Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: $9.99
| Rating: 5
Pros:
In the end, Action Bass is a solid arcade-style fishing game that the majority of armchair anglers will enjoy.
Cons:
For fishing game fans that really enjoy simulation-style fishing games with all of the extras like boats and vast areas to explore, the game will undoubtedly fail to please.
Game Play
At the onset, players only have five different lures at their disposal, with more opened up as they pass each new area -- of which, there are four open at the beginning of the game. Unlike other fishing games that are more simulation oriented, Action Bass is, just as the name suggests, all about Action. The game's main gameplay mode, called the Challenge mode, has players compete in a tournament where they must place in the top three in order to move on and there's a minimum fish size that they must catch for it to be included in their score.
There's also a free mode where it's just all about honing your fishing skills with no competition and no time limit. This is a great way to try and figure out where the bass like to swim, one of the keys of the game. Playing more like an arcade game than fishing simulation, the game places less weight on fishing skill, but instead focuses on having the player figure out where the fish are bunched up at and which lure will work best in the area. It's quite entertaining and definitely has an appeal that will attract gamers that aren't necessarily fishing fans. However, those looking for a more complete fishing experience might be turned off by the lack of control (limited to one area on the pond -- there's no driving your boat around a lake looking for the best spot), and arcade-style action.
Graphics
Since the game lacks the full roaming 3D environments that have been included in most of the recently released fishing titles, the backgrounds above water in Action Bass seem to be a bit more detailed than its brethren. There are lots of cool reflective surfaces and nicely detailed background elements in each of the game's various areas. Underwater is a different story, though, as the scenery is pretty bland, there's a lot of clipping and pop-up and the bass aren't to highly detailed. Still, not bad for a fishing game.
Sound
There are quite a bit of nifty background effects and ambient noises that really bring the player into the fishing environment. Nothing earth shattering or special to write home about, but it gets the job done and that's what really counts in the end.
