Cabela’s ‘Hunt Across America Tour’ Impressions

This past weekend, we had the chance to make the trek to our local (well, kinda…if you call 90 minutes of driving local) Cabela’s to experience their Activisions upcoming Cabela’s title, Dangerous Hunts 2011. To say that none of us here at Gameseyeview are avid hunters is likely an understatement that I personally can’t express to you enough, so while we were excited to see what was in store for us…we had our reservations. That being said, we were pleasantly surprised with what we found. But first, a little backstory as to just what Dangerous Hunts 2011 is all about.

This year, Activision has taken a whole new approach to their annual hunting title (well…at least this one) and have committed massive efforts to not only enhance gameplay to new levels but also give the game a story element that gamers will actually care about. To create a story that gamers care about, they have enlisted famed writer Brad Santos (of Resistance, Tomb Raider and Saboteur fame) to help flesh out an interesting tale that engrosses gamers from the outset. While we played a very early build of the game, the results were evident right away. Without revealing too much, the story will take players across the globe as they search for their brother, and really tries to focus on establishing relationships and bonds with the characters so players actions feel much more personal, and less like a glorified shooting gallery.

The second marked improvement to the series is the new Top Shot Elite wireless controller. In it’s most basic form it is a wireless gun peripheral. However, the controller is much, much more than that. While the TSE does give gamers the ability to blast away at targets on screen with relative ease, the real appeal in this is that it also tracks player movements, and becomes a controller to move characters around as well.

While it took a little getting used to, we instantly saw the appeal in being able to move around, look around the screen and feel completely immersed in the games world without being saddled with a clunky controller. Our one big gripe is that on certain sets the controller felt like the calibration was off immensely. We were assured though that this was a result of both early builds of the game, and the equipment being jostled and needing re-calibration.

The controller (pictured below) is of reasonable quality. It’s made of a hard sturdy plastic resin. The scope, by all accounts was ornamental for us but may play a role in future builds of the game. The stock is adjustable for comfort and the grip fit nicely our hands, and allowed us to use the analog joystick easily for movement in the game. The gun features a functional pump action for use with shotguns, and also has a camera on the end of the gun to allow for realistic tracking on screen. With the impressive functionality of the controller, we’re really excited by the not so hush hush rumors over the interwebs that this gun will be usable for future FPS titles from other companies (not a surprise at all since the gun was developed by Red Octane, of Guitar Hero fame.)

While we were there, we had the chance to actually use the Top Shot Elite on two different games. Cabela’s North American Adventures, which released last week and which we will be offering a review of shortly, was available for play with the TSE, but we’ll cover that in our review. What we really wanted to try out was Dangerous Hunts 2011. The game has several modes for games: Story Mode, Shooting Gallery, and Survival Mode.

The story mode was, from what we had the chance to play, much better than Cabela’s games in the past. On the surface that doesn’t say much, but it was engrossing. The basic premise is a story where your brother disappears in an animal attack of sorts and you as the player are tasked with hunting him down and recovering him. This is all subject to change though, as it was an early build. The addition of an actual story though makes the game have an actual purpose and really made us want to keep going. A level we played that we enjoyed in particular was a night time level with a heavy focus on wolves, and at times we legitimately felt freaked out. We welcome this kind of action in a Cabela’s game as it’s not something we’ve ever seen before.

The shooting gallery was what you’d expect, but it was fun. During the event, the crew was handing out t-shirts to people who scored a combined 50,000 points (the shooting gallery was done in teams of two) and the Gameseyeview team was the only one to do so while we were there. In one interesting contest though, we saw an older couple play through and watched the wife (well into her 50′s) obliterate her husbands score by over 10,000. It was small moments like this that made us see the potential for this game mode. By now, almost everyone in America has been to a bar that that has one of the 100′s of random ‘Buck Hunter’ arcade games and seen a group of drunken buddies try to beat each other. This mode will certainly appeal to that crowd and we wouldn’t be surprised to see it become a ‘party favorite.’

The last game mode we got to play was the Survival Mode. Right from the outset, the Survival Mode requires suspension of disbelief. Players take the role of a hunter fighting an onslaught of, for lack of a better term, crazed animals. In our two playthroughs of Survival Mode we took on a pack of wolves at night, and a group of lions in the African savannah. The best comparison we could provide for this mode would be Halo’s Fire Fight mode, or Gears of War’s Horde mode.

The mode was a ton of fun, and was rather difficult (again – an early build) but was instantly addictive. The panic that sets in when you are pitted in the savannah and have just fought off 10 lions only to see a rhino bearing down on you while you have next to no health has to be felt to be believed. The survival mode was best played with a friend and really required teamwork to survive longest.

We really enjoyed our time with the Dangerous Hunt’s crew and are looking forward to getting our hands on the final build of the game soon. It’s far too early to tell how everything will pan out with the game, but we’re extremely hopeful and think we’re in for a treat. We’d like to thank the team at Sandbox Strategies for setting up a visit for us with the road team, and would also like to thank each member of the road team for taking the time out of their schedules to thoroughly explain and go over everything with us.

For those who would like to get out to check out the tour themselves, the remaining schedule is below. Be sure to tell them Gameseyeview sent you!

Sept. 24 – New Haven, CT

GameStop

323 Universal Dr. N

North Haven, CT 06473

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Sept. 25 – East Hartford, CT

Cabela’s

475 East Hartford Blvd. North

East Hartford, CT 06118

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Sept. 26 – New Haven, CT

GameStop

323 Universal Dr. N

North Haven, CT 06473

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Sept. 30 – Columbus, OH

GameStop – Taylor Square

2923 Taylor Square

Reynoldsburg, OH 43068

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Oct. 1 – Chicago, IL

GameStop – Rosemont Marketplace

7064 Mannheim Road

Rosemont, IL 60018

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Oct. 2 – Hammond, IN

Cabela’s

7700 Cabela Drive

Hammond, IN 46324

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Oct. 3 – Hoffman Estates, IL

Cabela’s

5225 Prairie Stone Pkwy

Hoffman Estates, IL 60192

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Oct. 4 – Chicago, IL

GameStop – Rosemont Marketplace

7064 Mannheim Road

Rosemont, IL 60018

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Oct. 8 – Minneapolis, MN

GameStop – South Robert Plaza

2008 South Robert Street

West St. Paul, MN 55118

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Oct. 9 – Rogers, MN

Cabela’s

20200 Rogers Drive

Rogers, MN 55374

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Oct. 10 – Minneapolis, MN

GameStop – South Robert Plaza

2008 South Robert Street

West St. Paul, MN 55118

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Oct. 13 – Sidney, NE

Cabela’s

115 Cabela Drive

Sidney, NE 69160

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Oct. 15 – Seattle, WA

GameStop – Hawks Prairie

1380 NE Galaxy Ste A

Lacey, WA 98516

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Oct. 16 – Seattle, WA

Cabela’s

1600 Gateway Blvd NE

Lacey, WA 98516

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Oct. 17 – Seattle, WA

GameStop – Hawks Prairie

1380 NE Galaxy Ste A

Lacey, WA 98516

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Oct. 23 – San Francisco, CA

GameStop – Yuba City Marketplace

1070 Harter Rd

Yuba City, CA 95993

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Oct. 24 – San Francisco, CA

GameStop – *Location undetermined