Friday, 28 June 2013
Chaos Break (Japan) ISO
Chaos Break (Japan) ISO
-1.jpg)
Description :
Here it comes: A 3D adventure in
real-time rendering!! The enemy is out ot get you! A mystery needs to be
solved!! The human race begins its battle with mysterious alien cells
that fuse with molecular structures of all kinds...
As per the Resident Evils, you're given a choice of two
characters to play. Mitsuki looks like a twelve year-old anime version
of Jill Valentine, with beret and all, doe-eyed and vaguely cute with
her shorts impractically plastered to her arse. Rick on the other hand
is quite grotesque in his square way and I recommend against him. They
both handle exactly the same (with the only cosmetic difference being
their weapons) and in any situation other than running, they are
animated dismally, and often hilariously. Characters rotate to face each
other without moving their legs. When idle they teleport and flinch
between strange poses to give a crappy illusion of life, and swivel
their heads madly like arbitrary Linda Blairs. It's hideous. The scenery
doesn't fare any better, clipping badly at times, being incorrectly
mapped in places so that you can walk through walls, and pissing you off
in general. Let me just say that tapping the shoulder button moves the
camera around behind you, except when it doesn't, which is at least half
the time.
Chaos Break is largely defined by its great empty spaces. (Great meaning 'huge or immense', I use it in the perjorative sense.) And I'm not just talking about the spaces hanging between every painful word uttered by the cast in the excruciatingly acted and... halting... dialogue scenes. I refer to the fact that the player must roam sprawling networks of interminable grey corridors, searching in vain for anything fun to do. If I said that the monsters were spread thin, I would be exercising the fine art of understatement. It's not just that there are almost no monsters, it's that what monsters there are pose no real threat, or at least they don't when you put your laser guns away. Also, they generally look, sound and act stupid. It turns out that it's better to kill everything just by mashing the button for your one little hand-to-hand attack. I found this out by accident the first time I experienced distress that I was running out of ammo. There are slithery alien worms - which admittedly are a little creepy - laughable alien zombies, tree-trunk blob-like things that I don't know what they are, and blue humanoids who are ripped off from Resident Evil's Hunters.
And Chaos Break loves its longeurs. It will make you walk twenty miles and back again through terrain in which absolutely nothing is happening to open a door, then subject you to the same schtick again for the next key. Computer terminals present simple number and swticheroo puzzles which, when solved, don't indicate what part of the environment they have altered (if any? How should I know, it would never tell! They never had any effect that I could discern.) All the while, the Resident Evil Diary-mimicking emails spin out a lame Japlish tale of researchers losing their notes, being stung by wayward security systems and breeding ENORMOUS KILLER RATS; surely the return of the greatest threat ever posed to mankind by mad scientists!
I'll grant them this much - someone worked hard on building suspense for the appearance of The Rat. Having read extensively about the mutant rat 'which changed its colour' in multiple emails for at least half the game, I just knew I was eventually going to meet this creature, and I admit I even felt some trepidation. And meet the rat I did. It was only as big as my character, which is hardly enormous, but I'll concede that it's bigger than your average rat, and the animal's scurrying was sufficiently gross to make me feel twitchy. I flinched when the beast suddenly made a beeline for me... and watched as it promptly got stuck running into a wall, which it couldn't get around. Yes, they forgot to program the rat to turn corners, this animal which is renowned for its ability to solve mazes. So out of pity I opened fire and pasted what had been the one great hope of Chaos Break, but which like the rest of the game, turned out to be crap.
If this game is as facile as I say it is (and it is), you may be wondering by this stage how I became stuck in it. I simply ran out of places to go, and I started being flattened by indecipherable messages. For instance, I'd approach a door whose acquaintance I'd never made before, and try to open it, and be told: 'It isn't here. You have to be quick.' All cynicism aside, I have absolutely no idea what it's talking about here, in any context, and I did think hard on the subject. If it's a bug, it obviously wouldn't be the first I've encountered, but it would be the first fatal one. I tried using every special item I had in every location I could logically think of, and some that I thought of illogically, but to no avail.
It wasn't as if Chaos Break had ever really suggested what I should do at any point on the way through, anyway. I'd just kept exploring, walking for miles, finding keys, solving unremarkable puzzles, laughing and wincing at the spectacular air of poorness, zapping a monster once every fifteen minutes... Eventually you're just worn out and you realise the whole game is pretty unforgiveable, and you can't laugh anymore either. I feel the same way about Chaos Break as I do about eating oysters or tongue-kissing heavy smokers. I've given all three a fair shot, but never again.
In complete isolation, there was one good thing about Chaos Break. The combination of the sound effect of the facility's air-conditioning and one piece of funereal organ music (heavily borrowing in style from Resident Evil, again) actually manages to create an oppressive atmosphere at times. That's it.
Chaos Break is largely defined by its great empty spaces. (Great meaning 'huge or immense', I use it in the perjorative sense.) And I'm not just talking about the spaces hanging between every painful word uttered by the cast in the excruciatingly acted and... halting... dialogue scenes. I refer to the fact that the player must roam sprawling networks of interminable grey corridors, searching in vain for anything fun to do. If I said that the monsters were spread thin, I would be exercising the fine art of understatement. It's not just that there are almost no monsters, it's that what monsters there are pose no real threat, or at least they don't when you put your laser guns away. Also, they generally look, sound and act stupid. It turns out that it's better to kill everything just by mashing the button for your one little hand-to-hand attack. I found this out by accident the first time I experienced distress that I was running out of ammo. There are slithery alien worms - which admittedly are a little creepy - laughable alien zombies, tree-trunk blob-like things that I don't know what they are, and blue humanoids who are ripped off from Resident Evil's Hunters.
And Chaos Break loves its longeurs. It will make you walk twenty miles and back again through terrain in which absolutely nothing is happening to open a door, then subject you to the same schtick again for the next key. Computer terminals present simple number and swticheroo puzzles which, when solved, don't indicate what part of the environment they have altered (if any? How should I know, it would never tell! They never had any effect that I could discern.) All the while, the Resident Evil Diary-mimicking emails spin out a lame Japlish tale of researchers losing their notes, being stung by wayward security systems and breeding ENORMOUS KILLER RATS; surely the return of the greatest threat ever posed to mankind by mad scientists!
I'll grant them this much - someone worked hard on building suspense for the appearance of The Rat. Having read extensively about the mutant rat 'which changed its colour' in multiple emails for at least half the game, I just knew I was eventually going to meet this creature, and I admit I even felt some trepidation. And meet the rat I did. It was only as big as my character, which is hardly enormous, but I'll concede that it's bigger than your average rat, and the animal's scurrying was sufficiently gross to make me feel twitchy. I flinched when the beast suddenly made a beeline for me... and watched as it promptly got stuck running into a wall, which it couldn't get around. Yes, they forgot to program the rat to turn corners, this animal which is renowned for its ability to solve mazes. So out of pity I opened fire and pasted what had been the one great hope of Chaos Break, but which like the rest of the game, turned out to be crap.
If this game is as facile as I say it is (and it is), you may be wondering by this stage how I became stuck in it. I simply ran out of places to go, and I started being flattened by indecipherable messages. For instance, I'd approach a door whose acquaintance I'd never made before, and try to open it, and be told: 'It isn't here. You have to be quick.' All cynicism aside, I have absolutely no idea what it's talking about here, in any context, and I did think hard on the subject. If it's a bug, it obviously wouldn't be the first I've encountered, but it would be the first fatal one. I tried using every special item I had in every location I could logically think of, and some that I thought of illogically, but to no avail.
It wasn't as if Chaos Break had ever really suggested what I should do at any point on the way through, anyway. I'd just kept exploring, walking for miles, finding keys, solving unremarkable puzzles, laughing and wincing at the spectacular air of poorness, zapping a monster once every fifteen minutes... Eventually you're just worn out and you realise the whole game is pretty unforgiveable, and you can't laugh anymore either. I feel the same way about Chaos Break as I do about eating oysters or tongue-kissing heavy smokers. I've given all three a fair shot, but never again.
In complete isolation, there was one good thing about Chaos Break. The combination of the sound effect of the facility's air-conditioning and one piece of funereal organ music (heavily borrowing in style from Resident Evil, again) actually manages to create an oppressive atmosphere at times. That's it.
Link Download :
Screenshot :
Thursday, 27 June 2013
Championship Surfer [U] ISO
Championship Surfer [U] ISO
Description :
Championship Surfer is a Surfing game, developed by Krome Studios and published by Mattel, which was released in 2000.
INTRO
Over the years we've been subjected to a multitude of surfing games that promised a realistic feeling comparable to the real experience only to have that dream come crashing down on us like a 25 foot Waimea rogue set. This is definitely one of those games. Championship Surfer is an attempt at greatness where all the ideas where in the right place and yet somehow all the execution was forgotten.
GAMEPLAY 5/10
The controls in Championship Surfer suffer due to the fact that the character is often too slow to respond to the action you are requesting. This slight slowdown can cause you to wipeout altogether or even worse, not be able to execute the tricks and maneuvers you need to do in order to score a decent ride. The game itself features five different play modes including Trick Attack, Arcade Mode, Free Surf, Rumble and Championship Circuit. There are 10 beaches to choose from and the waves can be modified as can the weather. All the beaches are fictional locations and there are a total of eight surfers you can choose from including Cory Lopez, Shane Beschen and Rochelle Ballard. Unfortunately there is no noticeable distinction between the various characters and there was very little attention paid to detail while designing them. You also have a few surfboards to choose from but there really wasn't anything remarkable in that aspect either unfortunately. The only positive thing in my opinion that was well designed was the wave engine. However, since the characters tend to respond so poorly at times it almost seems cruel.
GRAPHICS 6/10
The graphics are questionable mainly because in some aspects the designers spent a great amount of time while in other aspects it seems as though they didn't really bother. The weather patters were done extremely well as were the graphics of the waves in the game. They form and roll realistically and also break and chop in a manner that resembles real life. The character models however seem to have no faces and can only be distinguished by the color of their wetsuits.
CAMERA 7/10
The camera angles were well thought out in this game and you have the added luxury of being able to change and or modify the point of view as you see fit. As you play with the game you will probably find the angle that best suits you and probably never change it from that point on.
FMV's, MUSIC and SFX 7/10
There are no cutscenes in this game and the music is pretty much the same instrumental background music throughout the game. As far as the SFX are concerned, the splashing and carving noises are realistic and beyond that all you hear is some announcer shouting out things like: ''Dude that was rad'' or ''Gnarly!!!''. There really aren't many positive things I can say in this regard except turn the Announcer off in the options setting because he will single handedly cause you to cease playing this game.
REPLAY VALUE 6/10
Replay value in this game is very low mainly due to the poor handling of the characters in relation to your commands. The beaches are cool to discover while first going through the game but once you have unlocked them all you will quickly tire of the monotony of it all. The modification factor of the wave height and weather factor will also quickly become exhausted leaving you only with several other playable modes that I'd be willing to bet you'll never play. The Free Surf aspect is all if anything that will receive a little replay time and then.....well you know...goodbye Championship surfer.
OVERALL 7/10
All in all I think Championship Surfer is a game that could have been so much more if only the programmers would have A) Really been surfers themselves, B) Really cared about fulfilling this games potential or C)At least finished the character model rendering and control features. It is a disappointing game in my opinion and I would not recommend you go out and buy it unless you really felt like punishing yourself. If you see this game on sale for $1 at a flea market, ask what else they have and if they don't have anything else then at least take a moment to think about it before you go ahead and bring this puppy home.
Over the years we've been subjected to a multitude of surfing games that promised a realistic feeling comparable to the real experience only to have that dream come crashing down on us like a 25 foot Waimea rogue set. This is definitely one of those games. Championship Surfer is an attempt at greatness where all the ideas where in the right place and yet somehow all the execution was forgotten.
GAMEPLAY 5/10
The controls in Championship Surfer suffer due to the fact that the character is often too slow to respond to the action you are requesting. This slight slowdown can cause you to wipeout altogether or even worse, not be able to execute the tricks and maneuvers you need to do in order to score a decent ride. The game itself features five different play modes including Trick Attack, Arcade Mode, Free Surf, Rumble and Championship Circuit. There are 10 beaches to choose from and the waves can be modified as can the weather. All the beaches are fictional locations and there are a total of eight surfers you can choose from including Cory Lopez, Shane Beschen and Rochelle Ballard. Unfortunately there is no noticeable distinction between the various characters and there was very little attention paid to detail while designing them. You also have a few surfboards to choose from but there really wasn't anything remarkable in that aspect either unfortunately. The only positive thing in my opinion that was well designed was the wave engine. However, since the characters tend to respond so poorly at times it almost seems cruel.
GRAPHICS 6/10
The graphics are questionable mainly because in some aspects the designers spent a great amount of time while in other aspects it seems as though they didn't really bother. The weather patters were done extremely well as were the graphics of the waves in the game. They form and roll realistically and also break and chop in a manner that resembles real life. The character models however seem to have no faces and can only be distinguished by the color of their wetsuits.
CAMERA 7/10
The camera angles were well thought out in this game and you have the added luxury of being able to change and or modify the point of view as you see fit. As you play with the game you will probably find the angle that best suits you and probably never change it from that point on.
FMV's, MUSIC and SFX 7/10
There are no cutscenes in this game and the music is pretty much the same instrumental background music throughout the game. As far as the SFX are concerned, the splashing and carving noises are realistic and beyond that all you hear is some announcer shouting out things like: ''Dude that was rad'' or ''Gnarly!!!''. There really aren't many positive things I can say in this regard except turn the Announcer off in the options setting because he will single handedly cause you to cease playing this game.
REPLAY VALUE 6/10
Replay value in this game is very low mainly due to the poor handling of the characters in relation to your commands. The beaches are cool to discover while first going through the game but once you have unlocked them all you will quickly tire of the monotony of it all. The modification factor of the wave height and weather factor will also quickly become exhausted leaving you only with several other playable modes that I'd be willing to bet you'll never play. The Free Surf aspect is all if anything that will receive a little replay time and then.....well you know...goodbye Championship surfer.
OVERALL 7/10
All in all I think Championship Surfer is a game that could have been so much more if only the programmers would have A) Really been surfers themselves, B) Really cared about fulfilling this games potential or C)At least finished the character model rendering and control features. It is a disappointing game in my opinion and I would not recommend you go out and buy it unless you really felt like punishing yourself. If you see this game on sale for $1 at a flea market, ask what else they have and if they don't have anything else then at least take a moment to think about it before you go ahead and bring this puppy home.
Link Download :
Screenshot :
Championship Motocross - featuring Ricky Carmichael [U] ISO
Championship Motocross - featuring Ricky Carmichael [U] ISO
Description :
Championship Motocross Featuring Ricky Carmichael is a Motocross Racing
game, developed by Funcom and published by THQ, which was released in
1999.
Let me start my review by saying that this game was way underrated and
deserved more attention. This is Playstation's excitebike, and it was
worth the three dollars I payed to rent it. Keep reading to find out
why.
Graphics: This is the games worst factor. They are really blurry and blocky. The bikes are well designed though. Plus the colors are really nice. Overall six out of ten.
Sound and music: Really good. Most of the tunes are rock music, but in one track there is a horrible song. The dirtbikes sound really, really, realistic. The bikes make a nice thud when you land after a jump. The sound and music do not get annoying at all. Overall ten out of ten.
Fun factor: This is a really fun game. If you rent it you'll probably be crying when you bring it back. There are many different modes and a time trial to work on your track time. There is also a multiplayer mode. The down side is only two players can play. You'll be lovin this game for a while. Overall nine out of ten.
Replay value: Unlike a lot of racing games this game we'll keep dragging you in. Even if you've unlocked everything and beat the championship many times you'll still want to play to improve your time, or try to finish first in every race. Multiplayer will also haul you in as well. It should keep you tied up for a couple of months, and that's why I give this section a ten out of ten.
Learning curve: I'll make it short and sweet. It will take you five minutes to learn this game. I think that's a bit to short though. Overall eight out of ten.
Difficulty: Driving the dirtbike is easy. Championship is a little bit harder though. It might take you a little bit of time for you to learn to keep your bike straight in order to make jumps. Not to hard but not to easy. Overall ten out of ten.
Graphics-6(blocky and blurry. Bikes are drawn nice though.
Sound and music-10(extremely good. Really good sound.)
Fun factor-9( What can we say. Really fun to play.)
replay value-10(this game's got lots of it.)
Learning curve-8( Smooth learning.)
Difficulty-10(not to hard but not to easy.)
Graphics: This is the games worst factor. They are really blurry and blocky. The bikes are well designed though. Plus the colors are really nice. Overall six out of ten.
Sound and music: Really good. Most of the tunes are rock music, but in one track there is a horrible song. The dirtbikes sound really, really, realistic. The bikes make a nice thud when you land after a jump. The sound and music do not get annoying at all. Overall ten out of ten.
Fun factor: This is a really fun game. If you rent it you'll probably be crying when you bring it back. There are many different modes and a time trial to work on your track time. There is also a multiplayer mode. The down side is only two players can play. You'll be lovin this game for a while. Overall nine out of ten.
Replay value: Unlike a lot of racing games this game we'll keep dragging you in. Even if you've unlocked everything and beat the championship many times you'll still want to play to improve your time, or try to finish first in every race. Multiplayer will also haul you in as well. It should keep you tied up for a couple of months, and that's why I give this section a ten out of ten.
Learning curve: I'll make it short and sweet. It will take you five minutes to learn this game. I think that's a bit to short though. Overall eight out of ten.
Difficulty: Driving the dirtbike is easy. Championship is a little bit harder though. It might take you a little bit of time for you to learn to keep your bike straight in order to make jumps. Not to hard but not to easy. Overall ten out of ten.
Graphics-6(blocky and blurry. Bikes are drawn nice though.
Sound and music-10(extremely good. Really good sound.)
Fun factor-9( What can we say. Really fun to play.)
replay value-10(this game's got lots of it.)
Learning curve-8( Smooth learning.)
Difficulty-10(not to hard but not to easy.)
Link Download :
Screenshot :
Championship Bass (E) ISO
Championship Bass (E) ISO
-1.jpg)
Description :
Since the inception of its Trophy Bass line five years ago, Sierra
Sports has been the proverbial big fish in the relatively small pond of
fresh-water fishing simulations. About the only other PC bass-fishing
sims have come from budget-software king WizardWorks. But even without
the pressure of serious competition, each iteration in the Trophy Bass
series has featured significant improvements, culminating in last year's
stellar Trophy Bass 3D.
You'd think EA Sports would have challenged Sierra's supremacy in this subgenre a long time ago, but it's been only in the last few months that the company decided to venture from the world of big-time spectator sports into the great outdoors. Its first effort was Deer Hunt Challenge, which tried to jazz things up for hunters by adding a series of arcade-style "missions." These missions were quick, point-and-shoot affairs that started out with the prey in sight and that placed a premium on a quick, accurate trigger finger. Not every hunting-sim fan enjoyed these quick-and-dirty levels, largely because of the linear design - if you didn't win a mission, you couldn't move on to the next one.
Nevertheless, the overall response to this twist must have been fairly positive, as the same feature is a major component of Championship Bass. Championship Bass still gives cyber-anglers the usual options of heading out for single-day fishing trips and competing in bass tournaments lasting from one to three days. But the game's Bass challenge mode, comprising a sequence of five-event "levels," is the game's most unique feature. And for the most part it achieves exactly what EA Sports probably hoped it would: It gradually introduces bass-fishing techniques while stripping away long stretches of inactivity by placing you right where the big ones are biting.
With each outing, you're given access to a limited number of lures, but there's no need to worry you don't have the right rig - there's always something in the virtual tackle box that'll get the attention of those lunkers. All you've got to do is figure out which one you should use, where to cast, and what type of retrieval is best for the situation. Bass-fishing novices can access pro tips on all this stuff, but the text and audio presentation is a little bland compared with Trophy Bass 3D's video clips. Finish in the top three at the end of a five outings, and you move on to more challenges - and hopefully pick up even more knowledge and skills that you can use when you decide to enter a tournament against computer opponents or against real folks over the Internet.
But while these fast-paced angling sessions result in plenty of bites and catches, they start to veer away from anything even remotely realistic because of the addition of 27 challenge bonuses. They're the fishing equivalent of power-ups, and you earn them by catching a "bonus bass" - they're the ones with fiery red eyes. The bonuses include bonus timers that give you more time to find that monster bass to jack up your total poundage; bonus casts that increase accuracy or distance, or that provide you with specialized techniques like skipping or "no splash" landings; bonus boat modes that endow you with stealth or the ability to navigate shallow water; fish flags that point you to where really big bass are hanging out; and bonus lures that expand the contents of your tackle box, usually with just the right lure for the situation. The bonuses are all very silly, but they'll probably appeal to casual gamers. However, there's no way to turn off the power-ups, so hard-core simulation players or bass-fishing veterans will probably bypass the challenge mode and head straight for a fishing trip or a tournament - and it's here that it becomes apparent that the game is no serious match for the ultrarealistic Trophy Bass 3D. Only six lakes are featured in Championship Bass - Buggs Island and Lake Lanier in Georgia, Sam Rayburn Reservoir in Texas, Lake Mead in Nevada, Lake Toho in Florida (where's Lake Okeechobee when you need it?), and Table Rock Lake in Missouri and Arkansas. These are all top-notch bass lakes, but they're few, compared with the 15 in Trophy Bass 3D.
Then there's the game's perspective. When casting, you're presented with a behind-the-angler view - but once the lure hits the lake you're switched to an underwater view similar to Trophy Bass 3D's "lurecam." There's nothing wrong with that except for the fact that there's no way to switch back to a perspective from the boat, so you never really get the sensation of being outdoors. In Trophy Bass 3D, the third-person perspectives gave you a chance to see weather effects and watch your rod bend as your angler struggled to reel in a trophy fish. But in Championship Bass, the action is presented from cast to catch from a distance of about two feet from the lure or fish. This lets you appreciate the excellent fish graphics, but it doesn't make you feel very much like you're really fishing, and it seriously detracts from the most exciting part of bass fishing: watching a big lunker leap out of the water as it tries to shake the hook. You see the jump all right, but not from a very satisfying perspective.
While Championship Bass' water and fish graphics are definitely superior to those in Trophy Bass 3D, it falls short in another area that many PC fishermen will feel is more important: The game has no support for force-feedback joysticks. If you've never experienced great force-feedback effects in a fishing simulation, you naturally won't miss it in Championship Bass - but if you've played with force feedback before, you'll be praying that EA Sports puts out a patch that incorporates this vital feature. Fishing is all about the sensation of touch and feel, and as such, force feedback can be immeasurably effective for simulating it.
Championship Bass definitely won't replace Trophy Bass 3D on gamers' hard drives, especially since it retails for $39.95 (though you might find a better deal at your local software store). But it's a good first effort for EA Sports, and it will certainly provide satisfaction for casual fishing fans, whose main concern is seeing the fish take the bait.
You'd think EA Sports would have challenged Sierra's supremacy in this subgenre a long time ago, but it's been only in the last few months that the company decided to venture from the world of big-time spectator sports into the great outdoors. Its first effort was Deer Hunt Challenge, which tried to jazz things up for hunters by adding a series of arcade-style "missions." These missions were quick, point-and-shoot affairs that started out with the prey in sight and that placed a premium on a quick, accurate trigger finger. Not every hunting-sim fan enjoyed these quick-and-dirty levels, largely because of the linear design - if you didn't win a mission, you couldn't move on to the next one.
Nevertheless, the overall response to this twist must have been fairly positive, as the same feature is a major component of Championship Bass. Championship Bass still gives cyber-anglers the usual options of heading out for single-day fishing trips and competing in bass tournaments lasting from one to three days. But the game's Bass challenge mode, comprising a sequence of five-event "levels," is the game's most unique feature. And for the most part it achieves exactly what EA Sports probably hoped it would: It gradually introduces bass-fishing techniques while stripping away long stretches of inactivity by placing you right where the big ones are biting.
With each outing, you're given access to a limited number of lures, but there's no need to worry you don't have the right rig - there's always something in the virtual tackle box that'll get the attention of those lunkers. All you've got to do is figure out which one you should use, where to cast, and what type of retrieval is best for the situation. Bass-fishing novices can access pro tips on all this stuff, but the text and audio presentation is a little bland compared with Trophy Bass 3D's video clips. Finish in the top three at the end of a five outings, and you move on to more challenges - and hopefully pick up even more knowledge and skills that you can use when you decide to enter a tournament against computer opponents or against real folks over the Internet.
But while these fast-paced angling sessions result in plenty of bites and catches, they start to veer away from anything even remotely realistic because of the addition of 27 challenge bonuses. They're the fishing equivalent of power-ups, and you earn them by catching a "bonus bass" - they're the ones with fiery red eyes. The bonuses include bonus timers that give you more time to find that monster bass to jack up your total poundage; bonus casts that increase accuracy or distance, or that provide you with specialized techniques like skipping or "no splash" landings; bonus boat modes that endow you with stealth or the ability to navigate shallow water; fish flags that point you to where really big bass are hanging out; and bonus lures that expand the contents of your tackle box, usually with just the right lure for the situation. The bonuses are all very silly, but they'll probably appeal to casual gamers. However, there's no way to turn off the power-ups, so hard-core simulation players or bass-fishing veterans will probably bypass the challenge mode and head straight for a fishing trip or a tournament - and it's here that it becomes apparent that the game is no serious match for the ultrarealistic Trophy Bass 3D. Only six lakes are featured in Championship Bass - Buggs Island and Lake Lanier in Georgia, Sam Rayburn Reservoir in Texas, Lake Mead in Nevada, Lake Toho in Florida (where's Lake Okeechobee when you need it?), and Table Rock Lake in Missouri and Arkansas. These are all top-notch bass lakes, but they're few, compared with the 15 in Trophy Bass 3D.
Then there's the game's perspective. When casting, you're presented with a behind-the-angler view - but once the lure hits the lake you're switched to an underwater view similar to Trophy Bass 3D's "lurecam." There's nothing wrong with that except for the fact that there's no way to switch back to a perspective from the boat, so you never really get the sensation of being outdoors. In Trophy Bass 3D, the third-person perspectives gave you a chance to see weather effects and watch your rod bend as your angler struggled to reel in a trophy fish. But in Championship Bass, the action is presented from cast to catch from a distance of about two feet from the lure or fish. This lets you appreciate the excellent fish graphics, but it doesn't make you feel very much like you're really fishing, and it seriously detracts from the most exciting part of bass fishing: watching a big lunker leap out of the water as it tries to shake the hook. You see the jump all right, but not from a very satisfying perspective.
While Championship Bass' water and fish graphics are definitely superior to those in Trophy Bass 3D, it falls short in another area that many PC fishermen will feel is more important: The game has no support for force-feedback joysticks. If you've never experienced great force-feedback effects in a fishing simulation, you naturally won't miss it in Championship Bass - but if you've played with force feedback before, you'll be praying that EA Sports puts out a patch that incorporates this vital feature. Fishing is all about the sensation of touch and feel, and as such, force feedback can be immeasurably effective for simulating it.
Championship Bass definitely won't replace Trophy Bass 3D on gamers' hard drives, especially since it retails for $39.95 (though you might find a better deal at your local software store). But it's a good first effort for EA Sports, and it will certainly provide satisfaction for casual fishing fans, whose main concern is seeing the fish take the bait.
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