Bloodhound, a game by Kruger & Flint Productions, is a classic style FPS, but with polished, crispy visuals and access to some cool weapons (and a plethora of achievements) within the first 30 minutes of play. Does it have enough to stand out in a genre swapped with this sort of thing?
It doesn’t stand out from my perspective, but if you like first-person shooters, there’s always space for another. It’s just whether you want something… fresh. This isn’t innovative but delivers if you like fast-paced action with grindy metal riffs.
First impressions of Bloodhound were good. For starters, there’s an option to switch nudity on and off, with the background statues flashing their jubblies accordingly. Ok, so that’s the perv catered for; now the aesthetics: a comic book panel of events that don’t exactly explain the non-existent story well, but the illustrations are cool.
Bloodhound PC Review: Sup, Dawg?
So far, I liked the experience, though I noticed that the sound FX were mediocre. This could have just been for the comic sequence, as perhaps an outside party produced this. Not really. Once you start with the action, the enemies’ grunts are generic and annoying.
Anyone going into an FPS with the expectations of some excellent sound FX might have their priorities wrong. I was looking for gameplay, and Bloodhound was all alright in that aspect. Whacking the visual settings to the max, there was slowdown while my laptop adjusted its waistband, and then it was like playing Quake on a 486 with all the settings lowered (blisteringly fast) but with sharp and tasty graphics.
Armed with a pistol, that soon advances to a shotgun, machine, crossbow, and dual-wielding shotguns. This was all within the first 30 minutes, and though it was exciting to get access to this all from the outset, it meant there wasn’t as much to look forward to moving on. The enemies are varied but with clusters of the same characters – often very distinguishable, such as a blond new romantic and shotgun-wielding baddies wearing what looks like a KKK hood(!).
Are You Lost, Sonny?
There are no objectives, and other than some bosses, there isn’t anything in the way of closed chapters or end-of stages. As a result, there’s a lot of backtracking, running through empty areas where you’ve already wiped out threats, looking for a key or the right way out. There are no mini-maps or a pause menu to show where you are.
In Bloodhound’s defence, the locations don’t all look the same, and you won’t get totally lost as each ‘area’ has a mixture of settings that include outside, inside, underground… the list goes on. Having a visual indicator of where to go next would have been nice.
Enemies also spawn constantly. It’s rare to see anyone from a distance – if enemies are already nearby, they will likely be a knob’s length away. A quick blast of the shotgun, then run to the next section. Walls will pop up, forcing you to kill everything before moving on, so there’s never really a moment of sitting still. That’s ideal for an FPS.
Staying Power
So, Bloodhound is frantic but amusing. There are about three difficulties to explore, which are fair. I trialled the game with my trackpad first. Anyone who’s done that knows how unreliable that can be. Fortunately, the difficulty allowed me to take enough hits to turn around and shoot a demon in the face. Playing with a mouse is better (no option for a controller), which encourages you to up the challenge on the settings.
Not having objectives or an opportunity to section off areas as if it were a chapter meant it was awkward to take a break. The gameplay is the same throughout and naturally repetitive. Still, the pacing is ok – it’s just whether you have the staying power to keep ploughing forward and shooting similar enemy types. At least you’re constantly getting achievements to motivate you. If you’re the type.
Bloodhound performed as expected, well, better. The visuals are excellent; it has some decent metal tunes, but the fast and furious gameplay makes it. Unfortunately, it’s all just a bit repetitive with minimal drive. Still, it’s fun if you want a mindless shooter, and it doesn’t attempt to be anything other than that.
