Deer Drive Legends (Video Game Review)

Deer Drive Legends is the newest hunting simulator from publisher Maximum Family Games and developer Raylight Games. The Nintendo 3DS exclusive expands upon the original Deer Drive game, and now, it features many new weapons to utilize while hunting plenty of rare new game. If you have never played Deer Drive, you should know Deer Drive Legends sends you to various exotic locations throughout the world including the Rocky Mountains, Great Lakes, African Savannah and European Forests in search of some of the largest and rarest animals on the planet. If you are lucky (or unlucky) enough, you may even cross paths with dangerous prehistoric animals such as saber-toothed tigers, packs of agile Gastornis or even the former king of the animal world, the deadly T-Rex.

While Deer Drive Legends is considered a hunting simulation, that doesn't mean you'll learn much about hunting from the game. Although the term hunting simulation should be used lightly when speaking of the game, it's still a ton of fun to play. Gameplay has been streamlined in Deer Drive Legends by taking all of the tracking out of the hunting and throwing you directly into the action instead. Animals don't really react realistically, and they instead do things such as ignore gunshots and their fellow animals cold, dead carcasses on the ground. Also, most enemies will go down in one shot regardless of where you hit them, and any hunter will tell you this is preposterous. The same hunter would probably tell you Deer Drive Legends is still a really entertaining game however.

You will gain points for killing animals, and of course, you'll earn more points for the bigger and more exotic animals. You can also earn bonus points by pulling off long distance shots and head shots if you're a hunter with a keen eye and steady hand. Additional weapons and other upgrades can be gained through sessions. As you rack up a massive point total and plenty of kills, you will unlock more items, trophies and better statistics to display in your trophy room that are sure to give you bragging rights over your friends.

The Nintendo 3DS makes nature come alive with the 3D graphical interface, and sometimes, it scares the crap out of you. These aren't the best looking graphics the Nintendo 3DS has produced, but they're still developed well enough to keep you fully immersed in the hunting experience for hours and hours of exciting gameplay. The controls work well here with touch controls making the experience that much better.

The game's sound effects make you feel like you're really out in nature, and the in-game menus make adding a friend for cooperative play simplistic as possible. Deer Drive Legends isn't simply a game to be enjoyed by the hunters among us. This is the best handheld hunting game ever created, and nearly anyone can enjoy the shooting action contained within the game. Hunting down and killing the most elusive animals just got even better with Deer Drive Legends, now with over 30 animals to encounter and plenty of new items to unlock and collect. Check out Deer Drive Legends today. PETA won't like this game, but you will!

Game Features

Play Solo or Cooperatively

Over 30 Unique Animals

Modern Weapons and Powerups

Unlockable Animals and Environments

Trophy Rooms with Statistics and Achievements

Game Information
Developer: Raylight Games
Publisher: Maximum Family Games
Rating: T for Blood & Violence
Available Exclusively for Nintendo 3DS
Release Date: May 29, 2012

Score: 8 out of 10