Shimano Xtreme Fishing lets you kill fish dead

Mastiff’s Shimano Xtreme Fishing for Wii is now shipping to retailers throughout North America. Shimano Xtreme Fishing lets you go fishing using a traditional rod and reel or up close and personal with a spear gun and SCUBA gear, or bow and arrow. Those fish don’t stand much of a chance, do they?
Naturally all of the gear in the game will be heavily branded; Shimano Voltaeus fishing rods, Hoyt bows, AMS Bowfishing reels and accessories, and Muzzy arrow points.

Shimano Xtreme Fishing lets players use this gear in environments ranging from the cold dark waters of a North American reservoir to a roaring Amazon waterfall, Mayan ruins, the hidden lagoons of a southern island, and the shark-infested shipwrecks of a tropical sea. Shimano Xtreme Fishing includes a series of tournaments, each with varied scenery and unique weather conditions. As players progress through the levels, they will unlock new tackle, clothing and sporting accessories too. In total the game offers three careers, 12 tournaments, more than 65 stages and multiplayer. Find out more at www.sxf-game.com.

Rapala: We Fish in late Sept.

Activision Publishing is teaming up with fishing tackle company Rapala to create and publish a brand name, Wii exclusive fishing title for the Wii called Rapala: We Fish. Set for release on September 29, Rapala: We Fish promises “over-the-top fun and action-packed fishing” and will come packaged with a Rapala fishing rod and reel peripheral, letting players cast, crank and set the hook for some nice living room fishing. With fishing time fleeting and fall looming in the not-too-distant-future, playing a fishing game on the Wii doesn’t sound like a bad idea at all - just remember to do the real thing next spring.

Oh and if you are expecting a normal fishing simulation here, then you can just forget it; this game is not like Activision’s Cabela’s line of hunting game. No sir. Rapala: We Fish takes a pick up and play approach, including comic style fish with goofy facial expressions and plenty of comic mischief. The game will offer five different game modes, including co-op tournaments, 4 player split-screen and multiplayer modes. The game also gives you five hilarious characters or the ability to play as their your Mii. The game plays out in eight locations around the world across 24 tournament events and 50 “wacky” fish species, including enormous Legendary Lunkers.

Look for it at the end of next month.

Reel Fishing: Angler’s Dream gold

Natsume’s Reel Fishing: Angler’s Dream has gone to gold and will launch for the Nintendo Wii this month. Reel Fishing: Angler’s Dream features a realistic fishing engine where fish flee, dive, and jump like in real life. Players will travel to various locations to find the best fishing (lakes, rivers, and oceans) and use over 100 pieces of tackle (some of which you’ll have to unlock) to reel the biggest catches in. Players can then raise their catches in aquariums, or release them back into the wild. Players can also take on other players in the 2-4 player Versus Mode.

Look for the game to be in stores later this month.

Cabela’s Outdoor Adventures this fall

Activision announced today that Cabela’s Outdoor Adventures will be released this fall on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 2 and PS3, Wii, and PC. Cabela’s Outdoor Adventures is a simulation-style, big game hunting, fishing and bird shooting game based on the classic hunting game series that stood toe-to-toe with the juggernaut Deer Hunter franchise and lived to tell about it. Cabela’s Outdoor Adventures features North American outdoor destinations, over 50 hunting and fishing adventures, and lots of Cabela’s branded gear like Apparel, animal calls, guns, fishing supplies and more.

New to the franchise is an all-new shooting system known as VITALS (Visually Integrated Targeting and Lock-on System) that allows the player to focus on delivering an accurate shot to the prey’s vitals, while also creating a closer and more personal view of the animals as they react realistically to being hunted. Finally, players can create their own trophy buck - from customizing the rack, to the body and the color.

Look for it this fall on various platforms.

Reel Fishing Challenge now on WiiWare

Natsume’s Reel Fishing Challenge has been released for digital download on WiiWare. The latest entry in the Reel Fishing series brings a fishing experience for all ages and skill levels with new types of fish and both structured challenges in mission mode, or casual loose play in free play mode. In addition, players who have Reel Fishing Angler’s Dream for the Wii can unlock bonus missions and additional fish in Reel Fishing Challenge.

Reel Fishing: Challenge is available right now on WiiWare. For more information, visit www.natsume.com.

The Rundown: Feb. 5, 2009

The weekend is almost here, can you feel it? Besides some free time and some quality time with your favorite games, this weekend also brings the added benefit of the New York Comic-Con. If you’re in the New York City area this weekend, you might want to take the time to check it out because a lot of games will be on display and playable on the show floor this year.. but I digress.. lots of news after the break.

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Downstream Panic! Swims to Retail

At first glance Downstream Panic! looks like the kind of game against which PETA would protest. Saving fish with fans, bombs, trees, harpoons and freezers? Sounds more like slaying fish to me. But before all of you animal lovers out there go writing to Atari about its lack of decency and political correctness, I should make clear that Downstream Panic is about saving our aquatic friends, not slaying them.

Atari’s fish-out-of-water adventure puts you in the role of a sea-creature preservationist out to put fish back in the ocean after a cyclone blasts them into the atmosphere. Ignoring the laws of gravity (what goes up must come down, according to what Galileo taught us), you must use the aforementioned dangerous implements to get the fish back in the water.

The game features 80 levels encompassing over 10 hours of gameplay, three different modes (adventure, free play and survival) , 10 different themed environments, and the promise of additional downloadable levels to be released at a later date, according to Atari. You can get a closer look at the game by visiting www.downstreampanic.com.

Downstream Panic! is rated E10+ and is available for the PSP at the suggested retail price of $29.95.