Field & Stream: Trophy Bass 4

Fishing is a sport with multiple complexities, often scoffed at by those who know little about it. However, it's always proved difficult to convert into a computer game (except on the Dreamcast with the innovative rod controller), and that's the case with Trophy Bass 4.

It's immensely detailed, and comes with its own comprehensive guide which covers every type of fish, the effect of weather conditions and a host of fishing tips, but it fails to capture the serenity of the real thing. It only took us seven minutes to catch our first two fish by casting out and reeling in a few times. It isn't this easy to catch fish in reel life (groan! - ed).

Trophy Bass 4 isn't fun, although it's probably not aiming to appeal to the usual gamer. Avid fishermen may gain a bit of pleasure because of its comprehensive array of equipment and features and it's best suited to those who want to learn more about fishing. However, if we'd caught something as ugly as this, we'd throw it back in.