Huntville Review

Huntville is similar to one of those festival games where the player shoots at various objects with a laser gun. It’s a jungle-themed iPad game in which a slingshot fires at various animals that are probably illegal to hunt (e.g. giraffes and elephants). While Huntville may not be the most enjoyable game, it has some awesome features that can't be overlooked.

In single player, the game is fairly simple. Players work their way through various levels with an increasing number of animals that come across the screen and occasionally a “boss” animal with a larger health bar. The player slingshots various types of ammo at the animals and tries not to let too many get away. If three get away (symbolized by three hearts at the top-right of the screen), the player loses.

Huntville is a “free to play” game that makes its money off of people buying “meat.” Meat and oranges (oranges are earned in levels) are the currency for various types of ammo and unlockable characters. It isn’t absolutely necessary to buy meat, which I appreciate. A player can get an almost equal amount of enjoyment from the game without spending money on in-game currency.

I only had one gameplay-related problem. I was told on some occasions that I had "run out of stamina," but there was no stamina bar to be found. It wasn't until about an hour later that I noticed that the slingshot itself was the stamina bar. If it's dark brown, the stamina bar is full, and when light brown, it's empty. Speaking of the stamina, it did NOT regenerate quick enough. With a game like this, the player has the urge to rapid fire stones. I don’t enjoy being told that I can’t.

The multiplayer is simply great. In multiplayer, iPhones with the Huntmote app connect to the iPad via bluetooth. I was quite impressed by how quickly and smoothly the iPhones linked up with the iPad. Each iPhone has its own slingshot that corresponds to the slingshot on the iPad screen. As expected, there’s a slight delay which, as a gamer, I had a hard time tolerating. But it was as close to a console experience I’ve had with an iPad. I even played on my Apple TV. Two iPhones hooked up to my iPad being AirPlay’d onto my Apple TV. That is the future of Apple gaming. And for that, I’m happy to have the game.