One of the things I love about Xbox Live Indie Games (XBLIG) is that it lets me try genres that I would never purchase for $60. Despite many opportunities, including the availability of fancy fishing controllers at least as far back as the 1999 North American Dreamcast launch, I’ve never been inclined to try a fishing game. The one time it was forced on me (the “Big the Cat” levels of Sonic Adventure) it was my least favourite part of that game. Enter “Fishing Frenzy”, to show that fun can be had in this genre.
What I like about it (that I didn’t like about other fishing games) is that it makes absolutely no attempt to be any kind of simulator. You’ll note the lack of “Cabelas” in the title, for example. This is as much a fishing simulator as Frogger was a simulator of amphibian behaviour. “Fishing Frenzy” is simply a fast and fun game of spiking fish worth points, while avoiding fish that are worth negative points (perhaps those are on an endangered list and trigger fines if caught), made more difficult by your ability to catch multiple fish (both good and bad) at the same time. This, like Sega’s Columns amongst several others, is a game I can just “get in the zone” with. There’s some replay here thanks to “awardments” that, while they don’t add to your Achievement score, do offer something for the completionists to shoot for. 80 Microsoft Points of “in the zone” fun.
Here’s what the developer (Shane1090) has to say about the game:
“Frantic fish catching fun! Catch enough fish to meet your target within the time limit! 15 fishing awards to achieve!”
Writings of Mass Deduction 