Quick Facts:
Developer: Cauldron
Initial Release Date: October 26, 2010
Initial Release Date: October 26, 2010
Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, Nintendo DS
Rating: T (Blood, Violence)
I hold the Top Shot Elite gun firmly in my hands. The plastic contours of the rifle fit comfortably in my grasp as I look down the scope. Perfect. The cross-hairs line up perfectly with the targets on screen as I pull the trigger. With each successful shot, a loud boom erupts from my TV, and I get one step closer to hunting. My pulse races faster as I continue to knock out the targets.
Without hesitation I shoot down the last target, and the game tells me that my calibration is complete. Aha! I say and click the pump action reload. In that moment I took a deep breath, and went straight to the gallery. See, when I originally bought this game I imagined it to be similar to real hunting.
I expected to walk through the forest, taking in the sights and sounds, as I hunted my prey. With each carefully placed step I'd be closer to landing the kill shot, and taking home a great trophy to put on my wall. Yes, a nice thirty point set of antlers would be amazing on my wall. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I know absolutely nothing about hunting, but if this game is any representation of it, I'm never going into the woods again.
As soon as I start the game, I realize that something is weird. The game is in first person, which I expected, but I have the ability to float through the air like some kind of demented woodland nymph with a treacherous blood lust. A small blue reticle lined up approximately to where my gun was pointing, but there was no gun on the screen. In the bottom right corner, the game kindly displays how much ammo I have in each magazine. So, my rifle had three, and my shotgun had two. Good to know.
I watched closely as I heard a mysterious voice tell me to start shooting. What I didn't realize was that all the animals in this game were rabid. Without warning all of the deer of the forest stampeded toward me, running around as if the world were ending before I even made a sound. I start shooting, and realize the biggest plot twist this game had to offer.
As the deer went flying right and left because of my well placed shots, I suddenly realized that I was not a demented woodland nymph with a blood lust as I had previously assumed. I was a wizard. Creating ammunition out of thin air was the least impressive of my magical abilities as I slowed down time with the press of a button. The animals tried to escape, leaping through the air in beautiful stride. A small maniacal laugh escaped me as I brought them all down to the dirt.
Yes, if hunting were this empowering I would definitely consider it, though a question did cross my mind. What was I going to do with all these dead carcasses? I shrugged and floated through the air to another predetermined spot and faced a true threat. Mountain lions are dangerous creatures, and can do plenty of physical and psychological damage by themselves, but in this universe nothing travels alone. You may think that I'm talking about a pair of mountain lions, which is possible in the wild, but no. My jaw wouldn't have dropped to the floor if it were only two mountain lions.
At the rate I was going I could easily down them by slowing time, or seeing through them with my x-ray vision I learned from somewhere. This was different. At first I only saw one coming at me from the bushes, but then another, and then three more. Cabela does not understand subtlety or realism, but I didn't care. I cocked my pump action reload again and fired away! This game balances the unrealistic horror of half a bazillion mountain lions chasing you with the reminder that you are a forest dwelling demigod with the power to levitate and control time.
What I expected to be a hunting simulator swiftly turned into a power trip with a plastic rifle. I caught myself yelling at the screen in triumph as I downed every threat that stood in my way, and every innocent creature that tried to get out of it. Then, as time passed I began to feel kinda sorry for the little things. These poor innocent creatures were being zapped to death by Zeus and he doesn't eat venison. But, as soon as I saw a deer bounce through the air on it's head, all guilt was lost and laughter came instead.
This game was never meant to be taken seriously but is a fun arcade style shooter. The gorgeous scenery can sometimes get in the way of seeing your target (like tall grass concealing a baboon) but it is not too inconvenient. After I got over my power trip of being a wizard in the woods, I realized how much fun it was. An hour had passed and I didn't even feel it.
It is a great game, but I would definitely recommend it with a Top Shot Elite controller. Trying to control the game with an Xbox 360 controller (or PS3 controller) feels like trying to grab a bar of soap you dropped in the shower. You may have a grip on it for about a second, but then you fall and hurt yourself. Or get eaten by a mountain lion.
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