Rapala Pro Bass Fishing for Wii U Reviews by Gamers

Rapala Pro Bass Fishing is a re-release of Rapala Pro Bass Fishing 2010 with minimal updates. As a frequent fisherman, I had very high hopes for this game, and had it on my radar for a few months now. In fact, it was one of the reasons why I got a Wii U. Unfortunately, this game is a "budget title", and it definitely shows. It lacks polish, options, and the basic gameplay has too many issues. Visually, the game does not look like a nice gen title, has way too much pop in, and unrealistic animations. Very bland textures and backgrounds. Reeling a fish in is not visually exciting either. Casting is done with awkwardly flicking your GamePad, and reeling is simply holding down the trigger button. Lacks any tactile feedback. Keeping a fish on the hook is even more awkward, requiring you to position the gamepad in a certain way. Not a good implementation of the Wii U.

Positives: Water looks decent. Fish have good detail. Lot of lures (Rapala of course). Makes use of the Gamepad screen (maps, fish finder, tacklebox).

Negatives: Control is awkward and unreliable. Only one generic white fisherman/woman character. ugly models. Bland environments. Bad music. Fish look nice, but have weird animations.

Summary: Fishing games are a niche, but that doesnt mean they have to be so poorly put together. Everything about the game reeks budget title and lack of effort. There is really nothing "next gen" about it, and the controls are lousy. If you want a great fishing game, get Fishing Resort (with the fishing rod case) for the Wii, its a far superior fishing game.