"A Review of Cabela's Deer Hunt Season Opener 2004"

For many years now, Activision and Cabela's have sustained a joint effort to produce what are arguable the finest hunting and fishing titles on the market. This virtual cornering of the outdoor genre can be attributed to superior game play, innovative graphics, constantly evolving themes, and the crafty fashion in which all of these attributes have been assimilated together. Deer Hunt Season Opener 2004 serves as the latest link the in chain of excellence, providing a challenging, yet playable hunting experience for gamers of all ages and skill levels.

In undertaking the production of any hunting simulation, realism is of the utmost importance. However, it should also be noted that this realism must be accompanied by varying levels of difficulty, allowing the game to balance the dichotomy of players looking for realistic, difficult hunts, and those seeking entertainment only. Quick Hunt allows users to embark on a faster paced hunt, using equipment and weaponry of their choosing, at a location of their choice. On the hand, Career Hunt provides a much more difficulty, long term engagement in which the user participates in trips scattered across several different locations (Florida, Wyoming, Canada, Missouri, Minnesota, New Mexico, Washington, Alaska, Arizona), each with a specific tag limit according to season. The difficulty setting for each of these options can be adjusted accordingly, making it easier or harder to attract, stalk, and drop targets.

The landscapes provided blanket almost all of the major deer hunting terrains in the United States, and even ventures into Saskatchewan in Canada. Graphically speaking, the terrain is quite realistic, with few occurrences of objects simply appearing out of no where or being overly polygonal. Grass sways with the wind, as do trees and bushes. The landscape is directly affected by the time of season (snow in winter, etc.) and the different conditions force hunters to develop different strategies for landing trophy animals in all occasions. The non-game animals which inhabit the different regions are well placed, geographically speaking, as is the vegetation.

The realistic nature of the hunt is naturally what makes or breaks a hunting simulation. In this category, DHSO does well in providing the user with a real to life, skill-involved, yet still fun and achievable hunting simulation. There are several species of deer to hunt (Sitka Blacktail, White Tail, Columbian Black Tail, Coues, Sika, Rocky Mountain Mule, Axis, Fallow), each having its' own unique attributes which add to the difficulty of the hunt. Several methods of hunting are allowed to the user via the equipment options selected pre-hunt. Feeders, decoys, stands, scents, calls, and blinds are all at the hands of the hunter, allowing the user to design his or her own unique tactics for landing the trophy buck or doe. Similarly, the deer themselves act accordingly with whatever season the hunt is taking place in, different strategies may be required before and during the rut, and like in the different terrain settings.

Trucks, boats, snow mobiles, and ATV's provided near the lodge at the beginning of most of the hunts. These vehicles can play a great role in tracking down your target, but in some cases (especially the ATV and snow mobile) have extremely touchy steering, which can result in accidents that sorely affect the health and status of the hunter. Energy, hunger, thirst, and overall health play a great role in determining your hunt options, so users must formulate a plan and use his or her equipment wisely. The poorer the condition of the hunter, the harder it will be to take game effectively. Choosing the wrong outfit, or not bringing enough food or medicine along on the trip could have deadly consequences.

As is traversing the rugged great outdoors in search of trophy game was not difficult enough, the environment is just as dangerous to the virtual hunter as in real life. Predatory animals like bears, wolves, foxes, and boars can, and will attack hunters who venture to close or fail to give them the necessary attention to caution. This can result in rescues from the park ranger, ending your hunt, and losing whatever game you had taken prior to not finishing the trip. So, obviously, it would make sense to just kill predators whenever you saw them, right? Wrong. The game warden keeps a strict watch over all hunting activities in each region, taking non-game, or game you don't have a tag for is a big no-no and can land you monetary fines, or worse, end your hunt early. So, while not being able to down predators until they attack you is annoying, it is just one more part of the game to think about.

The deer available to hunt differ greatly in size, strength, and habitat. For these very good reasons, several different weapons of varying caliber, as well as two bows, have been included in the game. From the 12 gauge, to the 30-30 lever action, to the .243, to the .30-06, to the 7mm short magnum, to the hefty .308 magnum, there is a rifle for every occasion. But, they do come at a price. Over the course of the game hunters earn money for making clean shots and successfully finishing hunts. All of the equipment purchased in career mode costs money, so choose wisely, and make sure you hunt well enough to support your monetary needs. In addition to the rifles, the .44 magnum and .357 magnum revolvers are included in the hunters' possible arsenal, along with a wooden bow and a composite bow. Several different styles of scopes can be unlocked throughout the course of career mode, just like the rest of the rifles (guns are used on a specific hunt, and then unlocked for the others following successful completion). Spotting scopes, binoculars, GPS units, maps, and range finders are also all listed among the equipment choices.

The hunts themselves can vary from sight and stalk, to stand and call, or to simply searching blind for tracks and then following them. As the difficulty of the game is increased by the user, calls and feeders work less and less, and the stealth aspect of the game becomes much more important. There is a stealth meter, as well as a wind compass, letting you know how covertly you are moving through the terrain, and whether or not you are staying up or down wind of your target. In easy mode, targets appear in red on the tracking radar, helping you manage the wind a great deal. When set on hard, tracking aids disappear and the skill of the hunter is all that remains to bring deer to the taxidermist.

For career hunt mode, where your results and scores are saved, each user is allowed to choose a customizable log cabin to display his or her mounts. This will help the user keep track of records and sizes for future hunts. Each user in career mode gets to choose his or her own character skin, ranging from teenagers to older men, with some custom characters becoming available as progress is made through the game. The type of character chosen can play a great deal into the tactics used in hunting, as each of varying attribute palettes and capabilities.

Overall, Deer Hunt Season Opener 2004 provides a realistic, yet customizable and fun hunting simulation for serious hunters, or those whose tracking is limited to video games. The plethora of deer and weapons, stacked on top of the great variety of locations and terrain, coupled with the tried and true Cabela's game engine make this title no exception in the long line of prestigious Cabela's outdoor games. This reviewer recommends this game to anyone, but with special emphasis on those interested in hunting and the outdoors.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/27/06