Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10487 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: ACTIVISION
• Released on: 2003-09-26
• Platform: Xbox

Amazon.co.uk Review
Enter a world of treachery, revenge, really big guns and even bigger spaceships as you take on the role of Mace Griffin: Bounty Hunter in this decent new shoot-'em-up adventure.

Although at first sight it appears to be just another sci-fi first-person shooter, Mace Griffin soon reveals itself to have rather more ambition than that. Although it's mission based, the structure of the game is such that you can tackle things however you want, not just choosing between a stealthily or more gung-ho approach but opting to pop into your spaceship at any point for a bit of dogfighting or to access a different part of the level.

Controlling your ship is extremely easy and the whole space combat simulator aspect of the game is very well designed and doesn't seem at all like a tacked-on mini-game. Further innovation is evident in the nature of your missions--you're not just an assassin but have to act as everything from bodyguard to computer hacker as you pay the bills with collected bounties and at the same time try to find out who betrayed you at the beginning of the game and forced you to spend 10 years in the clink.

The graphics are more than up to the job of making such a complex game look and feel realistic, especially as there are no loading delays and the transition into and out of your spaceship is seamless. The audio is pretty good too, especially as rock bad-boy Henry Rollins is voicing the eponymous anti-hero. So if you want to try a shooter with a bit of a difference keep your eye out for Mace Griffin. --David Jenkins

GamesMaster Magazine
"Gradually turned into a game that entertained and genuinely surprised us. 79%."

Amazon.co.uk Preview
Enter a world of treachery, revenge, really big guns and even bigger spaceships as you take on the role of Mace Griffin: Bounty Hunter in this promising new shoot-'em-up adventure.

Although at first sight it appears to be just another sci-fi first-person shooter, Mace Griffin soon reveals itself to have rather more ambition than that. Although mission based, the structure of the game is such that you can tackle things however you want, not just choosing between a stealthily or more gung-ho approach but opting to pop into your spaceship at any point for a bit of dogfighting or to access a different part of the level.

Controlling your ship is extremely easy and the whole space-combat simulator aspect of the game is very well designed and doesn't seem at all like a tacked on mini-game. Further innovation is evident in the nature of your missions--you're not just an assassin but have to act as everything from bodyguard to computer hacker as you pay the bills with collected bounties, while at the same time trying to find out who it was that betrayed you at the beginning of the game and forced you to spend 10 years in the clink.

The graphics are more than up to the job of making such a complex game look and feel realistic, especially as there are no loading delays and the transition into and out of your spaceship is seamless. The audio is pretty good too, with rock bad boy Henry Rollins voicing the eponymous antihero. So if you want to try a shooter with a bit of a difference, keep your eye out for Mace Griffin. --David Jenkins

This preview is based on an incomplete version of the game; features or problems mentioned above may not appear in the finished game.

Customer Reviews

alright but not good
mace griffin is a an average first person shooter.sure it has great graphics,good playability and shows what the xbox is capable of.unfortunately it is let down by many glitches.the ai is not constant.sometimes the enemies walk straight into your arc of fire and sometimes stand still while you are shooting at them.also there is no point in trying to sneak in this game as the enemy know where you are at all times able to shoot you while you think you are concealed.do not get me wrong i thought this game was slick,enjoyable and highly playable but the futher the game went on the more frustrating it got.

There isnt a word good enough to describe it!
When I saw the review for this game I new it wasn’t going to be like any normal FPS! This was going to have a huge WOW factor that set it apart from other games on the market. Like a normal FPS you have the great deal of killing working your way through levels fighting the bad guys aiming to complete your objectives but Mace Griffin Bounty Hunter takes this to anther level you explore new worlds new lands and have to achieve exciting missions! Like stop cattle rustlers from stealing your clients rare dinosaur type creatures! Protect a client at a party and many other different missions that lead to the end of tale! This games graphics are amazing and shows the true power of the xbox the style is pretty darn good to. The range of weaponry is excellent giving you the opportunity to shoot your foes up with a pistol or resort to a rocket launcher to blow the hell out of them its up to you but all weapons are equally fun and have a secondary fire to help in those difficult situations!
But Mace Griffin Bounty Hunter comes to life when you get to fly your own ship yes I did say you get to fly your own ship around and even explore it and place it on auto pilot this brings a whole new dimension to the game! So now when landing in a enemy base instead of getting out and being blasted you can sit in the comfort of your seat and nail every one of them the fun it is!
But this game gets a big thumbs up and I would recommend it for anyone who’s a fan of FPS and someone who wont’s to a great action packed game!
Liam Metelko aka ( GWA )

Some magazine give this 9 ot of 10!!
I'm convinced companies 'bribe' computer magazines to give their games good reviews - such highly overated titles that spring instantly to mind are Brute Force and Mechassault.And now another can be added to that long list.

Playing Mace Griffin is like doing the housework - long, boring -and a chore. In many respects, Mace Grffin shouldn't be bad - the graphics are crisp and clear - the animation is excellent, and the score (although highly repetitive) is very good. The programmers have also managed to create a beautifully crafted 3D world of living characters (the city level)and the game sports highly decent voice acting by Henry Rollins. By combining two major elements of gameplay - FPS and space combat, the game promises to be both varied and exciting.

However, the programmers must have been so wraped up in the game's graphics and looks that they forgot about the basic fundamentals - gameplay. And this is where Mace Griffin falls miserably. To say the game is bad would be an understatement - it's much worse (sorry Black Label, but it is).

Everything about the game is SHOCKING. Frustrating gameplay, a difficulty curve that is beyond belief, boring maps that take hours to complete, predictable A.I, weak story that takes forever to get into, highly poor weapons, no multiplayer, no replay-value, and a diabolical physics engine (jump over a barrier and you can't move - jump over a crate and you get stuck). Yet Mace Griffin itself isnt hard - its nigh on impossible, thanks to the worst control system ever devised in the history of any FPS. Rejecting all known logic, the programmers have decided to reverse the movement direction and the look up/down on the joypad. They can be configured, however, but doing so means having to exit the game, as there are NO in -game options available. And with alot of control systems on offer, you WILL be exiting the game frequently when starting.

The worst part of Mace Griffin is the space sections, which involves alot of hectic dogfighting. These would have been good if the control system made any sense - but, as it stands, none of the flight controls do. If Colony Wars on the Playstation managed to invent a decent control system, why Mace Griffin has the worst is a mystery. Instead of enjoyng the pulse-pounding arcade action, I just kept praying for the levels to end.

The weapons on offer are the worst I have seen, and are more of a liability to the user than the enemy. All I can say is this: Do not use the electro-cosh - doing so gets you killed. Thanks to the enemy having shields, you will not be using the pistol after level two. The chaingun features an 'excellent' aiming system that only targets dead bodies. Despite the enemy's ability to shoot you through the wall with the sniper rifle, toggling between normal and zoom often gets you splattered. Unless you are within kissing distance, do not use the shotgun. Despite what the booklet states, the plasma rifle is neither effective nor powerful. And grenades have the 'brillant' added bonus of being able to bounce off anything they hit -the sky, walls, floor - even the enemy...and they always bounce right back towards you.

The save system is truly 'unique' - and ultimatly, the nail in the games coffin - how many games do you know that automatically overides your previous save everytime? I had great difficulty working the save system out, as there is no explanation in the booklet.

What I found is this: 1. You cannot save your game anywhere. 2. To save your game, you have to reach a checkpoint. 3. Sometimes, the game automatically saves after you reach a checkpoint. 4. Saving your game EXITS the main game. 5. To restart after you have manually saved, you must load the game in again. 6. You cannot replay a previous save - doing so takes you back 3 or 4 previous checkpoints...and automatically overides your current save. 7. With no way of knowing how far back you'll be taken, DO NOT replay any missions.

I was SOOOO disapointed with Mace Grffin. After waiting for what seemed an age, the game did not justify the wait or the delayed release date. Sadly, I made the mistake of replaying a checkpoint after failing a mission for the hundreth time(the one where the president's ship is destroyed) AND lost my save ( the game took me back an hour into the mission AND SAVED OVER MY CURRENT SAVE.) Finally, I said 'sod it' - used the cheat to get to the end, and got rid of it.

Mace Griffin is a travisity and I cannot recommend this to anyone.