Nothing more than an advertisement for Cabela’s big box stores and online merchandising, Cabela’ s Big Game Hunter suffers from the same maladies that plague real big game hunting: interminable waits followed by short bursts of action that seem vaguely unfulfilling. And this does not even address PETA concerns about shooting defenseless animals in a closed environment. Granted, the publisher has to walk a fine line between exploiting gratuitous violence and alienating veteran gamers but a better compromise could have been reached with more careful thinking.

As a result, the experience doesn’t satisfy either faction. Hunters know immediately that the thrill of the hunt (rather than the thud of the kill) cannot possibly be replicated in a video game while gamers will find a lack of depth in the game play.

As the different levels are reached, you will find that the increase in difficulty really only involves bigger animals (think—more danger to the hunter.) Although you unlock more varieties of firearms, you don’t have to change weapons, as the game gets bigger. Your original rifle is plenty boring enough. The environments are pretty to look at but beyond a little cliff climbing, they don’t affect your hunting methods at all. Your safari guide (maps) is obsequious to the point of annoyance (a real hunter wouldn’t like being led by the hand to game sites.) Maybe a shooting gallery would be more sporting.

Cabela’s Big Game Hunter has two strikes against it before you even start; the nature of the hunting process and the fact that you are shooting Yogi Bear, Boo-Boo, and Ice Age (the movie) stalwarts.