The 2002 Star Wars: Bounty Hunter video game is making is being updated and making its way to modern consoles and PCs and we decided to give it a look.

The original game, now more than 20 years old, released on GameCube and PlayStation 2 and this new version adds all kinds of interesting bells and whistles. According to developer Aspyr, this version is a native port of the GameCube version of the game, as opposed to an emulation.The game also features contemporary controls and and overhauled camera system.

You can watch the video for our full impressions and play (or replay it) on August 1 on PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series X/S, Switch, and PC.

Head to Game Informer's YouTube channel for more previews, reviews, and discussions of new and upcoming games. Watch other episodes of New Gameplay Today right here.

<p> <img loading="lazy" src="https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/07/31/5b6e010b/bountyheader.jpg" width="800" height="450" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-body-default" /> </p> <p>The 2002 Star Wars: Bounty Hunter video game is being updated and making its way to modern consoles and PC, and we decided to give it a look.</p> <p>The original game, now more than 20 years old, was released on GameCube and PlayStation 2, and this new version adds all kinds of interesting bells and whistles. According to developer Aspyr, this version is a native port of the GameCube version of the game, as opposed to an emulation. The game also features contemporary controls and and overhauled camera system.</p> <p>You can watch the video for our full impressions and play (or replay it) on August 1 on PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series X/S, Switch, and PC.</p> <iframe width="560" height="315" frameBorder="0" allow="autoplay" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HTMTYZW7YGY" width="640"></iframe> <p>Head to&nbsp;<em>Game Informer's&nbsp;</em><a href="https://www.youtube.com/gameinformer" target="_blank">YouTube channel</a>&nbsp;for more previews, reviews, and discussions of new and upcoming games. Watch other episodes of&nbsp;<em>New Gameplay Today</em>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gameinformer.com/ngt" target="_blank">right here.</a></p>

<p> <img loading="lazy" src="https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/07/31/07d540ac/bungie-logo.jpg" width="800" height="450" alt="Bungie Lays Off Over 200 Employees" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-body-default" /> </p> <p>Bungie has announced layoffs affecting 220 employees. In a <a href="https://www.bungie.net/7/en/News/article/newpath">blog post</a>, Bungie CEO Pete Parsons cites “rising costs of development and industry shifts as well as enduring economic conditions” as the primary factor while revealing some dramatic changes for the company going forward. </p> <p>These layoffs represent 17 percent of the studio’s workforce and affect every department of the company, with executive and senior leadership roles impacted most. Parsons states that departing employees will receive a “generous” exit package that includes severance, bonus, and health coverage. Bungie also plans to hold employee town halls, along with team and private individual meetings over the coming weeks, to help sort out the next steps. 850 employees remain following the layoffs. </p> <p>“I realize all of this is hard news, especially following the success we have seen with The Final Shape,” Parsons writes. “But as we’ve navigated the broader economic realities over the last year, and after exhausting all other mitigation options, this has become a necessary decision to refocus our studio and our business with more realistic goals and viable financials.”</p> <img loading="lazy" src="https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2022/01/31/ad06d9d4/sony_x_bungie_art.jpg" typeof="foaf:Image" alt="" class="image-style-body-default" /> <p>Parsons also reveals plans to further integrate Bungie into Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), which <a href="https://www.gameinformer.com/2022/01/31/sony-announces-its-acquiring-bungie-for-36-billion">acquired the studio in 2022</a>, to leverage its strengths. Firstly, Bungie is working to integrate 155 roles (12 percent of its staff) into SIE over the next few quarters. Bungie states this has allowed it to save additional talent that would have otherwise been affected by today's layoffs. </p> <p>Second, Bungie is working with PlayStation Studios to form a new, separate in-house studio that will continue developing one of its incubation projects. Bungie describes this title as, “an action game set in a brand-new science-fantasy universe.”</p> <p>Parsons then elaborates on how Bungie found itself in this difficult position. He explains that the team’s goal was to ship games in “three enduring, global franchises” and set up several incubation projects to achieve this aim. However, Bungie found itself stretched thin too quickly. This forced its support structures to grow larger than it could feasibly support, especially given the ongoing development of two big titles in Destiny 2 and the upcoming <a href="https://www.gameinformer.com/playstation-showcase/2023/05/24/bungie-is-revitalizing-its-old-shooter-series-marathon">Marathon</a>.</p> <img loading="lazy" src="https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/05/24/968b3855/2024_tfs_press_preview_event_press_kit_gear_compressed_017.jpg" alt="Destiny 2: The Final Shape screenshots" title="Destiny 2: The Final Shape screenshots" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-body-default" /> Destiny 2: The Final Shape <p>Parsons also cites this rapid expansion collided with a broader economic slowdown, the sharp downturn games industry, the mixed reception to Destiny 2: Lightfall, and the need to give the recently released The Final Shape expansion for Destiny 2 (which garnered <a href="https://www.gameinformer.com/review/destiny-2-the-final-shape/for-the-guardians">critical acclaim</a>) and Marathon more development time to ensure a high quality. “We were overly ambitious, our financial safety margins were subsequently exceeded, and we began running in the red,” Parsons states.</p> <p>“After this new trajectory became clear, we knew we had to change our course and speed, and we did everything we could to avoid today’s outcome," Parsons writes. "Even with exhaustive efforts undertaken across our leadership and product teams to resolve our financial challenges, these steps were simply not enough.” </p> <p>Today’s layoffs come roughly eight months after the studio <a href="https://www.gameinformer.com/news/2023/10/30/destiny-2-dev-bungie-hit-with-layoffs-just-15-months-after-playstation-acquisition">cut 100 staffers last October</a>, and the second since it was acquired by Sony. It represents another wave of game industry job cuts that have run rampant since last year, and hopefully the affected staff can land on their feet sooner than later. </p>

Bungie has announced layoffs affecting 220 employees. In a blog post, Bungie CEO Pete Parsons cites “rising costs of development and industry shifts as well as enduring economic conditions” as the primary factor while revealing some dramatic changes for the company going forward. 

These layoffs represent 17 percent of the studio’s workforce and affect every department of the company, with executive and senior leadership roles impacted most. Parsons states that departing employees will receive a “generous” exit package that includes severance, bonus, and health coverage. Bungie also plans to hold employee town halls, along with team and private individual meetings over the coming weeks, to help sort out the next steps. 850 employees remain following the layoffs. 

“I realize all of this is hard news, especially following the success we have seen with The Final Shape,” Parsons writes. “But as we’ve navigated the broader economic realities over the last year, and after exhausting all other mitigation options, this has become a necessary decision to refocus our studio and our business with more realistic goals and viable financials.”

Parsons also reveals plans to further integrate Bungie into Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), which acquired the studio in 2022, to leverage its strengths. Firstly, Bungie is working to integrate 155 roles (12 percent of its staff) into SIE over the next few quarters. Bungie states this has allowed it to save additional talent that would have otherwise been affected by today's layoffs. 

Second, Bungie is working with PlayStation Studios to form a new, separate in-house studio that will continue developing one of its incubation projects. Bungie describes this title as, “an action game set in a brand-new science-fantasy universe.”

Parsons then elaborates on how Bungie found itself in this difficult position. He explains that the team’s goal was to ship games in “three enduring, global franchises” and set up several incubation projects to achieve this aim. However, Bungie found itself stretched thin too quickly. This forced its support structures to grow larger than it could feasibly support, especially given the ongoing development of two big titles in Destiny 2 and the upcoming Marathon.

Destiny 2: The Final Shape

Parsons also cites this rapid expansion collided with a broader economic slowdown, the sharp downturn games industry, the mixed reception to Destiny 2: Lightfall, and the need to give the recently released The Final Shape expansion for Destiny 2 (which garnered critical acclaim) and Marathon more development time to ensure a high quality. “We were overly ambitious, our financial safety margins were subsequently exceeded, and we began running in the red,” Parsons states.

“After this new trajectory became clear, we knew we had to change our course and speed, and we did everything we could to avoid today’s outcome," Parsons writes. "Even with exhaustive efforts undertaken across our leadership and product teams to resolve our financial challenges, these steps were simply not enough.” 

Today’s layoffs come roughly eight months after the studio cut 100 staffers last October, and the second since it was acquired by Sony. It represents another wave of game industry job cuts that have run rampant since last year, and hopefully the affected staff can land on their feet sooner than later. 

<p> <img loading="lazy" src="https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/07/30/62a7d4e5/the-casting-of-frank-stone-red-sky.jpg" width="800" height="450" alt="The Casting of Frank Stone Game Informer" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-body-default" /> </p>

Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Publisher: Behaviour Interactive
Developer: Supermassive Games
Release: <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'paragraph' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * paragraph--product-release-dates--default.html.twig * paragraph--product-release-dates.html.twig * paragraph--default.html.twig * paragraph.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/gi5/templates/paragraphs/paragraph--product_release_dates.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/themes/classy/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2024-09-03T12:00:00Z" class="datetime">September 3, 2024</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/themes/classy/templates/field/time.html.twig' -->
Rating: Mature

<p>The Casting of Frank Stone may have new elements due to its ties to Dead by Daylight, but it remains a Supermassive horror game at its core. By that, I mean it’s a narrative-focused, choice-driven adventure that can result in numerous different outcomes based on your decisions and reaction time to sudden button prompts. Characters can be permanently killed off due to your actions, and this blueprint has given past Supermassive works like Until Dawn and especially The Quarry (which boasted 186 different outcomes) plenty of replayability for fans who wanted to see every possible route the story could take. This has typically meant restarting the entire game, but The Casting of Frank Stone eases this process thanks to a new destination called the Cutting Room Floor.</p> <p>This mode opens after you’ve beaten the game once, but it will be available at the start for owners of the Deluxe Edition. The Cutting Room Floor displays the web of possible outcomes, locked and unlocked, for every narrative fork in each chapter. It also shows the number of collectibles you’ve found or can be found. </p> <p>Every decision has a percentage number representing the number of players who chose it, and this statistic will continually fluctuate as more people play. You can replay any segment, which means you can preserve your choices from a previous section of the game and only change later outcomes, and vice versa. Since some outcomes can only be experienced by making a specific combination of decisions, the Cutting Room Floor seems like a great, streamlined way to witness the different story permutations and go collectible/achievement hunting without replaying unnecessary stretches or the whole game.   </p> <img loading="lazy" src="https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/body_default/public/2024/07/23/dd3a0af5/tcofs_screenshot_03_sam.jpg" typeof="foaf:Image" alt="" class="image-style-body-default" /> <p>How many different directions can the story take? When I asked Supermassive Games this question, creative director Steve Goss told me that the sheer number of outcomes won’t be as vast as The Quarry’s. Instead, he says to compare the game to Until Dawn’s structure. The team aimed to write a more tightly written tale for The Casting of Frank Stone to facilitate more satisfying character arcs and resolutions. That said, you’ll still be making plenty of decisions, and the Cutting Room Floor will make it easier than ever to revisit those choices and make new ones.</p> <p>The Casting of Frank Stone launches on September 3 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Click the banner below to visit our cover story hub for more exclusive stories and videos.</p> Purchase