Cabela's
Dangerous Hunts 2
|
|
|
Lots
of action |
|
Good
animal animation |
|
Excellent
control system |
|
|
|
Short |
|
Too
easy |
|
|
|
|
Guns
don't kill video game animals. People using digital
representations of real guns kill video game animals.
by Daemia
December
10, 2005 - Nothing
illustrates the magic of Christmas better than turning
beautiful, wild animals into rugs.
Cabela's
Dangerous Hunts 2 may technically be considered a
sequel but it's taken a different direction in favor
of more action-oriented killings - as opposed to hunting.
This time the word "Dangerous" in the title
is actually apropos.
Personally
I am against hunting but I'd be a hypocrite to say
that I'm against a hunting game since I also play
games in which you kill humans - and although I've
been called a lot of things, a murderess I am not.

Cabela's
Dangerous Hunts 2 ventures into new territory. While
hunting is still included, it's downplayed in favor
of missions that require killing specific animals
to defend villages, people under your care and of
course yourself. You will be attacked by a plethora
of creatures from grizzlies to lions to wolves which
makes shooting these animals a lot more acceptable
from a psychological aspect. It's the old self-defense
excuse. I'm sure that the developers could care less
about that since they are instead faced with the prospect
that hunting virtual animals in the traditional sense
was getting a little boring. This new direction is
intended to appeal to gamers that in the past have
not shown any interest in a hunting video. This is
like a red-neck version of GTA - a really bad version
to be honest but it's not such a terrible game in
its own right. Most of the sim elements are gone,
replaced by a more user-friendly arcade style of gameplay.
A
story permeates the main mode. As an experienced hunter
you will take on a series of missions that range from
acting as a guide on a big game hunt to rescuing a
woman from the bush. You will need various weapons
and gadgets to complete the different missions. These
devices include shotguns, knives, scopes, handguns,
various calls, communications systems, machetes and
tranquilizer guns. You will be awarded different gear
for each mission.

Locations
range from Australia to Alaska to Africa where you'll
encounter elephants, boars, wolves, tigers, polar
bears and cougars. The animals look and move realistically
but their behavior is suspect since all they really
do is just attack you and your party for no particular
reason. All you have to do is shoot them in the head
and they'll usually bite it. Once you complete a mission
in an area it will be unlocked for you to do some
hunting.
Unlike
the first game, hunting is not a sim. All it really
consists of is crouching down and waiting for the
animal to appear before you bag it. There is no baiting,
no calls or decoys to implement. It's a really shallow
feature and one has to wonder why they didn't make
this at least as deep as the first game since it can
be avoided altogether and is not a mandatory mission.
For
best results, animals should be shot in the head.
Not only is the aiming somewhat forgiving but ammo
can be found scattered throughout the region - how
ever unlikely. To makes things even easier there is
a form of bullet time which slows down the action
allowing you to get a few well-placed shots in. This
slow motion feature is limited to how long it takes
you to press the button again to access it. You could
do virtually all of your shooting in slow motion.
Do you really think the average kid has that much
self-control to not keep that button pressed down
when things get tough? The game won't last an afternoon
if that's the case. Do yourself a favor and just use
the slow motion when you really need it. Which isn't
all that often since your characters is able to suffer
extensive damage at the hands of the wildlife. Health
packets are readily available and as long as you remain
still for a time, you will eventually regain your
lost health.
Animals
aren't the only dangers that you'll face. As in any
adventure game you'll have to negotiate various environmental
hazards. Here you will have to beat paths through
forests and grassy areas. There are hills to climb,
rocks to scale and caves to explore. You'll also have
to be on the lookout for quicksand, forest fires,
crocodile-filled waters and human-made animal traps.
If you're unlucky enough to have a bad encounter with
any of these things you'll sustain some damage on
your person which can result in a bad limp, dazed
stagger or even worse. The game saves your progress
automatically, but not always at the exact spot that
you would like it to. Unfortunately there's nothing
you can do about it.

Like
most shooters there are bosses. You will have an encounter
with a huge wild boar named Hogzilla as well as an
encounter with a giant species of rare apes. You can
keep out of harms' way by using the scope for a lot
of kills and you can even snipe from a helicopter
in some levels - just like some losers do in real
life.
Some
gun models are so ugly you would think they were designed
by a pre-schooler. The animals are good and display
appropriate animation characteristics. The big cats
freeze and seem to load up on some kind of energy
before they attack while the grizzly will just lunge
at you with brute force on his side. Wolves will try
to flank you while hunting you in a pack formation.
The sounds are very similar to the first game and
the voiceacting of the cliché characters in
the cutscenes is so over-the-top you would think they
were produced by Hanna Barbara.

To
say this game is easy would be an understatement.
It's presented as an arcade game rather than a hunting
sim, and truth be told, I prefer it this way. I would
have liked the slow motion to be limited to one use
and then go about killing more animals to fill the
meter up again. A hunting simulator would also have
been a welcome addition for those that prefer the
simulated experience of the first game. Then again,
you could save a few bucks and just chase some squirrels
around with a stick in your backyard.
By
Daemia
CCC
Staff Writer
|