Outdoors Unleashed: Africa 3D Review

Outdoors Unleashed: Africa 3D puts 3DS hunters in an on-rails safari.

By Andrew Hsieh. Posted 09/08/2012 10:00 1 Comment     ShareThis
The Final Grade
1up
1-Up Mushroom for...
Simple controls; wide expanse of weaponry and equipment; good use of 3D effects
1up
Poison Mushroom for...
No online leaderboards; very minor variations between certain weapons

Teyon has been making quite the splash on Nintendo eShop lately, what with Crazy Chicken Pirates 3D and Escape the Virus: Swarm Survival being solid, arcade-style entries meant for the casual gamer on a budget. And with Outdoors Unleashed: Africa 3D, Teyon’s still staying in the arcade mode– because hey, it knows how to do it, so why stop?

As you’d expect, Outdoors Unleashed: Africa 3D brings players to the savannahs and swamps of Africa, with five distinct locations and thirty-five levels to traipse through. And similarly, there’s plenty of game to be had: meerkats, buffalo, leopards, and sundry other animals wander through the screen just waiting to be shot. Players control the targeting reticule via stylus, while shooting using either the face buttons or L and R– thankfully, this means that the game is, in fact, left- and right-hand friendly.

Before entering each level, players can select an equipment loadout. Initially, players will be only equipped with a generic rifle and a even-more-generic pistol, but later on, players will enable better scopes, new guns, and even new visors– the latter of which charge up with every shot, eventually enabling a time-slowing effect. While gun choices don’t seem to matter too much in the early levels, where the most dangerous thing that can happen is shooting the wrong kind of buffalo, later levels introduce animals such as crocodiles, which will charge toward you and bite away your health. In these cases, players will hopefully have the right kind of gun– that is, one that will shoot more quickly than the rifle they probably thought they’d use forever. This is especially imperative considering that Outdoors Unleashed: Africa 3D is more of a on-rails shooting gallery. Think Pokemon Snap, except, you know, you’re not there to take pretty pictures.


Hippos are dangerous. Better take ’em out quickly or they’ll take a bite out of …life.

Meanwhile, players will also get higher scores based not only on what equipment they use, but also where they hit the animal. Headshots naturally garner more points, but shooting from a distance will also grant longshot (or “extreme longshot”) bonuses. Fortunately, the 3DS screen– and the 3D effects– make it easy to discern even the longest-distance animals, and like all good hunters, players must also take care to shoot only those animals legal to shoot, or face severe point penalties. Meanwhile, small artifacts abound in the game at one per stage, and shooting them will grant plenty of more coins to shoot, getting more and more points. And if points ever lose their motivational factor, Teyon’s incorporated an in-game achievement system, where players are rewarded for finding treasure, shooting a certain number of animals, or avoiding killing any of a certain animal in a stage. It’s a very nice touch, especially for a game that ostensibly is meant for simple time-killing– even if players can’t show them off online.

For $3.99, Outdoors Unleashed: Africa 3D isn’t such a bad deal. Thirty-five levels will take plenty of time to shoot through, though it’d be nice to have a “free play” option, without time limits. And with plenty of achievements, treasure, and medal to earn, the game’s good for any shooting gallery fan or gamer on a budget.

Nintendojo was provided a copy of this game for review by a third party, though that does not affect our recommendation. For every review, Nintendojo uses a standard criteria.

One Response to “Outdoors Unleashed: Africa 3D Review”

  • 240 points
    Windy says...

    I had alot of fun with this Title :) It was getting hammered by a few people for being an animal killing game but I assure you no animals were hurt in the making of, or playing of Outdoors Unleashed

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