Uchi Tsuri! Sega Bass Fishing

Today's successor to Get Bass! also uses a special controller for fishing - the motion sensitive Wii Remote which allows fishermen to stand in front of their televisions and reel 'em in with intuitive flicking motions. The game features 40 stages on which to fish such as the marshes, near a dam, in front of a canal, and in an idyllic country setting. Twenty types of lures of different stripes may also be used to attract the bass including one that's shaped like a frog and another which mimics the movement of shrimp. Factors which change in the different stages include terrain, time, temperature, season, and assorted variables in the setting.

For champion-level fishermen, the SBFA tournament mode allows players to test their mettle against ardent rivals who are champions in their own right. Other modes in the game include the default Get Bass Mode and the Nature Trip Mode where players get to enjoy a fishing jaunt on their own time without the onerous condition of competition.

View the back cover and screenshots on the main NCSX website.

» The menus and the announcer's speech in the game are entirely in English.

» Press "A" on the title screen and the following MODES may be selected:

GetBass Mode / Select a course, an area, and then go fishing in the default mode of the game
Tournament Mode / Enter your name and join the Sega Bass Fishing Association for amateur tournament fishing action
Nature Trip Mode / Enjoy a full day or night of fishing on your boat
Practice Mode / Test your fishing skills with a simple outing that doesn't enforce time or weight constraints
Option / View Records, Check out the Tackle Box, View Trophy, Big Bass Ranking, and Set Up

» The Get Bass Mode features three courses each of which contain four areas to fish upon. The fish are most eager in this mode of the game. Times including Morning, Noon, Evening, and Night.

» Tournament Mode pits you against a large number of other fishermen (they're virtual) and the goal is to bag the most fish and attendant weight. Afterwards, everyone has a weigh in to determine the winner and top of the ranks.

» In the NOW LOADING screen, a fishing lure dances, waddles, and runs across the screen from right to left

» The bass swim somewhat realistically but we don't see much improvement in the visual style or animation from nearly decade old Dreamcast version of Get Bass. Maybe there's a limit to how realistic digital fish can look.

» In the Nature Trip and Practice Modes, the Areas available to fish on in the beginning are:

Country
Dam
Castle
Brook
Marsh
Canal
Park
Reed
Bridge
Cave
Falls

» After you choose an area to fish on, you'll be able to select the season (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter) and the time (Morning, Noon, Evening). Next, choose the Weather (Fine, Cloudy, Rainy) and you're off to the chosen area.

» Shortly after starting a Night Trip game, the camera pans across the expanse of the area you've chosen before it focuses on your fisherman standing on his boat. Select the lure to use and then cast the line by flicking the Wii Remote forward. The lure sails across the water and plunks into the water. From there, the camera changes to a view of the lure as it rests on the bottom or the surface of the lake. To slowly reel it in, press the "A" button or the "B" button. To reel it in quickly, press both "A" and "B" buttons together.

» The shadows of fish may be spotted from the surface of the water which is your clue as to where to dunk the lure.

» When a lure is being reeled in, the point is to get the attention of a lurking bass by making it look like a tasty morsel and not the potential cause of its death. While a lure is being pulled back in, minnows will dart in and attempt to take a bit of the lure. To move the lure left and right, flick the Wii Remote in the desired direction.

» The available lures at the outset of the game are

Pencil Bait
Shallow Crank
Spinner Bait
Deep Crank
Straight Worm

An additional 15 lures are hidden behind question marks and must be unlocked before they're usable. The song that plays during the OPTION >> Record, Tackle Box, Trophy, and Ranking viewing is ludicrous when you consider the subject matter at hand.

» When a fish is hooked, you'll have to watch the tension meter on the right side of the screen - if there's too much tension, the line will break and you'll lose the catch. To relieve the tension, sway the fishing rod in the direction that the bass is moving to give it some slack. Reel in the fish steadily and you'll bag it without much drama. When fishing, only the Wii Remote is used for control to shake the pole and bring in the line. The nunchuk does nada.

» There was one point this morning when three big bass were all staring at a Shallow Crank lure floating on the surface of the water but even when we swished the Wii Remote left and right to make it look like a tasty bug, none of the fish made a move. Sometimes the bass will stay still in the water and just stare into the distance without doing anything except flap their fins and flip their tails. In a way, this is realistic because what if the bass had just eaten its fill of worms or freshwater crustaceans? It's not going to want to eat any more.

» When fishing, you'll occasionally see insects fly over the surface of the water and tadpoles about to turn into frogs will float lazily on the surface which adds a touch of realism. On some stages, waterfowl wallow upon the water.

» Sometimes when a bass is hooked, it looks pretty big on screen as it battles for its life. However, after it's tugged into the boat, the announcer will say in a melancholy tone, "No... it's a small one." Well, it looked big when we were battling it in the water.

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