Fishie Fishie (Hands-On) (Wii) Preview

Fishie Fishie is one of those games that is ultra simplistic in some ways, yet will drive you crazy in several others. There are no fancy motion controls, nor are there several controller set-ups with complicated button layouts that need to be committed to memory. This is all about jumping straight into the action with the greatest of ease and getting three of your friends (and possibly several drinks) involved to have a raucously fun time. Playing one-on-one against the computer is extremely enjoyable, but once a team-mate is brought on-board, the fun factor goes through the roof, with plenty of frantic button pressing and abuse being hurled at your TV screen.

The key to Fishie Fishie is how everything is controlled with merely one button. The on-screen fish(ie) will rotate in a clockwise direction whilst floating on the spot in one of the various arenas on offer until you press the ‘A’ button, either just the once to make it swim in the direction it was facing when you doled out the action, or starting to rotate in the opposite direction if you keep ‘A’ held down. You can also make it shoot along particular path really quickly by rapidly tapping on the action button. In the mode that Cubed3 had chance to try out, Soccer, the aim was to dash along towards the ball in order to grab hold of it (presumably in its mouth?), then try to direct it towards the goal-mouth.

There are a wide variety of arenas available to play on, ranging from simple left-to-right affairs, through to some far more awkward stages where the ball must be caught, and your fishie must then be directed around various obstacles, whilst still avoiding any opponents and collecting plankton along the way to keep the Fishie from growing too hungry, before swimming around to face the goal and rapidly tap ‘A’ to shoot. Whilst enthusiasm during the solitary experience may start to wane after a short while, as soon as some computer- or friend-controlled team-mates become involved, Fishie Fishie truly springs to life and becomes one of the most addictive games on the WiiWare service so far. It proves to be highly strategic at times, whilst at others it all comes down to sheer twitch-reaction controls and massive amounts of luck as players send their fish darting maniacally around the levels trying desperately to score the winning goal. Additionally, a whole host of weapons at the player's disposal helps to ramp up the frantic fun. With the game already out in the US, and there being a a plentiful supply of extra modes that Cubed3 has yet to test, its European date cannot come soon enough!