Software:The Last Bounty Hunter

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The Last Bounty Hunter
Developer(s)American Laser Games
Digital Leisure (Wii)
Publisher(s)American Laser Games
Philips Media (CD-i)
Digital Leisure (DVD)
Majesco Entertainment (Wii)
Platform(s)Arcade, MS-DOS, 3DO, CD-i, DVD, Wii
ReleaseArcade & MS-DOS
3DO
  • NA: November 1995
CD-i
DVD
  • NA: June 12, 2003
Wii
  • NA: June 16, 2009
  • EU: August 28, 2009
Genre(s)Interactive movie, Light gun shooter
Mode(s)Single-player

The Last Bounty Hunter is a live-action laserdisc video game released by American Laser Games in 1994. Like almost all of the games produced by the now-defunct company, it is a rail shooter and, like the two installments in the Mad Dog McCree series before it, is set in the Old West. However, it takes a more comedic approach than the Mad Dog McCree games in both its story sequences and the characters' comically exaggerated reactions to being shot. Filmed at Old Tucson Studios in Tucson, Arizona, it was one of the company's last releases before it was forced to close down. It was re-released by Digital Leisure in 2002 and was eventually packaged with Fast Draw Showdown by Global VR as an arcade cabinet under the name Six Gun Select.

Originally, home versions of the game were released to the MS-DOS, 3DO and CD-i. It has since been bundled with both Mad Dog McCree and Mad Dog II as part of 2009's Mad Dog McCree Gunslinger Pack, a compilation for the Wii.

Plot

The player steps into the shoes of an anonymous bounty hunter who rides into a busy town in order to track down and bring to justice four outlaws whose control over the territory is widespread: Handsome Harry, Nasty Dan, El Loco, and The Cactus Kid.

The bounty hunter first fights against a group of bandits attacking a fort commanded by a United States Army general, Clinton Briggs. With each scenario, the bounty hunter fights his way to the final enemy, one of the four outlaws, each of whom can either be wounded and apprehended or shot dead. The ending sequence depends on the way in which the criminals were brought to justice.

Gameplay

The player receives an amount of money for each neutralized outlaw; this money translates into points. Throughout the game, three different weapons can be used: the standard six-shooter, the seemingly more powerful shotgun, and a gun that holds more bullets than the normal six-shooter, which can be found as a bonus at times by shooting oxen skulls, hanging lanterns, and wooden wheels. Showdowns take place at random, though more frequently and with greater diversity than in Mad Dog McCree; one of the gunfighters is Wes Flowers, the star of another American Laser Games release, Fast Draw Showdown.

As in related games, the 3DO and CD-i versions are compatible with both mouse and light gun as well as the console's standard control pad. Getting hit or firing upon a civilian results in the loss of one of three lives and an appropriate sequence involving a gravedigger. There is one load/save slot and a second player can be introduced at the start of the game.

The point, or "cash", bonus for completing a stage is higher if the boss is taken alive, by means of shooting the gun out of his hand before he can fire. Depending on who was captured alive, spared bosses may come back and try to either bribe or shoot the player character. Once in a while, the action will take a break to a setting which involves a duel with one enemy or a group of men standing in which only one actually takes part in the duel. The player must shoot only after the shooter goes for his gun and not shoot any of the other men.

Reception

RePlay reported The Last Bounty Hunter to be the eight most-popular deluxe arcade game at the time.[1] Play Meter also listed the title to be the thirty-fourth most-popular arcade game at the time.[2]

Reviewing the DOS version, a Next Generation critic criticized that the gameplay is boringly simplistic. He concluded, "As full-motion video shooting games go, this is the best of the bunch, but that's not saying much.", and scored it two out of five stars.[3] The magazine's review of the 3DO version focused on how the game was overly similar to previous American Laser Games releases, particularly in that it is impossible to respond in time to certain enemies without the foresight of having been shot by them before, and that the cursor moves too slowly for the game to be playable without a light gun. The reviewer scored it two out of five stars.[4]

Entertainment Weekly gave the game a C− and wrote that people might take offense at the African-American grave digger character.[5]

References

  1. ↑ "Player's Choice - Top Games Now in Operation, Based on Earnings-Opinion Poll of Operators: Best Deluxe Videos". RePlay (RePlay Publishing, Inc.) 19 (12): 10. September 1994. 
  2. ↑ "Equipment Poll - Video & Pinball Combined". Play Meter (Skybird Publishing) 20 (13): 11. December 1994. https://archive.org/stream/play-meter-volume-20-number-13-december-1994/Play%20Meter%20-%20Volume%2020%2C%20Number%2013%20-%20December%201994%20%28Compressed%29#page/11/mode/1up. 
  3. ↑ "The Last Bounty Hunter". Next Generation (Imagine Media) (12): 188. December 1995. 
  4. ↑ "The Last Bounty Hunter". Next Generation (Imagine Media) (14): 168. February 1996. 
  5. ↑ "The Last Bounty Hunter" (in en). EW.com. https://ew.com/article/1995/08/25/last-bounty-hunter/. 
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
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