Dan McFox: Head Hunter Review

The name’s Mcfox, Dan Mcfox. Lightwood games, mostly known for iPhone and android releases bring their latest puzzle adventure which see’s you buddy up with Agent Mcfox to help identify culprits of various crimes. Using only specific characteristics you must determine which suspects fit the description and whittle them down until you have your criminal. Can you handle the pressure? Making its way from mobiles can Dab Mcfox become a double O or is he more a double no?

The main mode on offer is “Missions” with 60 levels on offer to take on various cases. How it works is you’ll be given a particular feature of the criminal like blue hat or glasses and you must pick all faces that fit. This keeps going until the last round where you are given two details which will help pinpoint then suspect. It’s a simple premise working well throughout, yet after the first few levels there is nothing new to see. The game never changes up enough to make you want to plunder further. By level twelve I had turned off and was pretty mindless while playing. Fatigue set in due to repetitive nature which is one of the most common flaws with mobile games. Considering this it is certainly not a game you sit down and try to complete in one night. Spreading the play over days is a smarter option, coming back and forth for 5-10 minutes help the longevity.

Being all touch controls originally, you now use the stylus to perform all actions. I encountered no issues with this during my time of play making this quite an ideal fit for the 3DS layout. The artwork is minimal will cartoon drawings of suspect faces and Dan Mcfox. Sounds are light but quite humorous for a duration as when you select who you think is the suspect that character will shout out a comment like “You’ll never take me alive!” Again as said these are genuinely funny, but after a few rounds you have heard all of them.

One problem I found was the difficulty never really ramping up along with barely any penalties for picking the wrong person. I also struggled sometimes between what was a pair of glasses and what was a pair of sunglasses as there was little difference to separate the two. With enough attempts and effort you are able to complete the full extent of the game in a few hours. Music is adequate with the main tune sounding like a jazzy casino, yet there are only a few tracks to keep you occupied but at the price the game is set you are never going to get a full album listing.

When opening the game for the first time, one of the first things to do is proceed to the settings menu and turn on “Street Pass”. Without this you are not able to accept any challenges from fellow players. This all taking place in “Round Up” mode where you can do the same. Here you have 60 seconds to match as many culprits to the description given by Dan. You can then upload this to your street pass allowing players a chance to beat your score. With the main premise of this originally using Facebook it makes sense to keep this feature, however if you do not interact with anyone who has a 3DS and don’t take it with you on travels it can make this redundant. Still there is thankfully an online leaderboard where you can compete against others.

Transitioning from mobile can be difficult, especially aiming at a new audience not looking for that quick five-minute escape. This unfortunately is Dan Mcfox’s biggest downfall as the port can be enjoyable on short plays with humorous bursts, yet when sitting down for the full experience fatigue sets in. The inclusion of Street Pass to challenge friends is neat, but due to the gameplay you don’t actually want to challenge anyone. Sorry Dan Mcfox you’ll never be 007, you’re just another agent.

REVIEW CODE: A complimentary Nintendo 3DS code was provided to Brash Games for this review. Please send all review code enquiries to editor@brashgames.co.uk.