Walk, walk, skulk, sneak, aim, fire, reload, walk, walk, walk …

Mark Twain once wrote that golf was a good walk spoiled. What golf is to walking, hunting surely must be to hiking, right? Not necessarily. There is something primal about stalking a wild animal, while knowing that at the very same time, you may be the object of a stalking as well.

That is the premise behind Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts, an Activision Value release for the PC.

The game sports three modes of play – quick hunt and career hunt and the new feature, action zone. In action zone your avatar is ported to a remote area and you are the target of the hunt, by an assortment of wild animals. The idea is to progress from area to area, and kill all the wild beasts that are trying to eat you. You are not given much in the way of weaponry, and basically are in a raw survival situation. These animals will get right in your face, and you will be tasked with timing charges and using the tools (like that survival knife) to the best advantage.

This is a wild twist on the more conservative hunting titles but the title has some flaws. The game requires DirectX 8.1 to play. The host machine had the most recent DirectX software, which was 9.0-plus and all peripheral drivers. All other system specs exceeded the recommended minimum requirements.

But from the moment the game was launched, the frame rate was taking a pounding. Halting, jerky response, which affected all major aspects of the game, from movement to targeting.

The game does have a nice array of features including 27 big game animals to hunt, 12 locations, and more than 1,000 load-out options. While the avatars have certain distinguishing attributes that pertain to stealth, targeting, or woods savvy, there are basic body types that can be customized in terms of outfitting.

This is a title that closely mirrors the PS2 release of November 2003. The controls for this title are very easy to use, and credit must be given to developer Fun Labs for porting this game and making it so accessible. The sound elements are stock for the series.

Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts has some problems and this may be endemic to the disk received. But if the frame-rate issues are persistent to the title, then this is a real pass. If the frame-rate problems were isolated, then those fans of the Cabela’s hunting series will likely find a title that expands the universe with a newer hunting mode and a wide range of animals to shoot at and environments to hike through.

This game is rated Teen for blood and violence.
 

Gameplay: 6

The frame-rate issues present a big problem, not only in movement but also in targeting. You can get beyond it at times, but this is a constant issue with the game. That aside, looking at the game structure, this is a sound title.

Graphics: 7

The environments are smooth and the animation – again marred by frame rate issues – appears smooth.

Sound: 7

Nothing extraordinary here.

Difficulty: Medium

The game presents a range of challenges that will give almost every player the opportunity to set up the game to suit their level of play.

Concept: 7.3

The stalker becoming the stalkee is not a bad idea. The interface is accessible and the game is set up for easy of play.

Overall: 6.5

The frame-rate issues make this game a chore to play. The game is set up to suit players of all levels and would do a fine job in giving the casual hunting player situations that break out of the norm for hunting games, but all this is bogged down.