The first Headhunter was originally released on Dreamcast and was fairly well received in the media and the public. It was then released on PlayStation2 two years ago, and now we have a sequel on the same platform (along with an Xbox version too). When people mention Headhunter, the usual reply would be “Oh yeah, that was the one with the motorbike riding bits in isn’t it? They were cool!” The motorcycle sections were ultimately pointless in the grand scheme of things, but they were fun and broke the action up nicely. Unfortunately, Amuze haven’t put the motorbike sections in the sequel, so instead of expanding on the idea they have removed them completely.

So what we are left with is a third-person action adventure game, much like the original Headhunter. There is now a new character to play with, Leeza X. Jack Wade, the main character, saved her from being murdered by her father when she was a young child in a previous mission, and now she’s turned to crime and is a bit of a rebel. Jack caught up with her, and realized who she was by her necklace, and has now taken her on and wants to train her up to be a fully-fledged Headhunter.

You begin playing the game with Leeza X in a basic training level, and it soon becomes apparent how unusual, and quite incredibly frustrating the controls, and more importantly, the auto-aiming is. In fact, calling it auto-aiming isn’t quite true, because instead of assisting you to lock-on an enemy like you can in Psi-ops, or Metal Gear Solid for example, the aiming system actually hinders you more than you could believe, as it takes a few seconds before it locks on – in the mean time your arm and aim is waving around like a deranged monkey trying to pick off some energy from the enemy as the cross-hair sways past their body.

Amazingly enough at least two of us found that the aiming can also exhibit an even worse quirk; if you aren’t looking exactly in the right direction and press “lock-on” your character will start aiming in the opposite direction to where you need to be looking and aiming! – Again this frustrates and really isn’t what gamers are used to these days - giving you direct control over the aiming as in Max Payne or SOCOM would have worked much better. The controls in general can be quite fiddly too, and even after playing it for hours I still got confused with weapon selection and using the inventory.

The levels vary nicely and are generally well designed with some interesting features, such as having to shoot through glass windows to get to other points in the level which are blocked off at their main entrances. Then there are the areas behind brick walls which you have to blow up to continue – thankfully these can be seen on the map as non-joined corridors, so you won't have to stand there scanning them. The areas look believable, and the underground tunnels especially are very nicely made, with smoke hanging in the air and nice specular effects on the floor where there are puddles of water. The two main character models are nicely detailed too, with Leeza looking very nice, with some cool tattoos on her arm and back. The animation, however, isn’t up to the same standard, and quite poor at times – climbing ladders and walking across narrow lips on walls are the worst cases, and just like Jack in the original Headhunter, Leeza runs like she has done something nasty in her pants.

Throughout the game you’ll have to crack security codes that will allow you access to higher-level security areas, and you do this by working out IQ test-style puzzles working out the next pattern in a row of four. These are a nice addition to the game and enjoyable to do. In the same menu there is a neat 3D map of the level you’re in, and you can spin it around and zoom in and out to get an idea of where you have to go.