Prehistoric Pandemonium: Kuma Introduces An FPS With A Sense Of Humor

Nothin’ like life in the Great Outdoors…wait a minute, is that a flying dinosaur behind him?

In the wake of next-gen consoles spawning epic, serious minded FPS titles, one has to wonder if all the lightheartedness has been drained out of the modern video game. Ultra-apocalyptic endeavors such as Gears of War seem to be the norm nowadays, thematically speaking. Seems like the only option to get involved in a humorous sort of kid is to resort to the kiddy titles out there (and we all know who makes those games). Is it past the industry’s ability any more to make a raunchy, devilish title without incorporating doomsday into the mix?

Luckily, Kuma Games is taking a slightly different approach to the formula for making a shooter. Take your standard FPS out there, add a hilarious sci-fi plot, a game babe, and well-produced machinima to the mix, and you’ve got DinoHunters, an off-the-wall episodic game that adds a spattering of humor to your gaming experience. Don’t worry, you still get to blow shit up, too.

The premise for the game is this: a group of misfit D-celebrities, headed by the stunning and illustrious Candy, does a ton of traveling while shooting their TV show. But that’s not the only shooting going down. This bunch of buffoons got their hands on a time traveling RV (wait, what?) and use their wheels to terrorize pterodactyls and other ancient prey as the basis for their show (on a network called the Total Hunting Channel). Sound weird enough? Wait until you hear the inter-game dialogue or watch the machinima for this one. Some of the scenes between characters are simply hilarious; but then, so is the entire concept of the game.

Gameplay itself moves fast and is engaging, with a slew of weapons to choose from and well-built maps to explore. DinoHunters tends to embody elements of Turok as well as Counter-Strike in the sense that you occasionally have to take on both human and animal-based opponents.

Hellooo nurse! The highly ‘engaging’ director Candy plays nice for the ‘camera’.

The machinima itself is very well done. It can easily be found up on various video sites on the web or directly from the Kuma Games website. The fact that these mini-episodes accompany each released map and are made by the same people that make the game itself is a neat little addition in and of itself.

Like everything else Kuma this game has the distinction of being available to download through the Kuma Client for absolutely no charge at all. Who is this done without turning a studio full of game designers into paupers, you ask? It’s simple; Kuma pays their dues through small, non-intrusive ads that make themselves known now and again throughout the game. The biggest eample of this for DinoHunters is their promotional spoof for Schick, the razor making people. In fact, an entire series of machinima movies were created based around the razor company (they’re really not as tacky as you think, and still super funny).

So, in general, you’re getting a free, not-so-serious FPS that still lets you do a good amount of destruction if you so desire. If you’re sick of saving the world from aliens, zombies, or…whatever, then DinoHunters might be right up your alley. Take it for a spin yourself, and lighten up, man!