Whether rain, snow or shine, Deer Hunter Tournament makes sure you can dress for the occasion. Your avatar is chosen from one of six pre-made models, two of which are female. Attributes such as head and facial hair, glasses, and upper clothing are selectable, with a handful or so of selections for each category. My avatar was stylin' and profilin' in a green vest, a wide-rimmed hat, and green shades.

Big and small game can be hunted across 11 courses, all of which feature different weather and terrain to challenge casual, moderate, and hardcore hunters. Weather conditions span clear skies, clouds, and storms (snow if you're in a place like Karelia, rain everywhere else), and each hunt can kickoff at dawn, morning, noon, or a variable point in the afternoon. The options seem sparse, but they're enough to diversity each of the 11 locations such that playing each course using different weather and time conditions provides a distinct experience.

After configuring the hunting ground, you'll select two weapons for the outing. A variety of rifles, shotguns and magnums are present, as are a few bows. Finally, pick out a scope, select a horse or buggy to act as your noble steed, and you're ready to hunt.


Our first hunt took place in Karelia at dawn during a blizzard. Hey, if you're after a challenge, you have to go all the way. The control scheme should be comfortable not only to veterans of the Deer Hunter series, but new players eager to bag some buck. Pressing Shift alternates between trotting and running, and the mouse wheel is used to scroll between guns, creature calls (mating, grunting, predator, and others), food, and your chosen scope.

After running across a snowy hilltop, I settled down, whipped out my binoculars, and looked for prey. A doe, probably startled from my disruptive gallivanting, sprinted from behind a cabin and headed toward a lake. I used a call to get her attention, and sure enough, she slowed and turned.

Acting quickly, I spilled a hefty portion of food near the base of a tree and turned to seek shelter behind another trunk. When I peered around my cover and looked back, the food was nowhere in sight. Perhaps it was too hard to see in the torrent of snow, but I suspect it simply wasn't there. Hopefully this is something that will be fixed before the game goes gold.


Seconds later, the deer appeared tentatively over the crest of the hill and sniffed around, moving ever closer toward the baited tree. I selected my shotgun, took aim using the left mouse button... then lowered the gun by pressing right mouse. Too easy, I thought. Instead, I scrolled to my bow, took aim, and held left mouse to draw back the arrow, waiting until the string creaked with tautness before I loosed it.

It almost hit the doe -- almost. Before firing, I gauged my distance and believe a guaranteed hit could be achieved by taking one step forward... maybe two. The snow crunched beneath my boots, the deer's head snapped up, I panicked and fired wildly, and the doe whirled and sprinted down the hill, using the storm's protective curtain of hail to disappear into a copse of trees.

The setup had been too easy, of course. I'd gotten cocky and would need to practice before jumping directly into such adverse weather conditions. Even more important, I would need to practice before competing in one of Atari's Deer Hunter tournaments, the main selling point of Deer Hunter Tournament. Such a challenge was issued by a group of hunters at Atari, and said challenge will be accepted, carried out, and (hopefully) won within the next month.