This seems like a pretty cool game, and something to do when you can't actually get out there.



The Hunter: Emote Games’ New Social Hunting Simulator

by Meagan VanBurkleo
POSTED: 2/16/2009  6:54 PM

For the minimal amount of mainstream coverage they receive, hunting games do pretty well for themselves—enough so that they have garnered some healthy competition in the video-game marketplace over the years. So when The Hunter was first introduced to us, our foremost question was, what does The Hunter have to offer that other hunting simulators don’t?

When it comes to The Hunter, Emote Games’ goal was not only to craft the most realistic virtual hunting experience possible, but also to blend it seamlessly with a social networking portal. The online game company’s ultimate objective was to create a centralized hub for hunting enthusiasts worldwide. This is the key factor that sets it apart.

This social portal will allow you to create a profile and select an avatar that will act as your face to the world. From there you can form groups or rivalries, sign up for competitions and tournaments, and track your own personal challenges. In addition you can keep your eye on local and worldwide leaderboards, and brag about your own real life hunting exploits – compete with photos. Adding friends, interacting with players and trading hunting tips – for both the virtual and physical realm – is also encouraged.



On a fundamental level The Hunter is free, allowing users to enter the reserve with a basic hunting inventory and a limited game license – mule deer only at the moment. Premium membership is available for those who choose to pay an undisclosed monthly fee. The fee will allow the hunter extra game types – such as wild turkey and whitetail deer – and will keep them coming back with new content as it’s released.

The Hunter is described as an organic experience – meaning that it will be constantly evolving. Updates are expected often, and will include new environments, game, weapons, clothing and more. We were told that 18 months of content are already finished and ready to phase in come the full public launch. Future environments such as deserts and the arctic have already been detailed. Wild boar, bears, bows, long range rifles and trail cams are also expected to be phased in.

Features
The Hunter requires a one-time Emote client to be downloaded for the title to load. The game itself runs after a 320 MB install, which will allow you to launch seamlessly into the game from the social networking site whenever desired.

To get started online, you are prompted to select an avatar from a list of options. From there you enter a nickname, complemented with a randomly generated full name for your character. Next you move along to the profile page, which outlines any friends you have added, in addition to your shooting, tracking and spotting stats. Active and complete missions are also detailed here. Your hunting license is also found on the profile page, which lists out the game your permit allows you to hunt.

After your download is complete, you can jump to the game at any point in time. However, first you are given the option to choose what time of day you want to hunt, as well as where on the Evergreen Hunting Reserve you would like to populate. Evergreen is modeled after the landscape of Washington State, and as mentioned is expected to be one of many eventual hunting locations.

But for a first go, Evergreen does quite well. The phenomenally rendered environment rivals graphics found on any console. Everything from downed trees to individual rocks have been painstakingly detailed, and when combined with an array of serene sounds – the reserve becomes very inviting.



Hands-On
For those of you familiar with the nuances of hunting, details mean a lot to you. Our hunting trip began in pre-rut season, and we were limited to firearms appropriate for the time of year. After sorting through our inventory we ended up with a .243 caliber rifle and a .357 caliber magnum as a secondary firearm. We also took along a deer bleat caller, wind tracker and binoculars.

Of all the tools, the HunterMate was by far the most helpful. In our first go at the game, we began to wander around aimlessly, parking it at a deer stand and hoping for a bit of luck. After 45 minutes and no activity, we realized the game was too much like real hunting, and in that capacity, frustrating, as it lacked the trade-off of enjoying the great outdoors.

When frustration set in, we decided to be more proactive about the hunt and went off to search for signs of life ourselves. This is where the HunterMate – a PDA type devise – truly came in handy. Not only does the HunterMate map out the reserve, but it proved to be an invaluable tracking tool, bridging the gap between what could be a too-realistic title and its arcade hunting counterparts.

When moving stealthily through the woods, noticeable signs – such as rubs, tracks, droppings and blood trails – are highlighted by a red glow. The HunterMate can record these signs and even determine the animal it came. This way you can choose to disregard a previous trail if you come by one left by a more attractive kill.

Once we started tracking an animal, things got exciting. After finding three signs of life from a single deer, we decided to move to the nearest deer stand and hunker down. Soon we heard a deer bleat far off in the distance, returned three short bleats of our own, and quickly switched to our binoculars. It wasn’t five minutes till a decent looking doe crossed our sights, and we took the kill – holding our breath to ensure an accurate shot.

After downing the doe, we approached the body to guarantee it wasn’t suffering. This also confirmed the death with our HunterMate, which is the only way we could get credit for the kill via our online profile. Ethics play a big role in The Hunter. You won’t get credit for a kill if you don’t confirm death or if you shoot it with an inappropriate weapon type.



All in all, our relatively quick kill was a bit lucky as the game in itself isn’t easy – even with the aid of the HunterMate. Striving for realism, The Hunter utilizes some pretty intense hunting mechanics. Each animal will have realistic scent detection, which will heighten or lessen depending on their senses and weather conditions. The Hunter stresses the importance of knowing your prey, leaving most animals intelligent and weary. The doe we tagged even moved with known mannerisms while we watched her – shaking her head and flipping her ears at invisible annoyances. 

Overall we were impressed with The Hunter. While hunting games aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, we can genuinely see the appeal of having a centralize place to chat up other avid hunters that allows you to seamlessly switch to playing a hyper-realistic hunting simulation. Even though all of the social network applications promised are not currently in place, The Hunter shows promise. If The Hunter has grabbed your attention and you are interested in scoring an invitation to play before the official release, click here.

Happy hunting!


Courtesy of Game Informer Online - http://www.gameinformer.com/News/Story/200902/N09.0216.1849.29270.htm


Here's also a link to the game's home page.

And a list of the system requirements:

Ah that actually looks pretty cool.  I wish they would've set up some multiplayer to be able to hunt with other people...From the faqs, it sounds like they might be working on something like that.

Any idea if they will release for everyone to download?  It seems right now you have to register and then wait for an invite or something.

Is anyone else gonna try this out?

That's what I thought.  I could understand them doing that if it were still in Beta but it's supposed to be done.  Maybe they are still trying to tweak their servers or something and don't want a bunch of clients slamming their system simultaneously. lol that sounds hot.

I just built my PC at the beginning of this year so I should be good for a few more months.

If you are looking to upgrade, spending a little bit of time to familiarize yourself with hardware and building a PC yourself will save you a lot of money.  You can build a $2000 "name brand" machine for around $900 (assuming you use your current monitor).  It's unbelievable how much money they make off of those things and half of the time they just put the cheapest stuff in there anyways because most people don't know the difference.

Don't know right off the top of my head.  I just upgraded the proc & video card not too long ago.  Let's put it like this though..... When I got it, about 3-4 years ago, I wasn't into playing games with it.  Just basic PC stuff and web surfing. 

As far as building one................   I know how to fix common problems with them, but don't really know the first thing about building one.

The game is out now.  I just created a new character, which was quite frustrating, and am in the process of installing the app now.  I'll let ya know how it is.

Gross...It's dlding @ 1KB/sec.  Thanks for the bandwidth!