Big Buck Hunter Arcade

Genre: Shooting Gallery Game

Players: 1-2 Competitive (Local, Local Alternating)

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Review:

The Big Buck Hunter series has been around in arcades since 2000, giving players an Arcade-style take on the sport of game hunting using light guns. And yes, I know that it’s debatable whether game hunting really qualifies as a “sport”, and some players may not be thrilled with a videogame glorifying violence against animals for entertainment purposes, but I’m not here to debate ethics or terminology, I’m reviewing the quality of the game itself.

This particular game was originally released in arcades in 2015 as Big Buck HD Wild, with a port coming to PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in 2016 under the new title Big Buck Hunter Arcade, with a Nintendo Switch version releasing in 2018.

The presentation here is pretty good for a game that is as of this writing a decade old, though I do think that it won’t appeal to everyone. The game uses some pretty nicely-detailed 3D visuals, although the character models are a bit chunky at times. These visuals are joined by over-the-top banjo music that gets repetitive very quickly, voice clips of an enthusiastic announcer responding to what you’ve shot (or failed to shoot), and occasional interstitial FMV clips of a female model in a skimpy camo print outfit because… well, because this game knows its target audience, I suppose.

When it comes to the gameplay, I’m going to get the big complaint out of the way right away, because it is glaring right from the start – moving a cursor on-screen is just no substitute for a light gun. This game doesn’t even attempt to use motion controls or touchscreen controls, so players are forced to move a cursor that’s either fiddly or unwieldy, or just too darn slow, depending on your sensitivity settings. I really wish that this game found a better way to make this work, because it really brings down the experience that is built around quickly aiming and taking shots. On that note, the game also requires players to reload after every shot, which is a bit annoying.

When getting into the game, players first select whether they’re playing solo, 2-player alternating, or 2-player simultaneous competing for the best shots. Then, you’ll be given the option to play through the game as a campaign, select individual levels, or play through one of various scenarios ranging from shooting the moonshine jugs of a protesting drunkard, shooting animals being flung about in a tornado, shooting cockroaches in a kitchen, or other absurd scenarios. These scenarios are wonderfully creative and varied, and one of the best parts of the game.

The actual buck shooting is pretty good too. Players are challenged to shoot the males while not hitting female does, which makes for a challenging situation picking out your target without hitting the wrong critter. Speaking of which, you get bonus points for hitting other smaller animals, and occasionally you’ll have a level with a rampaging attacking animal like a mountain lion or bear that you’ll have to take down before it gets to you, which is a nice touch.

The problem with these buck hunting levels is that they are absurdly short – on average literally fifteen seconds long or so (I timed them). You’ll spend just as long in results screens and menus as you will playing through these levels, which is extremely frustrating.

I’ll be honest, I liked the gameplay in Big Buck Hunter Arcade far more than I expected to, and was delightfully surprised at how many different creative scenarios were included. But this is still ruined by controls that just aren’t suited to the game, and a game structure for the main game that has you playing far too little and stuck in menus and results screens far too much. With all of this weighing down on the game, it’s difficult to recommend this to any but the most enthusiastic of virtual game hunters.

tl;dr – Big Buck Hunter Arcade is a Shooting Gallery Game that has players trying to hit male deer and other animals while avoiding does, and while the gameplay here is surprisingly fun and varied, that fun is harmed by some exceptionally poor pacing and a control scheme that is extremely poorly-suited to the gameplay. Controlling a light gun game by moving an on-screen cursor almost never works, and it doesn’t work here. As a result, what good qualities this game does have are outweighed by its problems and frustrations.

Grade: C-

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