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There’s a lot of great things about video games. For one thing, they let you do things you wouldn’t normally do or can’t do in real life like kill zombies, use magic, and slaughter hundreds of animals. Okay, maybe people do that last one in real life like hunters or sportsmen and serial killers in training for example. If you’re like me and like to shoot things and don’t mind killing animals in games, then hunting video games may be something you would be interested in checking out. If so, I will direct you to the Remington Super Slam Hunting series. They come with hours of fun arcade, gallery shooting, light gun style gameplay and make killing innocent defenseless creatures enjoyable. But you could replace the animals with anything else like monsters, aliens, and robots, and the games would be just as fun. This series was my gateway to hunting video games and I find them very entertaining. The only reason I got into them is because I think I’ve played all the well known light gun style games for Wii which is a great system for the genre. Many hunting games feature light gun style gameplay so I figured it was time to give them a shot.
By playing through Remington Super Slam Hunting: North America and Africa, I like to think I’ve caused mass extinction on two continents. Between you and me, my goal is to completely destroy the ecosystem. That’s another great thing about video games, they let you role-play. I’ve wiped out a good chunk of animals so far but there are still more out there, minding their business, just trying to survive, unaware of my quest to put them down for no other reason than for my own entertainment. Video games are also a great way to travel to different locations without actually leaving your home and I’ve decided the wildlife in Alaska have overstayed their welcome. So I loaded up my Wii Zapper with my Wii Remote and took aim at the last frontier. Developed by EV Interactive LLC and published by Mastiff, Remington Super Slam Hunting: Alaska was released for Wii and PC in 2011 I think. The manual shows a copyright date of 2011 so I’m going with that. For this review, I played the Wii version on a Wii U.
If you’ve played the previous entries, you’ll be able to get into this very quickly. Actually, even if you haven’t, you should be able to get the hang of things easily. These games are not very challenging or intense but they are enjoyable, especially if you’re a fan of light gun style gameplay. Remington Super Slam Hunting: Alaska has no plot or narrative. You’re not participating in tournaments or going on safaris this time. Instead you’re hunting for the fun of it I guess. When you fire up the game, you’re immediately brought to the Hunting Lodge which doubles as the menu. It’s where you can view your trophies and firearms and select a hunting site or stage from the map.
For the most part, the core gameplay is unchanged from the previous games. You point your Wii Remote at your TV and shoot animals for points. Your ultimate goal is to score as many points as possible in each stage and you are awarded medals based on your performance. Instead of chains, you can now perform combos which are the same thing. Why they changed the term here, I couldn’t tell you. Shooting animals in succession increases your combo for more points. While much of the gameplay is the same as before, there are some differences. Remington Super Slam Hunting: Alaska feels more like Africa but does include some elements from North America like shooting animals for bonuses. You can unlock weapons and glasses as you progress but scents and gloves are gone. Some weapons come with scopes, letting you zoom in on distant targets but you don’t unlock scopes separately.
Bringing back the bonus item concept from North America does make Remington Super Slam Hunting: Alaska feel more arcade-like and overall, the gameplay feels a bit faster-paced than its predecessors. My only complaints are there’s not as many stages here nor is there as much going on here like there is in the stages in Africa. As a result, the environments or stages here are not as interesting. Remington Super Slam Hunting: Alaska is basically a rail shooter. Your character will frequently move through the stages but, unfortunately, you won’t be riding in vehicles or helicopters like you did in Africa. However, the gameplay here does feel very action packed. All the stages come with a lot of animals to shoot and very little downtime. One of the bigger new features is that you carry one of each weapon type and can switch between them during hunts. I was able to stick with one or two weapons for most hunts and got through the stages easily but I guess the game is trying to get you to switch weapons for different threats and situations.
You’ll get your hands on bolt rifles, auto rifles, shotguns, pistols, and bows so you can feel like Rambo. It’s only a shame you can’t fire explosive tipped arrows and bows are the only weapons capable of killing fish. You’ll also get to kill deer, moose, birds, mountain lions, bison, and more. As expected, some animals are dangerous and will try to attack you and you have to be mindful of females because you will be penalized for shooting them. None of this will be new to Remington Super Slam Hunting veterans. Some of the replay value comes from trying for better scores and medals but once I unlocked the final set of firearms, I found it very easy to earn gold medals. In addition to the single player are multiplayer modes including co-op and versus and the game does support up to four players.
Just like its predecessors, Remington Super Slam Hunting: Alaska is a simple game. Anyone can pick this up and have a good time. It’s an arcade-style gallery shooter dressed up as a hunting game. You are awarded points for shooting animals and for different types of shots like long shots, vital shots, and head shots. Instead of coins, animals drop nuggets that you can shoot for bonus points and the stages will contain ore you can shoot for nuggets. The game isn’t very challenging or intense but it is a lot of fun. It’s not hard to get through all the stages so much of your time with it will most likely be trying for better scores and playing with friends. There are some feats you can try for in each stage. At least that’s what I’m calling them. These include no females shot, all ore depleted, no damage, and perfect accuracy and the feats you’ve achieved are indicated by icons on the stage selection screen.
As expected, the production values of Remington Super Slam Hunting: Alaska are nothing to write home about. The game doesn’t look particularly amazing but the visual presentation gets the job done. I do think the gunplay is slightly better here than that of its predecessors but also nothing special and the light gun style gameplay does make up for it. The music, on the other hand, is surprisingly good. What you hear at the menu is not really what’s reflected during hunts. There are some excellent heavy metal and rocking tunes here. On the technical side, the frame rate does dip here and there but otherwise, I encountered no major issues.
I had a great time with Remington Super Slam Hunting: Alaska and I expected to because I really enjoyed the previous entries and expected more of the same. And that’s what I got. I think this could have been the best one but I feel it’s brought down a bit by being too short. None of these games are super long but this one is the shortest in terms of stage count. Plus, the stages aren’t as interesting as those in Africa. Ultimately, I think Remington Super Slam Hunting: Africa is the best in the trilogy. But Alaska arguably has the best gameplay. I like the weapons, I like that I can carry one of each type, and the gameplay feels faster and more action-packed. There’s not much to say about Alaska that hasn’t been said about the previous games. It’s another fun arcade style shooter. You don’t need to know anything about hunting to enjoy it and anyone of any skill level can pick it up and have a good time and it can be enjoyed with friends.
I absolutely recommend Remington Super Slam Hunting: Alaska. It retains basically everything that made the previous games so enjoyable but I think the fewer amount of stages brings it down a tad. Still, what’s here is great fun, it’s accessible, and comes with plenty of replay value. You can find copies for pretty cheap online so if you think this looks like fun or have played and enjoyed the other two games, definitely give this one a shot.