Game of the Day 3/4/2016: Maze Hunter 3D
Even a high quality screenshot can't do Maze Hunter 3D justice, as it's one of the handful of Sega Master System games to employ the Sega Scope 3D glasses accessory. This uses a shuttering system alternating over each eye to create the illusion of 3D on an 8-bit system, and, frankly, it works really well.
The main game of Maze Hunter plays out largely like a slow game of Gauntlet. You're in an overhead maze with a goal of finding the exit warp from each room, but you must first find the key. You can pick up an iron bar with which to attack at short range, but there are also a few powerups that allow you to briefly fire projectiles, as well as others that allow you to run faster or jump higher. Enemies spawn all over each of the 20 stages, which are divided into four themed levels. Each level theme has a unique set of enemies to add, but the goal never changes. You start at the highest tier of each stage, and the exit is on the lowest.
If it sounds simple, well, it kind of is. It's far less complicated than a Gauntlet or Dark Chambers, but that's really not what it's about. Maze Hunter is really mainly a showcase for the 3D technology, which really works pretty great here. The sense of depth along walls and canyons is excellent, and the scale porportion is spot on, so you do feel a bit as though you've descended into a lower tier each time. The movement and combat are a tad slow, but the control is good, the hit detection is solid, and the jumping looks and feels great. The background graphics also have a nice '80s anime sci-fi flavor, and the music, while there are few tracks, is good, and has that distinctive Master System sound.
Overall, I found it to be fun enough to play through, as it isn't super long, and it's also fun to show my friends that Sega's 3D in the '80s actually was pretty badass. If you have a set of the glasses, it's a fun little no brainer, even though I probably wouldn't buy them solely to play it.
Have you hunted mazes lately?
Reply With Quote