Hunting Unlimited 2 Screenshots   The Final Say! Gameplay 8.1 Graphics 8.0 Sound 7.9 Value 8.0 Hunting Unlimited 2 - reviewed by Andrew B Review Date: January 2004 Review Score: 8.0/10 Distributed by Manaccom

"Be very very quiet... we are hunting rabbits!"   Hunting Unlimited 2 is the sequel to the extremely popular Hunting Unlimited series that once again puts gamers into the role of hunter. I must admit that I was a little apprehensive when we received this title because unlike first person shooters, hunting games border more on realistic than fantasy. This game is solely aimed at gamers who enjoy hunting or for those gamers that require a little more realism in their diet because this is an extremely slow and patient game. In its essence, Hunting Unlimited plays much like a first person shooter where you must use guile and stealth to hunt a variety of animals in realistic gaming environments. The control system of Hunting Unlimited is relatively straight forward and once my keys were setup, I slowly began the long process of hunting defenceless animals. Before starting the "hunt", your hunter has access to variety of weaponry that include pistols, shotguns and rifles which may be equipped with silencers and scopes. Your are also limited to eight different items that you can carry in your inventory from various animal whistles and even to the type of attire that you wear. Hunting Unlimited 2 also boasts over 25 rifles,  a variety of different bows and shotguns and 21 different accessories. Your character, the hunter can also perform a variety of hunting manoeuvres such as crouching and standing to help improve your aim. Although I preferred playing the game in the true first person view, the game also supports a third person view that is a little bit more tricky but it does look impressive. The animals that you hunt include whitetail deer, grizzly bear, elk, buffalo, snakes, eagles, skunks and even vultures but remember... some of these animals will attack if they are threatened. Hunting Unlimited 2 contains a variety of gameplay modes that include challenges, free hunt, target range, mini-games and user missions that ensures gamers a variety of different challenges, depending on how they feel. It would of been interesting to have a multiplayer mode to help spruce up the gaming for people that get bored a little too quickly. It should also be noted that Hunting Unlimited 2 contains over 75 different missions, that's quite a bit of hunting! The first thing that you will notice with Hunting Unlimited 2 (provided that you are not a real hunter) is the tedious gameplay of the title. Your hunter just can't run around like Arnold Schwarzenegger but must walk or crawl through the various gaming environments.

This is where the realism of the title comes into play and sometimes you must wait quite a long time before you come into contact with an animal. Another impressive feature of the game are the various environments that you play that not only contains different fauna and animals but also a variety of different weather effects.

Graphically, Hunting Unlimited 2 is a very nice looking game that contains extremely realistic environments that contain a variety of different plants such as grass, bushes, trees and just about everything else that you would find in a real-world American forest. The developers have also implemented some small touches such as the way trees move in the wind or with the various seasons of the weather. Probably the most impressive feature of the title are the realistic animal-models that not only movie with uncanny realism but also look quite impressive to the eye. Clearly my two favourite beasts in the game were the deadly bear and moose. Although too many games use this effect now, the developers have also implemented bullet time into the game that follows your bullet when you have made a successful hit.

Although Hunting Unlimited 2 doesn't contain a regular musical score in the game (it would scare the animals in the game), it does however contain some extremely realistic animal noises from the way they grunt to how they move which has been implemented perfectly into this title. You also hear the sounds of the hunter, from the way he walks on ice or grass or to the different sounds of weapons that you carry in your inventory.

Hunting Unlimited 2 may not be the title for everyone but if you enjoy hunting games or have quite a bit of patience, you will definitely get something out of this title, with a very impressive gaming engine that is as realistic as you could get without going hunting, this game may be the game for you.

- Andrew B