Looking for that arcade fisher... fast paced and incredibly simple? Looking to take turns setting records? Here it is!
With that said, this game is fun. I bought it with faulty memory, I must have combined a few old fishing games into one because I remembered being able to cruise a lake and pick a spot to fish in the Dreamcast version of this game... because of that incorrect recollection, when I first played this game I was very upset. I wasn't prepared for it's shallowness... but now that I've given it time and played with some friends, and let friends borrow it to try and break my records, I've discovered the fun of this title. It is plain and simply, an arcade game.
This is a game for those of us who used to go the arcade and try to get our names on the credits so high up that no one could ever de-throne us. Buy this game, catch yourself a 20+ pound bass and watch all your friends fail try after try to top you... that's the fun of a title like this. If you don't have a few friends to play your wii with, don't get this game because the lasting appeal will be incredibly small. Also, while the game is often listed as needing a nunchuck to play, it isn't necessary... you can reel with buttons A and B, and some of my friends actually find this much easier and more fun.
For those fishing game fans who want a challenge, there is a "Nature mode" where time passes as it does in real life... no minute = hour thing, when an hour passes in RL then an hour passes in the game too. Fish aren't as hungry and don't approach your lure as aggressively, and you'll have to work your lure correctly to catch anything... and the different breeds of bass actually fight in a manner similar to real life also. For an added difficulty bonus, try fishing in the rain at night on nature mode. While this adds a little to the lasting appeal for the people who like to fish alone, without friends to set records against, I still wouldn't suggest this game to anyone looking for a heavy single player experience.
Personally, I pop this game into the Wii when I have a few minutes to kill... waiting for my girl to dry her hair before going to a movie, or whatever... it's a great game for a quicky... and sometimes, trying to drag in that huge bass makes me want to flake on the movie and keep fishing!
This game gets bonus points in my review for having a sealed and new sale price of 30 bucks... charging anything more would have lost it points, it's too simple a game to justify 50.