Cabela’s Outdoor Adventures

Outdoor fun..

Posted 3 years ago By - Jay Acevedo

Yet another game in the Cabela’s series of games was released a few weeks ago and while the huge hunting/fishing fanatic in real life, the games have brought me some kind of amusement over the years. The next-generation market has been flooded with lots of these games (most of all under the Cabela’s branding), all with the promise to deliver a true hunting experience. Unfortunately, many of them haven’t lived to the expectations. But there’s light at the end of the tunnel...thanks to Cabela’s Outdoor Adventures.

Lots of these badboys are up for grabs!

Gameplay

You begin your treck in Kansas, one of the four outdoor regions you will visit in the game. As you start, a Guide will give you a brief tutorial on the very easy game’s mechanics. You begin your adventure with only a few weapons and gadgets but you will eventually unlock more as every animal gets hunted and missions completed. Right from the first minutes, you will exactly know what to do. Every time you unlock new items (scent covers, tree stands, animal calls, etc) , you will get a quick tutorial on how to use them. 

Walking around the levels, in a completely non-evasive manner, seems to be the easiest tactic.  It would work you will have to take your time and act quietly so your prey doesn’t get scared. However, you can’t go everywhere. Even if the game gives you some kind of flexibility during certain scenarios, most of the objectives need to be done the way the game wants it which is a bit disappointing.

You may think that every hunt would take a long time, like in many of the the past hunting games. Here, missions have been accelerated which makes the experience much more enjoyable and its also less punitive. If you happen to miss your shot, you can restart from the checkpoint with no hassles. The levels are being laid out in a way that you won’t have to walk long distances to get from one checkpoint to the other. You do have a GPS that tells you where to go but curiously, there’s also a hint system via the A button zooming approximately on the location...making the GPS expendable.

Obviously, most of the objectives will require you to target the trophy from a long distance. When you get them in your cross hairs, the animal’s vitals will appear as glowing areas. This aiming system called VITALS (Visually Integrated Targeting And Lock-on System) helps you take your best shot, increasing the chances to pull an instant kill-shot. An amusing Matrix/Wanted bullettime animation will then confirm you did right. Depending on how you get to kill the animal, you will increase its "integrity" level which will then give you Trophy Points. These points will be used towards the Trophy Chase mode which allows you to create a custom animal and have fun hunting it.

Improve your shot with VITALS

Looking at the cover, you did saw a fish, right? In between hunts, you will also hit the lake to get some fish. Honestly, it is the most boring aspect of the game and I’m not going to spend time talking to you about it. If I wanted to fish, I would have played Rapala Fishing. It just feels odd, boring and kills the fun of hunting.

So how difficult is the game? It’s easy, really easy. Did I say it was easy? There’s no hunting knowledge requirement to enjoy Cabela’s Outdoor Adventures. Everything is explained from the beginning by your guide and is being given to you on a silver plate. The game’s mission objectives are clearly defined and pretty straightforward. If you have difficulties playing this game, don’t quit your day job.

Graphics and Sound

The hunting landscapes are varied and nicely reproduced that its surprising in a way. Same goes for the lakes where you go to fish but just like with the gameplay, the hunting presentation is way more interesting. The animals do look real. There are some nice touches to the worlds like birds, rabbits and other environmental details such as trees crackling and grass movement because of the wind. Certainly, Outdoor Adventures is the best looking hunting game I’ve seen in a while.

Sounds are okay, menu music suits the game, but is repetitive and basic. Animal sound effects are decent but are barely noticeable unless you kill them. Ambient sounds are well present so that’s a plus.

Value

You will obviously spend most of your time in the Career mode (which should last around 5 hours) but the Trophy Creator mode will give you plenty to do once you are done with the four career regions. Sadly, no matter which way you shake it, I can’t see a whole lot of reasons why someone would need or want to play through this game a second time. Now, if the game had some kind of an online mode and not just leaderboards...it would be different.

Fishing...bouurrnnsssss

Conclusion

While most of it seems like deja-vu, I was able to see an improvement from most of past Cabela games, especially that pathetic Dangerous Hunts game from last year.

Here’s a thought: Instead of flooding the market with Deer Hunting, Rapala Fishing, Dangerous Hunts, Outdoor Adventures, Big Game Hunter, Alaskan Adventures why not make just one heck game? Cabela’s presents Ultimate Hunting or something like that? Until that day happens, if I had a hunting game to recommend to someone that knows squat about hunting, give this one a try but don’t expect the greatest game of all time. Its fun while it lasts...