Review: Cabela's Dangerous Hunts 2011 - African Safari Deathmatch

Overview

10 years ago, your father, one of the most renowned hunters in the world, journeyed to the African Safari to track down some of the fiercest beasts on the planet. After some time, he disappeared, leaving little clues to his activities and whereabouts. Now, as Cole Rainsford, you must discover the real truth to your father's enigma while facing the same man-eating creatures.

Features

The game has 2 game modes that make it very content-heavy. The campaign mode consists of several levels, each with about 5 parts, and a separate gallery mode lets you shoot endless waves of animals. The entire game fits into a complex and compelling storyline with intricate cutscenes. There are 7 types of beasts to hunt and many scenarios to play through. 2 control modes and Openfeint integration are also included.

The Good

Cabela's Dangerous Hunts 2011 has an amazing campaign that is superior to that of any other hunting game. At the start of each sub-level, there is a picture cutscene that tells the story bit by bit. While hunting, you are given objectives that can be viewed with the press of a button. Besides using several weapons to kill vicious beasts, you are also required to search dead bodies for clues, investigate abandoned villages, and perform other tasks that give the game much more depth. Dangerous Hunts is more of a survival horror game than a true hunting game, and even if you aren't a fan of traditional hunting, you might enjoy this. The game's 2 control methods makes it feel like a fast-paced first person shooter, especially when you're surrounded by several huge lions that are all charging at you. Extensive customization lets you place the buttons anywhere on the screen and change the sensitivity of aiming. Dangerous Hunts plays very smoothly, and your character moves across the barren African landscape with ease. An action button appears at the top of the screen and lets you pick up ammo and health and interact with objects. When attacking some animals, you go into a separate mode and have to tap targets as they appear on the screen to shoot the creature in vital spots. Dangerous Hunts has much better graphics than other games of its genre, at least when you're some distance away from a certain object. The beautifully constructed villages and landmarks are backed by terrific use of lighting to create an enthralling experience. The setting is usually dark, but the game lets you change the brightness so that you can see things better. The sound effects are actually a bit disturbing, especially when you approach a dangerous animal, but are nevertheless realistic.

The Bad

The game is currently incompatible with iOS 4 multitasking, meaning that you'll have to waste 20 seconds every time you open the app watching the lovely Activision and Openfeint logos. If you close the game, you'll lose all your save data for the current level and be forced to replay the level. Many of the creatures that you're told to shoot run the same routes over and over again, taking away from the game's ingenuity. A minimap is included in the top left hand corner, and upon tapping it, you can view a larger map of the entire environment. This map is actually confusing and detrimental to gameplay. The arrow for your player location is way too big and it's difficult to tell which areas can be accessed. It would probably be really helpful to add an option where the minimap itself rotates so that you have a good idea of where you are facing at all times. While Dangerous Hunts has spectacular environments, the graphics look terrible and pixelated at close range. For example, a large rock will look decent from far away but disgusting once you're right in front of it.

The Verdict

Cabela's Dangerous Hunts 2011 feels like a complete game with all the content available from versions on other platforms. There is a gallery mode to change things up a bit, but the campaign should provide at least several hours of play time. Cabela's Dangerous Hunts 2011 is a should buy for $4.99 and is the smoothest and most fulfilling hunting experience available.

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