Stop Those Fish Review

Fishing is an active sport that embodies the struggle of man against the elements and nature. Well, at least most of the time it is. There are certain ways of fishing that are decidedly less sophisticated than using a rod and bait or tackle. Dynamite certainly makes quick work of fish, and the three bears that are the main characters in Stop Those Fish have embraced this more obtuse approach to fishing wholeheartedly. Players direct these bears in throwing sticks of dynamite from their boats into the water to fight against waves of super aggressive fish bent on sinking their boats. Unfortunately, even though there is lots of variation in the game, the fairly bland gameplay wears down quickly.

Stop Those Fish plays very much like a missile command game turned on its head. Players draw lines from any of the bears to anywhere on the screen. Once they lift their finger, the bear chucks a stick of dynamite that -- contrary to any laws of physics -- follows the line exactly and explodes at the line's end. By tracing out the right path for each stick of dynamite and timing the explosions correctly, players can protect the bears from the fish's attacks.

This throw and explode gameplay in Stop Those Fish is interesting for a few levels, but after about three levels it starts to feel a bit too repetitive. There are lots of different enemy types that could be used to keep things fresh, but the ways to deal with these different fish is always the same. Just blowing them all up the same way with dynamite gets a bit tired. Some enemy types that require some different tactics would help this game a lot. That said, the game does a great job at presenting the players new environments and different situations to change up the gameplay just a bit. The upgrade options are also super fun, and satisfying. Thankfully, the mechanics are solid too and they'll never leave players treading water.

Stop Those Fish is a quirky aquatic spin on classic arcade game type and it has lots of character. Unfortunately, it takes more than that to make a game really fun to play again and again. While this game works really well, it just doesn't seem to have the staying power to pull gamers back time after time.