Fishing Frenzy 2009, brought to us by Activision and Fun Labs. The game is exactly what you would expect, a fishing simulation game featuring the Rapala license. But does a fishing sim on the XBox 360 translate to actual gaming fun? Well that all depends on what you are expecting from your fishing experience.

In Rapala 2009 you start off the game by choosing whether your character is a male or female, and then you come to main menu. From here you can choose Tournament Fishing, Open Fishing or Quick Challenge, with all three options pretty self explanatory in title.  In Tournament Fishing, you will compete in various tournaments where you will win prizes, gear and unlock more fishing spots. You start off on easy, and as you progress through the tournaments, you unlock Normal and Hard. When it comes to Open Fishing, this is where you have the opportunity to try out unlocked Fishing spots, and new rods, lures and more. Quick Challenge is exactly what it states, as you will be put into one of your unlocked fishing locations to perform various tasks and challenges.

The gameplay in Rapala is very easy to pick up and get used to. You use the right thumb stick to cast by pulling back and then pushing forward, in which the harder the motion, the further the cast. Once in the water, you have the option to attract the fish, in which fish will be easier to catch.  Once you have a fish hooked, this is where the action picks up. To reel in your catch, you must hold down the left trigger to reel the fish in, while at the same time using the right thumb stick to keep the gauge as low as possible.  If the gauge goes too far to the left or right, you will lose your fish. While you are bringing in your prize catch, various button combinations will appear that will help give you a boost and points. Be careful though, while you do get a nice boost and points, your gauge will also fill more, or even flip sides, so be prepared to start moving the right thumb stick in the opposite direction. Once you have brought your prize close enough to the boat, you will automatically bring the fish in, and will have the option to take a snapshot of your prized catch.

When it comes to graphics, Rapala looks great. The water effects are beautiful and look very natural, while the surrounding environments are well done.  Underneath the water looks detailed and has a very nice look to it overall. Unfortunately, once the animation for reeling in the fish kicks in, it goes from looking very real, to portraying the entire catch as clunky.  The fish jumps around without looking fluid or natural, and the camera is all over the place as the fish moves around. It started giving me a headache as I was watching it intently for awhile. The character model of your fisherman or lady is very basic and lacks any real detail.

When it comes down to the games audio, it features very generic music that will definitely have you searching for the mute button. It's not horrible, just gets annoying after hearing it for the nth time.  The sound effects are very minimal and the sounds from the environment can be disappointing as well. It has all the elements you would expect from nature, but instead of sounding natural, it comes off sounding more like a looped soundtrack. Also, the voice that plays while you are fishing is completely annoying. After hearing him say "Cast", "Attract", and other sayings over and over again, I wanted to strangle the guy.

Overall, Rapala fishing doesn't do a bad job in simulating a fishing experience, and there can be some short term fun had here. I believe I would have had a lot more fun playing this game on the Wii, than I did on my 360. It yearns for the motion sensor controls that the Wii can provide to the overall experience.  In the time I did spend playing it, I did find myself going for the next catch, and then the next, instead of just wanting to turn the system off. Also, just like real fishing, grab a beer for this one and just relax and don't take it too seriously. With all its flaws, Rapala Fishing Frenzy 2009 will be a fun rental or bargain bin pickup.

Rating: 6.6/10