Action Bass

Pros • Lots of tackle • Decent graphics • Plenty of habitats	Cons • Game gets old fast • Polygon clipping • Weak audio
Bottom Line A decent rental, but questionable purchase as the gameplay is a very acquired taste. This whole fishing game phenomenon is a very odd thing. It’s been able to win over a small, but fanatical following with its almost Pokemon-like quality of trying to reel in a wide variety of fish, while working to get the heaviest haul. Those who fall into this category of gamer will be quite pleased with Action Bass, but everyone else need not apply.

From a visual perspective, Action Bass is handled very well, with decently represented habitats to get your catch in. Heck, even the silt-like fish crap can be seen floating around in the lakes’ murky depths. The fish have been modeled extremely well, with smooth animation when they’re trying to fight you as you reel them in. The only prevalent weakness to the visuals comes from some polygonal clipping when the fish are trying to get away, but overall the visuals have been handled quite well.

Unfortunately the audio side of the game doesn’t match up to the visuals. While out on the lake with your friends the serenity may be great, but in a game it can really hurt the experience. A lot of Action Bass is spent in relative silence, with the occasional sound effect passing through. Oddly enough, when you get a bite, there’s some really intense music as you try to bring in the fish, then back to the silence. If there’s an arcade element like this in the game why not have music playing throughout? It sure would help to liven things up, and is far better than listening to the hum of the refrigerator in the other room.

But despite the game’s occasional stabs into arcade fair, it has some simulation elements as well. There is plenty of tackle to choose from, and more that can be unlocked during the course of the game. These play a strong role in getting catches since they all act so differently. It’s almost educational experimenting with the tackle.

Action Bass is an interesting title to rent for the curious. It has a lot of short-term appeal as the game’s mechanics can have a temporarily addictive quality as you catch all of the fish that you can. However, only those who are really into fishing or Pokemon-styled games will want to consider buying this game as the fishing can and will get tired for most.

Info & Screenshots