After a crumbling hillside drops you into an open riverbed, you’re rushed by waves of angry baboons...and the trail out of there is hundreds of feet away. Picking them off while running to safety is one of Dangerous Hunts 2013’s tenser moments, reinforcing what the game does best: letting you gun down charging packs of tigers, wolves, and other animals in a style that barely resembles real-life hunting.
Animal foes almost always attack, back up, wait a few seconds, and then attack again.That’s mostly what Maneater mode (a survival mode with bonus objectives) and Shooting Galleries mode entail. Same with the four-hour story mode, which has you hunting the legendary Black Lion in Africa while flashbacks to traumatic Alaskan hunts introduce bears, snowy-mountain environments, and family drama.
Oddly, what doesn’t come into play so much is the series’ unique new feature — the heart-rate monitoring done by the optional new Top Shot Fearmaster. You’ll need to hold this lightgun controller calmly and steadily for good, clear aiming when your character’s sniping with his scoped rifle, which is half the time at most. (We typically defaulted to his shotgun.) And because the game controls much more easily — and more comfortably — with a standard controller, we abandoned the Fearmaster altogether after a few hours. We enjoyed Dangerous Hunts without it, but like previous versions, this game never quite graduates from the Good range.
Holding the Fearmaster steady gives you a clear view with your target's vital organs highlighted.PUBLISHER: Activision • DEVELOPER: Cauldron • ESRB: Teen • MULTIPLAYER: 2 in split-screen co-op mode (Maneater mode); 2 locally or 4 hotseat (Shooting Galleries mode) • ACHIEVEMENTS: Decent • COST: $40 (or $80 with Top Shot Fearmaster controller) • RELEASE DATE: October 23, 2012
+ Loads of arcade-y, animal-blasting action; a few heartpounding moments.
+ Horde-like Maneater mode and shooting galleries nicely complement a decent story mode.
– Modest production values; repetitive animal movements; Fearmaster controller is somewhat unwieldy.
? Why isn't there a subtitles option?
