Zone Hunter
| Zone Hunter | |
|---|---|
 Attract title screen | |
| Developer(s) | Taito, Virtuality |
| Publisher(s) | Taito, Virtuality |
| Designer(s) | Andy Smith |
| Programmer(s) | Jason Woodward Tarique Naseem |
| Artist(s) | Mark Hardisty |
| Composer(s) | Mike Adams |
| Platform(s) | Arcade |
| Release |
|
| Genre(s) | First-person shooter, rail shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer (up to two players) |
| Arcade system | 2000SU[1] |
Zone Hunter[a] is a virtual reality first-person rail shooter video game developed and published in conjunction by Taito and Virtuality in 1994 for arcades, though the former is not credited in-game.[2]
Gameplay[edit]
Zone Hunter is a first-person shooter, and was one of the first VR arcade games.[3]
Development and release[edit]
Zone Hunter was developed at the same time as Sega's virtual reality Model 1 arcade game TecWar,[b] which was also developed by Virtuality.[4] Taito, who conceived the project and worked alongside Virtuality as a deal to bring the game into Japanese arcade markets under their banner.[2] Due to low sales in the region, Taito terminated the deal between them and Virtuality, with the latter opening their offices in Japan afterwards.[2]
A port for the Atari Jaguar was announced and planned to be released alongside the Jaguar VR headset peripheral at launch,[5][6][7] with a demo created for demonstration purposes,[8][9][10] but both the port and the peripheral were never released due to problems between Virtuality and Atari Corporation in their deal.[11][12]
Reception[edit]
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Computer and Video Games | 82/100[13] |
| Next Generation |   [3] |
Next Generation said that the game was neither as fun or playable as Doom, nor as "good looking" as Virtua Cop.[3]
Notes[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "Zone Hunter". arcade-history.com. Archived from the original on 2018-07-28. Retrieved 2018-09-11.
- ^ a b c Pedrazzini, Fabrizio; Williams, Kevin. "TAITO - VIRTUALITY - ZONE HUNTER - (VIRTUAL REALITY GAME)". The Strange (and Rare) Videogame Pics Page. Archived from the original on 2011-06-30. Retrieved 2018-08-16.
- ^ a b c "Finals - Arcade - Zone Hunter". Next Generation. No. 10. Imagine Media. October 1995. p. 130.
- ^ a b Pedrazzini, Fabrizio; Williams, Kevin. "SEGA - TECWAR aka ELECTRONICBRAIN - (VIRTUAL REALITY GAME)". The Strange (and Rare) Videogame Pics Page. Archived from the original on 2011-06-30. Retrieved 2018-08-16.
- ^ "ATARI AND VIRTUALITY PREVIEW FIRST VIRTUAL REALITY GAME SYSTEM FOR THE CONSUMER MARKET AT E3". Nine Lives. May 16, 1995. Archived from the original on 2018-07-18. Retrieved 2018-08-16.
- ^ François, Tommy; Msika, David (June 1995). "Reportage - E3 - Atari - Le Virtuel, Ça Marche". CD Consoles. No. 8. Pressimage. pp. 42–43. Archived from the original on 2018-06-19. Retrieved 2018-08-16.
- ^ "E-3 The Biggest And Best Electronic Entertainment Show Ever! - Atari Debuts Jaguar Virtual Reality At E3". GameFan. Vol. 3, no. 7. Shinno Media. July 1995. p. 37.
- ^ NAVGTR (June 21, 2007). E3 1995 (2min 22sec). YouTube. Archived from the original on 2015-12-05. Retrieved 2018-08-16.
- ^ Vendel, Curt (August 26, 1995). "Payment Schedule for Jaguar games to Developers" (PDF). atarimuseum.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-12-11. Retrieved 2018-08-16.
- ^ "CVG News - Connected - A Zone In The Dark". Computer and Video Games. No. 166. Future Publishing. September 1995. p. 12. Archived from the original on 2018-08-16. Retrieved 2019-01-05.
- ^ "Reportaje - La Realidad Virtual entrará en los hogares de la mano de Atari". Hobby Hi-Tech (in Spanish). No. 6. Axel Springer SE. September 1995. pp. 88–89.
- ^ Thompson, Clint. "Jaguar VR - INTERACTIVE VIRTUAL REALITY MULTIMEDIA SYSTEM". JagCube. Atari.org. Archived from the original on 2018-04-09. Retrieved 2018-08-16.
- ^ "CVG Arcades - Video Drome: Zone Hunter". Computer and Video Games. No. 165. EMAP. August 1995. p. 74.
