Hugely different from the 2010 version, this. It’s still a hunting game, so you’re shooting cuddly animals in the face, which may be an issue for some. Frankly, it’s a bit of an issue for me… but I think that’s why I play hunting games. To be provoked and challenged by a game is a good feeling. It’s not often a game makes me feel uncomfortable, but hunting games often do.

(I really should play Modern Warfare 2 at some point so I can take a look at the No Russian mission and see what all the fuss is about.)

Anyway, if you’ve played both Hunting Unlimited titles then you’ll immediately see a huge difference in graphics. Gone are the rubbish 2D sprites and side-on view! Now we have relatively snazzy 3D graphics and the ability to pan around our hunting tower for a whole 360 degrees. You can look up and down, too. Will wonders never cease?

Sarcasm aside, it’s a huge graphical improvement. The gameplay has changed, too. Obviously you’ve got new controls to go with the new view. It’s fairly simple stuff, with swipes moving your view (you can invert the y-axis, praise be to the developers) and on-screen buttons for shooting, zooming, reloading, etc.

There’s also a new element of danger. On some levels bears charge your tower and you have to kill them before the tower collapses and you get your face eaten off.

Hunting Unlimited

Nature fights back! Oh, wait, he's already dead.

It’s all a bit odd, though, seemingly unsure of whether it’s a proper hunting game or a shooting gallery in animal skins. For example, I spent a long time shooting deer through the heart so I didn’t damage their pretty faces, but it turns out that you get extra points (and a whizzy Matrix-style view of your bullet) for shooting them in the head. Huh.

Still, once you get used to the game rules it’s fun enough, but from what I’ve played so far it’s not a match for Deer Hunter 3D. It’s early days, though. I’ll give it some more time. (I’ve also got the African safari version of Deer Hunter 3D on my phone ready to go, so I’ll try to play that soon to compare.)