Deer Avenger

• Release Date: 1998
• Genre: Sports
• Style: Hunting
• Similar Games: Deer Hunter: Interactive Hunting Experience (IBM PC Compatible), Lawyer Hunt (IBM PC Compatible), Boss Hunter: Revenge is Sweet (IBM PC Compatible)

Game Description

A parody of the popular game Deer Hunter, Deer Avenger puts you in the role of the deer -- and it's his turn to take a little vengeance on the pesky humans who seem to come after him each fall. You have a choice of three weapons when you're hunting your redneck prey: the M-16, the bazooka, and the slingshot, which uses "special deer pellets" (hard or soft deer poop).

There are three hunting areas in which to track your prey, including springtime in Connecticut, snowy Minnesota in the winter, and West Virginia during the fall season. After entering each hunting area, a map screen pops up. An arsenal of "stalking devices" is available and includes such goodies as deer farts (to "smoke" out your prey), binoculars and scoped rifles, and over a dozen "hunter calls," such as "Free Beer Here," or "Help, I'm naked and I have a pizza!"

To begin the hunt, you'll move a "sighting" circle around the map screen until a telltale hunter trace appears. These can be items such as beer cans, adult magazines, and other paraphernalia to help you pick up the trail. In most cases a hunter will be near by -- blow him away and you'll get to mount his head on your wall.

There are seven different hunters; collect them all to become a bona fide Deer Avenger! Deer Avenger was written by Brian McCann, staff writer for Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

Review: Overall

Even if you are one who loathes hunting games of all shapes and sizes, you should look forward to playing Deer Avenger. The thought of a parody in which you play a deer seeking vengeance on hunters who have mercilessly mutilated and destroyed your brethren seems as though it might be funny and rewarding.

Unfortunately, a funny premise does not always make for a funny game and Deer Avenger is definitely a case in point. While the product certainly has more features than some low-budget hunting games, execution is simply awful. An interesting twist, when compared to the "silent hunter" model of standard hunting games, is that the deer (your character) talks to himself. Some of the comments, such as "Here, drunky drunky" when he's trying to locate a redneck to shoot, are humorous. Some even have a philosophical edge by referring to what a bad decision it was to purchase the game or how dull it is (as if playing the game were some sort of meta-experience). Eventually, though, the deer's comments become so repetitive they begin to grate on your nerves.

The actual hunting action is so slow you're forced to play with the game's few devices while biding your time. As a result, you'll probably have the deer use an inordinate amount flatulence, ultimately scaring the targets away as do too many decoy calls. But what's a deer to do? You can't walk forward -- you're limited to 360 degree rotation. After spinning around once or twice and finding nothing, it's either back to the map to search for obscure clues such as beer cans or porn magazines or sit and stare at your monitor while waiting for a target to show up. When targets do appear, they only run and hide since they can't shoot back. While the game is somewhat challenging, it's hardly engaging and does little to get your adrenaline pumping.

With the exception of snow and tree density, the three maps are practically identical. The weapon effects are cute -- the bazooka incinerates your targets and scatters their ashes to the winds, similar to the death screen from Baldur's Gate -- but good luck hitting anything with the poop-shooting slingshot. The binoculars are useless except for when you somehow bring the Eiffel Tower into view and the deer chimes in, "Hey, these things are powerful!"

In its misguided effort to poke some lighthearted (and much-deserved) fun at PC hunting titles, Deer Avenger ends up being more tasteless than most of the games it's parodying. Theoretically, it might make a good gag gift -- except for the fact that the game is so bad, the person receiving it might get angry at you. Better to give it to someone you don't like.

Review: Enjoyment

To make the game more fun, more hunting locations should have been offered and maps populated with more targets. Being able to walk forward would have been a nice touch.

Review: Graphics

The animations of the hunters creeping around out in the open with all their varying accoutrements are finely detailed but the bland, uniform settings as a whole are disappointing. Of somewhat lesser detail, but still cute, are the weapon-fire animations and the binocular feature. Visually, though, there's very little to inspire gameplay.

Review: Sound

The sound is the game's best aspect. Written by Late Night with Conan O'Brien writer Brian McCann, the monologues alternate between witty and obnoxious and are what make the game memorable. The environmental sounds, such as the birdcalls and wind aren't perfect, but they're much better than those found in some of the "real" hunting games on the market (e.g., Opening Weekend: Varmint Season).

Review: Replay Value

There's not enough to the game to entice you back for more. By the time you've tried out all three weapons and all three maps, the incessant blathering of your character will exasperate you.

Review: Documentation

Very little documentation is included -- just enough to get you started and explain how to use the interface. Using {$Brian McCann}'s talents to enhance the documentation by adding some buffer material for the jewel-case insert and online help would have helped.