If you ever fancied yourself an extra from the John Wayne safari flick "Hatari!", Gameloft has the mobile experience for you: Big Range Hunting 3D. Mobile hunters will pick up their rifles and head across the planet to bag animals from lush forests, arid deserts, swampy lowlands, and even a mysterious island. It's important to note that there are two versions of Big Range Hunting -- 2D and 3D -- and they are similar in theme, but are definitely not the same games.
I'm going to be brutally honest about something up-front -- I don't "get" hunting. There's a mission in the beginning of the game where you must hunt a bear that attacked your fellow hunter. I rooted for the bear -- we were in his forest, after all. As such, I recognize that I am not the audience for Big Range Hunting 3D. But I can certainly admire craftsmanship, and Gameloft has done a really impressive job making an arcade-y hunting game with great visuals, accessible controls, and quite a bit of drama.
It also features "Stuck the Middle" as its theme song, a song that is forever linked to "Reservoir Dogs." And that's funny.
There are a handful of game modes, but the main thrust of the game is your career as a big game hunter. You start in the Pacific Northwest hunting deer. This sequence teaches you the mechanics of the game, such as how to crouch and go silent and how to use your scope to zoom in on an animal. The game uses some nice shorthand techniques, like painting the "hunting zones" in red, so you know where to go. You need to use your calls to lure the animal closer, line up your shot, and then make the kill. The larger the animal, the more points and dollars you earn. If you miss, the animal will flee.
If your aim is off, you can wing an animal or miss the kill-shot. Shooting an animal in the hind leg is actually painful to watch, so the game teaches you to really work on lining up a merciful, single bullet kill-shot.
Not every scenario puts you at the top of the food chain. As mentioned, there is a scene where you must track a bear that injured a friend. If you don't spot the bear first, it will charge you. If you cannot get a kill-shot off right away, the bear will tackle you and maul you to death. It's not bloody, but you do see your hunter fall before the might of the bear. Other animals can really ruin your trip, too, such as the boar. As you track the boar, following its grunts, you must keep in mind that the animal will attack if cornered or it sees an opportunity to strike. I was flanked by a boar on more than one occasion and gored by its tusks.
As you earn money and complete hunting missions, you can venture off to new locations, such as the African savannah. In Africa, you hunt meaner prey like lions and elephants. (Do not get caught under an elephant.) The gear shop is interesting, if only because you can buy a machinegun and a rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Did I mention the game has an arcade feel?
There is a driving element in Big Range Hunting 3D. You need to drive to some hunting zones, especially as the locations expand. The driving stuff is a nice touch, as it breaks up the hunting action and provides a few dramatic moments.
In addition to the career, you can also check out an Instant Play mode and re-play career missions or head into the Free Hunting area and bag all sorts of animals rummaging around the wild. (I got gored by a lot of boars here.)
Big Range has been built on top of Gameloft's existing 3D technology -- the running and driving sequences are quite similar to those found in the superlative 3D edition of Brothers in Arms. As such, the game looks fantastic. The animals are lovingly constructed, the environments are bright and colorful, and the animations are quite smooth. The game also sounds good, which excellent recreations of animal calls and growls. (Of course, doing such a good job with the look and sound of the animals might make you a little less quick on the trigger...) |
