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On my quest to find and play more light-gun style games, I decided to check out the hunting genre. My gateway into hunting games was the Remington Super Slam Hunting series for Wii. They’re not entirely realistic but they make killing innocent defenseless creatures extremely fun. They’re basically gallery shooters dressed up as hunting games and are very accessible. You don’t need to know anything about hunting to enjoy them. I had a lot of fun with them and I crave more so I decided it was time to move on to the Cabela’s games of which there are many to choose from and I specifically wanted to play titles that offer light-gun style gameplay. And the two that I hear about a lot are Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts 2011 and 2013. So I started with 2011.
Developed by Cauldron and published by Activision, Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts 2011 was released for DS, Wii, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 in 2010. The game was also re-released for Wii as Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts 2011: Special Edition which comes with an optional “cel-shaded animation mode” or cartoon visual style. For this review, I played the PS3 version and Special Edition version for Wii on a Wii U. Both versions support the Top Shot Elite peripheral and the PS3 version also supports PlayStation Move. I actually hunted down boxed copies of the game bundled with the Top Shot Elite for both systems and nabbed a copy of the Special Edition separately. The Top Shot Elite is by far one of my favorite gun peripherals for any home console to date. My initial plan was to buy the Top Shot Elite and game separately, thinking it would be the cheaper way to go but, unfortunately, many of the Elite’s I found were missing scopes and/or dongles for some reason and I found that very aggravating.
Typically, one of the first things I talk about in a review is the story, assuming there is one, and there is in Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts 2011 but I’m going to start with the controls because how you play this game is a big part of the experience. The ideal way to play it is with the Top Shot Elite. For the PS3, it comes with a dongle and sensor bar but you can also use a Wii sensor bar. I did not try playing with PlayStation Move but that may also be a good way to experience the game. For the Wii, the Top Shot Elite simply houses the Wii Remote and Nunchuk. The PS3 version can be played with the standard controller but I found that the game is much more enjoyable with motion controls or light-gun style gameplay. Actually, I should be more specific. The Galleries mode is very enjoyable with the Top Shot Elite. The Story mode is not.
There’s two game modes, Story and Galleries. The story is like a typical first-person shooter with cut scenes and everything. The Galleries mode contains a bunch of rail shooting galleries or stages. The developers designed both modes to support the Top Shot Elite so I assume that’s how they really want you to play the game. That said, playing through the story with the Top Shot Elite was one of the most awkward experiences I’ve ever endured. At a certain point, I switched to a standard PS3 controller (DualShock 3) and while it was more comfortable to some degree, it still felt awkward so I eventually switched back to the Top Shot Elite. The problem is, the buttons are all over the place on the Elite for PS3. You move your character with the stick on the back of the grip which also contains some buttons, turn by aiming, and then there’s buttons on either side of the barrel along with the dpad and the other stick, plus more buttons on the magazine. So trying to move, aim, shoot, switch weapons, and interact with things all feels very awkward and uncomfortable.
It’s not like the story mode is aiming for realism so why the developers didn’t make the the story a rail shooter is beyond me because it would have been much more enjoyable that way. I did play through the PS3 version first and I must admit I made a terrible mistake. When I play a game, I normally beat the story or campaign mode before jumping into any other modes. In Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts 2011, I jumped into the Galleries mode before beating the story and that was a mistake because I didn’t want to go back. But because I’m reviewing this game, that means I have to at least get through the story which is also, unfortunately, a decent chunk of the game. So I reluctantly went back and pushed through. Furthermore, you need to play through the story to unlock some of the galleries. Even worse, beating it unlocks a Hard mode and you must play through that to unlock Expert galleries. After my experience with the PS3 version, I didn’t bother with the story in the Wii version. I refused. It’s not fun. Plus, the only reason I played the Wii version, the Special Edition specifically, in addition to the PS3 version, is because I wanted to check out the exclusive cartoon style.
Basically, Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts 2011 is a terrible first-person shooter but great rail shooter. The story mode sucks as does controlling your character with the Top Shot Elite. The Galleries mode is a lot fun and is best enjoyed with light-gun style gameplay. I enjoyed it so much that I feel the developers should have cut the story entirely and filled the game with more galleries. Seriously.
The story puts you in the shoes of a character named Cole. While hunting in Alaska with his father and brother, something terrible happens, and then the plot fast forwards several years and Cole travels to Africa to hunt a creature known as the “Kaftar”. As the story progresses, you learn more about what this creature actually is and its connection to Cole’s father. The plot is ridiculous, the drama isn’t very interesting, and the character’s are mostly forgettable. The only thing that really makes the story stand out is that it leans into the supernatural territory. It’s not very realistic so don’t go into this expecting a hunting simulator or anything like that. The story is also very short which isn’t necessarily a bad thing in this case because the less time you have to spend with the awkward controls, the better.
I should mention that I think the game is tonally interesting. For a hunting game, anyway. I’m guessing the developers were aiming for a creepy and tense tone, maybe even trying for horror. But I can’t say that tone is consistent throughout the entire plot. I felt it was mostly conveyed in the beginning and end. Some of the animals are designed to look creepy with an atmosphere to match that I felt was not presented as heavily during the middle portion of the story. Also, the menu music is backed by some legitimately eerie tunes.
The story mode in Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts 2011 is very boring. Very boring to anyone who plays a lot of video games or at least shooters. Maybe if you don’t play a lot of games and/or have an interest in hunting, the Story mode may be appealing but playing through it with the Top Shot Elite would still be awkward. Even if you were to strip away the focus on light-gun style gameplay, throw in visible gun models, and have it feel and play like any other contemporary first-person shooter, it would still be a boring experience. Playing with a standard controller is somewhat evidence of that. The light-gun style first-person shooter gameplay is neat in theory but awkward in execution so all that’s left is a boring story mode that feels awkward to play. Basically, you move through areas and shoot the animals that appear and at certain points you’ll face boss animals. You’ll encounter wolves, lions, cougars, hyenas, and many more, and get to shoot them with a handgun with infinite ammo, rifles, a shotgun, and crossbow, and can activate Hunter Sense to spot hidden animals and pickups.
Most of your time in the story mode has you going from A to B, trying to pick off animals before they see you or get too close and at one point, you’ll have to be mindful of mines. Any time you enter an open space or clearing, you’re basically forced into an arena style combat situation against multiple dangerous animals. Instead of quick-time events, the game features Skill Shot sequences where time slows down and the camera focuses on the attacking animal, typically highlighting a vital organ for you to shoot. In some instances, you’ll have to dodge attacks by rapidly moving the Top Shot Elite left and right. It’s all very mundane. You’ll often be outnumbered and trying to aim and shoot everything coming for you is what makes it challenging, especially if playing with the Top Shot Elite. There is a set piece where you’re riding in a vehicle and have to shoot attacking animals. It’s basically a rail shooter sequence and is easily the most enjoyable part of the story. It’s also evidence the story mode could have been better if it was entirely on rails. There are pickups to find like ammo, health, experience items, and journal entries and tapes that flesh out the story. You can also find and shoot Marksmen Targets. You do earn experience for killing animals, among other things, and earning enough does unlock Galleries.
I’m guessing the developers were trying to aim for a broader audience with Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts 2011. Granted, I have yet to play the previous entries as of this review but if this was designed to appeal to hunters or those that like realistic hunting games, I wouldn’t be surprised if they found this disappointing. You don’t need to know anything about hunting to enjoy the game and it’s certainly not going to teach you anything about the sport that you probably don’t already know. One thing I find interesting about the story as a whole is that it frames almost all the animals you come across as dangerous threats out to get you rather than innocent defenseless creatures minding their own business. In Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts 2011, if you don’t kill them, they will kill you. The story is ridiculous but the concept could make for a very exciting story-driven action experience. It’s only a shame Cauldron didn’t make one. The game’s real saving grace is the Galleries mode where you will indeed kill hundreds of innocent defenseless creatures and it proves to be a lot of fun.
The Galleries mode consists of numerous galleries or stages spread across multiple game types and it’s all on-rails and supports up to four players. As the name implies, it’s an arcade-style gallery shooting mode. The only bad thing about it is that some galleries are locked behind story progression so you do have to play through the Story mode to unlock them all. The game types include Classic, Survival, and Trek. All of them have you shooting animals for points and you can earn medals based on your performance. For high scores you want to increase your combo by killing multiple animals in succession. You are penalized for shooting females, deers with a shotgun, and birds with a rifle. Certain animals award you powerups when killed like double points, slow down time, and unlimited ammo, among some others, and killing uniquely colored animals awards bonus points.
Galleries is an extremely fun mode. No awkward controls, no boring story, just pure rail shooting, light-gun style gameplay. And I would highly recommend playing through this mode with the Top Shot Elite. Your character will move automatically so all you have to do is aim, shoot, reload, and press a button to activate powerups. It’s that simple. While the PS3 version certainly looks the best, I actually found the Wii version feels better and smoother to play and I believe it’s because it performs better.
The three game types are not all that different from each other mainly because they feature the same arcade-style gallery shooting gameplay but there are some variations between them. Classic is simple. Try for a high score in any gallery of your choosing and that’s pretty much your goal for all of them across all three game types. In Survival, you’re trying to survive for as long as possible and most of the animals are dangerous and come for you. The longer you survive, the more challenging things get. Trek consists of galleries with multiple stages. It’s like Classic except you play through multiple stages in succession and you get to choose the stages.
The Galleries mode offers hours of animal killing fun. There are plenty of galleries to play through and the replay value comes from trying for better scores, the different routes through the Trek galleries, and playing with friends. Plus, several Galleries are unlocked by meeting certain requirements in other Galleries. This mode could have been a game all on its own and it will make you work for Gold medals. Practice and even memorization will be beneficial so it’s definitely a mode that will keep you coming back. Once you get the hang of things, it’s not hard to get through a Gallery but scoring big points in some of them can be challenging, especially if playing solo.
Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts 2011 isn’t a terrible looking game but it’s not a great looking one either and the cartoon style exclusive to the Special Edition doesn’t look all that good. It doesn’t even look like a cartoon. It just looks bad. There are no visible gun models, pop-in is noticeable, and dead animals will visibly disappear. The Wii version is not as pretty and detailed as the PS3 version but it actually doesn’t look terrible for the hardware it’s running on. Overall, the visual presentation is decent in both versions. Even without the visible gun models, the gunplay still feels great, especially if playing with the Top Shot Elite, and it’s complimented nicely by the excellent sounds of weapons fire. I don’t know what the connection is between heavy metal tunes and hunting but the Galleries mode features some cool rocking music. On the technical side, the PS3 version can feel choppy at times but it plays well, overall, and in my experience with the Wii version, it performs better as mentioned earlier. That’s not to say the frame rate never dips but I found it smoother. I am happy to say I encountered no major technical issues in either version.
Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts 2011 is actually a very good game if you ignore the story mode. I had a great time with the galleries. That’s where the real fun is and I really hate the fact some galleries are locked behind story progression. Unfortunately, to get the most enjoyment out of Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts 2011, you need to get through the story. Twice. Thankfully, it doesn’t take too long to get through. In the end, I really wonder what audience the developers were truly aiming for with this game. I can only guess serious hunters or those looking for a realistic hunting game would be disappointed but so would anyone else because even if the developers’ goal was to reach a larger audience, the story mode doesn’t make for a good or exciting shooter. It’s just boring and awkward. Other than that, Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts 2011 is one of the best gallery shooters I’ve ever played and it supports one of the coolest peripherals for any home console to date.
I absolutely recommend Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts 2011 if you’re looking for fun arcade-style gallery shooting action. I would highly suggest acquiring the Top Shot Elite no matter what system you get it for. You can find the game, itself, for pretty cheap as of this review but be warned, you may have to cough up a few bucks for a boxed copy that comes with the peripheral. If you can find a Top Shot Elite separately and fully intact, buying that and the game separately may be the cheaper way to go. Ultimately, Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts 2011 is a mixed bag that can be a ton of fun depending on what you’re looking for. The Story mode is not very good so the Galleries mode is the only reason I’m recommending this game. That’s what you should buy it for. It’s a lot of fun, easy to pick up and play, can be enjoyed with friends, and comes with plenty of replay value.