Rapala’s Fishing Frenzy

The Nintendo Wii has seen its fair share of sports transitioned to the motion control system. Can Fishing be the next good move?

When you think about what the Nintendo Wii has been designed on, some basic ideas for games come to mind. Sports like golf, tennis, baseball and even cricket, spring to mind.

Something else you might have thought could make the transition would be fishing, an idea that would only really have to use the most basic of pitching and swinging motions on the Wiimote to really get that feel.

Rapala’s Fishing Frenzy is a new title that aims to give you the whole fishing experience in an easy-to-play Nintendo Wii title. Packaged with a new Wii accessory – the Nintendo Wii Fishing Rod – an easy to transport representation of a fishing rod and reel. In the game, you’ll have to swing forward to cast a line, swing back to bring the line in, and altogether just wait until the camera shifts and you’re on the way to catching the next big bad bass.

But instead of just making it a simple fishing game, the developers have gone for a slightly different angle that tries to endear itself to your heart: mini-games. Fishing Frenzy forces you to flick your wrist in various ways as you catch the fish. Basically, as the fish wrestles with the line, fighting to save its pixelated life from your digital rod, you’ll be forced to hold down the A button and flick in various directions in order to speed up the line being reeled in.

Once you’ve got the hang of it, the game becomes a little dull as nothing really changes. From section to section, level to level, and lake to lake, it’s a simple matter of either staying put, fishing, and doing the exact same motions after moving your boat around to another part of the swamp. Then it’s more fishing, waiting, casting, and doing even more of the exact same flicking motions.

Throughout all of this, an American announcer either gives you the small bit of praise he can muster or tells you better luck next time. Seriously, if you’re considering this as a fishing game, just cut out the middleman and go fishing yourself. It’s a lot more fun!

Developer: FUN Labs
Publisher: Activision
Platforms: Nintendo Wii
Rating: G