deer-hunter posts

Karelia, Finland's dawn air was crisp, and its icy mists were tinged with just a hint of gold from the sun peaking over the horizon. The earth was blanketed in freshly fallen snow, and a slight breeze caused the pine trees bordering a frozen stream to shiver, their rustling branches sending white crystals plopping to the ground. It was the perfect morning to live in peaceful co-existence with all other creatures upon the earth, to curl up near a fire burning in the hearth of the cabin near the lake and read a book.

But this is Deer Hunter Tournament, and in that context, either of those activities would have proven quite boring. For those to answer the call of the wild with a hail of lead, it was the perfect day for a hunt.

In 1997, value-priced game publisher WizardWorks (a division of Infogrames) decided to launch Deer Hunter for the PC. Developed by Sunstorm Interactive, the game was relatively simple; you shot deer while staying hidden and that was basically it. Despite poor reviews Deer Hunter became a surprise sales hit (especially at Wal-Mart stores) and spawned several expansion packs and sequels along with a ton of imitators from rival publishers.

It's been a few years since the last Deer Hunter game; Infogrames shut down WizardWorks and Sunstorm itself closed shop in 2003. Now Infogrames' Atari division has announced plans to revive the franchise in a new title called Deer Hunter Tournament. Like previous entries this will once again be a value-priced title at $19.95 but promises to be far more complex than earlier games in the series. The press release promises online tournaments with other gamers and more weapons and items at the hunter's disposal. There's also outside threats to the hunters as well; they will have to be careful to avoid animals like bears and mountain lions who might attack them. Look for Stephen Colbert to go all Jack Thompson on Deer Hunter Tournament when he finds out about it.