Surprisingly satisfying hunting sim.
Scenery and sounds are fantastic, especially with headphones. Tons of hunts to go on. Many wide-open expanses to explore and shoot stuff in.
The Bad:
The animal animations could have been a tad better. Game is too easy.
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I'll try to keep this short:
Do you like stealth shooters? Does the idea of trapsing through the woods tracking a kodiak bear or caribou by their tracks and their grunts sound like your cup of tea? Then for a bargain pricetag, pick this one up.
The 'story' consists of a collection of famous 'hunts', where you go after a legendary animal in a real-ish location with a variety of weapons at your disposal (rifles, shotguns, handguns, bows), as well as assorted hunting tools (bait, callers. blinds). Additionally, each hunt allows you to go after smaller game, to sharpen your skills before you take on the main target.
The locations vary in their style (woods, desert, snowy areas), and are quite nicely rendered, giving a solid feeling that you are in a particular place, especially given the very long draw distances (better than monster hunter freedom). Using headphones, the sound is phenomenally realistic, with chirping birds, rustling leaves as various smaller wildlife skitter around, and babbling brooks. The combination makes for a very immersive atmosphere. Add to that the sound of a growling bear somewhere off in the distance to your left, and you have yourself a sometimes exciting hunting sim on your hands.
Yes, the animations are sometimes a wee bit off, but overall, bears act like bears, deer act like deer, and so on. The emphasis here is on patient stalking of your prey, sort of like a sniper game but with animals as the targets. There is something really satisfying in lining up a deer or moose through a couple of dozen trees (at about 200 yards) with your high-powered scope and bringing them down with one shot. I'm enjoying this game a LOT more than I first thought, especially since there is no way I would ever want to hunt in real life.
So, for about half the price as a premium title, you could do far worse than Cabelas. If you want fast-action run-and-gun, this one is NOT for you. If, on the other hand, you want to stalk and snipe from afar, I highly recommend you ignore the kiddies on the forum and give it a try.