I have played a lot of hunting games, and I have played a lot of Simulations. Never have I had the chance to (almost) mix the two into a complex game that taps into your knowledge of hunting so deeply. Forget this game if you just want a new Sim to play around with. Forget it if you've been an avid hunter and want to test your business savvy for the first time on fish and game experience. Outdoor Life: Sportsman's Challenge by Catdaddy lives up to the name: Challenge. Yes, for millions of hunters and anglers without their own land to utilize, paying to chase prey comes at a cost to access stocked parks and water. When I sought Arctic Char to fish years ago, I had to head far North and pay to get into Inuit (don't call them Eskimos) territory to do so. It was well worth it. 

To various degrees of success, I have played tons of Sim games throughout their history on the PC and platforms. I was one of the first to play Sim City, and was absolutely giddy when I got my hands on Theme Park years ago. With TP, I was able to mix my love of theme parks with my curiosity about running a large business. I quickly learned that it takes more than a fondness for thrill-rides to be able to succeed with a business Simulation. In OL:SC, you need to keep a lot in mind, and that would only come from having been in the woods or streams yourself. Keeping that in mind, you can make this game a lot of fun. It makes "game" (aka "wildlife") take on a new meaning. 

Like all Sim games, you start with a clean slate of wooded areas, streams and open spaces from which to build your foundation/basic structures to get underway. In "Instant Action" mode, you jump right into a park of your choosing (there are many to select, each catering to a type of game environmental strengths) and start laying out your business. You are given a limited budget and your choices of what you can get is also limited. To give your customers (I'll cease using the blanket term "Hunter") happy, you have to give them places to buy a license or supplies (ie: bullets!), congregate to lie about the one that got away, sleep and basic toilet facilities. Bears may go in the woods, but humans sometimes want better accommodations. What if there's a fire or otherwise dangerous conditions to promote such disasters? You need a Ranger and he needs a Ranger Station. What if little Timmy gets a hook in his thumb? He needs to visit a staffed First Aid facility. Who creates the easy-to-navigate trails to get your customers to the productive area they need? Maintenance people and construction crews, of course. You also need (terrain permitting) places to rent boats for fisherman. Once you get all of your buildings set up and staff the "park", you're ready to open the gates and start making money, right? Nope. A well-known "secret" in the gaming community is that these places have to be stocked with whatever it is that people want to pursue. If you've done all of this work, there will be no wildlife lingering about, and man-made streams do not have fish. So, you must buy your trophy wildlife from the menus. A single Trout costs close to a thousand dollars. A bear (not available in Instant Action mode) is over a thousand. That's just for one! You get the point. If you build it, they will come, but leave very unhappy if they do not have anything to show for it. Buy as much as you can up front. That saves money (volume pricing!) and increases the chance of your customers' success.

Once you open your park to customers, you have the usual meters to monitor for progress and success. You have to keep tabs on how happy your customers are, as well as the "Eco Management" aka wildlife success. You may have only bought a couple of fish, but through the magic of the birds and the bees, you can make that group multiply if the environment is ideal. Keeping an eye on your customer's Feedback is a great way to see the future. When revenues permit, use their comments to steer you into creating a successful retreat. As a basic rule of running a business, do not be afraid of letting money go fast up front. You have to build and create success, and that costs money. This is particularly important with this game, more so than in a lot of Sim games from my past. Why? Because you have to keep in mind there are living creatures in your "inventory", instead of cups for your Lemonade (Tycoon) Stand. Your wildlife has to be cared for and nurtured. Otherwise, you will have to keep buying new animals, which will bankrupt you quickly. Some of your selections can include quail, fox, deer, etc. The fish is limited to one species, however.

Using the crews/staff is key for success. I know, in my personal Arctic experience, we would have been miserable, lost and unsuccessful without the staff there. Likewise, making new trails, keeping an eye out for fires, health needs and danger is very important. Just like checking the roller coaster tracks in Theme Park, you have to monitor and keep up the maintenance on your land. Little details like that kind of "busy work" made a huge difference in this game. Your animals' population will thrive and grow under ideal conditions. Poachers (unlawful hunters) can be kept away by utilizing your Wardens.

If customers relay that they had nothing to do after the day ended, you'll need to beef up your night-life opportunities for them. You can start with a simple watering-hole called "Rudy's Bar", and grow that into a large clubhouse-nightclub type place as funding allows. Just remember that hunting and fishing is best done at certain times of the day, so what do you do in between those times? Little Timmy and his bandaged finger won't like a bar as much as Uncle Lou will. As mentioned, keeping an eye on your customer's comments will let you know if what you have is acceptable for the spectrum of people that will come there.

The sounds of the game are relatively a non-factor. I played mostly with minimal sound options due to the rest of the game's taxing upon my system. There is tranquil stream-sounds, chirping birds and the murmur of people bustling about. The music is repetitive, though nicely done. Unless you need the in-your-face mood reminiscent of  Ted Nugent's brand of hunting, you'll enjoy the soundtrack. 

The graphics are very nice. The scenery is lush and provides just enough detail without going too far at the price of gameplay. You don't need to see every needle on the pine tree to know that it's there. Though the minimum requirements will advise that you need at least a Pentium 3 with a 800mHz processor, I would argue that you need much, much more to fully play the game. It would barely run with all of the minimum option settings on my P4 2.4gHz system. It performed much better on a better system. Then, I was able to fully enjoy the spectrum of colors and mapping done by the designers. In speed of rendering, it enhanced the game a great deal, but the actual play was about the same. 

This is truly a niche game. I would not recommend it to someone that does not know a good deal about hunting/fishing. There is just too much to know about the delicate ecosystem with wildlife and hunter's needs to just wing-it for some casual fun. Likewise, if you're someone who does not like business and enjoys actual stalk-and-kill hunting games such as those provided by Cabela, you'll be massively disappointed with this game. It is NOT a first-person, crosshairs shooting game. It is a deeply detailed, high maintenance SIM that requires a good balance of hands-on experience with the real thing outdoors, and the interest for creating and growing a business with all of the trials and pitfalls of real life. 

Graphics: 7.5 
Pleasant to look at, but taxing for your system if it has minimal hardware. If you have a generous video card and good processor, you should experience some very nice looking landscapes and terrain. There are nicely done lakes and trails. It's a Sim, so the detail is not too great, so knowing that helps put what is there into perspective. It has a horrible opening sequence with a odd looking fellow hunting a deer. The screen and button layouts are well separated and easy understand and navigate. 

Sound: 6.0
The sound detail is bare minimum. They did not spend a lot of time here, versus other areas of the game. It is, by far, the weakest part of the game. The slow, orchestral music is often an annoying distraction rather than a pleasant enhancement. Chaos may be happening in your park, but the backtrack is reflective of a nice stroll along the Thames.  

Concept: 8.0 
To my knowledge, this is the first hunting/gaming Sim to be created. It's definitely the first I have ever seen. It takes a lot of faith to create something to suit such a limited niche as this does. I know plenty of people that are far better at Sim games than I am, but they would likely fail miserably at this venture due to their lack of sportsman experience or knowledge. It also helps that I have spent time at a place just like the ones I had to create. I knew my needs then, and used that experience to progress in this game. Maybe it could have been more friendly to novices, but I am not sure how. You'd have to ask one to find out, but I don't see hunting newbies clambering for this, so hats-off to Catdaddy and Outdoor Life for making this for "us". 

Overall: 7.5
As a first-shot out of the hunting Sim box, this is a good game. They seem to have taken a lot of things into consideration, which relays into realistic gameplay. However, there is also a lack of small-farm camp ability. Some of the places you can visit are very satisfying without being very large at all, nor requiring Ranger Stations and ATV rentals. I've been to some, and did not leave unhappy from lack of _____. This game constantly pushes you further and the guests can be demanding. Most hunters I know are not like that. It's a great effort for a tricky group of appeal. It has a low price-point, so the game is not up to caliber with some other Sim games out there. It's licensed by one of the oldest and most successful Game periodicals out there-- Outdoor Life. They should be happy to have their name attached to this, but it's only going to please a small sampling of the gaming community. Maybe I'm close-minded, but the typical hard-core gamer is not often also a gun-toting hunting enthusiast. Some of my gaming buddies turned up their noses at even looking at this with me, much less give it a try. That's fine. That leaves more for me to do alone. More stress, more construction, and more endless complaining about inadequate toilet facilities!