Afrika [import] review

Shooting animals in a complete different way... with a camera

GamesRadar+ Verdict

Pros

  • +

    Africa rendered beautifully

  • +

    Unique

  • +

    peaceful vibe

  • +

    Exciting "boss battle" moments

Cons

  • -

    Limited freedom early on

  • -

    Not enough wildlife animations

  • -

    Too much waiting

Why you can trust GamesRadar+ Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.

Sitting in a bush on the actual Serengeti, waiting to get a snap of a giraffe roundhouse kicking a wildebeest is – as we can only imagine in our crazy world – kind of exciting. The tension of seeing beasts in the wild and their unpredictability makes for a once-in-a-lifetime experience, if not a potentially dangerous one if a lion happens to sneak up on you. But slouching on your sofa as you wait for a hippo to yawn – which you will – is not.

Once you work out how to fumble your way through the Japanese menus and look past the soulless surly French man and American woman that you can play as, Afrika really opens up into the beautiful game you expect. You’re a photographer who takes snaps for a number of clients from the National Geographic magazine. They send mail (read: missions) and you drive out to destinations to photograph your posing target. Now while all this is unique for PS3 and looks stunning, there are two things wrong with the setup: a) you don’t get to drive the jeep early on, just stop your driver and start again, and b) some requests involve crouching for up to ten minutes real-time to get a shot of a yawning hippo.

Now, for a game that boasts amazing likenesses and traits of real animals, watching hippos waddle through just four animation routines kind of shatters the realism. But bust through these laborious bits and Afrika rewards you. After a while your African driver hands over the keys to the jeep and you’re free to jib about the place and chase zebra. It creates a nice sense of freedom even if the car is pretty slow and handles poorly.

Because the areas are so vast, you get a pop-tent so that you can set up an ad-hoc camp when travelling far from base. But the real wow factor comes from the pseudo-boss battles. This requires you to take a money-shot of a rare beast doing something incredible like trailing a cheetah as it pounces on gazelle. You drive close to the speedy creature as the music becomes dramatic, and take loads of snaps of the action. You’re then presented with your best one at the end, which not only earns you more money from the magazine, but you can also save it to your actual hard-drive. Clever, eh?

Despite the flaws in some of the visuals, hackneyed mission structure and rubbish jeep, we’re glad that Sony have changed their minds and decided to release Afrika in Europe – date TBC, and hope it gets a North American release. Its tense moments and thoroughly unique gameplay make for a great experience and for those that have already squandered over a grand on a PS3, HDTV and all the other stuff that goes with it, this is probably the closest you’re going to get to an actual safari for some time.

Jan 27, 2009

More info

GenreFamily
DescriptionA satisfying diversion of a photo safari, but a bit too plain and boring to be great.
Platform"PS3"
Alternative names"Hakuna Matata"
More
CATEGORIES
Nathan_Irvine
Latest in Adventure
A screenshot shows Pokemon Legends: Z-A protagonists standing in a city at night.
Pokemon is a stealth game now: Pokemon Legends Z-A wants you to sneak attack trainers during its nighttime battle royale
Pokemon Legends: Z-A screenshot
Pokemon Legends: Z-A will allegedly introduce 27 new Mega Evolutions, leakers claim, and we can only hope Flygon gets its chance this time
Minecraft Vibrant Visuals
16 years after Minecraft first released it's getting a modern visual upgrade with a retro lighting trick that Mojang hasn't seen "in any other game"
Minecraft movie image of Jack Black as steve
Don't expect Minecraft to go free-to-play anytime soon, as Mojang says "It doesn't really work with the way we built it"
Putting cigarettes in fish mouths in Thank Goodness You're Here
Thank Goodness You're Here's developer says it was trying to design a game normally before realizing "we're s**t at video game design"
Shiny cards in Pokemon TCG Pocket
How to get Shiny Pokemon in Pokemon TCG Pocket
Latest in Reviews
Razer Monitor Stand Chroma on desk with blue lighting reflecting off surface and Alienware gaming monitor on top.
Razer Monitor Stand Chroma review: “a pretty but flawed premium RGB riser for your gaming desk”
Image of the Corsair Virtuoso Max wireless headset sitting on top of a gaming PC case taken by writer Rosalie Newcombe.
Corsair Virtuoso Max Wireless review - a PC headset tour de force
Zombicide box featuring stylized art of survivors fighting zombies
Zombicide 2nd Edition review: "Like a zombie flick brought to tabletop"
Razer Handheld Dock with Steam Deck sitting on cradle, pink and yellow RGB lighting on, and Alienware monitor in background with Tomb Raider Trilogy gameplay on screen.
Razer Handheld Dock review: “Your Steam Deck will ride shiny and Chroma"
Photographs of the Agricola board game in play
Agricola review: "Accurate representation of the highly competitive and often unstable world of agriculture"
Photos taken by writer Rosalie Newcombe of the Shure MV7i microphone, within a pink and white themed room.
Shure MV7i review - convenience and excellence rolled into one superb sounding package