"Quack Quack Quack."

Duck Hunt attempts to bring a relatively old hunting game to the video game world and does a rather fine job doing in the process! Putting you in the role of a hunter, your mission and overall goal is to shoot down as many ducks as you can within the quickest time possible. Doesn’t seem like much of a game at first, but most of the basis is placed on just how fast you can fire off on those stupid ducks and make them drop through a couple of different skill levels. You’re not left with just that one game either, in which you have the choice of skeet shooting or duck hunting at your disposal. While not the most advanced of shooting games that would come later with the NES, it is a good start and you’ll find that it fills in a small blank to help beginners and younger gamers get a feel for the shooting titles that we have now.

The Game Play

The game play is divided up into two different forms of shooting. The first of these two games is the actual duck hunting in which you and your trusty dog flush out the virtual ducks and then you have to shoot them down. Depending on your ability to track and shoot, you’ll find that the stages you go through with the duck hunting become increasingly more difficult as time passes, so you’ll need to have your reflexes worked up for when the ducks go flying in different directions!

The second part of the game is more or less a clay pigeon shooting game that works in the same fashion as the duck hunting. A pair of discs is thrown into the air and away from you, with your only goal being to track them down with the gun, and fire on them before they get too far out of range. While this may not seem difficult, there are times where you have nothing more than a second or two of lag time in between the discs and you may end up missing at least one on the later stages of the game! The game play isn’t meant to be extremely difficult, and is more or less geared towards the younger gamers who were getting into the video game systems back when this was released.

The control isn’t taken care of with the standard joystick pad, but more with the NES Zapper light gun. One of the first games and one of a few that I can think of that were a Zapper gun only type of game, you should have no problem picking up a Zapper and shooting with it as long as the accuracy is on. The actual accuracy of the Zapper in Duck Hunt is more or less contained to how well taken care of the equipment is and if the Zapper is in perfect condition, then you should have no troubles with playing the title. Because the game is pick up and play, and the only real advanced thing you’re doing is moving the Zapper to point and click at the ducks or clay pigeons, anyone of any age or skill level can pick this title up and run with it.

The Visuals

Visually, the game is ancient in the way that it is presented. The animations on the ducks is done in fair style, with the flapping of wings and then the way that they seem to do a nose dive into the bushes is really something to look at when you consider the type of game that this is. The clay pigeon shooting moves fast enough to give you the real experience of the discs moving away from you and when you do happen to shoot them, you’ll find that the flying pieces are done in fair style as well! When you boil it down though, there really isn’t much to the game that is extremely special and the experience is delivered in the fashion that most NES arcade games were back in the day. If you’re really an NES buff, then you’ll find that the Duck Hunt is the prime example of beginning visuals for the age-old system.

The Audio

The audio here is actually pleasing to the ears with the beginning theme and the ending theme being your only true audio features. The in-between music that you’ll hear with the rounds as they pass is something that will stick in your mind, well after the game has been shut off. Something that does come through on both of the game variations though, is the way that the dog barks and the crash of your gun as you fire off the rounds at whatever it is that you’re targeting.

The Verdict

One of the first and most classic Vs games in the series, Duck Hunt went on to be one of the top games that game with the old NES system. In the arcade, it is one of the first examples of light gun games, and although it has been out done in later years by such games as Operation Wolf, House of the Dead and otherwise, it is still a grand fathered classic game. If you find one, it’s worth a buck or two to play through and relive the simpler days when the only targets weren’t zombies but little animated ducks!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/26/02, Updated 05/26/02