With all the recent publicity surrounding the declining African animal kingdom, you'd think the last thing anybody would do is let rampant computer game freaks loose in the bush, with a gun and a camera. It's all very well saying photograph the animals and shoo the poachers, but unfortunately it's all too easy to get trigger happy.
Nevertheless, compassion is called for because it's your job to draw attention to the plight of the wildlife (so the instructions say), by photographing rare animals in their natural environment. The landscape scrolls from right to left as you drive down a quiet river bank, disturbing the wildlife.
Every now and then an animal dashes on screen, or you'll come across the occasional water buffalo or gnu minding its own business when, CRACK, you target, hit the fire button and leave behind a wildebeast with half-a-dozen 'elephant stopper' pellets lodged in its brain. You have to be very careful in making sure you select 'camera' when you shoot the game!
In the event I soon sorted out the differences between my camera and gun, and spent many a happy moment at one with nature. That was until a little native jumped from behind a rock, opened a large cavity in my chest and evened up the score for the wildebeast I'd creamed. That man was a poacher, but in this game, most of them are preoccupied with poaching you while the rest drive around in Suzuki jeeps or run about with crocodile skins on their backs.
By the time I'd finished off my twenty-hour shot roll of Koda-chrome I had devastated half of the countryside and collected more lead in my body than an elephant with big teeth. When the shots were finally developed there was more than enough ground to keep a geologist happy for a lifetime. Unfortunately there was a distinct lack of fauna.
Later on in the levels tourists start to mingle with the grass and trees increasing the options for your gun. By level three things start getting pretty hectic, bullets flying in all directions with several bewildered animals caught in the cross fire.
The aim of the game is to draw attention to the green movement but sadly the intentions are lost in the gameplay. Less of an education, more of a mixed shoot 'em up, and even without the ecology it's still only an average game.
