Games for the Weekend is a weekly feature aimed at helping you avoid doing something constructive with your downtime. Each Friday we’ll be recommending a game for Mac, iPhone or iPad that we think is awesome. Here is one cool enough to keep you busy during this weekend.
Ridiculous Fishing ($ 2.99, Universal) is Billy’s fishing game. And when you play Billy’s fishing game, you play by Billy’s rules. And Billy likes to fish a little differently than one might expect.
You start off by casting the fishing line into the water off of the bow of Billy’s boat. As the hook travels downward, avoid all of the swimming fish by turning your screen like a steering wheel to the right and back to the left. As soon as the hook hits a fish, the reel will instantly start pulling up the line. On the way back up, every fish that the hook touches will be caught. Just like on the way down, turn the screen to control the path that the line takes as it makes its way back up to the surface. The deeper down into the water the line goes, the more fish the hook will have a chance to snag on the way back up. Once all of the snagged fish reach the surface, the real fun begins.
Billy likes to fling all of the fish high into the air with one big thrust, the higher the better, in fact. Once all of the fish are airborne, Billy then likes to pull out his gun and shoot the gills off of all of the fish that were just caught. To show Billy which fish to shoot at just tap on the screen. No sophisticated aiming, Billy is a pretty good shot. However, not all fish go down with the first shot. So be prepared to fire multiple times. Don’t worry, Billy has plenty of ammo.
The number of shots it takes to bring down a fish will depend on the caliber of the gun and the size of the fish. Each shot that does not destroy the fish will send it up into the air a little higher. Continuing to bounce the larger fish further up into the air is fun, and you can continue to push the fish as high as the moon if you like. But you really need to eliminate as many fish as possible. Eventually what goes up must come down, and that includes Billy’s fish. Destroying all of the fish before they hit the water is important because that is the only way Billy gets paid.
It is the size and species of each fish that determines how much money is earned. To maximize the payout for each round of casting and shooting, Billy needs to snag as many fish as possible on the line. And that means getting the hook to sink as deep into the water as possible. What initially prevents you from hitting bottom is the length of the line. Each fishing hole that Billy goes to has a different depth. Fortunately, Billy knows a place where you can get some fishing and hunting gear, Shack Shoppe.
There’s all sorts of gear that you can buy at the Shack Shoppe to help Billy improve his game. You can buy longer reels, more powerful guns, more effective lures, and a wide assortment of other unconventional hunting technology like bowling balls and oil drums. There are no in-app purchases in this game, that’s not Billy’s style. You can only spend Billy’s money that he earns from casting and shooting.
As you use the upgraded gear to fish deeper and deeper, you a find wider variety of fish species. To unlock additional fishing holes on Billy’s map, you must catch more and more species of fish. Each new fishing hole also introduces a new variety of fish to catch. And just like fishing in real life, each fishing hole will bring new challenges that require additional gear from the Shack Shoppe.
So if you want to keep fishing you need to keep buying more and more gear. And in order to buy more gear, you need to keep fishing. Sounds a bit ridiculous, doesn’t it? Maybe instead of buying your dad another silly card this year, consider gifting him an app for this weekend and take him on a Ridiculous Fishing trip for Father’s Day instead.
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