Cabela's Dangerous Hunts

When one usually thinks of Cabela and hunting games, one thinks of protracted hunts in lush environments tracking a prey that can often be elusive. This makes sense. If you were an animal in the wilds and you heard someone stomping through your home and had bullets splintering trees near you or whizzing over your head, would you stick around to see what the fuss was about?

In the latest Cabela title, Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts, there is a fine line between being the predator and the prey.

Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts, a PlayStation2 release from Sand Grain Studios and Activision, offer the typical hunting experience, but rather than going after Bambi and cousins, this time you are after animals that have teeth and claws, and know how to use them both. And they often don’t wait for you to make the first move.

The game does feature the solid graphical elements and lush environments that have made the Cabela line of hunting games renowned. But in addition, the game sports three modes of play - a quick hunt, the action zone and career hunt. The first two are fairly typical of the brand of titles

The location is Alberta, Parkland in the action zone. The goal of this is rather simple. You are ported to an area rife with dangerous animals. Your task is to kill them all and then take the portal to the next area. The action is fast paced, but you should be forewarned not to jump into this too fast. This is almost a situation of man-versus-beast on an elemental level. That bear has strength, it has claws, and it has sharp, pointy teeth. You, on the other hand, have your wits, and a hunting knife.

Woah! Wait a minute! A hunting knife??? This is not a good thing. Facing an angry black bear with a hunting knife is a laborious task. You can kill it though, and then step through the portal into the next zone.

While you may have been able to defeat the bear with only the hunting knife, tackling the pack of wolves is a more serious challenge. And should you succeed, then you are off to the second challenge, which begins in New Mexico with a cougar.

Some of the game play falters during this rather intensive phase of the game. If the animal is in attacking range, you hit it and it backs off, and you try to move forward, the view jumps from the first-person perspective to a slow-motion third-person view of your hunter, starting to move forward. Unfortunately, you lose targeting on the beast, and when the view returns to the first-person perspective, the animal has attacked and you’ve sustained more damage.

And don’t expect the animal to stand and wait for you to do something. They will move, rear, run circles around you and attack from the back side if you don’t follow it. Targeting is somewhat tricky, until you get used to it. With the knife, you have to time the attacks, and strike when the beast closes. Waving your knife around in the air will fail to impress it, though it may give them something to think about, but because there is a bit of a pause between your movements, you do leave yourself open for an attack.

Other game features include 13 predators to hunt as well as 14 ‘big game’ animals to shoot at. There are 12 hunting regions, including two new areas - Zimbabwe and Tanzania. The game also features dynamic seasons, and a character creation that lets you customize your hunter in terms of attributes. This is a first for a Cabela title.

Cabela’s has certainly taken some strides forward with this title. In addition to the new environments and character features, the action zone game play is certain to appeal to a wide base of shooter game players. For those who like the standard game style of a Cabela hunt title, that is there as well, though with the added element of predators who can turn a stalking hunt into a fight for your life within moments.

Gameplay: 7.5
Some of the camera cut-aways are a problem, and the whole hunting knife experience, at the higher difficulty levels, feel like a take on that old adage - "never bring a knife to a gun fight."

Graphics: 8.4
This is well done. You can see the breath of the animal attacking you hang in the air between you. The animal animation can be a little deliberate at times (read that as slow and calculated as opposed to the spontaneous fluid motions one would expect) and the response of your hunter is predictably slow as well. There are a few things that are a little silly, such as flipping the knife in the air to re-grab it for a backhanded stab it ludicrous. If attacked by a bear, wolf, or cougar, fear would not allow you to release that weapon in such a casual manner.

Sound: 7.2
The musical score is solid, and the animal sounds are well done. The grunts and oofs from your hunter can get old after a while. Most of what is here is stock for the game style.

Difficulty: Medium
The typical hunt is very challenging, but as this is more of an arcade hunt, you will find that stomping through the wilds is interrupted by being attacked yourself. At the point the game becomes rather basic - though not without challenge.

Concept: 8
This title has added some nice elements, but is leaning more away from the pure hunting title it has been to more of a combat title with man-versus-environment (PvE). This is not a bad thing, but it is a departure from what gamers who know the line of titles may be expecting.

Overall: 8
Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts is a solid title, sporting great graphics and intensive action. The new features are certainly welcome but do take this game away from the purist hunting title that it was. Stalking these beasts would have been sport in itself, having them stalk you and attack in waves is the hallmark of an action title, not necessarily a Cabela hunting title. Perhaps Cabela is trying to broaden its range of gamers by offering a different kind of game. Whatever the reasoning, it comes down to this - those who like the long hunting expeditions will find it here, while those who crave instant action will also find it here. It is a reasonably well-rounded title, but the nature of the title and the game play makes one wonder who is hunting whom?