Review #032: Bass Pro Shops The Strike: Championship Edition Bundle (Nintendo Switch)
Reviewed By: John B. Published By: Planet Entertainment Category: Sports, Simulation, Action, Lifestyle Release Date: 11.06.18
Download Bass Pro Shops The Strike: Championship Edition from the Nintendo eShop here.
Buy Bass Pro Shops The Strike: Championship Edition (Regular Edition) here.
Buy Bass Pro Shops The Strike: Championship Edition (Bundle Edition) here.
My grandparents used to own a small cabin way out in the Cascade Mountains when I was a kid. We’d go there as a family on summer vacations and my grandfather would take us fishing out on the lake in his boat. I never cared for the fishing, mostly because I lacked the patience. So that pretty well informs and mirrors my experience with Bass Pro Shops The Strike: Championship Edition, except without the bonus of getting to spend time with my grandpa.
Cast, Reel, Repeat
The fishing mechanics are fairly solid. Casting uses an intuitive and simple meter system, reeling is just holding down the trigger. If you have the fishing rod peripheral, you can choose to mimic a reeling motion while you do that as well, but it’s not necessary. Landing a fish provides a small thrill, but lacks the power of the experience of catching a real fish. You’ve got a boat to travel around the game’s various lakes, and moving around from spot to spot trying to find something to catch makes up most of the game experience, much like my memories of fishing with grandpa. That’s where patience comes in. Finding a fish to catch and then hooking it can be a bit of a chore, leading to a game that’s more looking for action than taking action.
The game has a few different modes: Quick Fish, Career, and Tournament. Quick fish is just fishing for fun at any location you’ve unlocked. Career sees you traveling around the world, catching fish in competitions where you can win money to buy new equipment. The inventory system is fairly deep, giving you the ability to customize your rod, reel, line, hooks, and bait. Tournament is… well, a tournament. There is a challenge mode that has boating and casting related challenges that can be played in competition with a friend, also.
Bass Pro Shops The Strike: Championship Edition has the same problem it’s hunting counterpart Cabela’s The Hunt has with input lag when you’re playing wirelessly. In Cabela’s it made the game a little janky but still playable, but in BPS it’s a real problem. The input lag makes casting way, way harder than it has to be, so I recommend using a wired controller or playing the game with attached Joy-Con in the Switch’s undocked mode.
Presentation
It’s hard not to copy and paste this section over from Cabela’s. They seem to use the same graphics engine, and they definitely share the same music. But, for completeness’ sake, the graphics look dated. Bass Pro Shops The Strike looks like a PS2-era game; maybe a little sharper, but not by much. The country/rock soundtrack has a few different tracks, but it doesn’t really play when you’re out on the lake. The ambient noises are true to the settings (I assume; I’ve never been to any of these places).
Fishing For Compliments
I know I don’t like real-life fishing that much, but at least it got me some fresh air. BPS The Strike took everything that bored me about fishing and recreated it accurately in the digital realm. If you’re a sport fisher looking for something to do when the season is over or you just don’t have time to make it to the lake, this is probably something you’ll enjoy.
Final Review: 3/10
Download Bass Pro Shops The Strike: Championship Edition from the Nintendo eShop here.
Buy Bass Pro Shops The Strike: Championship Edition (Regular Edition) here.
Buy Bass Pro Shops The Strike: Championship Edition (Bundle Edition) here.
Follow Planet Entertainment
*Review Copy Provided By Planet Entertainment