Rapala Tournament Fishing! review (Wii)

While experienced outdoorsmen will likely appreciate the true-to-life performance of the different lures in the water and the sheer number of lures available, the game is far from the perfect indoor counterpart for veteran anglers. All of the esoteric complexity in Rapala's tackle box is counteracted by the ease of the game. Regardless of which of the three available difficulty levels you play, the fish are biting in Rapala. The only difference is how long you wait for a bite and the specificity of the fish/lure combination. Provided you follow your in-boat buddy's advice on where in the incredibly small environments you should cast your line, you'll usually come up with plenty of fish. Furthermore, the fish don't really put up that much of a fight. Sure, you'll snap a line every once in a while, and a fish will occasionally slip loose of its hook; but, for the most part, if you pay attention to your tension meter and the onscreen advice (such as when to move left or right to coincide with the struggles of the fish), you'll be just fine.

Because there's so little fight in the fish, and they're relatively easy to come by (provided you happen on the right lure), you'll likely be bored pretty quickly with the tournament events in Rapala. While all of the events are timed, you can quit out to the results of the tournament in many of the events after you've caught the allotted number of fish. A notable exception is the "total" events, where victory is usually determined by the total number of fish caught or the total weight. Here, you'll need to spend the maximum amount of time on the water to make sure your haul is as large as possible. This means you'll also spend the maximum amount of time feeling bored.

The most notable aspect of Rapala's graphics is the tiny environments in which to fish. While there is some decent visual variety to the lakes and rivers you compete in, they all share one thing in common: You can usually get from one side to the other in less than a minute. To make matters worse, once you've found a hot spot in the water, it usually doesn't run dry, so there's no need to explore anywhere else. The game provides two views to choose from when fishing: a third-person point of view from the boat and a more useful composite view of the lure and fish underwater, as well as a side view of your fisherman. Using this view, you can watch out for on any interested fish near your lure and, once the bite is made, keep an eye on the action of your rod. There are also a good number of visual quirks under water. While the fish models themselves look fine, they'll often pass right through the hook before taking a bite. Also, when reeling in a fish close to the boat, the animation of the fish's struggle will noticeably skip, and the fish will often pass clip through the boat's hull before you haul it in.

While on the water, you're accompanied by a guide who provides feedback on your various fishing activities, such as where to stop, the quality of your cast, and advice on how to reel a fish. The actor who provides the voice work does so in a nice conversational tone, but it isn't long before his feedback becomes repetitive. It's also mostly inaccurate, especially his critiques of your casts; you can easily ignore his advice most of the time. The other sound effects in Rapala, such as the splashes of fish leaping out of the water during struggles or the occasional sound of wildlife in the background, are decent enough. The music in the game is also pretty catchy but, like the commentary from the guide, it isn't long before you've heard it all before.

In all, it's hard to see how Rapala Tournament Fishing will appeal to anyone. Its cryptic lure lore will frustrate fishing novices; its diminutive environments and brain-dead fish will do the same for experienced fishermen looking for a game that tests their skills. Game fans looking for a different use of the Wii's control scheme will also likely be frustrated by its unresponsive mechanics and tedious repetition. While fans of the nuts and bolts of fishing might enjoy the depth and breadth of gear found in the game, putting it all to use in the water turns out to be more frustrating than it is fun.