Bassin's Black Bass with Hank Parker

Good Fun

Ahh, where to start with this creme-filled chocolaty-goodness masterpiece of a fishing game... This game probably has more hours spent on it by me than any other game, epic RPG or no, that comes to mind. What makes this game so fun is the ease of play coupled with the amazing skill required to bring in the real lunkers.

This is what gives the game it's greatness. While being much quicker and simpler than actual real-life fishing, the game is not overly simple. The early fishing level has a fairly easy goal. The fish there are plentiful and easy to catch, but lack any decent size. This initiates the fisherman, allowing him/her to earn their reel and come to understand how the game works without losing many important lures. From there on, the fish in the lakes up in size, but the target weight increases at a steeper rate, giving a challenge to the fisherman. The view (being top down) adds to the game by easing the guesswork out of finding fish.

I Enjoyed It

This is a game that I almost hate to give such low marks to. An 8 isn't a death-mark by any means, but this game drives me absolutely up the wall.

As one of the finest fishing style games out there, this one holds up to Hot B's other fishing games by quite a bit. Like other fishing games, the game is set on a time clock, with an autosave feature that lets you turn the game off, yet still keep your earlier catches and progress.

The lakes are large, with a number of good spots to fish, and unlike some of the earlier Black Bass games, this one's fish finder is a very good identifier of the number of fish, as well as the general location of them. It goes 'pong', you know that you're in a hot spot, and should drop and cast.