Occasionally there have been a few fishing titles that have popped up on game machines, and for the most part they were all pure simulations that tried to emulate all that can occur during a trip out to the lake for a fishing trip. Simulations can be fun for a while, but how about when you just want to pop right into the action with a couple button taps? Sega Bass Fishing for the Dreamcast is that exact type of game.

Starting off as a Model 3 arcade game, Sega Bass Fishing was an innovator in the arcade market for having a fishing rod controller used to bring in the fish, instead of a regular joystick setup. Earlier this year the game was released in Japan under the name Get Bass! and was a near perfect port of the arcade hit. Now, more than a month after the launch of the Dreamcast in the United States, the bass has landed here and is one of the most creative and fun titles released for the machine yet.

Before moving into the meat of the game, let me state that if you have the money you must pick up the optional fishing controller to this game. Do whatever it takes to get this controller. Sell you body, sell your soul, who cares! Having the rod accessory enhances the experience so much it’s incredible. Actually reeling in the fish, rod in hand, and having varying levels of rumbling intensity shake around as the action unfolds has made it one of the most fun I’d had with a game in a long time. Another neat feature is by jerking the rod in different directions it slightly yanks at the lure in the water, and the fact that you can simply twitch the rod back and then forth to cast out.

As reflected by the two scores given to Bass Fishing, if you have the additional fishing rod the game is brought up a notch, although even without it the game can still be highly entertaining.

So far there have been a few Model 3 conversions that have been brought to the Dreamcast (along with a couple NAOMI) and they have been faithful to the arcade versions, for the most part. Bass Fishing has stayed true to this formula - partly. In more than a few of the levels there are areas of slowdown that don’t directly affect gameplay, but are a slight annoyance. It is sort of odd seeing it there, as Bass Fishing is no more complicated a game than say Virtua Fighter 3: Team Battle or The House of the Dead 2. Seems this is more so lazy or rushed programming, rather than hardware limitations. Even so, Bass Fishing’s visuals are fantastic. The fish are modeled excellently and the other creatures milling around the floor of the fishing spots provide a sense of atmosphere not found in similar games.

Three main modes of play make up the gameplay portion of Bass Fishing and each is similar to each other, but allows different options. Arcade is exactly what you would think it would be: the arcade version on the Dreamcast. There are three levels that you have to work through (each with a higher fish weight requirement in order to pass), and eventually it is possible to make it to the secret location and fish for the huge bass. Original has been made specifically for this home conversion and includes new locations to fish at, in addition to the arcade mode’s. The purpose is to compete as a Sega Bass Fishing Association member against others while you try to become the world class champion angler. It shouldn’t be difficult to decipher what practice is. You’re able to personally pick environmental characteristics like weather conditions and time of day, along with picking which place you want to fish at. The nicest part of all is that there is no time limit, so you can fish all day and night if you want to. One time I was up to over 300LB of fish!

It’s crazy how addictive this game can be, especially - actually, most especially - if you have the optional fishing rod. Time just seems to fly by when you’re reeling in fish like no one’s business! This is definitely one of those games that you want to pull out when a bunch of friends are over. Throwing in an oddly fun game like this and a bunch of wacky friends guarantees that total chaos will ensue.