Pros: Great gameplay! Most realistic (and fun) portable fishing sim available.
Cons: No visual strike indicator, graphics/sounds aren't spectacular.
The Bottom Line: If you like fishing or fishing games, you'll enjoy this game thoroughly. If you don't like the genre, there probably isn't much about the game to excite you.
higle's Full Review: American Bass Challenge for Game Boy Advance (GBA)
I suppose I'm one of a small group of people who crave a good fishing simulation during the off season. Most reviews you'll find on fishing games, especially fishing games for the Gameboy systems, are written by people who haven't fished a day in their lives. This makes it hard to select a really good fishing simulation in a market that doesn't support these games much. I'm here today to try to help this problem and let fellow fishing fans know about one of the true gems of the genre.
Best so far...
By a long shot (or cast), American Bass Challenge is the most in-depth, realistic, and fun fishing sim ever to come to the Gameboy Advance and its portable predecessors. When compared to other fishing games on this system, American Bass Challenge delivers much more gameplay, strategy, challenge, and realism. Though it doesn't have the flashy graphics, immersive sound, or the breadth of fishing sims on other platforms, true fans of the genre will eat this stuff up.
Graphics
The graphics for ABC are more on par with the NES than the Gameboy Advance. This, however, detracts in no way from the fun and playability of this game. There is enough detail given to the lure selections, lake settings, and fish so that you know what's going on at all times. The graphics are never an eyesore, but they won't blow you away.
When you're selecting an area to fish, you are treated with a fairly close view of the lake and your angler from a 3/4 overhead perspective. This view shows you fish-holding structures (reeds, lilly pads, boat docks, etc...) in nice enough detail so that you know exactly where you're going and what to expect when you stop and cast. Boat and environment animations aren't spectacular, but still more detailed than other fishing sims on the platform.
When you decide to stop boating around and start fishing, the graphics get a lot less cartoonish and more realistic. From this perspective you get a closeup overhead view of the structure that you're fishing, and everything is nicely detailed. You cast and work your lure in and around the brush, reeds, weeds, and garbage (yup, there's garbage floating around in some lakes) until you attract the attention of a nearby fish.
This is where it gets fun. The fish AI is quite realistic; you can see fishy shadows darting out of cover to investigate your offering, circle it, chase it, and hopefully strike it. You'll know you've got a largemouth bass because they tend to jump when you fight them, trying to dislodge the hook. Otherwise, you really don't know what kind of fish you're courting until you land it (just like in real fishing).
The screen has status graphics when you're in the casting mode, showing you water temperature, sun/cloud conditions, lure depth, and other helpful things. As stated before, fish AI is pretty good, so you'll want to use the right lure type, size, and color combination for the right conditions (quick rule of thumb: with cloudy sky/deep water/cold water, use darker lures, and vice versa). Finally there is a portable fishing game where fish react differently and realistically according to your lure offering.
Speaking of lures, there are scads of 'em to choose from. When you start, you have a selection of a dozen or so lures. As you complete the various stages by ranking in the tournaments, you receive more and varied lures. Lure action in the water is fairly realistic, and real retrieval techniques work like you would expect them to. The lure type/color/retrieval method used determines the type and size of fish you'll catch.
My only graphical complaint is about what I assume is a cloud reflection that is ever present on the water when you explore the various lakes. As you view your angler motoring around in his bass boat, you see foggy cloud outlines on the water that follow you wherever you go. Sometimes these "reflections" discolor an area making you think it's shallower than it is, until you realize it's the ghostly (and highly mobile) outline of a cloud that's been following you the whole time. Pointless, and ever so slightly annoying.
Sounds
There is no music to speak of during gameplay, which is great. The last thing you need during a quiet day at the lake is some tinny "durp-dee-durp-dur-dee" music twiddling away in the background.
Ambient sounds abound, and are quite alright. Birds randomly chirp, and that sort of thing. Again, as with the graphics, nothing mind blowing.
In the sound category, however, I find my biggest gripe about the game. Sound is integral to the gameplay, because when a fish strikes you get no indication other than a "splash" sound. Without the sound turned up, you'd never know when to set the hook and start reeling the fish in. I would have liked some sort of visual indication that a fish is biting. Fish can chase and circle your lure for a long time before taking it, and if you miss the "splash" noise, you've missed the chance to hook that fish.
This means that you can't really play the game at all in a noisy (or quiet) environment without headphones, and that's a serious bummer. So much for playing during long, boring conference calls at work. ;) I'm not saying that this small problem is a show stopper, it's just something to take into consideration.
By George it's... FUN!
As I've mentioned, the fish AI and the depth of gameplay are superb for this genre on this platform. Actually being able to use real life strategies and fishing patterns in a Gameboy fishing game is a great thing. Even with my two minor gripes (and the hand cramps from holding the tiny GBA SP), I just keep coming back for more. I highly recommend this game to anyone with a fishing jones, a GBA, and $15 to spare!
Travel to five different lakes and try your casting skills by catching 9 types of bass fish Experiment with different bait and locations in the Free F...More at Amazon Marketplace
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