The Ocean Hunter

The Ocean Hunter is a 1998 light gun shooter arcade game developed and published by Sega. The Ocean Hunter runs on Sega Model 3 hardware.

Gameplay

The Ocean Hunter is played by using two mounted turret-like guns on the arcade cabinet. The game is capable of being played with either one or two people simultaneously. The player takes the role of an underwater adventurer searching for the Seven Great Monsters of the Seven Seas, hoping to collect on the bounties placed on their heads for attacks on shipping vessels, humans and native marine life. The player proceeds to go throughout the game in a set path, shooting at various hostile ocean life along the way. The game is played progressing through various levels, each with its own design and layout. Upon reaching the end of the level, a boss is encountered. Each boss is named after a famous mythological sea monster: Kraken, Leviathan, Charybdis, Ahuizotl, Karkinos, Midgardsorm, and Rahab. There are also dozens of mini-bosses in the game, many of them also named after sea monsters.

Story

A new civilization is flourishing in the seas of an alternate Steampunk world, but giant ocean monsters are attacking shipping vessels, harbors, humans and native marine life with increasing frequency. Ordinary marine predators such as sharks have begun to follow in the sea monsters' wake to scavenge what they could from the destruction caused. Frightened for their lives, the people issue bounties on the monsters' heads. As the underwater adventurers Torel (Player 1) and Chris (Player 2), you head out to defeat the horrible creatures. In addition to the Seven Great Monsters, secondary bounties are issued for a number of lesser sea monsters, including a great white shark, large oarfish, a Basilosaurus and a hydra.

Seven Great Monsters of the Seven Seas

• Kraken (based in the Baroque Sea) - a huge North Pacific Giant Octopus (Octopus dofleini) known to crush ships in its powerful tentacles.
• Leviathan (based in the Luna Sea) - a megalodon (Carcharodon megalodon) that has rammed ships to pieces and swallowed fleeing divers whole.
• Charybdis (based in Tartarus Deep) - a huge Murray's abyssal anglerfish (Melanocetus) that has attacked submarines and disrupted deep sea operations, drawing divers into its huge mouth by continually sucking in water.
• Ahuizotl (based in Texcoco Great Lake) - an Elasmosaurus (Elasmosaurus platyurus) whose attacks target lakeside settlements.
• Karkinos (based in the North Sea) - a giant Japanese spider crab (Macrocheira kaempferi) that has subsisted on a diet of whales and human divers.
• Midgardsorm (based in the West Ocean) - a fictional species of giant earthworm (Lumbricus terrestris giganteus) whose length is rumored to be same as the mythical Jörmungandr, and who has been said to have swallowed over a thousand ships since antiquity.
• Rahab (based in Panthalassa, the Sea of Evil) - a fictional aquatic subspecies of the prehistoric ape Gigantopithecus: Gigantopithecus thalassa cyclops revealed in the end to be the god of the sea responsible for the creation of the other sea monsters; he is the main antagonist in the game. First appears in two lesser forms; upon their defeat, Rahab reveals his true form.
  • Dagon - Rahab's first form, a gigantic quadrupedal ape-like humanoid with enormous limbs.
  • Poseidon - Rahab's second form, a tall humanoid capable of blowing large air bubbles and wielding a rusty trident.
  • Rahab - Rahab's third and true form, the god of the sea, a giant dragon/merman-like beast with an enormous, red third eye on its forehead.

Rarity

According to KLOV.com, The Ocean Hunter is classified as extremely rare. No known collectors or warehouses own or have this game. There have also been only a few listings for this game on the popular bidding website eBay; however, this game is available in almost every single video arcade in Singapore and other ones in Mexico. There is one located in Knott's Berry Farm in an arcade, and one in the Wunderland Avalon, located in South East Portland, Oregon. There is also one in Wisconsin's "America's Action Territory" [1] as well as a Main Event in Texas and an arcade at Six Flags Magic Mountain and at Oasis Lane and Amusement in El Paso, TX. It can also be found at Gatti's Pizza in Abilene, TX [2]. The arcade aboard the Disney Magic has one as well. So does Ace's Break Away and Play, an arcade inside the Beaver Valley Mall in Monaca, PA. One is also located in Papa's pizzeria in Eugene, OR and one in Modesto, CA at the Funworks on Claratina dr. and COffee rd. There is also one in Cinemark Theater in Victoria, TX. The game is also in an arcade on the boardwalk in Ocean City, NJ. A machine is also in Playland at the Ocean City MD. boardwalk Another one can be found in the Surfside Arcade on the boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach, DE. The game can also be found at the Sports Center, also known as the Rinks, in Shelton, CT. There is also one at Game Works at Arizona Mills mall in Tempe, AZ (Phoenix metro area); the screen is very fuzzy, but the game plays well. One is located in San antonio in one of the Peter Piper Pizza's. Both the game and screen work well. American Fun Center in Flint, MI, has a machine in very poor condition. Gatti Town in Greenville, SC has one in decent condition. There is one in the arcade in Oak Island, NC. One of the guns does not have recoil but both work and the game works just fine.

References

It is also located in the Hilton in Huntington,CA.

External links

• The Ocean Hunter at Museum of the Game
• OCEAN HUNTER: THE SEVEN SEAS ADVENTURE The Boss/Mythology FAQ on GameFAQs