Your quarry is big-bellied rednecks, goofy Minnesotans. Deer Avenger makes fun of the software, cracking jokes at Deer Hunter 's low-resolution graphics and interminable pace. This action alone is worth the price of the game. But mostly, it just pokes fun at hunters. Instead of deer droppings and tree scratchings, they leave beer cans, toilet paper and freshly wrinkled pornographic magazines.
Some laughs are more comfortable than others.
It's easy to laugh at yuppie sportsmen with their cellular phones and sport utility vehicles and Ralph Lauren hunting outfits because when you're making fun of people at the top of the socioeconomic totem pole, humor is a leveling device. And if you happen to be one of those people, it's self-deprecating charm because you can afford to take a shot at yourself. But it's good to see products like this coming out of the New York media establishment because parody, not imitation, is the sincerest form of flattery. It validates Deer Hunter 's success in a way that the copycats cannot.