‘Shhhh! Keep quiet, don’t say a word. Don’t move a muscle. Just read what I have to say here. All you need to know is that there is a buck out there… least a 12 pointer. Not about to let some gamer like you scare him off… aw c’mon don’t be offended. Deer are some of the smartest animals out here so you just keep quiet. Read the review, and I’ll do what I need to…’

The game is Deer Hunter. And it has been the number one game for a very long time. Wizardworks has brought us an interesting little low tech title that truly delivers an interesting experience. Many feel, or will feel, this experience is boring. These are people who wouldn’t enjoy hunting all that much anyway. Hunting, like fishing, involves … waiting. A great deal of patience. You are tracking an animal that can smell better than you, hear better than you, and can elude the best predators (some of the time) that nature can create. All we humans are left with is our cunning, and our technology.

If you do hunt, or like the idea of hunting, or are just sick of fighting some crazed monsters in science fiction settings here is what you do: lay down a small amount of cash, take home this bright orange box, load it up, pick up a rifle, bow, or shotgun… and hunt. Three weapons, three maps. One takes place in the green forests of Colorado, another in Arkansas in autumn (more challenging because the deer blend in with the leaves very well), and a third in wintery Indiana. The variety of these locations is appreciated but somewhat limiting as well. This is all you get, just these three locations.

Graphically we have a series of large pictures that provide scenery behind the cut and pasted trees, shrubs, rocks and deer. You can’t move backward or forward, but can spin 360 degrees. So you sit, and wait, for a deer to appear. The deer are simply sprites and are somewhat jerky in appearance.

To aid you in your search you may use a treestand (which can be picked up and moved anywhere and at any time… somewhat unrealistic), cover scent, or attractant scent. And these things do help quite a bit. Partially because the AI can scent you if downwind and will run for it no matter how well you use the deer call. And the stand helps when the deer gets close, because if he sees you, again he will run.

They also run if you miss, which can happen for a variety of reasons. For one thing there it is impossible to hold your aim steady. This prevents you from simply lining up and shooting. Also if you aim too long, it moves around more. You must hit the deer in the ‘kill zone’, that is ‘behind the head, in front of the front legs’. Miss that area and the deer runs away, there is no wounding (there is in the sequel however, Rocky Mountain Trophy Hunter).

The map mode looks deceptively simple at first. Just crash about looking for deer droppings, rubbings, or tracks, click the ‘go hunt’ button, and you are off. As I will show below this is not the way to go about it.

While many of the games' fans are hunters themselves, I believe many are like me. They find it interesting but don’t particularly want to try it for real. Many reviewers haven’t either… some of these reviewers have even panned the game based on it’s ‘realism’. I wonder how they can comment (as some have tried) on its realism then? I am fortunate enough to have had some expert advice to guide me on my excursions. Advice from my uncle, a fan of the game, and an actual bow hunter himself. Every year in early November, when bow hunting season starts, Jim Mertes (my uncle) can be found in a camouflage outfit, atop a tree stand, somewhere in the woods. His bow ready and making no sound. I took an opportunity to ask him what he thinks of this game. And if he has any tips he cares to share with us. In short: "What does a deer hunter think of Deer Hunter?"

"It’s great, just perfect", he said "I mean, the people who made this game gotta be hunters themselves". He went on to say that many of his hunter friends agree.

He first saw it at a neighbor’s house and knew then he had to get a computer.

What about the low tech graphics and game engine, I asked. "The deer react perfectly, just like they do in real life… so what if the graphics aren’t perfect?" I pointed out that many reviewers have complained about the somewhat unattractive map mode not being realistic. "It’s very realistic, it looks just like the topographic map I use when I go hunting".

Jim showed me how to get a buck in the game everytime, using a strategy he uses when hunting the real thing. First, he moved in small increments around the map and into the wind until he found a sign (bedding in this case). Then placed a piece of tape there on the monitor. Then he started moving in a circular pattern until he found a second one (a rubbing), a second piece of tape went up. He continued his search until he found some droppings near the first two, placed a third piece of tape. "See how this makes a rough triangle?" I nodded assent. "Place your treestand in there". He did so, made about three calls in quick succession, and nailed the buck as it came near. All in under 4 minutes.

The point is, real life deer hunting tactics actually work in this game. Is there a better test of a simulation? For the money, Deer Hunter is a very ‘cool’ game indeed.

Reviewed by Andrew Scott Bub