Hooked! Real Motion Fishing Review for the Nintendo Wii

System: Wii	Review Rating Legend
Dev: Arc System Works	1.0 - 1.9 = Avoid	4.0 - 4.4 = Great
Pub: Aksys Games	2.0 - 2.4 = Poor	4.5 - 4.9 = Must Buy
Release: Oct. 30, 2007	2.5 - 2.9 = Average	5.0 = The Best
Players: 1-4	3.0 - 3.4 = Fair
ESRB Rating: Everyone	3.5 - 3.9 = Good

I really liked the data that the game saves from your tournament results. Statistical information is important to any gamer and Hooked! does a good job of saving important stats for your review. The records that are kept under your profile are annual victories, total number of times you have won, placed or showed, how many big and super big bass you've landed, max fish weight, average weight, total fish, number of times you've participated, and your hit percentage. All of these stats are essential for gamers who want to know where they stand. Hooked! Real Motion Fishing does a good job of appeasing our lust for knowledge and gaming status.

Hooked! Real Motion Fishing screenshot

Time attack is a very simple timed mode that has you meet specific fishing requirements within a set period of time. You can choose from three levels of difficulty to up the challenge ante, but this mode of play is more of an afterthought than a real option. The online component is fun and interesting, but unless you have friends that own the title, you will almost never be matched to anyone. If you are lucky enough to get online while others are there, the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection allows you to play with up to three other people via Wi-Fi Battle. There is also the ability to play against friends by entering their friend code into the Friend Roster. Fortunately, this is made easier for gamers because your Wii's friend code will be on the same menu screen so that you can quickly relay the code to your friends over the telephone. This kind of friend matching is horribly archaic though, and attests to the level of commitment Nintendo has to online gaming. The developers did a good job trying to alleviate some of the inefficiencies.

The graphics are standard Wii fare that don't quite cut the mustard. Nothing is difficult to look at, but it isn't particularly lifelike either. The fish look good, but their action animations are terrible. The bass take lures very passively with their mouths open as if they were hand fed in a tank. After the "hit" they calmly swish their tails and move their fins as if they didn't have a barbed treble hook hanging out of their maw. The only time they will try and shake a hook is when they break the surface. Thankfully, it is easy to see which fish are lunkers and which should be kept out of your livewell. This wasn't the case in Rapala. It is also easy to distinguish where your lure is in relation to the fish due to steady camera angles that only change when a fish takes interest in your offering. Finally, there is no angler customization to speak of, and the environments, while well-depicted, are uninspired.

The sound quality, commentary, and music is an abomination. The same cheesy song will play over and over again. Thankfully, you can turn off the music in the options menu. This holds true for the guide's voice too. This really annoying lady will bark orders at you throughout the day. This becomes especially annoying when you're trying to land a lunker bass and she's screaming "left, right, up, down" before ever even finishing her first thought. Finally, the sound effects are bad. The Wii remote's little speaker will be making this awful clicking sound that is supposed to represent the sound a reel makes while retrieving your line. Overall, sound quality is about the worst I've ever heard in a mass marketed title.

If you thought Hooked! Real Motion Fishing was going to be the Wii fishing game you've been waiting for, guess again. The poor graphics, terrible music, limited content, and the nearly useless Wi-Fi multiplayer make this another Wii fishing title with almost nothing rewarding to offer. The inclusion of several lure types and manageable controls make this the best Wii fishing title to date. However, it is a discount title selling at full retail price and is not worth buying even if you're an avid fisherman. Someone needs to grab the bass by the lips and make a fully licensed fishing title for the Wii that will knock our socks off. If anyone from EA Sports is reading this, get busy!

By Jonathan Marx
CCC Freelance Writer

Features:

Online play with up to four people.

Four casting methods: Overhand, sidehand, backhand, and underhand.

Simple and easy to learn controls providing a very small learning curve

Very responsive controls tailored especially for the Wii.

Six unique areas in total: Each area consecutively larger than the previous lake, giving much more area to cover and fish.

Full tutorial with interactive aspects.

You can choose the season, three different weather options, and three different times of day which affect the fish behavior.

By moving the Wii Remote side to side, you can tease and bait the fish.

Fishing camera has a wide angle to see where fish are.

RATING OUT OF 5