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Just when you thought Nintendo got its act together, along comes a title with the name of “Fish ‘em All!”. Yeah, as you might have guessed, WiiWare is back to its old ways with bad to mediocre titles. “Fish ‘em All!” falls under the mediocre category with its simple design, simple game play and…well, if you haven’t gotten the point it’s all very simple. You choose between one of two characters, Jack (the tall one with the beard) or Walter (the short one with the mustache), and then choose whether you're right- or left-handed. From there you basically catch fish with a net doing a very odd motion, which might require a kitchen utensil to help you out a bit.
The biggest problem with “Fish ‘em All!” is the control scheme. It takes one of two wrong turns, you either won’t be able to figure out the rhythm, or depth perception will kill any enjoyment you might have. But all may not be lost, a video from the makers of the game have released a viral video which depicts someone using a strainer with the Wiimote in order to get the hang of the game. Does this actually help? Unfortunately it doesn’t. It will give you a good laugh for about two minutes but it really won’t improve your skills.
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“Fish ‘em All!” offers three different modes to choose from - arcade, challenge, and fishtris . In arcade you go for high scores and advance through levels by catching enough fish before time runs out. Its easy and if you’re attacked by enemy animals like sharks, crabs and rolling hedgehogs they will cause you to lose time off the clock. In challenge mode you’re given a set number of fish to catch, but because the controls are frustrating at times this mode will prove most difficult. Lastly is fishtris, a mode that tasks you to still catch a lot of fish and go for a high score, but to also pay attention to the sequence of colors of fish you're catching. A meter on the right tells you which fish to grab by the shades of their scales. Get three of these in a row and it knocks them off the list.
Not much else is offered up in “Fish ‘em All!”. The visual and music portion of the game offer up little to no innovation, it all seems very plain and lacking, almost like a rejected Warner Bros. cartoon. The sheer lack of quality in this title makes it almost un-recommendable, unless you’re a diehard looking for something to play. In which case it’s recommended you go back to the past few weeks and pick up Bubble Bobble Plus! or Final Fantasy IV: The After Years DLC.
Pros: If you love frustrating controls, have wii points to burn
Cons: Controls, visuals, music
Sound: 2.0
Control: 1.0
Graphics: 2.0
Fun Factor: 2.0
Info: Platform: WiiWare, Publisher/Developer: Abylight, Players: 1-2, ESRB: E, Price: 800 Wii Points ($8)
