Cabela's Dangerous Hunts '09
From Activision Inc.
No description available for this title.
- Amazon Sales Rank: #2523 in Video Games
- Brand: ACTIVISION
- Model: 047875756816
- Published on: 2008-09
- Released on: 2008-09-23
- ESRB Rating: Teen
- Platform: PlayStation2
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: .25" h x 5.50" w x 7.50" l, .38 pounds
Frustrating At Best
This game gets a 1-star rating, only because a half-star is not permitted. I enjoyed Cabela's Big Game Hunter 2005 for the Gamecube, so I got this game (on clearance thankfully) and thought it would be more of the same. I was wrong.
In Big Game Hunter '05, you go to the Warden's cabin for each area, collect the tags you will need, and are left to your own accord to hunt the necessary animals in 3 different areas before approaching the next cabin. What's nice is that you can take as much time as you need to collect such animals and you are fined for killing non-legal, or out of season game, keeping it semi-realistic.
Then you have this version. They attempted to make it more 'exciting' by having "hand to claw" battles with these giant animals. In one area alone, my character somehow managed to ward off 4 lions, and 5 hyenas WITH HIS BARE HANDS. Ridiculous. It seems the creators actually encourage this aspect, because you can only see animals that are within a relatively short range and, once in that range, they'll charge you within seconds, leaving you virtually no time to take them down traditionally. Not only that, but most of these animals aren't even the ones you're hunting. As I mentioned above, in the past game you are punished for killing non-legal game. In this one, feel free to go spaghetti western-gun happy because there are absolutely no repercussions for killing anything that moves, despite the "tags" you carry for each animal you're actually supposed to be hunting. You're even limited in the ones you are hunting. Rather than have a small handful of each animal in varying size to choose from, you're left with close to the exact number you need. So much for passing up smaller ones in an effort to find the Big One. You're stuck with whatever you find.
Another mark against this game is how rushed you feel playing it. In BGH '05, as mentioned, you have as much time as needed, days if you'd like, to hunt what you need. In this game, they throw random animals at you instantaneously, throw in a cutscene, and move you on to the next part. For example, there is one part where you are hunting a jaguar. Within the first few steps you take when starting, there's one sitting in a tree nearby. You let loose a couple shots, only to find that your gun isn't within range and the jaguar jumps off the tree, triggering a cutscene with the two of you preparing to square off. As he is about to attack, another non-related incident takes place, and your character runs off to see what its about. You leave the immediate area, and your chance to capture the jaguar. You get a chance to get him later, in a 2 second span between cutscenes, but that's not the point. The game shouldn't hurry you along to the next part, and the secondary objectives should be left optional, hence the term "secondary".
It seems they were also going for more of a storyline in this game, however it has no rhyme or reason to it. It's a jumble of mini-stories that are in no way, shape, or form related to one another. Because of this the gameplay really suffers. Objectives are changed within seconds of each other, and sequences change so quickly that you're still trying to figure what just happened, even after completing the mission/area. Generally, you end up saving someone's life at the end of each area, but as they're thanking you clutching their injured body, your character is bizarrely more interested in the trophy animal he just took out.
The maps are fairly standard, and resemble the ones from previous versions, but in the one, there is no legend or key to explain what some of the icons on the map are. Though some are pretty self-explanatory given the situation, there are some that are real head-scratchers. There are a few more features to the game, including mini-hunts, but they are so short and some so ill-designed that they really aren't worth mentioning. If you're not going to buy a game for its main feature, why pay full price for maybe a half-hour's worth of side attractions?
Perhaps there's supposed to be a difference in the styles of the Big Game Hunter series vs. the Dangerous Hunts series (despite the same sponsor & production companies), but I was still expecting something that resembled the '05 version a little more.
Not as good as it looked or sounded to me.
This game will certainly be a favorite for some but not for me. I did not like the game play because it felt too choppy and the in game menus are too blurry. It just wasn't what I had hoped it would be.
Not as good as the first
I was super psyched to get this game, especially after watching the video trailor on this site. I really like the first dangerous hunts, and figured with new animals and new terrain that this would be even better. Going through the career was a lot of fun, unfortunately I think I beat it in a day and a half.
The levels are nothing like the first game. These are more of like a one way path, sometimes you have the choice to take different paths but that usually leads to a dead end or back to the trail you were on. But that wasnt even that bad, since the levels had so much to either avoid or take down. The hunter sense was a big help in tall grass.
The animals were a lot of fun since they have new tactics on how to ambush you, or charge straight at you.
The biggest complaint I can think of would after you beat it. You still have bonus missions to complete, but thats it. Unlike the first, you cant go back and buy tags, pick a gun, equip what you need, and go hunting. You have to start all over if you want to hunt again. I figured you should be able to use the guns you unlocked, and save any animals after that in the trophy room. You can go back and play the bonus missions over and over, but there are only about eight of those.
The game was a lot of fun, but I was still disappointed in the end. Maybe the second dangerous hunts is better.
