Duck Hunt

Name: Duck Hunt
Year: 1985
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Genre: Light Gun
Hours Played: Countless
Beaten: N/A

Duck Hunt was originally released in 1985 as one of the 17 original "black box" games for the Nintendo Entertainment System.  Whether or not it came free with your NES depends on which NES bundle you got; in 1987, Nintendo introduced it's most famous bundle, which featured Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt on the same cartridge.  The game mostly served as a demo to show off the capabilities of the Light Gun accessory (a gun control you could point and shoot at the screen).  When you view it as a free mini-game that comes with Super Mario Bros, it's a fun little extra, but when you consider it as a full game on it's own cartridge, it's a little lacking.

There's three games to pick from in Duck Hunt: "1 Duck", "2 Ducks", and "Clay Shooting".  "2 Ducks" is the mode most people thing of when they think of Duck Hunt.  Two ducks fly around a static screen, and you have a few seconds (and three shots) to take them out.  Your trusty hunting dog pop out of the grass holding the number (one or two) of ducks you shot; if you missed both, he giggles at you instead.

"1 Duck" looks and plays almost identically to "2 Ducks", the biggest difference being that you get three shots to take down a single duck at a time.  For some reason, this mode has a special screen every time you miss - the sky goes pink and the words FLY AWAY appear on the screen.  I was never sure why Nintendo thought that was necessarily.  "1 Duck" also includes a little-known two-player mode; the second player uses the standard NES controller plugged into port 1 to (theoretically) control the duck.  The problem is, the duck flies very fast, and the second it hits the edge of the screen the duck switches back to auto, so it's almost impossible to actually exert much control.

"Clay Shooting" is probably the most interesting of the three modes.  Clay pigeons are launched over a field, two at a time, and (like "2 Ducks") you have three shots to take them down.  The reason I always preferred this mode is because the scoring system is more intelligent; how far away the pigeons are and how fast you take them out affects scoring, which adds an element of strategy to the game.  Do you take your time getting a bead but sacrifice points, or shoot them right away and risk missing?

Many games who grew up with the NES have fond memories of Duck Hunt; especially non-gamers (often sisters) who grew up with gamers will often site it as their favorite NES game.  But, though it might have made a great free extra to show off the capabilities of the NES, it's hard to justify spending fifty dollars for this game all by itself.

Graphics & Animation: 3 (Good)
Duck Hunt has very iconic graphics; there's hardly a gamer who grew up in the eighties who doesn't have vivid memories of being laughed at by the hunting dog.

Music & Sounds: 3 (Good)
There's only a couple of short jingles in Duck Hunt, but they're catchy and memorable.  The bigger star here is the sound effects; the duck quacks and the gun shots sound just right, and the laugh of the hunting dog still haunts many a gamer's nightmare.

Controls & Level Design: 2 (Average)
The light gun controls reasonably well; it has a functional sight so you can track your targets.  It's not compatible on all TVs, though.  If your having a hankering to go by an NES at Good Will so you can relieve your childhood, don't expect the Light Gun to work with your modern flat screen TV.  Also, it's a nitpick since no one remembers two player mode anyways, but the controls for the duck are abysmal.

Story & Presentation: 1 (Bad)
The presentation feels a little sparse here.  The title screen and menu are particularly uninspired.  The little cut scene of the dog sniffing are nice, but nothing similar was including for clay pigeon mode.

Length & Replayability: 1 (Bad)
Duck Hunt was a great game to break out when you had friends over who didn't own a Nintendo.  But other then that, how often did you honestly play Duck Hunt?

Total: 10 (Average)