Ed Hunter is a game for the PC by
Synthetic Dimensions, in the style of
Operation Wolf and
Virtua Cop. In other words, you have to shoot almost everything that moves. It is based on British heavy metal band
Iron Maiden, and their mascot
Eddie. The game was accompanied by 20 of Iron Maiden's best songs, as voted for by the
fans. Although the game is seriously lacking
gameplay, it is a real treat for Iron Maiden fans because it contains lots of
references to Iron Maiden songs and albums.
In the game, you are a detective who goes by the name of Ed Hunter. One day you get the job to track down Eddie. In a total of 8 levels, you follow him through time and space. In the first level, you walk through the streets of London, where you get attacked by punks who throw knives and bottles at you. It really looks as if you're walking through the covers of Iron Maiden's debut album and their second album, Killers. Some things Iron Maiden fans will appreciate is that you'll walk through Acacia Avenue where you'll see a red light at number 22, and you'll pass the Ruskin Arms club (where Maiden played often when they were just beginning).
In the second level, you'll find yourself in the Shady Pines Asylum, where they have locked up Eddie. Fight your way through hordes of mental patients and crazy scientists, who'll throw teddy bears and handsaws at you. At the end of the level, you'll find Eddie in a padded cell, just like on the cover of Piece Of Mind. But be warned, he breaks through the floor, which takes you to the next level, which is in Hell. There you'll have to fight winged demons and monks in black robes. It sounds silly (and it is), but at least you get the feeling that you're actually uin/u the album cover of The Number Of The Beast.
At the beginning of level 4, Eddie rises from a grave, similar to the front cover of Live After Death. You have to follow him, but he's gone really fast and you're still stuck on the graveyard, when zombies begin to rise and attack you. So shoot them all, and make sure you pick up the shotguns that occasionally appear. At the end of the level, you are taken back in time, and you'll find yourself in ancient Egypt. You'll see Eddie walking into a pyramid, which looks just like the front cover of the Powerslave album, in glorious 3d. So the next level takes you through the pyramid, where you have to shoot mummies and snakes who try to attack you. Unfortunately, you can't keep up with Eddie, and he finds the pharaoh's tomb. When the pharaoh rises, Eddie defeats him, and both you and Eddie are transported through time again, to the next level.
In level 6, you'll find yourself in the album cover of Somewhere In Time, where you'll see quite a lot of Iron Maiden references again. It must be a futuristic version of London, since the Ruskin Arms club is still there. Make your way to the time machine, only to make it to level 7, which is a world which looks a lot like the front cover of Virtual XI. In this level you're attacked by strange human looking creatures. So kill them all and make your way to the top of a tower, where you'll find Eddie again. When you finally reach there, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are approaching, and even Eddie looks worried. They defeat Eddie, and throw him over the edge of the tower. Now you're on your own against those four bastards. When you finally defeat them, you'll learn that Eddie led you here on purpose, and your true quest was not to find him, but to defeat the Four Horsemen.
The game comes on 3 discs. One disc contains the game data, the second disc contains 6 songs and the installation program, and the third disc contains the remaining 14 songs. However, when you play the game, you don't have to insert one of the music discs to hear the tunes. The game was released in May 1999, and the band went on a small tour to support it, and to celebrate that vocalist Bruce Dickinson and guitarist Adrian Smith had returned to the band after a few years of absence.
There were a few complaints about the game. First of all, it contained little variation. After a few levels, it got quite boring. And since you had limited movement, the game didn't have the same feel like real 3d shooters, such as Quake. The graphics were not very spectacular either, and many people wondered why it had taken so long for this game to be completed. Fans of the band liked the game for the references and the soundtrack, but complained about the choice of certain songs. Fans could vote on the official Iron Maiden website for their favorite songs, but it appears that at least one song was taken from each album. If they had used the real results of the poll, it would be very unlikely that songs like Tailgunner and Futureal would be in the top 20 of favorite songs. The US version had a hidden song, a re-recorded version of Wrathchild with Bruce Dickinson on vocals.
The soundtrack: