Sega Bass Fishing Hands-on

There are some things in life that just fit together: beer and pizza, alcohol and karaoke, fishing and Nintendo's Wii console.

Sega Bass Fishing is the first time in six years that Sega's arcade fishing franchise has been spotted on a home console. Coming exclusively to the Wii in March, it offers four game modes: arcade, tournament, practice, and nature trip. We caught up with Sega and managed to get our hands on a Wii Remote, cast our line, and snag a few killer bass.

The game is stocked with four breeds of bass: red eye, smallmouth, and the aptly named Florida largemouth and northern spike largemouth. We're not sure what they were fed in captivity, but we found that most of them were willing to bite off more than they could chew, much to our pleasure.

There are 15 stages in total. We were able to play three levels in arcade mode, which included a small bubbling brook, a Chinese-style lake, and a sizable, yet largely drained, dam. While we didn't see much variation in weather conditions, Sega says seasonal conditions and time of day will affect your fishing trips.

The graphics are typical for an arcade game, complete with big, bright onscreen displays. There's also a time limit, but luckily we had unlimited credits and could continue even when the time ran out.

Onscreen indicators will let you know the water temperature, the fish count, your total catch weight, the clear weight needed to pass the stage, the all-important line tension, and how close you are to reeling in a fish.

On the first level, the clear weight was 11 pounds, but it increased as we progressed. The time limit for each stage was usually a few minutes, with bonus time extensions for catching fish or pulling off certain moves, such as making a fish jump out of the water.

There are myriad options when choosing your lure--Sega claims 20 different types in total--and it seemed to play an important part in sucking those fishies in. You can choose from shallow crank, floating jerkbait, paddle tail, tube, and spinner bait lures, which are then subdivided into lures suited for top, shallow, middle, or deep waters. There are also natural or "appeal" (fluorescent) colour options.

Once you've chosen your game mode, stage, and lure, it's time to go fishing. The Wii Remote worked like a charm. Without any instruction we were able to start playing, and within minutes we were happily reeling in bass. From your boat you'll need to choose where to cast, judging by the fish silhouettes under the surface. Once you've used the analogue stick to choose where you want to cast your hook, a simple flick of the wrist casts the line. It's then up to you what method you use to lure in those elusive fish. You can use A or B to reel in the line or flick the remote for a quick pull upwards. Different methods seem to work better with different lures and fish.

Sooner or later you'll get a nibble and a chance to put those skills into practice. If you give the Wii Remote a quick jerk to catch the hook, you can reel your fish in. Moving the remote to the left or right of the screen moves your rod, while tilting it up or down changes the tension on the line. You'll get a warning if the line is too taut. If you don't reduce the tension, you'll break the line, but if you leave it too slack, your fish will get away.

It seems the main challenge in Sega Bass Fishing isn't getting a catch but rather getting enough bass in your bucket before the time runs out. Catching too many small fish or breaking your line too often will put more pressure on beating the clock. Tournament mode may present a more robust challenge, but we didn't get to see that this time around.

Sega Bass Fishing looks like it will be a fun adventure once it makes it to market. We would like to have seen a multiplayer option in arcade mode, but all indications are that it will be a single-player affair. If you found that the fishing game in Twilight Princess wasn't satisfying enough, or if you have more luck catching digital fish, you don't have long to wait. The Wii fishing season will open in March.