Fishing Master review

Dec 4, 2007

Much like real-world fishing, Fishing Master for the Wii requires some time and plenty of patience before it pays off.

In the beginning it is an over simplified, cartoony excuse to fling your WiiMote in the air and perform silly wrist actions with the Nunchuck. During that first hour you can pretty much figure out exactly how to bring in every catch and recognize when the fish will definitely get away.

Not helping matters much is that game play is highly repetitive consisting entirely of casting, waiting, semi-precise reeling and cued jerking to. You use the WiiMote to flick your rod to cast a line and rotate the Nunchuck to physically reel it in (or cheat and use either the control pad on the WiiMote or the mini thumbstick on the Nunchuck) while watching a meter to make certain your line doesn’t break or the fish get loose.

After the initial dullness, however, the thrill of the catch and the shiny lure of more than 100 types of fish entices you into returning to every fishing hole with better bait and longer poles. You’ll actually get pissy when you cannot bring in a particularly pesky fish that fought you to every corner of the screen before finally snapping the line. You’ll even start to care about the seasons, the difference between freshwater and seawater fish and the various baits each fish prefers.