Hunting games are tough to get right. Providing a realistic experience for those who hunt in real life, while maintaining the “fun factor” for gamers who do not hunt is no easy task. Cabela’s Big Game Hunter does a reasonably good job of balancing the competing demands of realism and gameplay. At the beginning of the game you will have your choice of several playable characters. You decision is more than simply cosmetic, as they each have their own strengths and weaknesses. For example, the teenage male can carry lots of gear without fatigue, but is not a very good shot. The 40’s female is less strong, but has quite good stealth and aiming. As you progress through the game, several more powerful characters are unlocked, though the game does not do a good job of telling you when you have done so. In fact, I did not know that I had unlocked any new characters until I had completed the game and started again on another difficulty level. The gameplay is fairly straightforward. You will select from a number of hunting locations, choose which animals you would like to hunt, buy equipment and weapons, then proceed to the hunting area. You then track the animals with various techniques depending on the difficulty level, kill the best-looking trophy that you can, and collect the animal. After you have used up all your tags, you are returned to the menu to choose another hunt. Shooting in Cabela’s Big Game Hunter is easy to learn, but difficult to master. Each weapon has different properties, such as stopping power and bullet weight, which will effect your aiming. Patience is the name of the game here, a feature that will delight some and disappoint others. When you have successfully hunted a minimum number of each species of animal in a particular location, you will be given the choice of which new location to unlock. Each location features new animals to hunt, as well as different terrain and weather. The environments are the main attraction of this game. They look beautiful, and are filled with highly realistic details. The sounds are superb. Cabela’s has no in game music, but the sounds of nature more than make up for this. You can hear trees rustle, footfalls in the grass, and if you are lucky, the call of a prize buck. Try turning up your TV much louder than usual, and you will be immersed in the environment of this game. The value of this game depends on what you want to get out of it. If you want a fairly realistic hunting simulation, including the long waits between kills, the wide range of animals and locations can keep you busy for quite some time. The harder levels of difficulty also extend the life of the game somewhat. On the other hand, if what you enjoy most is the shooting and the environments, you will probably not play this game much after completing it once on the easy difficulty level. Cabela’s is a fine game, though it is not outstanding. It is realistic, without being boring to the average gamer. Perhaps treading this middle ground is what keeps this game from being a truly excellent hunting simulation. In any case, the good graphics and terrific sounds make this a game worth playing, if not owning.
Other Helpful Reviews for Cabela's Big Game Hunter
If you're looking for an arcade shoot em up action packed game where you move around plunking away at targets constantly forget BGH right now. This is fairly realistic, right down to buying equipment, weapons and decid... Read Full Review
Gameplay-8 Graphics-10 Sound-8 Value-8 Tilt-7 Cabela's Big Game Hunter is a fun game for people who like to hunt and shoot guns or bows. It has awesome tags like white tailed deer, polar bears, alaskan moose, etc.... Read Full Review
