REEL FISH'N
REEL FISH'N (formerly GONE FISH'N) from Interstel and Electronic Arts is a bass fishing simulation written by Roger Damon, a designer who knows a few things about simulations: FIELD OF FIRE, PANZER GRENADIER, NAM, and WARGAME CONSTRUCTION SET. This review is based on the Atari ST version; Amiga and IBM-PC version notes follow.
If you've never sat in a boat for long hours in the middle of summer, if you've never been hounded mercilessly by armies of insects, if you've never been able to babble about "the one that got away," don't feel left out: REEL FISH'N has everything except the bugs.
You are a successful small business owner with only one vice, and that vice is put to the test for the 20 weeks each year during which the bass are biting. At the start of every week, you can be found sitting at your kitchen table, checking weather forecasts and struggling desperately with a major economic decision: Which is more important, working or fishing?
Touch choice, huh?
After obtaining a fishing license by entering a word from the manual (REEL FISH'N is not copy-protected), you're off to the Weekly Weather Forecast. Monday through Saturday are your usual work days. Now they can become your usual fishing days. Deciding to fish on a given day sends you to your kitchen table for more detailed information.
In the kitchen, you turn on the radio to check the (more accurate) daily weather forecast. In the Fish'n Log, you review your performances from previous weeks. You study the tip of the week in your Bass Book. You check the map, study the layouts of the local lakes and, finally, you make a phone call to check on how the bass are biting.
You begin the game with $200, from which $20 are deducted for each day you choose to fish instead of work. At the start of each new week, you will receive additional cash, the amount of which depends on how hard you worked the previous week (that is, how many days you worked instead of fished).
After selecting a lake, you head for the Tackle Shop, where you can purchase lures (surface plugs, crank baits, bottom bouncers) and maintenance items. Upon starting REEL FISH'N, these are all you'll be able to afford; later, after winning a few tournaments, you can purchase a depthfinder, or a new state-of-the-art fishing boat.
You then head out onto the lake. Aboard your boat, you have a tackle box, a map of the lake, a live well for your catches, and a pair of motors (an outboard and an electric). Drop the anchor, attach a lure, cast, and then sit back and enjoy the day.
The Atari ST graphics display consists of various information/action screens. The Weekly Weather Forecast shows the six days of the work week (or, in our case, the fishing week), cash supply, and graphic depictions of the weather (clouds, rain, sun). The Kitchen screen consists of a table, atop which are a radio, a Bass Book, a Fish'n Log, and a map.
Clicking the left mouse button on the map opens a window to display the eight lakes (Pine Snag, Loon, Forbidden, Windy Hollow, etc.) in your local area. Clicking the left button on a lake opens another window to display lake information. Press and hold the left button on the phone icon to learn the cost of a one-day trip to the lake, the average size bass that's been caught there, the largest bass caught there, and the current fishing conditions. To select a lake, press the car/boat icon.
The Tackle Shop screen consists of a variety of lures and equipment. Clicking on a lure displays a short message concerning its use. Clicking on the cash register purchases the lure, deducts $5 from your available cash, and puts the lure in your tackle box.
Out on the lake is where it all happens. To the right of the screen display is an overhead view of your boat: electric motor, live well, map, tackle box, and outboard motor. Also, there are reel-retrieve speed (slow, fast) selectors, a clock (you can fish from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., at which point you automatically return home), an anchor icon (you can't fish or start a motor until you've dropped anchor), and a small display of the lake that scrolls as the boat moves. If you are fortunate enough to own a depthfinder, it too will be displayed.
To the left of the screen is a large area of the lake and your boat. With the anchor up, you click on the outboard motor and steer the boat around the lake. The outboard is noisy, so you use it only to get around the lake quickly. The electric motor is much quieter and therefore is used for maneuvering. A left-button click turns off either motor.
So, let's fish! Drop anchor. Click on the tackle box to open it; click on a lure to attach it to the line. At this point, the mouse pointer becomes a crosshair which can be moved to any (visible) point on the lake. A click sets the cast. Click on a retrieve speed, and the Retrieve screen appears.
The Retrieve screen consists mostly of the lake and its shoreline in the distance. Your fishing rod hangs over the side of the boat. In the bottom right corner is a window that shows an underwater view (different from the underwater depthfinder view). Your lure and line are visible, doing something either in, or atop, the water. Holding the left mouse button spins the reel and retrieves the line. When the line has been fully retrieved, the message "Press Right Button" appears. Doing so returns you to the previous screen for another cast.
The small window on the Retrieve screen is where fish appear (if they're biting). A fish swims into view, snatches at the lure, and swims off. The word "Strike!" appears in the window. On hearing the accompanying click, you must set the hook (click the right button and move the mouse backwards). Assuming the fish is caught, you now have to reel it in. Moving the mouse to either side serves to tire the fish out, and pushing the left button reels it in. Once you've retrieved it fully, a scale appears and the weight of the catch clicks off. Your future meal then goes into the live well.
There is a high-paying Tournament every week (except for first week). Each lasts three days, and you'll need $500 to enter. You can win big bucks (1st prize is $5,000) by catching a lot of heavyweight bass, which means you can purchase a depthfinder or a new boat.
The REEL FISH'N package consists of two non-copy-protected mini-floppy game disks, and a comprehensive and totally understandable manual that includes an amusing essay entitled "Fishing Without Even Mentioning The Word 'Zen'," by Roger Damon.
I have only one remark to make about REEL FISH'N: After piloting helicopters, exploring dungeons, killing zombies, sinking enemy ships, and running for president, it's an extreme and welcome pleasure to sit in a boat and do absolutely nothing but eat a sandwich, drink a Pepsi, and maybe catch a fish.
AMIGA VERSION NOTES
REEL FISH'N is an entertaining program that introduces the Amiga user to the quiet, yet unpredictable, art of Bass Fishing. It is an enjoyable exercise, written with genuine affection for the sport by Roger Damon.
Graphics, for the most part, are nicely adequate. The illustrations of the various lures are particularly interesting. Easily the most outstanding graphic is the view of the fishing rod over the water, with the lakeside terrain in the background. The line from the rod into the water is done in very high detail, so that every little tug is visible. Added to this are the sounds of birds and insects, so the setting seems very complete. Also visible in a separate window is an underwater picture immediately around your lure. This view becomes more detailed once you are able to purchase a depthfinder.
The only serious complaint I have with REEL FISH'N is its very disorganized manual. The first order of business in the book should have been getting the neophyte "fisherperson" out on the lake and showing them how to land a few fish. Priority is given, instead, to such secondary subjects as using the depthfinder and competing in a tournament. In fact, the instructions for using a fishing rod are buried deep in the middle of the book. Also lacking in the instructions are definitions of some of the terms used. I still don't know what it means to "horse" the fish. Do I leap out of the boat onto the creature's back? Am I yelling at it so loudly that I've lost my voice? All I know for sure is that I press the right mouse button to do it.
Overall, I'm impressed that Interstel has created a program about a sport that many people, myself included, know little about. The fact that the program offers many enjoyable hours to Amiga owners is doubly impressive. Who knows how many other recreations there are that could translate so well into computer simulations?
IBM-PC VERSION NOTES
In terms of mechanics and game play, the IBM version of REEL FISH'N is identical to the Atari and Amiga versions. It requires 384K RAM and DOS 2.0 or higher, comes with both 5-1/4" and 3-1/2" disks, is easily installed on hard disk (there is no on-disk copy protection), and supports CGA and EGA graphics. In fact, EGA is recommended. I can only imagine how dismal this game must look in just CGA; even with EGA, it won't win any awards. The graphics are sketchy and blocky, and even the supposed thrill of catching a fish is diminished by the lack of resemblance between the on-screen image and anything with fins and gills. The program also recommends use of a mouse or joystick, but can be used with the keyboard alone, although that last option has definite drawbacks.
For those of you who don't fish, or don't particularly enjoy fishing, this game will not make converts out of you. While I was impressed with the thought devoted to program concept and execution (not to mention the fact that Interstel was innovative enough to release a simulation for a sport I never would've thought of simulating), this program unfortunately incorporates all the boring aspects of fishing with none of its actual benefits. The game includes long tedious stretches, and what "strategy" there is seems wholly dependent on random factors. After going a solid week (game time) without spotting a single fish, I felt very frustrated. Although a real fisherman might have the patience to endure more punishment of this nature, only a dyed-in-the-wool simulation freak (or a reviewer like me) is going to stick with it longer than that. When (after three weeks) I landed my first fish, I thought, "Is that all there is?" You can't cook it. You can't even toss it back
People fish for various reasons. To some, it's a perfect way to hang out with a bunch of friends, drink beer, tell jokes, and take in a little fresh air and sunshine. Others experience a quiet delight in the beauty of the setting. Still others enjoy the Zen of fishing, becoming one with the prey. Quite frankly, I suspect that the very people for whom fishing has the most appeal are the ones least likely to purchase this program; they'll probably have a much different idea of pleasure than sitting hunched over in front of a scree catching ersatz fish on television.
This is, of course, just one person's viewpoint. But I suspect that if you don't like fishing, you won't like this game. On the other hand, if you really like fishing, this game might keep you satisfied through the long winter, while you dream about that lake where the big ones are biting.
REEL FISH'N is published by Interstel Corporation and distributed by Electronic Arts.
