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Dom Robinson reviews
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Sega
Sega Bass Fishingis a conversion of the arcade game. Does it pitch you against aliens in anintergalactic trade war full of gore and violence with mad bad guys thatshout “S.T.A.R.S.” at you? Er… no. It sticks you in a boatand pitches you against fish and stupid ones at that. You know the type – the ones thathave the memory span of a… erm… something or other.
There are three game modes to choose from: Original Mode, a Dreamcastexclusive which offers participation in the Sega Bass Fishing Association,with four locations and a selection of morning, afternoon or evening tournaments;Arcade Mode lets fishermen compete against the clock and PracticeMode which gives lots of time for practice.
Graphics, Sound and Playability
The graphics, as you’d expect from a high-detail Dreamcast game, do lookgreat. The fish move about flapping their fins, the scenery looks tidy andappealing and the rippling effect on the water is gorgeous. It only loses apoint for not being outstanding like a game packed with action that feelslike the DC’s processor has something to worry about. Oh and for the factthat there’s no 60Hz mode, so you get black borders on your TV. I left myPanasonic 32″ WS TV in “Auto” mode, so it zoomed the picture in slightlylike an analogue 14:9 TV broadcast.
The sound is rather a disappointment. Cast your bait into the water (SPLOSH!),wiggle it about a bit (imagine that one) and add some dodgy-sounding disco-ish70’s-style music. The sort of thing you might expect to come from the soundtrackofDeep Throat
, forexample.
If there’s one thing that saves a game, it’s great playability – somethingthis game knows little about when trying to play it with a joypad. Wiggle youranalogue controller and the bait reels back and forth a little. Holding thebuttons underneath reel the bait in. Everything else is guesswork.
Of course, with the virtual fishing rod things may be easier, but I never gotto find out. Since Sega’s PR dept. only had a handful of rods to hand, they’dall gone by the time I received the game. The press release did also containcontact details for two other companies dealing with them.
One cleared things up quickly, saying that most of the rods they had had goneto retail shops, so that was that, but the other kept me hanging on the phonefor about fifteen minutes while I was put through to no less than fivedifferent people, the second of whom said, “Yes, we’ve got lots”,but finally the last person said they had none!
When queried on the “lots” guy, he said that he meant they had none forevaluation. I could go out and spend £20 for a rod myself, but the gamehasn’t grabbed me anyway and even if it had, we in the UK have not been treatedto an official Sega rod, just the third party offerings which, by all accounts,aren’t that hot.
I am led to believe that you can play a mean game of Soul Caliburwith the rod when used to swish about in the breeze, carving up your opponent!
Overall
It’s weird. You’re looking at the fish looking at your bait, thinking aboutthem in human terms and how they perceive the bait and its movement as youwiggle it. However, they’re completely thick and they’ll follow it anywayif they’re hungry enough, but they’re not hungry, they’re CGI fish, notliving, breathing bits of flesh floating in the blue yonder.
I admit I did get a bit of excitement as I tried to reel a fish in on a coupleof occasions, since the more you reel it in and the fish struggles, themore the line-tension-ometer increases. Reel constantly and it’ll snap, butease off a bit and the bar will go down again, allowing you to try reelingin again. However, in real life such things aren’t thought of in such definiteterms – the line’s either in one piece (in which you carry on) or it’s snapped(in which case you go home or thread another line).
The idea, of course, is to catch as many fish as possible and catch theheaviest ones possible. Bigger fish = more points. And what do pointsmake? Yes, a high score (not prizes!)
However, perhaps Sega ought to program a Sega Porn Star game. Youplay porn-star John Holmes: Wiggle your joystick to improve yourtechnique – and the better you do the more girls you’ll “score” with – andinstead of have a line-tension-ometer, it’ll be an excitement-ometer.
Alternate the back buttons too fast and too often and you’ll suffer prematureejaculation. Ease off a bit and you’ll regain some of your strength. Whenthe girl’s had enough you could turn it into one of those shooting games asyou judge your trajectory and angle when you go for the “money shot”. Of course,protect yourself at all times, since if you die of A.I.D.S. whilst in yourforties, you lose the game completely!
Definitely a case of try before you buy, although if you rent it you certainlywon’t get the rod with it. Then again, when I played Crazy Taxi I didn’tdrive a cool car for real and interacting with Tomb Raider 4 didn’tmean that I’d play with my hands on a sixteen-year-old girl… 🙂
SOUND EFFECTS AND MUSIC
PLAYABILITY
ORIGINALITY
ENJOYMENT
OVERALL
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.