The Gaming Experiment

I was pretty ill this weekend. I’ll use that as my excuse for completing Cabela’s Big Game Hunter 2010 this week. When I was sick, I didn’t want to dig too deep in any of the big releases because I wanted to be able to focus 100%. Luckily for me, little concentration is needed to complete the game.

Now, I’m not saying it’s a horrible game, just a boring, repetitive, and convoluted game. So I bet you’re asking yourself how a hunting game could be convoluted. Well, you play a hunting recruit named Jack, and you’re trying to get admitted into the esteemed hunting group called The Order. Really, The Order? That made me laugh because my only motivation was to shoot bears and mountain lions.

I am in no way, shape, or form a fan of hunting. This game helped illustrate my distaste for hunting. I don’t judge anyone for hunting, that is your personal prerogative, but I am not a fan. If you’re willing to go on a one-on-one with a black bear, and you can kill him that way, you are a hero among mere mortals. But shooting it 100 feet away doesn’t count.

Cabela’s Big Game Hunter 2010 is less of a hunting simulation and more of an arcade style of a hunting game. There are 12 missions in different locations of the world ranging from the Rockies to the deserts of Argentina. You are given animals that you need to hunt ranging from deer to caribou to bears.

The world itself is pretty well designed. The levels look lush and plentiful with scenery. But one thing that is definitely is missing is, while on a mission to hunt an animal, the world is completely barren aside from that animal in a particular area. This took me out of the game, because I found myself walking to where the herds of white tail deer are, and there were no other animals around. Another problem is that the variety of animals was low. A couple different species of deer, some goats, caribou, and bears were really the stand outs. But I found myself hunting the same animal several times throughout different landscapes.

There was an added feature of a shooting gallery type minigame where you need to hunt as many hares, birds, jackals, or foxes within a certain period of time. The control of the reticule was imprecise and made those hunts more frustrating than fun.

I will give the game credit for some of the gameplay mechanics that have been used when you are hunting. There is an interesting effect called ‘Hunters Sense’ which highlights the checkpoints to your trophy, the alert level of the beast, and cover points. The cover points allow you to stay in cover while stalking your prey, and give you a bonus on your kill.

Too bad the game isn’t fun, exciting, or even varied in locations or animals. There is no real re-playability to the game. No multiplayer or worthwhile stat tracking. I can not recommend this game and have to suggest that you ‘Toss it from the Pile’.