theHunter, a very unimpressive name for perhaps the best hunting game I have ever seen, heard of, read about, or played. This game has relatively high-end graphics, free-roam gameplay, a growing variety of intelligent and well-tuned animals, and several weapons to kill them with. It also draws on real-world hunting regulations regarding ethical weapons for different species and scoring rules for game animals, with by-the-minute updates to global leaderboards & daily competitions.
You can hunt in different ways, typically by stalking your prey on the ground & following its trail or by patiently waiting in a tree stand & calling them to you. Skill, practice, and experience will help you take down your target quicker and cleaner. Well-placed shots will take down animals quickly with minimal or no tracking from where you shot them, while poor hits lead you to chase your prey for considerable distances at times.
No, I didn't copy this from their website or a review. This is my experience with the game. Did I mention it's freemium? Free players can hunt mule deer of both genders with a .243 bolt action rifle. This doesn't effect any activity of other animals, and on the same island as the muleys you'll find whitetail deer, elk, turkeys, and coyotes. There is a peninsula available to subscribers which has blacktail deer, whitetail deer, feral hogs, and pheasant. A new area (part of the mainland, attached to the available peninsula) will be opening on December 13th with elk, whitetail, turkeys, and feral hogs. Moose are expected in early 2011, with bears following after. Subscribers get access to all new areas & licenses to hunt all new animals freely.
Subscription cost is $5 per month, available in 3-month increments. Subscription gives you a 12 gauge pump action shotgun, a .357 magnum revolver, and unlimited ammunition available at the lodge for free for any weapons you own. There are two additional packages available, the "Wayfarer" and "Trailrunner."
Anything you don't get in the subscription can be bought with the in-game currency. This can either be purchased (comes in increments of 500 for $5/500) or earned through competitions. Players are allowed to be enrolled in 1 competition per species at any given time. For example, I am currently enrolled in a whitetail, blacktail, and elk competition, though I cannot enroll in more competitions for these until the current competitions I am in are completed. Placing 1st, 2nd, or 3rd gives rewards of in-game currency (and sometimes trophies), typically in a 100/50/25 distribution, with "elite" competitions giving 150/100/50. For perspective, the cheapest weapon you can buy is the .270 rifle at 200, with the most expensive being the .300 Winchester Magnum bolt action at 600. Some special competitions have different rewards, such as exceptionally difficult competitions giving 100/100/80.
The developers rival our own TaleWorlds crew in forum activity & community interaction, with developers posting daily in several topics. They are respectful and helpful, as is the rest of the community. I've yet to see a troll on their forums (though I don't doubt they exist). Speaking of community interaction, multiplayer is a planned feature, and the tentative date for it is about the middle of 2011. From what I've gathered, they intend to make it friends-only (so only people on your friends list can join your server) and with a relatively small player limit, probably 4 or 5. I could be wrong, as they haven't said much about it other than confirming that it's planned, but the community is asking for this.
As a side note, even if you don't want to hunt you can score some fantastic photos in-game with the digital camera.
Here are some screenshots, they aren't all mine as some were entered into a community photo contest. The community is quite active and often has contests of their own, with in-game prizes (typically subscriptions or in-game currency). If you're wondering what's wrong with the buck in the first two screenshots, it's a rare piebald muley. There are also very rare albino and melanistic animals of most species.
http://www.thehunter.com/pub/
Also worthy of note: It's <700 MB. A very small commitment for a very addicting hunting game. My nick on theHunter is MisterMac.
You can hunt in different ways, typically by stalking your prey on the ground & following its trail or by patiently waiting in a tree stand & calling them to you. Skill, practice, and experience will help you take down your target quicker and cleaner. Well-placed shots will take down animals quickly with minimal or no tracking from where you shot them, while poor hits lead you to chase your prey for considerable distances at times.
No, I didn't copy this from their website or a review. This is my experience with the game. Did I mention it's freemium? Free players can hunt mule deer of both genders with a .243 bolt action rifle. This doesn't effect any activity of other animals, and on the same island as the muleys you'll find whitetail deer, elk, turkeys, and coyotes. There is a peninsula available to subscribers which has blacktail deer, whitetail deer, feral hogs, and pheasant. A new area (part of the mainland, attached to the available peninsula) will be opening on December 13th with elk, whitetail, turkeys, and feral hogs. Moose are expected in early 2011, with bears following after. Subscribers get access to all new areas & licenses to hunt all new animals freely.
Subscription cost is $5 per month, available in 3-month increments. Subscription gives you a 12 gauge pump action shotgun, a .357 magnum revolver, and unlimited ammunition available at the lodge for free for any weapons you own. There are two additional packages available, the "Wayfarer" and "Trailrunner."
Wayfarer is $20, gives 4 months of subscription & the same benefits as a regular membership as well as:
.44 Revolver
2x20 scope for revolvers
Camouflage hat
Camping supplies
Wind indicator
Server priority
.44 Revolver
2x20 scope for revolvers
Camouflage hat
Camping supplies
Wind indicator
Server priority
Trailrunner is $60, gives 12 months of subscription, same regular membership bonuses, as well as:
.270 Bolt Action Rifle
.300 WinMag Bolt Action Rifle
.30-06 Lever Action Rifle
.44 Revolver
Compound Bow
3-9x40 scope for bolt action rifles
2x20 scope for revolvers
Elk bugle call
Deer grunt call
Camping supplies
Wind indicator
Full set of camouflage clothing
Server priority
.270 Bolt Action Rifle
.300 WinMag Bolt Action Rifle
.30-06 Lever Action Rifle
.44 Revolver
Compound Bow
3-9x40 scope for bolt action rifles
2x20 scope for revolvers
Elk bugle call
Deer grunt call
Camping supplies
Wind indicator
Full set of camouflage clothing
Server priority
Anything you don't get in the subscription can be bought with the in-game currency. This can either be purchased (comes in increments of 500 for $5/500) or earned through competitions. Players are allowed to be enrolled in 1 competition per species at any given time. For example, I am currently enrolled in a whitetail, blacktail, and elk competition, though I cannot enroll in more competitions for these until the current competitions I am in are completed. Placing 1st, 2nd, or 3rd gives rewards of in-game currency (and sometimes trophies), typically in a 100/50/25 distribution, with "elite" competitions giving 150/100/50. For perspective, the cheapest weapon you can buy is the .270 rifle at 200, with the most expensive being the .300 Winchester Magnum bolt action at 600. Some special competitions have different rewards, such as exceptionally difficult competitions giving 100/100/80.
The developers rival our own TaleWorlds crew in forum activity & community interaction, with developers posting daily in several topics. They are respectful and helpful, as is the rest of the community. I've yet to see a troll on their forums (though I don't doubt they exist). Speaking of community interaction, multiplayer is a planned feature, and the tentative date for it is about the middle of 2011. From what I've gathered, they intend to make it friends-only (so only people on your friends list can join your server) and with a relatively small player limit, probably 4 or 5. I could be wrong, as they haven't said much about it other than confirming that it's planned, but the community is asking for this.
As a side note, even if you don't want to hunt you can score some fantastic photos in-game with the digital camera.
Here are some screenshots, they aren't all mine as some were entered into a community photo contest. The community is quite active and often has contests of their own, with in-game prizes (typically subscriptions or in-game currency). If you're wondering what's wrong with the buck in the first two screenshots, it's a rare piebald muley. There are also very rare albino and melanistic animals of most species.
http://www.thehunter.com/pub/
Also worthy of note: It's <700 MB. A very small commitment for a very addicting hunting game. My nick on theHunter is MisterMac.
