Reviewed: Wii Rapala Fishing Frenzy

PLAYING video games is considered, by most, as a teenage pastime, with the exception of a few younger adults who got addicted when they were young. Wii, for those unfamiliar, is a new different concept in video games offering the player an interactive component to the game. This lends itself ideally to sport and even fitness games where mums and dads are forfeiting gym fees and keeping fit at home. Rapala Fishing Frenzy is a new concept to an old style of game. I remember playing fishing games on the old Atari and Sega systems when I was kid. This game blows those bad retro attempts out of the water.

The Wii control, which comes with the game, lets you cast, wind and set the hook when a fish grabs the lure. When the fishing's slow you control the on-screen fisho to jump back into the seat of the tournament boat and find another spot with the use of a fish finder! You can even use a bow-mount electric to move the boat around the snags. The graphics are amazing as you choose different lakes, pick from over 300 lures, and compete in fishing tournaments.

I took colleague Mike Ford and his son Jackson along to test this game at Activision's headquarters, the creators of this game. At 10-years-old, Jackson can be considered an unbiased expert on video games. In fact I think he owns all the major game consoles available! Here's what he had to say: "The Rapala Fishing Frenzy was great. It took a little while to get the hang of it, but once you did it was fun. The best part was fighting the fish. The sound was good and the graphics were pretty awesome too. I will probably put it on my list for Christmas."

But don't think this is only a kid's game. Adults would have hours of fun here when the weather's not conducive to real fishing. Rapala Fishing Frenzy would also suit fishing clubs and tackle shops as an interesting novelty. Rapala Fishing Frenzy is available from all major department stores and shops where games are sold.

By Scott Thomas