Hakuna Matata - Afrika

[ElPresidente]

Okay I don't need to say much about this game I'm sure most of you know what it is all about if you haven't played it.

http://blogelous.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/hakuna.jpg

Anyway this thread is to discuss the game though there is a major ulterior motive to this post as well.

I know some of you (Bronze I think) have this game as do I... NOW TELL ME WHERE THE MEERKATS ARE BECAUSE I CAN'T FIND THEM AGAIN NOW I HAVE MY REMOTE CAMERA!!!!

*breaks down sobbing*

[Lazlow]

Game needs more cameras that are just viewfinders with guns attached :D

[ElPresidente]

Looks like you've been reading the gamefaqs boards. :P

Seriously... every second post is "Can you shoot the animals?" "Is this like the Cabella's hunting games", etc.

*bangs head*

[AranchineD]

Can you take any young boys to recruit for your militia in this game?

[Lazlow]

Can you round up niave natives to mine diamonds?

[ElPresidente]

Can I have my admin powers back please?

[Lazlow]

Why? So you and Bill Gates can continue to victimise the impoverished people of Afrika with your Western Imperialist Omega AIDS?

:safety smilie:

[Vindik8or]

Okay I don't need to say much about this game I'm sure most of you know what it is all about if you haven't played it.

http://blogelous.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/hakuna.jpg

Anyway this thread is to discuss the game though there is a major ulterior motive to this post as well.

I know some of you (Bronze I think) have this game as do I... NOW TELL ME WHERE THE MEERKATS ARE BECAUSE I CAN'T FIND THEM AGAIN NOW I HAVE MY REMOTE CAMERA!!!!

*breaks down sobbing*

I like the suggestive pose of the Zebra. You dirty, slut! Showing off for all the furries.

[ElPresidente]

why? So you and bill gates can continue to victimise the impoverished people of afrika with your western imperialist omega aids?

:safety smilie:

rofl!

[ElPresidente]

I have taken photos of the meerkats! Huzzah!!!!

[borgster101]

I thought the ulterior motive was to try and convince others to get this game. I've been semi-interested in this .. but I dont know .. it's basically like Pokemon Snap right?

[Lazlow]

But less gay.

[StorminNorman]

Did they seriously release this as "Hakuna Matata" out here? I thought that was a joke or something.

Probably would have bought it if they hadn't lumped it with such a lame name.

[JONO RANDOM H3RO]

Didn't come out over, but it's Hakuna Matata in asian territories and Afrika in the US. Buy it people :)

[Manny M]

I thought there was already a thread out for this that backslash created? (old forum perhaps).

Anyway, yes yes yes, this looks brilliant and so ever entices me to pick up a PS3... although I will be buying the 'Afrika' titled version.

[Citizen Erased]

I cant believe its called Hakuna Matata, I wonder it there's sing a long secton with lions.

[/backslash]

If anyone (namely ElPres) wants to know what kind of photo you need, click here for the PDF guide (http://www.filestube.com/38d54a71dfe33c3103ea,g/Afrika-Mission-Guide.html), it'll also tell you what to do if you're stumped. I'm still trying to pass "Cattle Egret on a Field with Elephants", that bird just never wants to land in the right spot, I got it once but all my grades were 'E' and I would've lost a heap of money for any new camera, been months since I last touched that game though. The repetitive music was really starting to annoy me with all that patient waiting

I thought there was already a thread out for this that backslash created? (old forum perhaps).
Yeah, that thread was most likely deleted during the cleaning

[Manny M]

So i'm assuming you bought the Jap version then? I've just (regrettably) discovered that it's only called Afrika in Japan... and i'm *this* close to learning the language just so I don't have to buy the version with such a ridiculous name :P

BTW, where's the best place to buy PS3 imports from these days? Play-Asia?

[/backslash]

So i'm assuming you bought the Jap version then? I've just (regrettably) discovered that it's only called Afrika in Japan... and i'm *this* close to learning the language just so I don't have to buy the version with such a ridiculous name :P

BTW, where's the best place to buy PS3 imports from these days? Play-Asia?
Yes, Play Asia is the way to go

http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-3ylm-71-bp-49-en-15-afrika-84-j-70-3hjm.html

I've got the Korean version with english subs so only the manual is worthless

[Manny M]

So I was debating about buying this since I bought my PS3 a few months back, but upon seeing it in a local video game store in Singapore for less than $50, I figured 'what the hell'... and so far i'm glad I made that decision.

Being a bit of a photography and wildlife nut, this game was always going to appeal to my senses, and from what I have played they are being fulfilled... obvious flaws aside.

The missions so far have been fairly interesting (my fav involved shooting a cheetah in full flight taking down a gazelle), and seem to give good guidance and motive to shoot some interesting scenarios. The cameras themselves (though i've only just unlocked the a100) provide a surprisingly realistic recreation of shooting with an actual SLR and the animals look and behave much closer to their real life counterparts than I was expecting... all combining to provide for a fairly compelling experience so far.

The game isn't perfect though and does without any voice acting whatsoever, leaving all characters feeling very bland. The actual environment itself doesn't look crash hot either, and while I know the African savannah isn't the most lush of environments, it's the crappy textures that contributes to it looking pretty damn average... especially in comparison to the reasonably well textured animals. There are also some issues with the frame rate, which really surprises me as there's generally not THAT much going on at the one time, making the frame rate drop even more disturbing.

Flaws aside, it has been a surprisingly interesting game to play and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who has an interest in photography (wildlife especially). I'll probably post more impressions the more I play it, but am happy with the purchase so far.

BTW, I haven't really looked around the menus, but is it a feature of the game to be able to upload your pics to the Internet? If so, I'd be interested to see a few shots from those that have it.

Oh, one more thing. I've read about numerous complaints with the time it takes to save (and it does take a considerable while), but it's not surprising when you look at the size of the save file... close to 400MB!! Is this abnormal for your standard PS3 game?

[/backslash]

Did you get the version with the simplified English? There's 2 english versions, pretty sure the one made for Western audience is better.

Yeah, there are a few issues with the game itself, without the voice acting, animals constantly in the exact same areas every single day and some pretty awful textures the landscapes can look far too dull & uninteresting. I got bored because the single shot I wanted practically never happened, making it feel like a game bug but I was never too sure. I was in the right place yet the 2 different animals were never in the same frame. With a more interesting environment + voice acting I would've been tempted to keep this game, instead the repetitive nature set in

[Blue]

The one thing that puts me off this game is that the only DSLRs and lenses you can purchase are Sony products, and as we all know, no photographer in their right mind would be caught dead with Sony's rubbish cameras,

Also, it wasn't released on the X360 in Australia.

[/backslash]

Also, it wasn't released on the X360 in Australia.
Afrika was never a X360 game though *confused*

but it's not surprising when you look at the size of the save file... close to 400MB!! Is this abnormal for your standard PS3 game?
Its only massive for the initial save file, most likely because of all the photos you're constantly taking. There's not many games that produce that much space for save files, usually its HDD installations you need to worry about :p

[Manny M]

Did you get the version with the simplified English? There's 2 english versions, pretty sure the one made for Western audience is better.

Yeah, there are a few issues with the game itself, without the voice acting, animals constantly in the exact same areas every single day and some pretty awful textures the landscapes can look far too dull & uninteresting. I got bored because the single shot I wanted practically never happened, making it feel like a game bug but I was never too sure. I was in the right place yet the 2 different animals were never in the same frame. With a more interesting environment + voice acting I would've been tempted to keep this game, instead the repetitive nature set in

I'm not sure which one I bought. It's all in English though, no having to select it from an option, if that helps identify it.

Haha yeah I thought the same about the game bugs too. I had an early mission where I had to wait for a hippo to yawn and they took their damn time, so much so that I wondered if they ever gave you missions and made you sit it out with the action never occurring.

It's not the best game i've ever played, and it won't hold my attention for long, but it'll give me enough entertainment to justify its purchase and for me that's good enough.

[ElPresidente]

Well if you didn't have to wait around before taking the photo it would kill the satisfaction.

[/backslash]

Well if you didn't have to wait around before taking the photo it would kill the satisfaction.
I spent about 10 'virtual' days waiting to get my shot :(

[ElPresidente]

Must just be me... it seriously didn't bother me.

Losing where the meerkats were on the other hand did. :P

[Manny M]

Well if you didn't have to wait around before taking the photo it would kill the satisfaction.

Oh yeah, I completely understand... but sometimes it's hard not to wonder whether it just hasn't happened yet, or the game has bugged out.

[Blue]

Afrika was never a X360 game though *confused*Yeah, exactly.

[Lex]

Then why specify Australia? It just sounds weird.

[igotnewsuper8systemWRONG!]

Yo Lex, maybe if you were k3wl like Blue and you had been chompin down special K all day it wouldn't sound weird.