Review: "Pro Cast my @$$!"
Over the years I’ve had the fortune (or misfortune depending how you look at it) to play a lot of different video fishing games. I remember playing the technical Black Bass series for the old NES and Super Nintendo systems, plus there was even a cool little versus fishing called Fishing Derby for the old Atari 2600. Now the Xbox gets a new fishing game called Pro Cast Sports Fishing and let’s face facts, we usually don’t get too many of these types of titles anymore so this game is already unique (to be honest I don’t think there are any other sports fishing video games on the Xbox currently). Another unique thing about this new fishing game is that it was created by Capcom, a company best know for their action titles like Street Fighter, Mega Man, and Resident Evil. Can Capcom create the ultimate fishing video game? You would think so.
Pro Cast has three different modes to try out: Arcade, Simulation, and Free Fishing. The Arcade mode is basically just a time trial game, no big deal. The real game play lies in the Simulation game where you enter tournaments, earn cash, and buy new equipment along the way. Sadly, the Simulation game is just as tedious as the Arcade game because you’re forced to catch as many fish as possible to get anywhere and that means you have to sit through a lot of boring outings here. Free Fishing is your standard practice mode and believe me you’re going to need it. These options are nothing that I haven’t seen before.
My list of problems doesn’t end there. I was surprised and very disappointed that in this day and age you can’t even use any camera angles here. It can be very difficult to see where the fish are hiding whether you’re looking from the boat or whether your lure is already in the water. It can be quite frustrating to say the least. If there was any game that needed a good set of camera angles it is a fishing game! Very dumb move Capcom!
If a game has no camera angles then it usually means the game has some killer still graphics then, right? No such luck! Pro Cast started off well with some impressive water rippling effects and some well designed artwork but things quickly went down hill when you look at the Nintendo64 style (i.e. overly foggy and blurry) underwater scenes and the in game characters are just plain dull. This is the Xbox, we deserve better from a system that can produce a game like Halo. If the graphics sound weak then wait ‘til we hear the music. The sound is great if you love elevator music but there is nothing playing while you’re fishing.
