History YMMV / Headhunter

* TheyCopiedItSoItSucks: The first game received a bit of this treatment for taking many gameplay elements from ''VideoGame/SyphonFilter'', ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil1'', and most particularly ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'', enough to turn people away from it and dismiss it as [[TheMockbuster a clone]]. Fans of the game would tell you that this wasn't necessarily a bad thing, as ''Headhunter'' took some of their stronger elements and combined them to form a solid, fun, cohesive and enjoyable package.
* WhatAnIdiot: In ''Redemption'', Jack's son is said to have been kidnapped by the machines and hasn't been seen for years. A flashback shows the moment it happened, when Jack takes Chris to explore a potentially dangerous area.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' That when Jack tells Chris to stay close and not go too far, he'd listen to his dad.\\
'''Instead:''' Chris runs out of Jack's sight when he's trapped in thought, climbing down a ladder into a chasm, allowing a machine to sweep down and snatch him.\\
'''Also:''' Jack himself qualifies for taking his son to such a dangerous-looking place, knowing it wasn't safe to begin with.

** ''Redemption'': [[TortureTechnician Sebastian E. Grossdent]], aka "Candy Floss", is a sadistic torturer placed in charge of Research & Execution. A former [[DepravedDentist dentist]] who was sent to Below for his love of [[WouldHurtAChild mutilating children]], Floss would work for Liberty to create the bio-mechs, zombified cyborgs made from prisoners whom Floss gleefully performed surgery on. Mutilating a captured Che without giving her anesthesia, Floss hopes to use Liberty to send his bio-mechs to Above to act as their slaves as they destroy mankind. When confronted by Jack Wade, Floss can only brag about turning Jack's son Chris into a bio-mech, before reveling in all the loved ones Jack has lost.

* CompleteMonster: [[MalevolentMaskedMan Candy]] [[SoftSpokenSadist Floss]], the DepravedDentist and TortureTechnician, and head of Research & Execution in ''Redemption'', is by far the most unredeemable character in the franchise. His work is first shown when Jack discovers a tortured and mutilated [[spoiler: Che, who refers to him as the "diablo"]], who is DrivenToSuicide. When Floss is introduced, he taunts Jack about experimenting on his innocent son before he was sent to Liberty, and explains his past as a dental surgeon who was sent Below for conducting mechanical experiments on ''children'', and resents society for deeming him a monster. While he was able to continue his inhuman experiments Below, he laments that he misses the tears in the children's eyes, the screams of pain, and look of utter fear in their faces. After Jack takes him down, Floss expresses no regrets and taunts Jack further by saying he's lost everything, which includes his missing son, his partner, [[spoiler: and his now deceased ex-wife]]. His [[spoiler:BoomHeadshot]] was well-deserved as it was relieving.

* CompleteMonster: Candy Floss, the DepravedDentist and TortureTechnician, and head of Research & Execution in ''Redemption'', is by far the most unredeemable character in the franchise. His work is first shown when Jack discovers a tortured and mutilated [[spoiler: Che, who refers to him as the "diablo"]], who is DrivenToSuicide. When Floss is introduced, he taunts Jack about experimenting on his innocent son before he was sent to Liberty, and explains his past as a dental surgeon who was sent Below for conducting mechanical experiments on ''children'', and resents society for deeming him a monster. While he was able to continue his inhuman experiments Below, he laments that he misses the tears in the children's eyes, the screams of pain, and look of utter fear in their faces. After Jack takes him down, Floss expresses no regrets and taunts Jack further by saying he's lost everything, which includes his missing son, his partner, [[spoiler: and his now deceased ex-wife]]. His [[spoiler:BoomHeadshot]] was well-deserved as it was relieving.

* EnsembleDarkHorse: Stella, the sassy L.E.I.L.A. receptionist in the first game due to her exasperated DeadpanSnarker and the great delivery of her lines made her a highlight for many fans. Unfortunately, she only appears in one scene.

* HamAndCheese: Given its influence from 80's action and sci-fi films, the first game's story is widely seen as delightfully cheesy, but special mention goes to the news bits featuring Kate Glosse and Bill Waverly. It's clear both actors are aware of the BlackComedy and satirical aspects of the story and are hamming it up, adding a whole new layer of humor to the game.

* HamAndCheese: Given its influence from 80's action and sci-fi films, the first game's story is seen by many to be delightfully cheesy, but special mention goes to the news bits featuring Kate Glosse and Bill Waverly. It's clear the actors are aware of the BlackComedy and satirical aspects of the story and are having as much fun as they can hamming it up.

* EnsembleDarkHorse: Stella, the sassy LEILA receptionist in the first game due to her exasperated DeadpanSnarker and the great delivery of her lines made her a highlight for many fans. Unfortunately, she only appears in one scene.

'''Instead:''' Chris runs out of Jack's sight when he's trapped in thought, climbing down a latter into a chasm, allowing a machine to sweep down and snatch him.\\

* EnsembleDarkHorse: The sassy LEILA receptionist in the first game due to her exasperated DeadpanSnarker and the great delivery of her lines made her a highlight for many fans.

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Leeza X, the new protagonist in ''Redemption''. Some felt that her constant snark and sassy attitude come off as forced and make her a very annoying character, while others thought that it made her enjoyable and fun to play as and had much more depth than what was on the surface. Much of the criticism aimed towards her seems to stem from the fact that she's a new character who took the spotlight from Jack. Fortunately for those who find her a ReplacementScrappy, our favorite bearded headhunter becomes playable later in the game.

** Greywolf, mostly due to his memorable boss fight and his cool attitude. Most people found the BadassBiker cool before you beat him, and more so when he helps you out later on.

* HilariousInHindsight: The first game drew several comparisons to ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' for adopting numerous gameplay elements, with some even accusing the game of being a clone but with a bearded hero instead. When ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' came out years later, not only did Naked Snake adopt his own beard, but Solid Snake carried the style over in his appearances in the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' series.

* MemeticMutation: When the first game was released, many people had a field day pointing out Jack's beard, his most distinguishable feature since most game protagonists at the time were cleanly shaven. This has led to some nicknames such as "Metal Gear Solid 3: Bearded Justice" (years before [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater the actual game]] hit), "bearded ComicBook/JudgeDredd alike", and more. You can bet that fans were relieved to see that Jack still had his trademark beard when ''Redemption'' was announced.

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Leeza X, the new protagonist in ''Redemption''. Some find that her constant snark and sassy attitude come off as forced and make her a very annoying character, while others felt that it made her enjoyable and fun to play as, and was more intelligent and good-natured than she let off. Much of the criticism aimed towards her seems to stem from the fact that she's a new character who took the spotlight from Jack. Fortunately for those who find her a ReplacementScrappy, our favorite bearded headhunter becomes playable later in the game.

* ContestedSequel: Fans of the original game are certainly split when it comes to the DarkerAndEdgier ''Redemption''. Although many appreciated the improved mechanics, not everyone was fond of [[AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent Leeza]] or that [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks she took the spotlight away]] from [[{{Deuteragonist}} Jack]], that a major character from the previous game was [[SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome killed off]], the game's overall gloomy mood and depressing story that lacks the flair of the original. On the other hand, the game does have its share of defenders that enjoyed the game and dark sci-fi narrative, finding it to be a worthy follow-up to the original, and feel that adding a new spunky female protagonist was a smart move for the sequel.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: The sassy LEILA receptionist in the first game due to her exasperated, DeadpanSnarker and the great delivery of her lines made her a highlight for many fans.

** Greywolf, mostly due to his memorable boss fight and his cool attitude. Most people found the BadassBiker cool before you beat him and find out he was JustFollowingOrders, and is willing to help you.

* HilariousInHindsight: The first game drew several comparisons to ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' for adopting numerous gameplay elements, with some even accusing the game of being a clone with a bearded hero instead. When ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' came out years later, not only did Naked Snake adopt his own beard, but Solid Snake carried the style over in his appearances in the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' series.
* IronWoobie: ''Redemption'' is one giant TraumaCongaLine for Jack Wade. His young son was kidnapped by the machines right in front of his eyes, which also destroyed his marriage with Angela. [[spoiler: He later comes to her rescue but is too late to save her, and once she falls to her death, he can't watch and immediately turns away, knowing full well that she's already dead. Although Angela told him that their son is alive, when Jack finally discovers him in Liberty, he's a living corpse connected to and being controlled by a computer network. Horrified of what's become of his son and what he has to do, Jack disconnects him puts him out of his misery. A machine later rips his corpse out and uses Chris to fight against Jack, and he has to put his son down ''again'' in a boss fight]]. As cool as he is, Jack is ''not'' shown to take these well at all and becomes more broken each time. He pretty much loses everything except Leeza at the end.
* MemeticMutation: When the first game was released, many people had a field day pointing out that Jack's beard was his most distinguishable feature, since most game protagonists at the time were cleanly shaven. This has led to some nicknames such as "Metal Gear Solid 3: Bearded Justice" (years before [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater the actual game]] hit), "bearded ComicBook/JudgeDredd alike", and more. You can bet that fans were relieved to see that Jack kept his trademark beard when ''Redemption'' was announced.

* PlayerPunch: ''Redemption'' is filled with these. Aside from the details in IronWoobie above, [[spoiler: [[LadyOfWar Che]] is DrivenToSuicide after being tortured by Candy Floss, and Leeza's dad dies in the ending, after she spent years trying to find him]].

* TheyCopiedItSoItSucks: The first game received a bit of this treatment for taking many gameplay elements from ''VideoGame/SyphonFilter'', ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil1'', and most particularly ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'', enough to turn people away from it and dismiss it as [[TheMockbuster a clone]]. Fans of the game would tell you that [[TropesAreTools this wasn't necessarily a bad thing]], as ''Headhunter'' took some of their stronger elements and combined them to form a solid, fun, cohesive and enjoyable package.
* WhatAnIdiot: In ''Redemption'', Jack's son is said to have been kidnapped by the machines and hasn't been seen for years. A flashback shows the moment it happened, when Jack takes his son to explore a potentially dangerous area.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' That when Jack tells him to stay close and not go too far, he'd listen to his dad.\\
'''Instead:''' He runs out of Jack's sight when he's trapped in thought, climbing down a latter into a chasm, allowing a machine to sweep down and snatch him.\\

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Leeza X, the new protagonist in ''Redemption''. Some find that her constant snark and sassy attitude come off as forced and her a very annoying character, while others felt that it made her enjoyable and fun to play as, and was more intelligent and good-natured than she let off. Much of the criticism aimed towards her seems to stem from the fact that she's a new character who took the spotlight from Jack. Fortunately for those who find her a ReplacementScrappy, our favorite bearded headhunter becomes playable later in the game.