While Nintendo themselves have never been keen on porting their titles to computers, fans have done this for years. One such fan, Mahna Mahna of the CSDB.dk website, did just that. What is interesting is how good everything came out.
Capturing more than the feel of Duck Hunt
When these types of ports happen, often we are greeted with a decent facsimile of the original. Here though, we are getting what looks to be a very close rendition of the original Duck Hunt, minus the screen flash as the light gun and television update.
Since there is no light gun support for the Commodore 64, you are limited to onscreen cursor support. According to comments on the Indie Retro News, there is support for a mouse (if you have one).
Your trusty hunting dog jumps into the bushes prior to the start of the level, scurrying up the ducks. Your job, for those that don’t know, is to shoot the ducks before they fly away. You do not have unlimited ammunition so make each shot count.
Shoot all the ducks then you move onto the next round. With each new round the ducks get quicker and more sporadic, making shooting them tougher.
Let a duck get away and your trustworthy hunting companion will make his opinion of your skills known. I don’t know about you but seeing that dog laugh at me, I have more than once wanted to shoot him with the Nintendo Zapper over the years.
Looking down the wrong end of the barrel with Nintendo
We all know that you are playing with fire when doing anything with Nintendo owned properties. The Big N is well known for litigious action against these projects, free or otherwise.
With that said, if you want a copy of Duck Hunt for your Commodore 64, you may want to hurry and grab it. I can only assume the lawyers are drafting their C&D letter now.