Deer Hunter: African Safari for iPad [rating: 4/5]
First there was Deer Hunter, then Deer Hunter for iPad, then Deer Hunter: African Safari and now Deer Hunter: African Safari for iPad. They do say if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it and that certainly appears to be the case with Glu’s popular hunting series.
If you’ve played any of the series before then you can skip the next few paragraphs as nothing has changed with the fourth in the series, however if you are new to the game read on.
As the name suggests Deer Hunter: African Safari for iPad places you in the heart of Africa with a gun in hand to bag yourself so big trophies and while there are African deer in your sights it’s the glamour animals that really catch the eye.
The main part of the game is the Safari where over three different locations you are challenged to kill a range of animals to achieve a given score. Scoring is based on the size of the animal comparative to it’s breed so going for the elephant is not always the best choice even if your instinct tells you otherwise. Points will be lost should you leave a wounded animaanon the field when the day is over.
Navigating your safari is done via your GPS, touching a location on your map or dragging your finger across the screen will move you to that destination. Should you get within range of a target the animals prints will appear on your map and if you aren’t all ready shown what the animal is you can move towards the animal prints again to see what it is. If you like the type of animal, and its size, you can select to enter the field of action, choose your location and take aim.
Once you are in the field the cross hair of your gun will appear on screen. You can control your aim by dragging your finger across the screen, not only to take aim on any given animal but also to scan the full playing area that goes beyond either side of the iPad’s screen. Once you’ve decided on which animal you are going to take down you can zoom in and use the ‘steady’ button to minimize the amount of shake. With the animal firmly in your sights you can tap the screen anywhere to fire. You can customize the control to enable a dedicated fire button but I found the ability to tap anywhere on the screen to work the best.
You have a full day to bag yourself 5 animals and should your score minus any deductions total the target score then you will unlock the next Safari. There are 12 levels to unlock in total with 4 difficulties spread over 3 locations and they will take you a while to complete thanks to the challeging nature of the scores you’ll need to beat.
As you progress you will unlock access to new weapons, accessories and skills that help you aim, shoot and remain un-detected by the animals. It’s very important as in Deer Hunter: African Safari some animals will charge to devastating effect. If you don’t want to work for your rewards you can purchase up to 3 add-on packs which will enable all the additional features from the start. To be honest though I didn’t find them necessary and got more satisfaction from unlocking the items myself.
The game looks as great as ever, not as good as on the iPhone 4 but still the African plains look great on the iPads screen and for the most part the animals look realistic too. In game menu’s are clear and easy to navigate and the sounds are appropriately authentic sounding throughout the game too.
As hunting games go I know no better, however Glu appear to be taking the easy options with these titles. Considering that the iPhone and iPad games are the same I see no reason why they shouldn’t be a universal app, if not then why not add some additional features that take advantage of the additional real estate that the iPad offers.
If you already have Deer Hunter: African Safari for your iPhone there is minimal reason to buy this version for your iPad, however if you are new to the genre and want to bag yourself some big game then you can’t go far wrong with this excellent hunting game.
Pros
- Big game hunting at it’s best
- Sleek intuitive controls
- Multiple upgrades of weapons and skills
Cons
- Still the same old game
$6.99 (View in iTunes)
Category: Games
Released: Oct 28, 2010
Version: 1.0.0
1.0.0
157 MB
Language: English
Seller: Glu Games Inc
© 2010 Glu Mobile, Inc.
Rated 12+ for the following:
Frequent/Intense Realistic Violence
Requirements:Compatible with iPad. Requires iOS 3.2 or later