Cabela's Alaskan Adventure ^{(Xbox 360)}

Genre: Shooter Publisher: Activision Developer: Activision Players: ?

By Keith B (23rd Jul 2007)

A ‘man Vs beast’ hunting game where you are pitted against some of the most ferocious, and some of the cutest and cuddliest animals you could find in the Alaskan wilderness.

I am an Ozzie. I have never seen snow, never felt snow, nor been colder than that chill you get when you down your first cold one on a warm summers day! Needless to say, I have no doubt that snow and I would mix like George Bush and Kim Jong Il! However, having said that, the cold and icy regions of the world do hold a certain mystery and mystique, even excitement. Mind you, the ‘excitement factor’ is mainly a result of watching too many of those lame 80’s Porky’s style movies where the young skiers have to save the snow lodge from evil developers, and inevitably there is at least one big party where half a dozen fit snow bunnies get their kit off. With that in mind it is easy to understand my infatuation with snow based games.

Simultaneously two games have been released in the Cabela series of hunting games; this addition, Cabela’s Alaskan Adventure (CAA), and Cabela’s African Safari. I have reviewed the second game also, so I won’t spoil your read if you haven’t checked it out yet. Anywho, CAA is a ‘man Vs beast’ hunting game where you are pitted against some of the most ferocious, and some of the cutest and cuddliest animals you could find in the Alaskan wilderness. With a fully stocked ranger station at each location, that can provide you with all of your equipment and Weapons of Animal Destruction (WAD’s), you are capable of putting a good solid dent in the fuzzy critter population and kill yourself a couple of sweet souvenirs.

Not a big fan of guns? Well, your either a sissy girl or were born without hands, but either way there are other fun filled activities that can keep you occupied. At each location there are side activities that you can have a crack at. These include different varieties of fishing, dog sled racing and bird shooting. So basically if you don’t like killing animals or making them suffer, this game probably isn’t for you. As I mentioned in my African Safari review, I am not a big gun fan, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like blowing the crap out of animated animals or people. So, if you are a pacifist/animal lover and believe that this game is ‘evil’……get over yourselves IT’S A GAME!!!!

At each location you go to you are given hunting missions in different areas. To proceed in the game you must complete the objectives given without killing any animals that you have not been authorized to. This can be quite frustrating, as often you will come across a snow bunny (literally), and nothing would make you happier than peppering that cute lil guy with buckshot….but noooooo, if you do that you get a warning and then lose money for each indiscretion! Too many and you forfeit the mission, bummer!

I have to say, I quite enjoyed the game. The hunting levels are quite expansive, and pretty to boot. The mini-maps are easy to understand and, as long as you know how to use the PDA, tracking down the right animal to slaughter isn’t too much of a hassle. The hunt itself can be quite exhilarating, you have to remember to watch your ‘fatigue’ meter and also be aware of any ‘predator’ animals that may also be close by. I got munched on by quite a number of mountain lions and arctic wolves! Fortunately you are allowed to protect yourself if an animal charges or attacks you. A quick shot to the forehead usually takes the fur coat down pretty quickly! It reminds me of Jimbo and Ned in South Park…”It’s coming right for us”! No Mexican Staring Frogs unfortunately.

The Visuals are quite good, they’re not amazing or anything like that, but very suitable for the game and create quite a realistic atmosphere. The levels and backgrounds are very picturesque, with the only point of some contention being the animal and character rendering/animation. It does jump from time to time, but not enough to worry about too much. The animals do look very dead when you plug-em, which is very reassuring.

The sound quality I was quite impressed with. Your breathing intensifies when you run for an extended period, and considering that the sound of snow being crushed by your feet (or that of your prey) are the only major sounds of note when you are on the hunt, the atmosphere can be quite intense. Of course your gun sounds pretty good too, don’t worry about that!

Cabela’s Alaskan Adventure can be moderately challenging at times. Well, for the likes of most of you it is probably down right impossible, but for those of you who have a portion of my skills you may find some areas that require you to concentrate just a little bit. The idea is to take advantage of stealth initially and try to take your prey down in one shot. However this is not super easy, as those damn tricky animals have pretty decent senses. So if you miss that initial kill shot or are detected early the chase is on, and you better hope you can shoot a moving target because otherwise you are going to be about as successful as Kevin Costners’ Waterworld.

The Scott’s Final Word:
Given that I had already played the African Safari I was quite pleasantly surprised at how decent this game was! Don’t rush out and buy it or anything, it wasn’t that good, but it was quite entertaining. I have to say though, after reviewing two hunting games on the trot I wouldn’t mind playing a good solid person to person violence game, racing game or something like that. Is Leisure Suit Larry out on 360? Some sexist humor might just be the call of the day! Actually, mix Larry with a hunting adventure and we may have a winner on our hands. Remember, if it gets made, you heard it here first!