Ever since I first played “Super Black Bass” Pro fishing game asa kid, I’ve been hooked (pun only moderately intended) on fishing games forhome gaming consoles. That was a time when I finally convinced my Dad thatvideo games could be fun, and I think the only time I can remember that heactually played a game more than I did. (We only rented it, so this was bad atthe time, but I still have fond memories!) Fast forward years later, and I still love to fish and still love to play fishing games. The Nintendo Wii seems like a great platform for a fishing game... but how does Sega Bass Fishing stack up?

Bass fishing games have become better over the years, althoughit’s a fairly simple concept that is executed quite well with the NintendoWii-mote. AI doesn’t need to be top notch to replicate a bass. Graphics don’tneed to be fantastic to simulate a quiet day on the lake. The sounds don’treally even need to be fantastically engineered to have a relaxing but funexperience with a game. However, all these elements are the spit & polishthat make a good title great.

That being said, we’ve yet to see something truly alluring comefrom the Nintendo Wii when it comes to fishing titles. Nothing has reallycaptured the magic of a day at the lake, or the excitement of a fishingtournament. We’ve seen some try, but most (read all) have failed.

What Sega brings to the table is a rehash from a Dreamcast titlethat was popular about ten years ago. What was very popular, and quite fun onthe Dreamcast has been ported over to the Nintendo Wii with some additionalfeatures added on.

I didn’t get the relaxed fishing trip experience that I hadhoped for… but I was instead treated to some souped up tournament fishing wherethe fish have apparently been given small doses of crack and then starved. Idon’t think in my best fishing stories have I ever had the success I had infive minutes of playing this title. Remembering that I was playing a tournamentfishing game and not spending a day on the lake, I still had fun with it.

Lack of realism aside, this is a fun title to play. You havetournaments you can participate in, you can manipulate time of day and weather(something every person taking a weekend fishing trip would love to be able todo), and you can explore many different fishing spots.

The Wii controls feel very good with this title. Reeling feelsvery natural, and casting is more like holding an actual fishing pole. TheWii-mote seems very intuitive for a fishing game, and allows for a more funexperience than any old controller has been able to provide.

Controls aside, Sega Bass Fishing feels more like a re-releasethan a new title. With a few new features, this title was a safe port over tothe next generation console. Sega has a lot of room to grow its Bass Fishinglicense on the Nintendo Wii. While I enjoyed playing this game, it still feltlacking. I am anxious to see what they do with it over the next few years.