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After a relatively short turn around period since Cabela’s African Adventures, a new Cabela’s game is now available in the form of Cabela’s Big Game Hunter: Pro Hunts. Big Game Hunter is the flagship line of games in the franchise and the game lives up to its status. Pro Hunts is much closer to a hunting simulation than African Adventures was giving players the opportunity to learn the basics of hunting while tracking wild American game. If you’ve been wanting to see what its like to line up the perfect shot on a huge trophy buck, this game is as close as you are going to get to the real thing without getting out into nature. However, as superficially authentic as the game comes across, there are still some issues that plague the series that this game just couldn’t manage to shake.

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At its core, Pro Hunts is a tactical first person shooter. This game is all about simulating the hunting experience, so if you aren’t interested in hunting or you are looking for a more arcade-like experience, this isn’t the game for you. In Pro Hunts, you play as a novice hunter learning the basics of hunting from four expert hunters. Each expert will show you how to properly stalk your prey and keep the animals in your sights while mastering their respective disciplines. Whether it is bow hunting you are after, or hunting with a rifle, this game covers it all.

The game is a fairly linear adventure with each mission leading into the next, but once you get into a hunting zone, you do have some freedom to move around and choose an approach that fits the style of hunting you want to experience. Whether you’d rather do your hunting from a prone position or you’d rather sit in a perch while the prey come to you, it is all available in this game. No matter which approach you choose, there is a fair amount of stealth elements that must be adhered to, if you are going to be successful. If you just run up to a buck, you will fail the mission and be forced to do it all over again. Once you properly approach and stalk your prey, you’ll aim down the sights and take a shot. You’ll then be scored on the precision of the shot based on whether you hit and vital organs and move on to the next hunt. It is a fairly straightforward game, but whatever it does; it does competently.

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Thankfully, if you are a big fan of the series, Pro Hunts is compatible with the light gun controllers from the previous set of games. As long as you take the time to configure and calibrate your controller, you’ll find that the light gun is a viable alternative to the standard control scheme. Either way, the controls are certainly intuitive so whether you choose the light gun or the controller you’ll find that you won’t have any issues getting the game to respond to you.

Pro Hunts manages to surpass other titles in the franchise by sticking to the basics and giving players a more authentic hunting simulation. Other games in the Cabela’s franchise always seemed to stray too far into the arcade realm where they drew comparisons to better arcade games. While Pro Hunts still possess several arcade elements, like the entire firing and scoring sequences, there is a greater emphasis on getting yourself into the right position and keeping yourself invisible to your prey. It is an intriguing glimpse into the hunting world and you will honestly learn a few things about hunting certain types of animals. Both the stealth sections and the shooting sections are done reasonably well, and this is the closest simulation for actual hunting that is available today while still remaining accessible to newcomers. This game is certainly the best place to jump into the series if you’ve ever been interested before.

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The game itself only features one mode which is divided into three hunting types; open hunt, regular hunt and pro hunt. In open hunt mode, you are dropped into an area on the map and you are free to hunt any game you want. Regular hunts offer you a timed challenge to complete which lasts between 5 and 20 minutes. These challenges range from killing a buck from a stand to more advanced techniques that you’ll learn in-game. Once you get enough experience, you’ll unlock the Pro hunts which really put your skills to the test. Pro hunts are like regular hunts but will require all the skills you learned in that specific region. All in all, the campaign hunts are great, but there was a great opportunity for more that just went unfulfilled. It would have been great to see more variety in this game which would open it up to a wider audience. Instead, the game keeps an incredibly narrow scope and quickly becomes repetitive which is one of the major flaws of the game.

In conclusion, Cabela’s Big Game Hunter: Pro Hunts is a great hunting simulation. It is made specifically with hunters in mind, so if you are in that world, this game is going to appeal to you. In the end, the issues or the strength, of the game lies in its narrow scope and appeal. On one hand, the game offers a competent and realistic simulation of hunting. On the other, the game isn’t particularly engaging or exciting for audiences that aren’t hunting fans. Whether you fall on the hunters side or the gamers side of the spectrum, this game is very accessible so if you’ve been curious about the Cabela’s games; this is a great place to jump in and give it a shot. While this game does not substitute for a real hunting experience, this is certainly the next best thing.

This review is based on a review copy of the PlayStation 3 version of Cabela’s Big Game Hunter: Pro Hunts published by Activision

Hunting as You've Never Experienced Before | Cabela's Big Game Hunter: Pro Hunts Review
Overall Score7
Positives
  • Authentic Experience
  • Made for Hunting Fans
Negatives
  • Very Niche Appeal
  • Only One Gaming Mode
  • Very Repetitive
7Overall Score
Reader Rating: (7 Votes)
8.4

About The Author

Joe Marchese is the founder / Editor in Chief of New Gamer Nation. He has been a gamer for his whole life but has been focusing on his passion to deliver the industry's new to New Gamer Nation. He is an expert of video game culture and has been featured on Fox News Online. Don't be shy to reach out and let him know what you think!