Rapala Fishing Frenzy 2009

Posted 4 years ago By - Brian Edey

Fishing games maybe the rare game of choice for most gamers, but when they are done right they feel real and are usually very fun even if most players will not admit it. Whether the game is arcade in nature or if it drifts towards the simulation side of the sport the overall experience can be fun for many players. In the last few years most fishing titles have been really bad in many ways, especially on the gameplay front and if the gameplay is not very good this usually means the worst.

Unfortunately Rapala Fishing Frenzy 2009 by FUN Labs failed to even try and developer a decent control scheme for the PS3 version of Rapala, relying on poor motion controls so bad they are on par with the pre-patched LAIR, the graphics are a generation behind and some bad sound effects and music to top it off. But in the end if you want to know more continue to read the review and judge for yourself.


Usually a fishing game will have fairly good and straight forward controls, such as Sega Bass Fishing on the Dreamcast and Wii, but in terms of Rapala Fishing Frenzy 2009 on the Playstation 3, the controls are lacking in many ways and never feel right. Quirky motion controls are the biggest issue because the on screen directions which are basically clear in their general directions but never seem to work well with the overall action on the screen as you are flailing your hands in every direction.

Using the motion controls to cast, control your rod, forcing the hook in the mouth of the fish and driving the boat. A good concept by design but poorly implemented in many ways, with the actual motion controls feeling like a total gimmick which are completely wasted on the gamer. Plus with no ‘Wii-strap’ it would not surprise me to see peoples controllers go flying, by accident or out of frustration.

As you play the game, you unlock, which is always cool to do, new gear such as lures and hooks. You also win awards and trophies by catching X number of fish or Y number of fish a certain way and more depending on the overall difficulty. This is a nice addition as these are represented in your ‘Fishing Lodge’ via gear, trophies and stuffed fish. The ‘Fishing Lodge’ concept could be much more then it is, but alas this is nothing more then a bad and ugly (graphic wise) gimmick.

After you catch a couple of fish the game has no difficulty challenge at all and you can literally beat the game with one hand and with no challenge the game will not have any long term play. I am amazed that a game published by Activision would come out with such a small set of features and gameplay issues. Maybe if a Rapala Fishing Frenzy 2010 comes along next year the game will be better.


With the power of the Playstation 3 behind this game you would expect it to at least look as good as the average PS3 game, but Rapala Fishing Frenzy 2009 looks like a higher resolution Wii game and that is not a good thing if you were curious. Everything except the in game surface of the water is very low in overall quality, especially the characters and the foliage. The fish actually look and act in a realistic manner, but the fish are the only good looking creature or foliage underwater. In the end the games graphics are just a major disappointment when we are surrounded by plenty of great looking games.

Audio wise I found the game to be lacking in almost every way, even the simple job of adding decent sound effects for the environment were very plain and poorly implemented. We have heard better sound effects in fishing games from consoles two generations ago. Along with the annoying in game music, which is nothing more then basic arcade music at its best, the overall audio was the most disappointing side to the game.


With no multiplayer and the bad overall gameplay the games value is non-existent, perhaps for some players they will find some fun playing in the tournaments, but they feel more like a chore then anything else.

The game appears to be confused if it is an arcade title and if it is, make it fun by have us fishing some rare and cooler fish, other then what they have in the game and if they wanted a simulation, why the lame controls, bad motion controls and poor gameplay overall. This is not even a rental, stay far away from it.

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