Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts Review





Developer: Sand Grain Studios Publisher: Activision
Release Date: November 12, 2003 Also On: PS2 and Xbox

I’m not a hunting fan, nor am I a fan of hunting games. I didn’t expect to enjoy Deer Hunt when it launched in August, though I played it in March, but I did. Activision has released a new game in their Cabela hunting franchise, titled Dangerous Hunts. You guessed right if you thought you would be facing off against vicious animals.

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Dangerous Hunts is a departure from the norm in the hunting genre. The last game, Deer Hunt, taught you to be patient, lay scents, and follow your game slowly. This game forces a swift trigger finger and quick feet. The game’s foundation is still to hunt, but when hunting a leaf-eating mammal, you risk the chance of running into a carnivore. This adds a sensation that the more laid back hunting games don’t have. There are over 20 different animals in this title, to both watch out for and sneak up to.

The three game modes include: quick hunt, action zone, and career hunt. Quick hunt, the easiest of the three modes, gives you the chance to select your region and gear. Gear selection is either manual or automatic. You then are thrown into the selected map and hunt down a selected animal.

Career hunt allows you to create a profile, select a hunter, and attempt to become the best hunter in the land. There are a few different hunter choices, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. You will be assigned with specific goals that must be accomplished before continuing on to other goals. Only two challenges start off unlocked from the beginning.

People with Xbox Live can upload their scores to the servers, displaying your scores on worldwide scoreboards. This helps you track the best shots and trophies. There is no online multi-player, but considering how bad the one in Atari’s latest hunting game was, it’s probably best that one wasn’t included.

Action zone pins you against some radically out-of-control animals, consisting of 12 levels. Each level has a set number of animals that must be killed and is broken down into stages. Once everything is dead, a portal opens up, sending you off to the next stage.

Deer Hunt 2004 was right up my alley. I can’t say it impressed me overly, but it was done right and got the job done. Dangerous Hunts seems a bit too flawed in some aspects to be as appreciated. First, the Action Zone is too repetitive to enjoy for long. The career is deep enough, but again, repetition will set in. Most hunts will result in dodge and shoot matches. This might be worthy to check out for hunters, but then again, the sense of realism isn’t as present as it was in Deer Hunt. For the average gamer, I’d just stick with the already nice selection of first-person shooters on the Xbox.

Graphics: 5
Sound: 6
Gameplay: 4
Creativity: 5
Replay Value/Game Length: 5
Final: 4.7
Written by Kyle Review Guide

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