FITS (XBLIG): "Fishing In The Sea"

LuckySoft is one of the few developers that I know who really appreciates my reviewing, and always asks me to review their latest games. I feel quite honored that a developer such as LuckySoft would think so highly of my reviews that they would personally request me to review their new games. With that being said I do feel a bit bad about falling behind schedule, and getting to their game last. Life happens though, and I'm glad that I'm finally able to present my review of 'FITS (Fishing In The Sea)' to you guys (and gals).

FITS is one of those simple yet relaxing indie games that you can sit back, and take your time with. In actuality it's a minigame of sorts that can be played alone, or with 3 other friends (locally). As with any (or almost any) LuckySoft game the controls are narrowed down to only using the 'A' button. I really like how the developer works this control scheme into the different games that they create. With 'FITS' the 'A' button controls the casting of the fishing reel, bait selection, bait tossing, and hooking/reeling. It's any easy setup, for a simple yet fun fish collecting game.

The game features four basic steps that must be followed in order. The first step in the game is to choose the quantity of bait from five different choices (1 - 5 shrimp/bait). The second step is to toss out ground bait. This is necessary for catching the larger fish in the game. The third step is to cast out the float which is based on a timed bar sequence, and effects the distance at which the float is cast. The fourth, and final step is to hook the fish when the float bobs down in the water. You have only two chances to catch the fish before that turn is up. There are a total of 10 rounds in the game, but you can definitely run out of bait before those ten rounds are up. I found that there is a ranking leaderboard in the game which I thought was rather cool since I like getting that high score. The leaderboard judges where you place by the weight of your combined catches as well as your score. Score in 'FITS' is mostly measured by the type of fish you catch though. Learning to properly execute the 4 steps does take practice, but it's worth it to achieve that high rank.

During my playthrough I found that 'FITS' had quite a few neat little customizations, and features in it. One thing I noticed is that the game keeps track of all of the fish you catch in a detailed menu that shows a photo of your catch. There are a lot of fish to catch in the game, and this time there is some skill involved. Luck also plays a tiny role in the game, but not so much really. As far as the customizations go you can change the foreground picture (gravel, dock, beach ...) of where you cast for fish as well as the aquarium terrain (coral, rocks, reefs ...) that you see your caught fish in as you catch them. The overall appearance of 'FITS' seems to be based on photos of nature scenes, and actual landscapes. I noticed that LuckSoft has incorporated this artistic technique in some of their other games as well. It's a unique touch that really makes their games stand out from the rest.

In the end I found 'FITS' to be a simple yet relaxing game. While 'FITS' may not be comparable to SEGA's new fishing game title it still offers some solid gameplay that is easily accessible to all  gamers. LuckySoft does an awesome job of making their one button themed games, and 'FITS' is one of their best titles so far. If you're wondering is this game is worth the 240 msp, the answer is simply 'yes'. You get your moneys worth with this title. The thing about it is that this game will likely only be truly appreciated by certain gamers. I'm honestly not really into fishing games myself, but if you are a gamer who enjoys that sort of thing then for 240 msp this game is a good deal.