DESCRIPTION

Are you sick of waking up at four o'clock in the morning to rent a fishing boat only to spill that can of worms all over your new boots? Tired of being so sleepy that you accidentally hook your fishing partner with a sharp Popper lure? Does the smell of a fish-ridden lake make you nauseous inside? If you answered "yes" to the above questions, Sega may have the answer to your dilemma!

Ported to the Dreamcast from the Arcade, Sega Bass Fishing features many authentic settings of real bass fishing. For starters, there are 14 different lures, each with their own design, purpose, and difficulty setting. The Shallow Crank and Floating Minnow are great for shallow to mid-lake bass while the Spinner Bait can be used in all water depths.

Weather plays a big part in a player's ability to catch anything except for a cold. Bass will swim up to shallow water during the morning hours; at these times, it is recommended that a shallow or tip lure is used. When the surface gets warm, they'll swim down into the depths of the lake requiring the use of a deep-water lure. Players will want to accommodate for these settings in addition to rainy, chilly, and foggy weather conditions.

If there's one thing you're to know about the mindset of a bass, it is that they're not looking to become Jim Bob's dinner. They'll do everything in their power to avoid getting caught; they'll swim right, they'll swim left, swim up, down, and all around — whatever it takes to break a line or lure. Bass also come in a variety of sizes ranging from small to large. While the small ones are all but powerful, the big ones will give you a run for the money.

When a fish has decided to take the bait, a power meter pops up displaying a tug-of-war between the bass and the fisherman's rod. If the line moves up, be careful — when it reaches the top of the meter, the fishing rod will break and the fish will have won. If it reaches the bottom, the fish will eat the bait and swim off. The challenge lies within keeping it somewhere in the middle while the bass is carefully reeled in.

Sega Bass Fishing features a few different options including Practice, Arcade, and Original gameplay modes. In order to understand the ways of a bass fisherman, new players will want to utilize the Practice mode — it covers all facets of gameplay from selecting a lure to reeling the rod. The Arcade mode is a direct port of the Arcade original. Spanning over three different lake settings (Lodge, Cape, and Inlet), the object is to capture a certain number of bass equaling the pounds quota. When the quota is met, the stage is completed — those who capture a big enough bass can enter their name on the Big Bass Ranking board.

There is also a Dreamcast exclusive mode — after selecting a character and namesake, players will enter a series of tournament-based rounds set throughout eight different Lake Paradise locations. Whoever captures the most bass wins the match and moves up in the Sega Bass Fishing Association rankings (Amateur, Challenge, Professional, and Masters Classic). During a tournament, players can see how well they're performing, how many bass they've caught, check their overall rankings, change lake locations, and view the tackle box diary.

Though one cannot actually smell the bass and lakeside aroma, Sega Bass Fishing supports the Dreamcast Fishing Controller (sold separately) for added realism and control. It is Jump Pack compatible and uses fifty slots of VMU memory for saving tournament progress and the Big Bass Ranking board. ~ Matthew House, All Game Guide