''Redneck Deer Huntin (released in Europe as ''Deer Stalker'') is a hunting simulation video game developed by
Xatrix Entertainment
Gray Matter Interactive Studios, Inc. (Gray Matter Studios; formerly Xatrix Entertainment, Inc.) was an American video game developer based in Los Angeles.
History
Drew Markham and his business partner Barry Dempsey founded Xatrix Entertain ...
and published by
Interplay Entertainment
Interplay Entertainment Corp. is an American video game developer and publisher based in Los Angeles. The company was founded in 1983 as Interplay Productions by developers Brian Fargo, Jay Patel, Troy Worrell, and Rebecca Heineman, as well a ...
for
MS-DOS
MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few op ...
and
Microsoft Windows
Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
in 1998. It is a spinoff of the 1997 first-person shooter ''
Redneck Rampage''. It was later re-released for
Steam
Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...
(both Windows and
macOS
macOS, previously OS X and originally Mac OS X, is a Unix, Unix-based operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 2001. It is the current operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. With ...
) in 2017.
Gameplay
The player controls Leonard, the protagonist of the ''Redneck Rampage'' series. Using one of five weapons (.44 Magnum revolver, .30-06 hunting rifle, .30-06 hunting rifle with scope, 12-gauge pump-action shotgun, and crossbow) and a variety of bait and calls, Leonard traverses one of four large, open hunting areas searching for wild animals to shoot, including deer, wild boars, turkeys, and ducks. There are also two target ranges where the player can practice firing their weapons at both mobile and stationary targets.
Reception
The game received generally very negative reviews. ''
PC PowerPlay'' lambasted the concept of blending real hardships faced by hunters in a controversial sport with the farce of the ''Redneck Rampage'' franchise and called ''Redneck Deer Huntin'' a rushed game powered by an antiquated engine with low-quality environments and a dull experience.
[ Giving the game its lowest possible rating, '' PC Accelerator'' similarly criticized the quality of the graphics, recounted the failure of the player abilities to attract targets, and called the game "a poor excuse for a boring genre that just won’t die."][ '']GameStar
''GameStar'' is a monthly-released PC gaming magazine in Germany. It is the best-selling German-language magazine focused on PC gaming and it also hosts the largest video gaming-related portal in the German-speaking internet.
''GameStar.de'' i ...
'' also found the crude graphics to be problematic for distant objects and chasing prey to soon become boring and considered the game a form of cheap entertainment lacking obvious enjoyable features.[ ''Power Play'' was fascinated by then-recent player interest in hunting games such as ''Redneck Deer Huntin'', which it considered so bland and purposeless that even a Windows ]screensaver
A screensaver (or screen saver) is a computer program that blanks the display screen or fills it with moving images or patterns when the computer has been idle for a designated time. The original purpose of screensavers was to prevent phosphor s ...
is more exciting.[
''Reset'' criticized the game's sound design and lack of realism, finding it limited to running and shooting against a three-minute timer.][ German magazine '']PC Games
''PC Games'' is a monthly-released PC gaming magazine published by the Computec Media GmbH in Germany.
History
''PC Games'' was founded in 1992 and included a 3½-in floppy disk, which was changed to a CD-ROM in 1995. By 1999 it became the ...
'' thought that shooting prey was too easy.[ American magazine '']PC Games
''PC Games'' is a monthly-released PC gaming magazine published by the Computec Media GmbH in Germany.
History
''PC Games'' was founded in 1992 and included a 3½-in floppy disk, which was changed to a CD-ROM in 1995. By 1999 it became the ...
'', while sharing many of the other critics' sentiments, was somewhat less harsh. It noted that ''Redneck Deer Huntin'' is the first of '' Deer Hunter'' clones with 3D environments, but it, too, found the environments unimaginative and also finding prey difficult.[ '' Gamecenter'', likewise sparing in its use of criticism and admitting not having had qualms about ''Deer Hunter'', praised the shooting range and the ]Build Engine
The Build Engine is a first-person shooter engine created by Ken Silverman, author of ''Ken's Labyrinth'', for 3D Realms. Like the Doom engine, ''Doom'' engine, the Build Engine represents its world on a 2D computer graphics, two-dimensional grid ...
's flexibility for free movement, but wrote off the game as a cheap opportunistic rip-off of the hunting game enthusiasm that is not worth .[ In contrast to the negative consensus among critics, ''PCmanía''s review was positive, finding the game suitable for fans of hunting simulators, only lamenting the choice of a dated engine such as Build and sprites for imagery.][
The game sold over 100,000 units.]
References
External links
*
{{Build engine games
1998 video games
DOS games
Gray Matter Studios games
Hunting video games
Interplay Entertainment games
Single-player video games
Sprite-based first-person shooters
Video game sequels
Video games developed in the United States
Video games set in Arkansas
Build (game engine) games