forgotten how badly they botched their Battlefront Classic Collection. What should have been an easy slam dunk and an epic comeback for one of the greatest Star Wars games of all time, instead became a laughable failure and travesty. I do not defend them whatsoever from this failure — how can someone take a game that worked 20 years ago and break that? However, I will point out that a big part of this was the multiplayer component. Bounty Hunter, being completely single player, doesn’t have to worry about that. And I will say preemptively that Aspyr has done a decent job with this particular release.

The first thing that has changed are improved graphics. Jango Fett, in particular, looks absolutely fantastic. The in-game model looks smoother than ever, and his armor is shiny and sleek like it should be. Something similar can be said about most of the characters, although I do think the color on Montross’ armor is a bit off.

The environments look better as well. The details are more crisp, to the point that I can read much of the Aurebesh that can be found on anything from posters, to signs, to the side of Jango’s starship, Jaster’s Legacy. The lighting also seems to be better; in the past, some areas in Bounty Hunter have been quite dark, to the point of being difficult to navigate.

The second new feature is the inclusion of additional gameplay settings. Many players in the past have rued how erratic the camera can act in this game. There is now a “Modern” setting where the camera moves more akin to where Jango is facing, much like recent gameplay. In addition, there is a “Modern” setting for the controls as well. For better or worse, Bounty Hunter is a product of it’s time. The original control layout isn’t really like a shooting game, but rather resembles the gameplay of action-adventure games. For example, instead of using the right trigger to fire your blasters, you mash one of the buttons of your controller. I should also point out that the slow motion effect while scanning for bounties is intentional; I initially thought it was some sort of glitch, but apparently it’s supposed to help you scan for bounties while in the heat of battle. To be honest, I’m not a fan of this, but I understand why it was done and some players might find it helpful. A flashlight has also been added into the game, which can be toggled on and off at will.

Although the Modern settings are cool, they personally don’t make much of a difference to me. However, if you played Bounty Hunter in the past, and had trouble with the camera or controls, you might enjoy these new settings. The Modern controls are meant to emulate the layout of present games: aim with the left trigger, shoot with the right trigger, use the bumpers to switch items, and use the other buttons for typical actions like jumping and so on. Both the Legacy and Modern controls are viable for this game, although using Modern was quite bizarre for me in the beginning. Having beat this game multiple times, I have very ingrained habits.

On a quick side note, the one notable feature this game lost with this enhanced edition was having multiple save files. This isn’t too bad, but I wanted to do a perfect runthrough of the game collecting all bounties and “Secrets” (Mandalorian Feathers that unlock bonus content). I now can’t do that, because in my rush to unlock Boba I collected some of these Secrets, and without additional save files this can’t be undone. Thanks, Aspyr.

The last new change (and in my opinion, the most notable) is the inclusion of Boba Fett as a playable character. This, to me, is a dream come true (more or less). Ever since first playing the game, I always wanted a game starring Boba to be released. It could have literally been “Star Wars: Bounty Hunter II.” Or it could have been “Star Wars 1313,” before it was cancelled. In Bounty Hunter, playing as Boba in the Entertainment District of Coruscant was particularly bittersweet- 1313 looks very similar to this area, so it gives us a taste of what could have been. Nonetheless, it is still something of a “full circle” moment. Boba Fett is now playable in the very mission that led to his creation.

The skin itself looks pretty good, at least based on my personal criteria. However, it’s missing three things: Boba’s cape, his Wookiee braids, and his EE-3 blaster rifle (or carbine, it is a bit short). Missing the blaster is easily the worst part. It would have changed the gameplay, since the primary weapon in Bounty Hunter is Jango’s twin Westar-34 blaster pistols. That by itself would have given Boba a very different “feel” from Jango in this game. Also, it is the key trait of his arsenal, his signature weapon, so not having it is a tough pill to swallow.

Bounty Hunter has difficulty managing the mechanism of capes and cloths in-game; it’s actually the reason Montross doesn’t use the cloak seen in his introduction. Also, if the Boba skin was “too perfect,” it would simply look like a modern asset plucked from another game, like DICE’s Battlefront, and placed into this one. Instead, Boba simply being a “re-skin” of Jango has a charming, retro vibe to it. Back in the day, it was rumored that you could “Cash in all bounties to play as Boba Fett.” Although this sadly wasn’t true, seeing a retro version of Boba in this game brings that vision to life. The imperfections make Boba appear as if he were plucked from this fabled 2002 myth, and brought forth into the present day release of the game.

Despite all this, playing as Boba with Modern controls goes so hard. It makes for a new experience; in fact, I can’t get enough of it. Seeing Boba in the mid-level cutscenes in particular is quite a treat, because it’s like watching a retro version of “Star Wars 1313.” Jango still remains unchanged in the “cinematic” scenes shown before and after each Chapter however. If Aspyr had changed that as well, I would have been impressed.

In short, getting this new version of Bounty Hunter is absolutely worth it if you meet one or more of the following criteria:

• You want to play as Boba Fett
• You don’t already have an older version of the game
• You absolutely hate the older controls of Bounty Hunter and want to try the game with the new settings

Overall, this version of the game isn’t bad at all. In comparison to the older versions of Bounty Hunter, it only fails in two ways: the aforementioned lack of multiple save files, and a minor decrease in sound quality. However, a basic patch would improve this. (Thanks in advance, Aspyr!)

Regardless of the version, “Star Wars: Bounty Hunter” is a fantastic game. The story is one of the best from among the Fett mythos, and is absolutely worth picking up and playing through it. If you don’t already own Bounty Hunter, passing up on this release is probably a mistake.

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