FISHING SIM WORLD

All ‘bout that bass

Brace yourself, because this is the perfect plaice to indulge OPM’s terrible halibut of making codawful puns. This game aims to offer you the reel thing, licensing deals with the likes of Bass Cat and Sonik netting the developer hundreds of recognisable rods and accessories. Add in a variety of lakes from Europe and the USA (and our own Grand Union Canal, in case you’ve ever fancied catching anything other than typhus in a river in London), and there’s potential for a fishing sim on a grand scale.

Fishing’s not the activity for everybody, and the controls and systems may initially seem a little intimidating; but there’s no need for newbies to be koi. There is a small number of video tutorials, which we strongly recommend you watch. They’ll help you learn the basics inside and trout. 1

There are two different control systems for casting your line. The easier method involves holding then releasing a button to determine the distance of your cast, and if even that’s too difficult, this isn’t the game for you. The other, Total Cast, method is set up as difficult to master, but the combination of flicking the right stick and holding then releasing p is actually pretty simple. The real challenge comes when you take up a perch and start fishing.

Fish bite much more quickly than they do in real life, allowing you to tackle them with pleasing regularity… if you learn how to kelp up with all the systems, that is. The core fishing can be surprisingly compelling, but tournaments are unlikely to keep you coming back. 2 Let’s cut the carp here: Fishing Sim World is great for fishing fans, but unlikely to salmon hordes of new people to the sport. Luke Kemp

FOOTNOTES1 C’mon, that pun’s pretty good. 2 Though there are competitive online modes, and yes, peopleareplaying. You could theoretically have boat races if anybody was up for it, too.