Last August, Activision brought us Cabela’s Deer Hunt 2004, which garnered little attention, until now. In January, I reviewed Deer Hunter from Atari, which I might compare this game to in my review.

Hunting requires two things, the same as fishing: patience and equipment. You can’t hunt without either of them, both of which are essential in a successful day. Without the necessary tools (i.e. rod and wire for fishing; weaponry and camouflage for hunting), there is no possible way to do either.

Beginners should hit the target range, since this isn’t Duck Hunt by any means. Bullets can lose distance or miss targets for even wind, so mastering without wind is essential, and then calculating how much adjustment a gun needs to the wind is another aspect of the game.

Deer Hunt has two hunting options: quick hunt and career. Both will start off with a character selection and difficulty menu. The characters range from teenage male, mid-30’s female, mid-60’s male, and more. The characters’ ages play a role in how well they can shoot, strength, etc. The mid-60’s character has the best stats in all fields, except strength and resilience.

Now that your character is selected, it is time to select one of nine hunting regions, with various locations within each region. Regions include Alaska, Arizona, Canada, Florida, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, Washington, and Wyoming. Hunting locations include the Cascade Mountains, Ozark County, Lake Okeechobee, and more.

You start off with a vehicle at a camp, and must choose between walking or driving, hoping not to scare any game away. After you get off of your vehicle, you’ll now have to walk and track the animals down. The game does have a limited radar system, which gives you the direction of multiple animals, if they are within close vicinity.

Targeting involves the thumb-sticks and firing involves the right trigger button. Movement is done with the left thumb-stick and aiming with the right. The options menu allows you to turn on/off the default inverted controls. Also, it is your choice to target in either the 1st or 3rd person; I prefer 1st person myself.

Cabela’s Deer Hunt 2004 is one of the best hunting games that I have ever played. Thanks to the tracking system and vehicles, it beats out Deer Hunter, except in the online gameplay category. Had Activision added an online gameplay mode, it would have been perfect. Could you imagine playing with your hunting friend from Michigan in Indiana, over the internet with artificial game? I can, and truthfully, I’m not overly excited, but still, it would be a nice feature. If you are a hunter or have an interest in the sport, this year’s version, the first for the Xbox, is worthy of a purchase.

Last August, Activision brought us Cabela’s Deer Hunt 2004, which garnered little attention, until now. In January, I reviewed Deer Hunter from Atari, which I might compare this game to in my review.

Hunting requires two things, the same as fishing: patience and equipment. You can’t hunt without either of them, both of which are essential in a successful day. Without the necessary tools (i.e. rod and wire for fishing; weaponry and camouflage for hunting), there is no possible way to do either.

Beginners should hit the target range, since this isn’t Duck Hunt by any means. Bullets can lose distance or miss targets for even wind, so mastering without wind is essential, and then calculating how much adjustment a gun needs to the wind is another aspect of the game.

Deer Hunt has two hunting options: quick hunt and career. Both will start off with a character selection and difficulty menu. The characters range from teenage male, mid-30’s female, mid-60’s male, and more. The characters’ ages play a role in how well they can shoot, strength, etc. The mid-60’s character has the best stats in all fields, except strength and resilience.

Now that your character is selected, it is time to select one of nine hunting regions, with various locations within each region. Regions include Alaska, Arizona, Canada, Florida, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, Washington, and Wyoming. Hunting locations include the Cascade Mountains, Ozark County, Lake Okeechobee, and more.

You start off with a vehicle at a camp, and must choose between walking or driving, hoping not to scare any game away. After you get off of your vehicle, you’ll now have to walk and track the animals down. The game does have a limited radar system, which gives you the direction of multiple animals, if they are within close vicinity.

Targeting involves the thumb-sticks and firing involves the right trigger button. Movement is done with the left thumb-stick and aiming with the right. The options menu allows you to turn on/off the default inverted controls. Also, it is your choice to target in either the 1st or 3rd person; I prefer 1st person myself.

Cabela’s Deer Hunt 2004 is one of the best hunting games that I have ever played. Thanks to the tracking system and vehicles, it beats out Deer Hunter, except in the online gameplay category. Had Activision added an online gameplay mode, it would have been perfect. Could you imagine playing with your hunting friend from Michigan in Indiana, over the internet with artificial game? I can, and truthfully, I’m not overly excited, but still, it would be a nice feature. If you are a hunter or have an interest in the sport, this year’s version, the first for the Xbox, is worthy of a purchase.