Machine Hunter

The game is presented in a top-down overhead perspective, with the option of a fixed or rotating camera. Players must guide the character through 17 unique stages whilst battling alien, mutant, and mechanical enemies. The primary focus is the rescuing of hostages and occasionally obtaining an item such as a key card, defusing or planting bombs, or completing an objective under a time limit. Players are encouraged to "transfer" or transform into one of nine unique types of robots encountered throughout the stages, each with their own distinct appearance, weapons, and abilities.

Power-ups are present, scattered throughout each stage and hidden in secret areas. Power-ups include:

In a bleak future, a virus is turning robots into killing machines. The carrier of the virus must be tracked down and destroyed if humanity has any chance of survival.

The game was showcased at E3 1997. The title of the game changed multiple times during development. Initially announced as "H.O.S.T.", it was later renamed "HOST" (no periods), then "Droid Hunter", then "Suicide Run", before finally being released as Machine Hunter. The name "Droid Hunter" was discarded due to the potential for legal challenges from LucasArts (who held a trademark on the word "droid" via the entities from Star Wars), while "Suicide Run" was eventually rejected because the developers thought it sounded too much like a racing game.

Reviews for Machine Hunter widely varied. While critics unanimously remarked that the game is a blatant clone of Loaded, Electronic Gaming Monthly and GamePro opined that the multitiered levels and the ability to take over disabled machines give Machine Hunter enough of its own character and depth to make it worthwhile, whereas Next Generation argued that though these two elements do represent positive originality, "the similarities overpower any differences, and on the whole, the game is little more than a poorly executed rip-off." Glenn Rubenstein wrote in GameSpot that while the game is reasonably fun, "most die-hard fans will be a lot happier dusting off their copy of the original Loaded".

In addition to the limited originality, the controls have been heavily criticized due to weak responsiveness and the difficulty in executing diagonals with the standard PlayStation controller. However, GamePro contended that "The controls are smooth and very responsive to onscreen action." And where Rubenstein said the split screen used in the multiplayer mode is annoying, GamePro asserted that the multiplayer mode is the most fun part of the game.