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DUCK HUNTER PRO
Manufacturer: Head Games/Activision (1998)
Price: $19.99 boxed
Genre: Waterfowl hunting simulation
System Requirements: Win95, Pentium 133 or faster, 16 MB RAM, Mouse, CD-ROM, Sound
Card, Direct X, 25 MB HDD space.
DESCRIPTION: Duck Hunter Pro is the latest waterfowl hunting sim to hit the PC market. Like Upland Game Hunter, this is a Diversions Software product (normally this indicates a decent, workman-like game: nothing fancy but solid) and distrubuted by Head Games/Activision.
Again the premise is simple: get your gear, shotgun, decoys and go hunting. Players have the choice of 16 hunting locations (over an entire hunting season) inwhich to hunt down 10 species of waterfowl. Overall, not bad. The interface seems to carry forward a common waterfowl sim characteristic: your menu/options are found in a pick-up (actually a Chevy Suburban-style truck, complete with laptop computer)!
Once you choose your huntig area (along with your gear and weapon) it's time to set up your decoys. Duck Hunter Pro offers a great system in regards to decoy placement. You place a number of drake and susie decoys in a pattern to attract duck/geese, which can be something of a hassle if you don't have a clue. However, the game offers a "Attraction Indicator" which assist players in properly setting up the correct pattern and ratio (drakes and susies) to better the odds of attracting duck/geese. This is a great feature so kudos to the design team!
The hunting screen is pretty typical but well done (al la Sporting Clays and Upland Game Hunter) but not flashy. Using a varitey of call types (again there is a "Attraction Indicator" which shows how well your calling technique is working), the player lures ducks/geese within shooting range.
The overall graphical effect is decent. The bird animation is good (not great, but good) and the hunting areas are well rendered- complete with weather effects.
Like Upland Game Hunter and Sporting Clays, I really enjoyed Duck Hunter Pro. I believe it's the best overall waterfowl sim available (by a duck's bill over GT/Sunstorm's Bird Hunter).
THE SCOUTING REPORT:
THE PROS:
Overall decent product.
Attraction Indicators for setting up decoys and calling a great feature.
Good selection of birds, gear and hunting areas.
THE CONS:
Reviewed by Steve Ellis