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.