Nothing sums up the holidays more than hunting in the wild, am I right? This week’s new Xbox game takes that to heart: Big Buck Hunter Pro by Microsoft Game Studios.

Like most hunting videogames, Big Buck Hunter Pro is a simple premise wrapped up in difficult execution. You tap on prey to shoot them, but it's never that simple. Shooting prey depends on where you tap them and the kill distance, which means you have to have both timing and precision down. There are also plenty of times where does (female deer) are there to distract you, and if you hit them it's game over.


As with most of these kinds of games, it is an acquired taste that not everyone may enjoy. But frankly, you are getting a lot of bang for your buck (pun intended). There are three minigames built-in, pass-to-play multiplayer support, a built-in 'Arcade Game Finder' which lets you connect with an arcade cabinet version of the game, and of course Xbox leaderboards and Achievements. Interestingly, Big Buck Hunter Pro also supports the HD resolutions in Windows Phone 8 and promises five new levels via in-app purchasing soon.

Big Buck Hunter Pro is available in the Windows Phone Store for $2.99 along with the standard free trial. We suggest you give the game a trial first, just to see if you really like the hunting game or not. Also, make sure your kids don't think one of those deer is Rudolph.

Click on the tile or link below to get the game from the Windows Phone Store; or scan the QR code to the right by using Bing Vision on your Windows Phone.

Big Buck Hunter Pro by Microsoft Game Studios Version: 1.0 Price: $2.99 Trial: Yes Store Link