''Project: Horned Owl'' or , is a

light gun shooter Light gun shooter, also called light gun game or simply gun game, is a shooter video game genre in which the primary design element is to simulate a shooting gallery by having the player aiming and discharging a gun-shaped controller at a scre ...

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

developed by

Alfa System ''Alfa System'' is a video game development and planning company from Kumamoto City, Japan. The company was founded in 1988. In their early years Alfa System developed exclusively for NEC consoles with Hudson Soft and other publishers. They later ...

and published by

Sony Computer Entertainment Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), formerly known as Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE), is a multinational video game and digital entertainment company wholly owned by multinational conglomerate Sony. The SIE Group is made up of two legal co ...

for the

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...

. Sony’s Japan Studio assisted on development while

Movic is a Japanese company which specializes in the publication of trading cards, figures, CDs, and other general media related to the anime industry. Movic is a part of the Animate group. Anime involved in *'' Ah! My Goddess: The Movie'': Producti ...

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 , better known by his pen name , is a Japanese manga artist. Shirow is best known for the manga ''Ghost in the Shell'', which has since been turned into three theatrical anime films, two anime television series, an anime television movie, an an ...

.Horned Owl Japanese instruction manual, Page 24. The game was a stylistic predecessor to ''

Elemental Gearbolt ''Elemental Gearbolt'', full title , is a light gun shooter for the Sony PlayStation. Originally developed by Alfa System, the game was published by Sony Computer Entertainment and released in Japan during Holiday season of 1997. Working Designs l ...

'', also developed by Alfa System.

Gameplay

''Project: Horned Owl'' is an arcade-style rail shooter, with the action taking place in a first-person perspective. 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 In science fiction, or mechs are giant robots or machines controlled by people, typically depicted as humanoid walking vehicles. The term was first used in Japanese (language), Japanese after shortening the English loanword or , but the mean ...

and fights off a variety of mechanized enemies. At the conclusion of each stage there is generally an anime cutscene.

Plot

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.

Development and release

Reception

Next Generation Next Generation or Next-Generation may refer to: Publications and literature * ''Next Generation'' (magazine), video game magazine that was made by the now defunct Imagine Media publishing company * Next Generation poets (2004), list of young ...

'' reviewed the PlayStation version of the game, rating it three stars out of five, and stated that "There are a few highlights, including some nicely-detailed and futuristic 3D environments, lengthy missions, and interactive backgrounds. Also, the game has an overwhelming sense of Japanese style which ''anime'' fans will likely appreciate. For the most part, however, the game is pretty average – nothing wrong with is, just not that much to get excited about." Aaron Curtiss for the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' commented that "even though PlayStation went almost a year without a decent shooter, it finally got one it deserves in Project Horned Owl." Bill Hutchens for ''

The News Tribune ''The News Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Tacoma, Washington. It is the second-largest daily newspaper in the state of Washington with a weekday circulation of 30,945 in 2020. With origins dating back to 1883, the newspaper w ...

'' of

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, and northwest of Mount ...

found that while the game can be played using the standard controller, it was "much more fun when played with a light gun".

Reviews

*''

GameFan ''GameFan'' (originally known as ''Diehard GameFan'') was a publication started by Tim Lindquist, Greg Off, George Weising. and Dave Halverson in September 1992 that provided coverage of domestic and import video games. It was notable for its ex ...

'' #39 (Vol 4, Issue 3) 1996 March *''

'' #46 (Vol 4, Issue 10) 1996 October *''

Electronic Gaming Monthly ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (often abbreviated to ''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews. History The m ...

'' (Jul, 1996) *''

'' (Mar, 1996) *

NowGamer Imagine Publishing was a UK-based magazine publisher, which published a number of video games, computing, creative and lifestyle magazines. It was founded on 14 May 2005 with private funds by Damian Butt, Steven Boyd and Mark Kendrick, all we ...

- Aug 31, 1996 *

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

- Nov 25, 1996 *

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

- Dec 01, 1996 *

All Game Guide RhythmOne , previously known as Blinkx, and also known as RhythmOne Group, is an American digital advertising technology company that owns and operates the web properties AllMusic, AllMovie, and SideReel. Blinkx was founded in 2004, went publi ...

- 1998 *The Video Game Critic (Jan 29, 2002)http://www.thevideogamecritic.net/psop.htm#Project_Horned_Owl

Notes

References

External links

* {{Masamune Shirow 1995 video games Alfa System games Cooperative video games Japan Studio games Light gun games Multiplayer and single-player video games PlayStation (console) games PlayStation (console)-only games Rail shooters Video games about police officers Video games about terrorism Video games developed in Japan