Choose Your Weapon with Shimano Xtreme Fishing - Rod Bow Spear

Quiet summer days lolling by the old fishing pond isn't what Xtreme fishing is all about. Expect the boats to be more powerful, the settings more vivid and the catch more exciting when you pick up the Wii remote and cast your first line. Or draw back the box and take on predators that wouldn't mind taking you on. Or go under the sea like the little Mermaid, only you're breathing courtesy of Scuba gear.

Cutting edge equipment is there for the choosing, but so is what to wear. You're no fashion plate but baggy shorts and a T-shirt don't cut it when hitting some of the hottest fishing spots God ever created.

There's more than 50 kinds of fish lurking in the shallow or deep waters. Some are tasty and easy to catch, some are exotic and really shouldn't be bothered (that's the liberal in me talking), while others wouldn't taste good if you poured butter and champagne on them. Those fish, in case you didn't figure it out already, are also dangerous to go after. Not that hunting Gators is a picnic, but at least they come up for air so you know what's going on in their mind (i.e., maybe YOU'RE the one good to eat?). Good deeds do get rewarded though. There's like 65 awards and medals to be offered up. Maybe you can snag one from somebody if you're skills puke. At least you won't have to suffer the ignominy of posting crummy scores to the leader board for others to see.

The graphics capture the look and feel of fishing and blend in a color palette that makes the locations attractive enough to want to visit. Locations vary as you'd imagine - some very beautiful ones too. Nor is it always high noon so expect to learn how to fish depending upon the time of day as well as trying to figure out what's going on in the minds of your opponents. The intensity of the light affects what you see and how you'll fish - the graphics reflecting this in real time and with a smooth consistency that isn't jarring as the light changes. The Wii can't quite match the photo-realistic graphics of other next-gen consoles, but as the game is a bit stylized anyway, this isn't really an issue.

Many of the locations are exotic. For example, fishing the cold, dark waters of a North American Reservoir can be exchanged for submerged Mayan ruins or tropical seas teeming with sharks. Don't recommend scuba diving there, but of course it's your call.

Sound plays a big part in the game as it adds to the overall feeling of ambience. Distinct sounds, such as casting a rod or fining the speargun, are obvious in that they sound correct - but then so does the "background" noises that make up a scene. Of course the roar of a boat overshadows that of a fish leaping into the water, but there's a time and place for everything. Sound works well in this game because it matches the environment the player is in before adding sound effects for what the player is doing. This results in creating a sense of "reality" for the game that otherwise would be lacking.