Battle Hunter Review by: Selden - 8.4/10
How to do a video board game rightA short preface to the ratings to explain what you're doing here:
In Battle Hunter, four people have been hired to go into a dangerous dungeon to get a target item. Several boxes are scattered about the dungeon when you start - go and grab them, any loot you get is either the target item (in which case you get paid for it and it's removed from your inventory) or something you can sell for profit. There is also a randomly-placed exit: step on that without the item and you'll get transported to a different random point in the dungeon, but if you do have the target item the round is over. Getting the target item doesn't necessarily make you the winner, there are also bonuses for moving around, collecting flags, fighting things and getting other items (though they're 1/5 as valuable, point-wise).
Graphics: 6/10
The graphics are nothing special, but they get the job done. Not a whole lot else to say except that it would have been nice for enemies to have monsters with some depiction on the map aside from green diamonds (regular) or an orange diamond (the dreaded GON).
Sound: 10/10
I actually went and found the soundtrack for this online so I could listen to the music when I wasn't playing. Yes, I like it that much. If you play this game, make sure that at least once you leave it on the starting menu so you can listen - once the strange sizzle-hiss goes away, it really is some pretty nice music. The sound effects are serviceable, but the music is really, really good.
Addictiveness: 10/10
Ever played Settlers of Catan? Perhaps Monopoly? This is kind of like that - if you enjoy it, then you'll keep coming back to it over and over again. Either single player or with friends, I played this a *lot*... it has procedurally generated levels so you never have to do exactly the same thing twice, and you can design a new character - more on that in the Depth section.
Story: 5/10
There is a story to this game. It progresses approximately whenever you increase your character's stats... which is to say, not really often. It's an okay story, played out as a series of conversations, but the missions you do to collect things kind of fit in so it isn't too bad. Primarily this is a board game, so having any story is kind of impressive.
Depth: 9/10
This is what makes the game so interesting, considering it's a low-budget board game for the PS1. You actually get to assign stat points yourself - 3 points for movement bonus, 1 per attack, 2 per defense and 1 for 3 HP. If you could keep gaining stat points for a while, or indefinitely, I'd rate it 10/10 because it would be neat to see how different builds do as they progress... but you only get something like 12 or 13 points to spend after character creation. You can also hang onto items you pick up in the dungeon, which will limit how much loot you can carry but in some cases the bonuses are worthwhile - a +3 attack gun, for instance. One other thing keeping me from giving this full credit - the amulet that removes 1 and 2 from the 'dice' rolls. Someone with that kills the fun of multiplayer. Of lesser importance than the overarching progression, but still nice to have, there is the card system and the random monster spawn, both of which help keep the game from getting too lopsided and letting someone who gets ahead stay there all the time. Orange cards will boost your attack, yellow your defense (in combat, if used when moving they *may* negate traps), blue cards boost movement or escape chance if running in battle, and green cards set traps. Setting an "L" or leg damage trap where someone with a high movement bonus will have to pass can be an extremely effective way to keep them from just escaping. The other traps are 'E', which empties the victim's hand, "D" to deal damage and "S" to stun. Just be careful, when all cards have been drawn and someone needs to draw one, GON appears... it will stop at nothing in its attempt to kill whoever has the target item, and if that happens everyone loses. Other monsters are a slime, a little cleaning bot kind of thing and a security droid, and they will randomly spawn adjacent to a character as they finish moving.
Difficulty: 6/10
The controls can take a bit of getting used to since the view is twisted 45 degrees, but the harder part is that some missions are outright impossible due to the procedural generation putting someone else right next to the target item. That isn't really too bad... unless it's a story-critical mission. Make sure you save before each of those, you don't want to lose a bunch of progress when the guy you were sent to save gets grabbed and killed on the third turn, sending you to the game over screen.
There are a few tips that may be useful to new players who don't have the manual: the 'rest' option heals some damage and gives you two cards if you can hold them. If you get yourself killed you'll take semi-permanent damage - this is healed at the hospital, until you get that done your maximum HP will be lowered. The price to heal and identify items (necessary to sell or use them) goes up when you gain levels, so if you want to ID some more things you may want to wait... and if you think you're getting kind of near the end of the story, definitely wait until you think you can gain enough levels all at once for whatever you plan to increase. Then, save and try to get the upgrade, and if you can't get enough points load and assign the point(s) elsewhere! Good luck out there, Hunters. Try not to die too often.
Graphics
6 Sound
10 Addictive
10 Depth
9 Story
5 Difficulty
6
User Notice 
