Rapala Pro Fishing

I love to fish. I have fished from the warm waters of Florida to the desolate extremes of the Arctic where the Char will snap your rod before you feel it strike. In every tackle box I own, I have an arsenal of lures. In one box, I have my freshwater tackle, another is for delicate trout fishing (mostly flies for streams, though sometimes tiny spinners work well for me) and my last box is for heavy, line breaking fish found in larger waters including ocean surf. In every box, I have a nice sampling of Rapala lures, among others. I love to fish, but work and the realities of life do not enable me to indulge in that recreation as much as I'd like. In these times, I settle for video-game fishing. For the stereotype fisherman (drunken angler passed out in a boat all day), this may seem ideal, but for me-- it's just a way to satiate my need to catch-and-release the day away. Having a game to play, with the tag of "Rapala" attached to it is a great thrill. It's just luck, however, that I get to test the waters of a game endorsed by one of my favorite lure manufacturers. 

First of all, Rapala Pro Fishing is an expansive game. There are a lot of lakes and a lot of lures. A LOT of lures. In all, with various sizes and color schemes for each, there are close to 800 lure combinations. I played a great deal of them, but never even got close to using 100 at best. But, having that arsenal to pick from is quite nice. I should be so lucky in real life. 

The game allows you to "Free fish" or get competitive with some Tournament play. I always opt for the practice stuff, first. Free fishing gives you more lures and options of play. Tournament, like the real thing, allows a set number of varied lures and other restrictions. By being successful, you can "win" more things as you progress. The better the gear, the better the trophy (fish).

You get a great boat and an annoying chatterbox of a fishing buddy to start with. "Wow... you're gonna have to get it out there farther if you want to catch one" type stuff... over and over. Driving the boat is done via the right and left triggers, forward and back, respectively. Just for kicks, I drove the boat-- a lot. Once you get to your lucky spot, "Y" will start the fishing mode. You can select an Easy mode for your casting, in which you have the too-easy task of dropping an arrow on your chosen spot and cast to it. It magically lands just where you want it. More like reality, setting it to "Easy Cast Off" makes it a totally different experience. Here, I spent a long time trying to get down the timing of pulling back the rod, depressing the "reel" button ("L"), releasing the rod (watching the meter!) and letting the lure fly. That is a lot of tricky coordination. That was also a monumental learning curve. Once learned, it added to the realism, but I can't emphasize enough how tricky it is to do it right. You can also "flip-cast", which is handy for getting the lure under cover such as low branches and etc. If you just want to get out there and start with the action, go right for Easy Cast. 

If you are fishing a small lake (or some rivers) you'll use more light tackle while a larger lake such as Minnetonka (MN) will require the big boys of bait. RPF offers a nice variety of fishing locations, though not as many as I have seen in other games. Still, there are enough to spend a lot of time exploring them in depth (pun intended). This is the second fishing game that has allowed me to fish on the Sacramento River. A place I have actually fished in!  When is someone going to realize that there are some great fish to be caught in streams and rivers of NC and WV? Not as exotic as the Amazon, I suppose. Each location offers its own specialties and niche. Some are more of a bog that require weedless lures or poppers while some need to go deep to smoke out the muskies. Alaska offered a similar glimpse of my time in the Arctic. Oddly familiar and fun. I love to fish for salmon! 

Like most fishing games, you can see your lure drop under the water, which is almost cheating. Unlike the recent release of Pro Fishing Challenge, which was a true fishing "Sim", this one allows you to see the fish and terrain as you drag your lure by their hiding places. That's fun to watch, and visually stunning, but not realistic at all. I was very successful when able to dangle and twitch my lure in front of a snobby bass versus the blind (realistic) fishing experienced in the previously mentioned Pro Fishing Challenge. But, to be fair, this does not claim to be a Sim. It's just videogame fishing.

Graphically, this is one of the best fishing games I have ever seen. The fish are photo-realistic just like a Rapala lure. The waters are clear or murky, but almost always realistic. The top-views from the boat driving are "OK", and the scenery is well done. But, the real eye candy is under the surface lurking in the cover.

The sound was the opposite of the visual. It was not abysmal, but often annoying and mundane. My partner in the boat said some idiotic things, and the fishing sounds were low-key in proportion to the "action" that was really going on. I guess they take "quiet when fishing" very seriously. It's subtle, and almost too minor to notice, much less comment upon. Like many games of this design, I usually turn down/off some sound options to save my sanity. 

I found the game sometimes fun and sometimes annoying. I think it is too strong in some areas and just as weak in others. Bass Fishing for Dreamcast was one of the first console games I truly latched onto. This is better than that by far, but something is still missing. There are unlisted fish to find, though I never found one (and keep trying!), so maybe that feels like a defeat, as I played every location and a ton of sweet-looking spots. I will continue to search for the mystery fish, but will resort to a cheat if I have to! From Easy, Medium and Hard to choose from, you have plenty of tiers to experiment with, but I still feel like I missed something. There's no "design your own character" ability, which I have become used to. Instead, you are given a short list of stereotyped folks with hip names like "Titus" and "Tandy". There is a lot of fun to be found here. It's gorgeous in its presentation, and the detail is there. At this price point, I think it's a great value. Though I try not to weigh such factors (price vs. quality), I think it's important to note that while this isn't the greatest fishing game ever created, it is a great value for that range. This isn't "the big one" to brag to all of your friends about, nor is it one that I'd want to let get away.  

Gameplay: 7.5
Casting issues aside, this game is easy to slip into. If you disable the manual casting mode, you can get right into baiting the big ones. Sometimes too easy due to the ability to see your targets underwater, it still gives some thrill when you actually entice that Largemouth Bass into taking the bait. Then, more fun as you watch the drag meter and try to keep him on line. 

Graphics: 8.5 
It's gorgeous. What can I say? The only thing keeping it from rating higher is the character detail (does that really matter, though??) and a few freeze-ups that were scattered about. They were very seldom, though. Maybe pulling in the trophy Walleye was too much for the system's processor. 

Sound: 5.5
The annoying partner in your boat will have you seeking the "Sound Options" screen quickly. The music is repetitive and grating on the nerves, but the environmental sounds (even the boat) are done well... though subtle to a fault. 

Difficulty: Medium
The East Cast mode is ideal for those that just want to get busy with the fishing action. There is a long learning curve for the realistic version. I have taught a lot of people how to cast in real life, and it's never been as hard as this video version. I did not have much problem landing the fish once I got them to take the lure. You have to pay attention to your drag and have a good feel for it. To some, that may take some learning, but I picked it up quick from previous cyber- fishing adventures.

Concept: 6.0 
Fishing in video games has been around for a long, long time. There are various versions, including the afore mentioned Pro Fishing Challenge that delve deeper into making it more real than games like Rapala. RPC just delivers a lush, but predictable experience that doesn't try too hard to be unlike its predecessors.

Overall: 7
I did like this game, and loved the variety of lures and lush scenery. It is among the best I have ever seen in such a game. There are just some missing aspects of the actual casting, catching and ability to land the treasured Trophy fish. There is a nice feature that lets you watch a "set the hook" timer which lets you decide just when to jerk the rod and hook the fish. With trout and other "picky" fish, that's a serious skill. They spit everything out! In real life, you can feel a bass run with your bait, and have to know when it's just right to set the hook (ie: pull back on the rod really hard and scream "YEEEHAAWWWW!!!!").  One second too long and they're gone without a trace. Too soon and the hook won't be in position to land it (more) easily. That was fun, but in real life, that's all done by sense and experience-- not by watching a meter. Nice touch, though. I liked it, and will continue playing it-- trying to find some of the "Mystery" fish I am promised. I will update the review if I find them. No... WHEN I find them. If I have to resort to cheats, I won't bother with an update. Like the real thing, I don't like shooting fish in a barrel. I like challenge and fair play. I think there's enough of that here to make it worth putting this game on your rack, even though I wouldn't classify it as a Trophy catch.