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DEEP SEA TROPHY FISHING
Manufacturer: Sunstorm/GT Interactive (1998)
Price: $19.99
Genre: Deep sea fishing
Requirements: Win 95, Pentium 75 or greater, 16 MB RAM, 40 MB HDD
space, CD-ROM, Direct X.
As the title suggest, this is a deep sea fishing sim- currently the only one available on the market. In the game players charter any one of four charter boats, each with it's own specialty: shark, marlin, tuna, and anything that bites (grouper, dorado, sheephead, bluefish, sea bass, etc.). Once the player chooses his/her charter it's quickly off to deep water (with a ring of a bell, I might add).
. The game interface is pretty basic. The player, represented by a t-shirt and jeans clad fisherman, stand at the end of the boat- of course this is where the action takes place. Players can choose several live or artificial salt water baits and even chum the waters using the dreaded (and stinking) chum bucket. The more chum tossed in the water, the bigger the fish one will attract (or that's the theory). However, you only have one bucket of the smelly stuff so once you run out of chum- that's it. Once you have chummed the water players then cast out behind the boat (by pressing the cast button) and wait for a fish. As the boat bobs around you can see and hear seagulls, buoys and the occasional charter boat as they pass by. There is a tension indicator on the left and a reel line/drag indicator on the right side of the screen- everything you need is within reach and easily accessed during game play.
. .. Once a fish latches on to your offering it's time to reel 'em in. You have to be careful though- too much tension will break the line so you have to adjust your reel speed and drag at times. Once the fish is brought along side a picture of the fish with all of it's characteristics (length, weight, etc.) is shown. The catch is then recorded in a logbook for future reference. If the fish is generally more acrobatic, like a marlin or tarpon, you will see the fish leap around otherwise there is no action. Once you land the fish and record it in the logbook it's back to more fishing (and chumming). .
The game gives you a good number of species to catch- everything from hammerhead shark to sea bass to swordfish. Before you ask- I haven't caught a great white yet and they are in the game. While deep sea fishing can be long stretches of sheer boredom coupled with periods of excitement, this game keep your attention from drifting between catches.
THE SCOUTING REPORT:
THE PROS:
THE CONS:
Review by Steven Ellis