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Project Horned Owl

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The correct title of this article is Project: Horned Owl. The substitution or omission of the colon is due to technical restrictions.

Project: Horned Owl[b] is a light gun shooter video game developed by Alfa System and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation.[2] Sony’s Japan Studio assisted on development while Movic provided anime cinematics for the game. The game was released in Japan in 1995, and in North America in 1996. It features character designs by manga artist Masamune Shirow.[3][4][5] The game was a stylistic predecessor to Elemental Gearbolt, also developed by Alfa System.[2]

Project: Horned Owl
Developer(s)Alfa System[a]
Publisher(s)Sony Computer Entertainment
Artist(s)Masamune Shirow
Platform(s)PlayStation
Release
  • JP: December 29, 1995
  • NA: August 9, 1996[1]
Genre(s)Light gun shooter
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Gameplay and premise

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Project Horned Owl screenshot.

Project: Horned Owl is an arcade-style rail shooter, with the action taking place in a first-person perspective. The events of the game take place in the somewhat futuristic Metro City, where the player controls one of two Horned Owl Armored Mechanized Unit police officers, Hiro Utsumi or Nash Stolar, as they attempt to take down a terrorist organization known as Metalica. It has the option of utilizing the PlayStation mouse or the Konami light gun. There is a two player co-op as well as single-player mode, both taking place across five city-based levels, where the player controls a giant mech and fights off a variety of mechanized enemies. At the conclusion of each stage there is generally an anime cutscene.

Development and release

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Reception

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According to Famitsu, Project: Horned Owl sold approximately 35,733 copies during its lifetime in Japan.[17] The game received mixed reviews from critics.[18][19][20][21] Next Generation highlighted the futuristic and detailed 3D environments, interactive backgrounds, lengthy missions, and the overwhelming Japanese-style feel, but stated that "the game is pretty average – nothing wrong with is, just not that much to get excited about".[4] Aaron Curtiss for the Los Angeles Times commented that "even though PlayStation went almost a year without a decent shooter, it finally got one it deserves in Project Horned Owl".[22] Bill Hutchens for The News Tribune found that while the game can be played using the standard controller, it was "much more fun when played with a light gun".[23]

Notes

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  1. ^ Sony Computer Entertainment Japan assisted on development. Cutscenes by Movic.
  2. ^ Known in Japan as Horned Owl (Japanese: ホーンドアウル, Hepburn: Hōndo Auru).

References

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  1. ^ "PlayStation News @ www.vidgames.com". June 11, 1998. Archived from the original on June 11, 1998. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
  2. ^ a b "業務実績" (in Japanese). Alfa System. 2018. Archived from the original on March 17, 2018. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
    "海外実績" (in Japanese). Alfa System. 2018. Archived from the original on August 6, 2019. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Project: Horned Owl Review". IGN. Snowball.com. November 25, 1996. Archived from the original on March 4, 2000. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  4. ^ a b c "Finals: Fly By Night - Project: Horned Owl". Next Generation. No. 22. Imagine Media. October 1996. p. 171.
  5. ^ a b Baggatta, Patrick (October 1996). "Review: Project Horned Owl". Ultra Game Players. No. 89. Imagine Media. p. 108.
  6. ^ Sackenheim, Shawn (1998). "Project Horned Owl - Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 14, 2014. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  7. ^ Hodgson, David; Davies, Paul (March 1996). "CVG Review: Horned Owl". Computer and Video Games. No. 172. EMAP. pp. 42–43.42-43&rft.date=1996-03&rft.aulast=Hodgson&rft.aufirst=David&rft.au=Davies, Paul&rft_id=https://archive.org/details/Computer_and_Video_Games_Issue_172_1996-03_EMAP_Images_GB/page/n41/mode/2up&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Project Horned Owl" class="Z3988">
  8. ^ "Testscreen: Horned Owl". Edge. No. 30. Future plc. March 1996. p. 72.
  9. ^ Lucas, Victor (October 13, 1996). "Game Reviews: Project: Horned Owl". The Electric Playground. Greedy Productions. Archived from the original on January 25, 1997. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  10. ^ "One-Liners At a Glance: Project: Horned Owl". Game Informer. No. 43. Sunrise Publications. November 1996. p. 55.
  11. ^ Sterbakov, Hugh (December 1, 1996). "Project: Horned Owl Review for PlayStation". GameSpot. CNET Networks. Archived from the original on June 28, 2003. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  12. ^ "Reviews: Horned Owl". Play. No. 5. Paragon Publishing. March 1996. p. 74.
  13. ^ ????; Carter, Bryan (October 1996). "The Final Word game review - Double Exposure: Project: Horned Owl". Game Zero Magazine. Game Zero. Archived from the original on January 21, 1998. Retrieved January 10, 2025.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ Merrett, Steve; Simmons, Alex (February 1995). "Review: Horned Owl". PlayStation Plus. Vol. 1, no. 5. EMAP. pp. 84–86.84-86&rft.date=1995-02&rft.aulast=Merrett&rft.aufirst=Steve&rft.au=Simmons, Alex&rft_id=https://archive.org/details/playstation-plus-05/page/64/mode/2up&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Project Horned Owl" class="Z3988">
  15. ^ "Ultimate review sector: Horned Owl". Ultimate Future Games. No. 17. Future Publishing. April 1996. p. 92—93.
  16. ^ "Horned Owl (PlayStation Review)". VideoGames. No. 91. Larry Flynt Publications. August 1996. p. 61.
  17. ^ "Game Search". Game Data Library. Archived from the original on November 18, 2024. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  18. ^ Des Barres, Nicholas Dean; Loe, Casey; Martinez Jr., Frank (March 1996). "Viewpoint: Horned Owl; Gen 32 Japan Soft Review: Horned Owl". GameFan. Vol. 4, no. 3. Metropolis Media. pp. 12, 57.
  19. ^ Smith, Shawn; Hsu, Dan; Boyer, Crispin; Williams, Ken (July 1996). "Review Crew: Horned Owl". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 84. Ziff Davis. p. 28.
  20. ^ Halverson, Dave; Loe, Casey; Hodgson, David (October 1996). "Viewpoint: Horned Owl; PlayStation Nation: Horned Owl". GameFan. Vol. 4, no. 10. Metropolis Media. pp. 18, 83.
  21. ^ The Gun Nut (October 1996). "ProReview: Project Horned Owl". GamePro. No. 97. IDG. p. 84.
  22. ^ Curtiss, Aaron (November 28, 1996). "A Hoot to Shoot, Owl Has Outgunned Cop". Entertainment & Arts. Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times Communications LLC. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  23. ^ Hutchens, Bill (December 21, 1996). "Area 51 from Midway replicates arcade game". Video Games. The News Tribune. The McClatchy Company. p. 60. Archived from the original on January 10, 2025. Retrieved January 10, 2025 – via Newspaper.com.
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