For
those of us that arent city folk, our experience with fishing isnt
limited to the one and only trip our family took to Big Snake Lake on
that one memorable weekend five years ago. Around my little slice of
heaven in Idaho, a fishing trip is more of a weekly ritual rather than
something big that you have to plan for. As such, I like to think that I
know a little something about the sport of fishing. I have played my
fair share of fishing videogames trying to find one that captures the
same feel and fun of fishing in real life, but none have really hooked
me. Pro Cast Sports Fishing from Capcom is the latest fishing game to
come out, and the very first one to land on Xbox, but it is yet another
game that fails to realize that fishing is more than just tossing a lure
into the water. Pro Cast is a title that both serious fisherman and
city folk would be best advised to throw back.
Pro
Cast has all of the modes that you would expect. An arcade mode where
you just compete in tournament after tournament with strict time limits
and try to advance to the next round by catching as many fish as
possible. A simulation mode where you are competing to earn points so
you can buy new poles, tackle, and boats. And finally, there is a free
fish mode where you can just waste away the hours with your line in the
water and not have to worry about competition.
What
drags Pro Cast down into the dregs is its extremely shallow gameplay.
The basic elements of choosing the right lure based on time of day and
weather conditions seem to be nonexistent. Most of the time it doesnt
matter what lure you are using because the fish will seemingly go after
anything. You have a selection of plugs, plastic worm, crank baits, and
spinnerbaits, but you only have one color of each lure to use. Like I
said, it doesnt really matter, but the fisherman in the back of my mind
is screaming because I cant use the right color to suit the water
conditions. I would have liked more lure and color options, but it just
doesnt matter in this game.
Any
fisherman knows that fish usually hang around structures such as docks
or trees or rock outcroppings. This is something that Pro Cast got
right. You can cast out to areas where you think there will be fish and
more often than not there will indeed be fish there. There is just one
problem. Once you cast out and jiggle your bait a little bit and a fish
actually starts coming after it, the fish rarely bites and will just
follow your lure all the way back in to your boat. You spend a majority
of your time watching fish NOT bite your hook. This is somewhat
realistic, I suppose, but you dont have to spend $40 on a videogame to
sit around all day and not catch fish. When I first started playing the
game it was a full hour before I caught something. That isnt fun. At
all.
That isnt to say that Pro Cast doesnt have its moments because it
does. The game is simple and easy to pick up and play so it is easy to
jump in and fish for a little while. Once you get used to the way the
game plays it is easier to catch fish, but you will still be looking at
several minutes at a time of reeling in your line and coming up empty.
The experience isnt great, but it is far from horrible.
The graphics in Pro Cast are pretty disappointing. The water looks
decent, but the environments are bland and lack the realistic details
that the Xbox can and should be producing. The fish look good, and it is
easy to recognize the different species, but the animation is pretty
stiff. Likewise, the character designs for the fishermen and fisherwomen
are detailed enough, but they have absolutely horrible animation. The
only things they can do is look left or right and make a cast and even
these simple actions look stiff and unrealistic. Its not like making a
fishing game is all that hard, so why not spend a little extra time
making the game look as good as possible?
The sound is just as pitiful. You hear the splash of your lure hitting
the water and the clicking of your real and that is pretty much it. The
music that plays in the background is sad sappy music that simply
doesnt fit. Luckily, you have the option of playing your custom
soundtracks.
Overall, Pro Cast Sports Fishing is a sad excuse for a fishing game. You
spend far too much time reeling in an empty hook than is acceptable for
a videogame. The graphics and sound are also rather disappointing. Im
not a fan of the super simple gameplay and severe lack of options when
selecting lures. It almost seems as if Pro Cast was intended to fill the
hole in the Xbox fishing genre and nothing more. Serious sportsman and
city folk alike would be better off avoiding Pro Cast, but give it a
rent if you must.
Eric Qualls (11/03/2003) |