Ultimate Duck Hunting

System Requirements Windows 98/ME/2000/XP 800MHz CPU 256MB RAM 700MB HDD space 32MB 3D video card Direct X 8.1 compatible Sound 4X CD-ROM ESRB Rated Teen for mild violence Ultimate Duck Hunting is a realistic duck hunting adventure. You can hunt with your dog in six different states: Alaska, Arkansas, Minnesota, Mississippi, South Dakota and Virginia. Once you create your profile you can choose to be male/female and you can select (yellow, chocolate and black) and name your Labrador retriever. For each locale you can choose your camouflage, number of decoys, and whether or not you want an automatic gun.

Game Modes

Ultimate Duck Hunting is the first hunting game I have seen with multiplayer game play. I can’t comment on it since I didn’t find anyone online to play against. There is also a Quick Hunt and Career mode to play as well. They all use the same character profile, so all your dog training won’t go to waste!

How do I score?

This game is all about shooting ducks so lure them in and bring them down. The red ducks will cause you to lose points and the blue ducks are worth more points. You are scored based on how many ducks you kill, where they land, and how long it takes your dog to get them. Your score will go towards redeemable points to use to train your dog.

Dog Training

You may do the shooting but your dog will do the fetching with your guidance. You will have training sessions with your dog to teach it the basic commands like remote sit, left over, right over and back. Once training is complete you can spend points to increase your dog’s attributes in speed, stamina, sense and obedience.

Interface

This game is easy to use and figure out. You have to use both keyboard commands and your mouse. When your dog is retrieving your ducks there’s a radar screen that will help you guide him to the fallen ducks.

Graphics

This game uses the torque engine, which is a bit dated. The models look decent though. There is one male and one female hunter model to choose from. There is only one dog breed too. The hunting environments look realistic and detailed.

Sound

The duck calls and outdoor noises sound authentic. There is a wide variety of background music, which sounds pretty good. The dog voice acting is worth an honorable mention.

Appropriateness

There is no blood in this game and only digital ducks were harmed in the making of this title. I don’t recommend giving this game to an animal rights activist.

Final Thoughts

This game will be great for any hunting enthusiast; with it they can go duck hunting any time of the year. The price tag is $19.97, which is fair. It’s disappointing that multiplayer was empty, hopefully it will get more traffic. Until then, I still prefer the old NES Duck Hunt game with the dog that laughs at me when I miss a duck. I’m just not into serious hunting games.

Final Ratings

Game Play 15/20 Graphics 7/10 Sound 8/10 Controls/Interface 4/5 Stability 5/5 Appropriateness 50/50

Final Score 89%