rayword45 (2013-02-08 16:43:20)

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NOTE: Fairly brief review, as it's not a very deep game.



Before this game even came out, it was racking up controversy across gaming sites. People were arguing about the tastefulness about the killing of endangered animals, comparing the murder of virtual animals to shooting down soldiers (as well as religious blasphemy), and pointing out the fact that hunting games are an arcade staple. For a low-key title, the game certainly attracted a lot of attention over what's tasteful in a game. That's an argument yet to be settled, but let's not allow the subject matter to get in the way of our viewpoints. Bar any taboos, Outdoors Unleashed: Africa 3D is a fairly inoffensive diversion for your money.



Before you even open the game, the biggest flaws are already starting to become clear. In a noticeably lousy audio clip, you are informed of what a beautiful day for a safari it is. This audio quality is apparent throughout the entire game, and in a poor attempt to mask that problem, the audio is kept too low oftentimes, and the sound effects are much more prominent than the music. Outside of that, the music and sound effects don't offend nor mesmerize you. They do a good enough job of fitting the game even past the bad compression.

Another clear problem: the graphics. Pixelation, blurring, framerate stutter and blocky graphics all affect this game. The graphics are more akin to a high-end N64 game rather then a 3DS game. Even considering the low-budget origins, this easily ranks amongst the ugliest eShop games. The 3D effect isn't bad, but there is some ghosting on occasion and it doesn't add much to the game. Overall, the visuals leave a lot to be desired.



However, past the aesthetic problems, you're left with a fun little game perfect for short bursts. Akin to any hunting game at an arcade, the game is split up into on-rails stages each lasting 2 to 5 minutes. The same simplistic goal is set across all stages, shoot the animals (except for females, because women are worth more then men). You're encouraged to attempt to get a high score (with medals as a reward), and there are several achievements and unlockable upgrades to add some depth and longevity. The controls are tight, you use either the stylus, the circle pad or the face buttons to aim and the shoulder buttons to shoot. The remainder of the ingame functions (such as switching weapons or using a power-up) are done via the touchscreen. Although at times the aiming can be mildly off (specifically when aiming for distanced animals and coins) for the most part the game controls well.

There are 35 stages in all, and since they all last a short amount of time, the game can be finished in less then 4 hours. However, the stages are very replayable with local leaderboards and as stated before there are achievements and upgrades to lengthen the experience. At $4, there's certainly a lot of content for your money. A sorely missed opportunity is online leaderboards, but the amount of content and low price more then make up for that.

It's hard to see Outdoors Unleashed: Africa 3D hitting too many people's Top 10 lists for 3DS games. At the same time however, the only people who should be hating on the game are vegans and animal rights activists because overall the game is a fair amount of arcade-style fun for $4. The audio-visual department leaves a whole lot to be desired, but the addictive gameplay and amount of content add up to a fair package to burn your money on.

SCORE BREAKDOWN (no longer a new year, still not an average)

Graphics: 4/10 Ugly as hell, and technical issues are blatant.

Audio: 5/10 The music itself is inoffensive, the real offender is the lossy audio.

Difficulty: N/A I'm not judging this one

Gameplay: 8/10 Fun in short bursts, controls could be slightly better.

Lasting Appeal: 9/10 Short campaign, but lots of replay value.

Outdoors Unleashed: Africa 3D gets a 7/10

END NOTE: In PAL regions, this game was released as a boxed product. I don't know what the RRP is there, but it's definitely not a game worth full price.

This post has been edited one or more times, the last time was:
2013-04-29 15:44:22

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rayword45 (2013-02-10 15:12:20)

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</3 I love you too.

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pikarceus (2013-04-29 08:43:39)

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I'll think I'll pass on this.

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