The most realistic fishing sim to date.
The life of the outdoors is one special way to retreat, now you don't have to leave your seat to throw a fishing line. Thanks to Fishing Planet, you can fish like a pro at home on console or PC. If you have ever been fishing, then you know that it is not a fast paced sport. It takes patience and a passion for anyone to become a pro or even an avid fisher. I myself am not patient, though I did decide to do this review because my brother loves to toss in the line all day. He will sit there and catch fish after fish, while I am sitting there looking stupid. I am glad I decided to do this on the other hand, it turned out that I know more about fishing than I thought.
The graphics are brilliant. So much detail was put into this game, that the water looks almost as good as it does in real life. Reflections of your silhouette, pole and line in the blue hue of the water. The fish, trees and everything are just so detailed, I thought at one point I could smell the trees. As far as the creation of your character goes, well... let us just say that it did not win big with me. Everything got off to a good start. You had more than a couple of faces to choose from, then it went to only three hair styles, with no way to change the color! Now, I understand not having many hair styles to choose from, because come on, it is in First Person. However, not including a prompt to choose whether you wanted brown or blond hair? No, that is unacceptable, and it really took things down a notch for me. Some people may say, well it is only a fishing game. Yes, a fishing "game", a software that you can create an avatar to be your own. Why even put in customization if you cannot include a crucial feature? I will not go as far as saying this game is not good, because it is. Just have to knock it down a few pegs for that.
When it comes to the ins and outs of fishing, research was well done. Form bait, tackle, lures and reels, everything was correct. This is a fishing game, yes? I have played a couple fishing games where your tackle is not all that good, well in Fishing Planet you have so many options to choose from, it is spectacular. I mean you'd have to really know your stuff to understand what the name brands are all about. Just as in real life, you will need to acquire certain US state licenses to fish, well all states in fact, its definitely more of a requirement than anything else, and you could receive a huge fine for not having one.
Over 100 fish and fishing spots all over the world, you will enjoy the view of some of the most beautiful spots on this planet to cast your line. From all over the US to Italy, Netherlands and much, much more. In order to see these spots, you will need to complete missions and rank up in EXP. I also mentioned above that you'll need to buy licenses for all spots that you visit. It will cost in game currency, make sure to keep up with selling your fish at the end of the day.
There are numerous types of setups for different types of fishing. For example, bottom fishing and straight line catching. It will take some time to get used to because there are so many different types of tackle to use, poles and reels. As you progress you will find different techniques to catch different fish. You cannot use a bobber and a red worm if you want to catch certain fish, so you'll have to take the bobber off and use a sinker, so the bait drags across the bottom. Then for Bass you will have to learn the stop and go variant. This is when you reel for 1 sec then let go for 1 sec, rinse and repeat. It seems difficult at first, but it gets easier. When you start to make some real progress you'll feel a certain accomplishment while traveling to another country or just hooking up a whole new setup. If you did not know how to fish at all, I'd say this will definitely help you learn. I even learned some more experienced ways to fish! I am sure my brother will say the same thing, although he knows a lot more than me.
You'll be competing no matter what. On the size of the fish, what type of fish, etc. The world leaderboard will keep track of what fish and where caugh for every catch. One great feature is the buoy marker, which you can place where you last caught a certain fish if you need to go back again to find a trophy catch.