Sure Shot HD (Android console)

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The Sure Shot HD was made in 2016 by Super Happy Fun Fun. It is an Android based gaming console, solely dedicated to light gun games. The console itself is inside the IR light source. The LEDs are placed with a certain angel to improve tracking. The unit has a flap and is meant to be placed at the top or bottom of a TV by self adhesive Velcro stripes. Nevertheless Nintendo Wii light sources, similar light sources and the usual tricks such as candles and combinations thereof are usable as well. That comes in handy for people who don't want to tape their gaming console on top of a TV.

The back of the unit sports a full size HDMI output and a SD card socket, which will support cards up to 32 GB in the future. The unit is either powered over a USB micro B socket or a coaxial power socket.

The console is bundled with a gun which communicates over Bluetooth. The built quality is high. The trigger and the reload pump action use quality switches. Even though it looks like the rear sight could be moved along the rail this is not the case which is a missed opportunity in my opinion. The gun is powered by 3 AA cells. I tried to use NiZn and NiMH cells without luck and therefore stuck with alkaline cells which was a bummer to me. The butt stock can be detached in order to allow the gun to be used in a pistol configuration. Personally I was not able to focus the sights with my eyes when using the butt stock. Because of this I built a replacement part for the orange back plate out of oven curing putty which allows me to increase the distance to the rear sight and therefore allows me proper aiming while using the stock.

When booting the console the player is led to a calibration routine to calibrate the gun from the very beginning, independently from any game on the system. This is a brilliant idea and I am puzzled why Nintendo didn't do this! Imagine to play every suitable Phillips CD-i or Nintendo Wii game using a light gun with iron sight precision. Instead many Wii games have a very flawed calibration routine done by overwhelmed developers or lack a calibration routine completely. Holding the pump action down for 5 s will bring the player to a system based independent calibration routine, allowing the player to recalibrate at any time from any game.

The player may play the installed games as a guest or set up and use a user account. The account allows the player to download updates and new games. Furthermore an account allows the player to contribute to the local and worldwide high score boards and allows the participation to online tournaments which are held periodically.

New games are bought in a store environment where some additional information is given. The Big Buck Hunter Pro bundle that I bought allows for a free download of the game Mayor Mayhem. Furthermore the game ''A thug in time'' can be downloaded for 3 USD. Payment is done via credit card. I really appreciate the option to not save the credit card information as for the popular Sony PlayStation Network hack. For Big Buck Hunter Pro a so called Open Season upgrade can be unlocked for 10 USD. This might annoy some people as they have to pay money to play something already present in their system, but personally I suspect this was done to cut down downloading and installation time. The price seems legit to me as I remember Open Season to be an independent arcade light gun game.

In the back of my head I was always asking myself: ''Is this another Oya?'' because of the variety of lackluster Android consoles that flooded the marked for a while. Luckily it's not. The games run very smoothly while the graphics are very adequate. I have lots of fun with Big Buck Hunter Pro, it's extension and Mayor Mayhem. I think the Sure Shot HD provides the definitive home version of Big Buck Hunter Pro. Sadly it is censored and lacks the female models which the series is well known for. A thug in time didn't grow on me yet.

The system is still very young and hard to come by from Europe. I am looking very forward to the upcoming game Big Buck Safari and it's addon. I hope the systems sells well, as there is quite a cue of games waiting to be released for the system: Shooty Bang, X-Racer, Archery, Zombo Buster, Mad Bullets and Grand Shooter. Personally I like the Sure Shot HD very much and I recommend it to every light gun enthusiast.

The box is very pleasing to look at as it has glossy highlights. The gun and the logo on the front are embossed.