The tale of man versus nature is as old as man himself.  The love-hate relationship between the forces of nature and mankind is rockier than the Appalachian Trail.  Nothing says, “Take that, Nature!” like ripping one of nature’s creations out of its environment, gutting it, and eating it.  Xicat Interactive offers a more eco-friendly way of sticking it to nature with their latest release, Top Angler.

Fishing is generally a sport for the patient. Casting out lures repeatedly, waiting out lulls between exciting events, and passing time by witnessing the beauty of the outdoors are all traits of the pastime of fishing.  Make no mistake about it: Top Angler is a fishing simulation game.  That’s it.  No quest for a princess imprisoned by a mythical sea serpent, no supercharged fishing poles, no talking lures.  Simply fishing.  And being a fishing simulator, much of the game is casting out lures repeatedly and waiting out lulls between exciting events.  The object of the game?  You guessed it: catch fish. 

Top Angler features three modes of gameplay, yet all are only minor tweaks on each other.  Tournament mode pits the player against other anglers in five tournaments for the largest total weight of fish caught.  Arcade mode allots three minutes to catch a specified weight of fish for each stage.  Catch the required weight, move on to the next stage.  Challenge mode presents certain requirements to pass each level, i.e. catch 3 large-mouthed bass.  Successfully completing stages or placing well in tournaments yields new lures, a key to snagging the big fish.

Although the actual act of fishing in Top Angler is fairly routine, a certain amount of pride is taken when a fish is successfully reeled in.  The player chooses a casting point, and casts out the lure.  Once cast, the camera switches to a submerged position, and everything within the lake becomes visible.  The lure can be given “action” by using the X or O buttons or the analog joysticks and is a necessary skill to hook fish.  Once a fish takes the bait, the serenity of the situation changes into a frantic scenario of man versus fish.  In an innovative twist, Top Angler splits the screen into two halves, one on the fisherman and one on the struggling fish.  Hooking the fish is only part of the battle; the real trick is getting the fish in the boat.  The fish has to be reeled in slowly to avoid breaking the line, but not so slowly that the fish can take off with the bait because of slack on the line.

Top Angler sparkles on the screen.  The movement of the fish is incredibly lifelike, and the scenery looks so authentic that you might actually forget how repetitive the game actually is.  The sound, limited to music and minimal sound effects, is unfortunately not on par with the graphics.

Top Angler is best suited for fishing enthusiasts who thrive on “the calm before the storm” type of pacing, and offers a reasonable substitute to the real thing.

Gameplay: 6

Bass fishers, pros and novices, will want to reel this title in.    

Graphics: 9

Brilliantly rendered fish, pleasantly portrayed backdrops, and realistically animated (albeit limited) human movement.

Sound: 4

There’s very little of it, but what’s there isn’t impressive.

Difficulty: 6

Some of the challenge modes will make even the toughest fisherman struggle.

Concept: 6

Bass fishing games have been done numerous times, but Top Angler weighs in with the best of them.

Overall: 6.5

If your hat has lures on it and you’re wearing wading pants, it’ll keep you hooked.