Whoa! Steady on big boy! Landing this fella may prove slightly difficult

The noble art of angling has enchanted people for many years. On a nice day, there's nothing better than sitting by the river and waiting for the 'big one'. And waiting... and waiting... and going home with nothing for tea.
Andy Ashwin

How utterly boring. It's cruel to the fish as well!
Agreed. So why on earth are fishing games such big business in Japan? Because they are great fun. Honest. There have been many decent fishing games in the past but Sega's Get Bass is something quite special.

How so?
It's all down to the innovative rod controller. It's basically a version of the one found in the arcade - it vibrates and has that reel-windy bit. And it works reely (ahem) well.

So what do you have to do?
Catch fish. Bass to be precise. There are three modes of play on offer - Practice, Arcade and Consumer - the latter being a Tournament or Career mode. Practice gives you unlimited time to learn the ropes in any one of six fishing areas. You'll also need to choose which lure best suits the area though.

Not maggots I hope!
No, fortunately not. You can choose from spinners, cranks (shallow and deep), floating minnows, vibrators and pencil bait. Later in the game you'll occasionally receive special lures as a reward for your angling prowess. Having selected the appropriate temptation, it's time for a bit of casting action...

Neat! I can't wait to perfect my technique.
... which involves a quick flick of the wrist. Unfortunately the nature of the flick doesn't seem to make any difference to the success of the cast.