You can say a lot of things about these Cabela’s games, but you have to admit they’re consistent.
They keep coming out, they keep selling copies...and they keep virtually the same level of quality.
Not too high, not too low, right in the lung.
It’s Cabela’s Big Game Hunter 2012.
Released for each of the three home consoles, Big Game Hunter 2012 is the latest in one
of the longest-running hunting game series ever.
These games date back more than eleven years now and have become the sportsman’s equivalent
to the Madden series, an annual celebration of lush beauty, lead bullets...and lifeless
bodies.
We’re playing the PlayStation 3 version here, which is available in a bundle with
a plastic gun called the Top Shot Elite.
We reviewed that particular peripheral here on CGRundertow about a year ago, so check
out that video review for more details on Cabela’s faux-firearm.
As for the game itself, well...if you’ve played any of Activision’s recent Cabela’s
titles, you already know what to expect from this one.
This is an arcade-style shooting game with light-gun DNA.
You make your way over hill and dale on a murderous rampage, shooting just about everything
unfortunate enough to cross your path.
The core gameplay here hasn’t changed all that much since its days in the arcade.
House of the Dead, Time Crisis, games like those serve as the more gamer-centric ancestors
to what Big Game Hunter has been doing for about a decade.
The major difference from one Cabela’s game to another is the content and in this case,
the narrative.
Animals are evil.
They must be shot square in the face.
So yes, Big Game Hunter 2012 has a story mode, a story mode that takes you from Montana to
Mexico and even across the Atlantic in search of things to kill.
This mode serves as the game’s core component, but it’s also the mode I played the least.
The effort is always appreciated, but at the end of the day, it’s just not as much fun
as traditional, fast-paced arcade galleries.
Part of the reason is that movement and stealth is really important in the story mode, but
moving your hunter with the analog sticks on a plastic gun is the gaming equivalent
to writing your name by gripping a pencil with your fist.
You can technically do it, but the process takes longer and the results make you look
drunk.
Or five.
The game is a lot more fun when you’re in the galleries.
More specifically, it’s more fun when you’re in the galleries with friends.
This is definitely a game best-played with other people who don’t take shooting deer
in the head seriously.
Mark and I had a contest to see who could slay the most innocent-looking animal in the
game, and I gotta tell you, we had a pretty good time doing it.
If that’s not the sign of a solid game, I don’t know what is.
It’s Cabela’s Big Game Hunter 2012, a game for hunters, outdoorsmen...and heavy
drinkers.