There are times when a hunter’s need to stay ahead of the game and practicing rifling or bow skills on a wooden animal may not be enough. Here are some arcade games for next generation consoles to keep those skills sharp and have fun in the process.

And wearing a camouflage suit isn’t required.

Big Buck Hunter is one of the arcade titles that can be found in the nearest arcade or mall and developed by Play Mechanix, Inc. The player can choose up to four zones in North America, which the sequel also includes Canada, and start hunting. Certain game objectives like shooting as many bucks as possible without including the doe. Bonuses are awarded for accuracy and certain double and triple kills for bucks. It may sound straightforward, but it’s all about the fun factor and can be played for a couple minutes with a handful of quarters.

And if going to the mall is too much of a chore, then a gaming console is just as good nowadays with next generation consoles. Some titles for the PC and PlayStation 2 offers a better experience thanks to their unique control system and it’s better than the days of Duck Hunt (remember that?).

Deer Hunt Challenge series has been around for nearly 10 years and created for the PC, and if you’re lucky enough to get it off eBay, you’ll enjoy the feel of being a hunter by using a mouse. Options like tournament mode and traditional hunting can be done with this game. And if the need to hold something that’s similar to a gun, you may want to bring out the old PlayStation 2 and find Cabela’s Deer Hunt 2005. It offers a smarter deer and hunting game and a wide variety of games. There are still ‘light guns’ on the market that will allow any hunter to connect to the PlayStation 2 or PC in a real hunting fashion.

So technology has given the hunter another chance to satisfy the need for the hunt, after all, it might be just as exciting as the real thing. Regardless, the developers, who are big deer hunters as well, really appreciate creating the games to the closest possible thing, and purchasing a permit isn’t required.

With the Big Buck Hunter series, Deer Hunt Challenge and Cabela’s Deer Hunt 2005, it’s deer hunting season all year round.