Question:
Has anyone tried these Deer Hunting games, like "Cabela's Big Game
> >Hunter 3" and "Ted Nugent Hunting
Answer:
Well, you know what they say about opinions. Everybody has one. At least I think
that was opinions. Ask George W.
BTW. Do you think somehow your 'name' makes your opinion more value? I think
not. Is there anything relevant to the thread you would like to contribute?
I'll not comment on the Ted Nugent game because I have not tried it. I gave
Cabela's a long spin however so here is my opinion. You be the judge.
Opposing view points where there actually IS a point are welcome.
There are a couple different ways you could judge these games.
One way is on the pure 'gaming' value. The criteria here is action, graphics,
'feel', speed, adventure content. My opinion? I think it stinks on this level.
The graphics are designed for 640x480 16 color video systems. Haven't seen one
of those in about 10 years. But hay, don't take MY word for it, read the reviews
by gaming magazines. Cabela's bites the dust. Big time. It would be hard to rate
any lower. I haven't looked at Ted Nugent reviews.
A second category for judging might be on it's training value. Call it realism.
Cabela's Big Game Hunter spends a lot of effort on this topic. You can go to the
'lodge' pick your gun and ammo, buy any stuff like range finders etc. From there
you 'plan' the hunt based on a topo map and 6 or so pre selected sites. Nothing
about travel time or difficulties in actually reaching to the selected site. (so
how realistic does it seem so far...gees..:) Next you are magically plopped at
the site presumably totally invisible because no amount of moving or head
turning will prevent the animals from walking right in. At the point of the
'shot' the game switches views from the stunning pong-grade-video panorama to a
low grade reduced size movie video format with a superimposed crosshair site. It
uses the same site regardless of the weapon selected including the compound bow.
As for the shot itself if you miss by a mile it is obvious. What is not so
obvious is why you might miss when it 'looked' as though you where right on
target. Your guide may 'comment' on how the wind was blowing or the range was
excessive and that you need to pay more attention. The problem is the graphics
don't allow you to actually see anything. You can't tell if the wind is blowing
by looking at image. There is some display info on the screen but it is just a
number and direction. (not very 'realistic') As for the range, animal video
clips used at 40 yards are EXACTLY the same clips used at 400 yards. 'course if
you bought the range finder you would know how far the target was by pre-ranging
all the pre-determined 'key' spots (marked for you by the spot's name flashing
up on the screen when you 'look' at them) and listening to your guide tell you
which key spot the animal is at. Wow, any more realism and it would be "just
like bein' there!" NOT.
A third would be on the games teaching value. This is where the actual scenario
isn't totally realistic (which might be a bit boring for a video game) but the
decisions are similar to the subject at hand. This category is a measure of how
well knowledge and/or moral and ethical values are communicated. Here is where I
really take issue with Big Game Hunter. In my early post I mentioned that the
guide gives up tracking an obviously hit animal. The hit may result in what the
guide described as "a good amount" of blood and hair at the contact point only
to have him give up a screen later. In fact in the hundred or so shots I took I
never ONCE recovered an animal by tracking. Every shot was either a clean kill,
or the guide would give up the search. This is NOT the type of hunting most of
us agree with or that WE should want any non-hunters to witness.
They do pass on a few good tips like "don't shoot at a running animal" and "it's
getting dark, let's head back to the lodge" but don't look for any gems of
wisdom from the guides.
On a 'no-name' scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the best). I rate it a 2. Pretty poor.
For 20 bux or so it may keep you entertained for 1/2 hour some rainy day when
you have absolutely nothing else worth doing.
If you are looking for tips and info on hunting try picking up a few of the
excellent articles in magazines or a few books on the topic. There are countless
writers on whatever topic you research. You can read the various 'opinions' and
sift them out for yourself. The authors of Cabela's Big Game Hunter have some
'opinions' about how a hunt should go. I just don't happen to agree with them
