Bass-ically the best (Action Bass (PS))

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Product:	Action Bass (PS)
Date:	18/06/01 (161 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: cheap

Disadvantages: graphics

You know a game didn't cost much to make when all of ten people are said to have worked on it, and final versions are being sold for $9.99. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean the game is a bargain-bin piece of scrap. The Blair Witch Project cost all of $60,000, and it turned out pretty well--and not many people worked on that either. And it isn't like Action Bass is one of those high concepts that requires the labor of a hundred sleep-deprived programmers working round the clock. No, it just means that as a reviewer, the pan is ready to come down, if need be.

I'd have to say, if I were a big fishing fan and I saw a ten-dollar bass game sitting on the shelf, I might say "What the heck." For the money, there's really no reason to be disappointed with Action Bass. Sure, it's shallow and all, but so was Sega Bass Fishing for the Dreamcast. Then again, if this game were priced normally, I'd be on it faster than you could say "Filet o' fish."

The similarities between Action Bass and Sega Bass Fishing are numerous. It's almost like the Action Bass designers fancied their game as a poor man's PlayStation version of Sega's reeler.

For instance, when you catch a fish, it says "Fish on!" and when you land a hefty bass, it says "Nice catch!" This is really as far as the sound goes in this game. There's some feverish music that plays when you get one on the line, and there are some nature sounds (like the roar of a lake waterfall), which is all you really need in a fishing game. It's as if you're out in your boat, all alone.

Speaking of the boat, one of the game's glaring weaknesses is the fact that you can't navigate the lakes freely. You can look left and right, but there's no forward or backward movement. This means that the lakes are smaller than in better fishing games such as Championship Bass from EA, and often the la
ke's bass supply is confined to one cherry location near a cave or a dock.

Supposedly, there are big differences between the six lakes in this game, which is why you're offered so many different lures. There's the lure that floats on the surface, one that sweeps the lake floor, and one that hovers somewhere in the middle. Ideally, the lure you choose would make a difference in how many fish you catch, and the manual states that reflective lures are great for catching bass in cloudy waters. But you can pretty much do without all the special lures in this game. I found that using the first lure among the four you start with was always the best for catching fish.

Basically, what you're left with is an arcade fishing game, wherein you slap the lure on the hook, cast it out, and then fight the fish. There's very little thought involved here. When the lure is in the water, there's an interesting feature that kicks in; called the lure action meter, it requires you to put the lure in motion, making it more attractive to the fish. You can do this by simply reeling the lure in, but it beats sitting there with your hook at the bottom of the basin.

Once you get a fish on the line, it's one-button control from there. There's a line-tension meter that climbs slowly or quickly depending on the size of your bass. When the tension gets too great, you'll have to stop reeling for a few seconds and give the fish some slack. If you let up too much, you'll lose the fish, and that's about the extent of the strategy here. You can't pull the rod left, right, up, or down, which would have added depth to the fish fights.

Action Bass also lacks options, giving further justification for its price tag. Water temperatures, time of day, and weather conditions are all among the non-adjustable aspects of this game. When all of these exclusions are put together, Action Bass looks like a guppy of a fishing game ind
eed.

Actually, the game isn't devoid of fun. It's just simplistic--like Pong, or a jigsaw puzzle. What it does offer is incentive to play through the game in new lakes and in tougher challenges in extra mode. While it may be easy to land a bass or two in three minutes, try landing 700 ounces worth in four minutes. That's what you'll need to finish in first place in extra mode, which opens up after you complete tournament mode. The challenges are not as difficult in tournament mode, and you don't always have to finish first, but the ticking clock pressures you to not waste a second. Also, small bass have to be thrown back, which stops you from picking off a bunch of little guys.

Aside from tournament mode and extra mode, there's the option of free fishing. In free mode, you can fish for as long as you like, keeping the fish you want and throwing back the small ones. You can view your whoppers in your aquarium, which lets you zoom in and out, and rotate the camera all around to get a good glimpse of your rendered beauties.

And speaking of rendering, the graphics in this game really aren't that bad. The fish, as stated, are lifelike and plucky, waving their fins and fighting you tooth and nail when you hook them. The lakes, while not overwhelmingly large, are nicely laid out, with decent water effects and minimal camera glitches. Your line of sight is limited, but at least the view doesn't jump around.

On the whole, Action Bass is anything but an A-rate fishing title, but for the money, it's an enjoyable time killer for fishing fans who don't need the full experience to have fun.

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