Media Review: Games

Duck Hunt

Summary

       

       Developed and published by Nintendo, it was first released in Japan on April 21, 1984. It was later released on October 18, 1985 in North America and on August 15, 1987 in Europe. Duck Hunt is a hunting game in which the objective is for the player to successfully shoot a minimum number of targets with a NES Zapper light gun. The player uses it by aiming and firing at the screen, in order to advance to the next round. If not accomplished… game over. The game has three different modes to choose from. In "Game A" and "Game B", the targets are flying ducks in a woodland area, and in "Game C" the targets are clay pigeons that are fired away from the player's perspective into the distance. In "Game A", one duck will appear on the screen at a time while in "Game B" two ducks will appear at a time. "Game A" allows a second player to control the movement of the flying ducks by using a regular NES controller. 

Characters

       Duck hunt includes a nameless, non-playable hunting dog (often referred to by the media as the "Duck Hunt Dog" or the "Laughing Dog"), which retrieves the fallen ducks. It is quite famous for laughing at the player whenever the player fails to shoot any of the ducks on screen. Because of this, many players want to be able to shoot the dog as well. The Laughing Dog is known as "one of the most annoying video game characters ever" by countless gaming critics and journalists. Although the Laughing dog seems to be the main character, we cannot forget the about ducks.

Best parts

       All in all, the game was very good. However the part that truly stands out to me is that the Duck Hunt goes on forever! In most video games now a days, the most common problem is that once you have beaten all of the levels, you have to find a new game to play. However, this retro game can go on and on until you grow tired of it (which in my case is never).

Worst parts

       Although I am extremely fond of this game, I must admit that my least favourite part of the entire game is The Laughing Dog. When you are shooting a duck and accidentally miss, “man’s best friend” comes out and laughs at you! So much for moral support!This gets obviously gets very annoying, especially if you have poor aim.

My opinion

       Duck Hunt is defiantly one of my favourite games. Although the dog really knows how to annoy you, this old fashioned-game is a really fun and cool way to pass time, and play while with friends. I personally enjoy playing this classic game and highly recommend it for people who own an "ancient" Nintendo gaming console! 

Rating

       

       Out of 10, I rate Duck Hunt a 9. If it weren't for The Laughing Dog, the game would be a solid 10! However the hound really does get on every ones nerves with its hysterical laughing!