In a nutshell...

A fishing simulator that’s addictive, well crafted and eye-strokingly beautiful.

What’s it good for?

Getting a fishing fix, beating your personal best, and hooking the odd old boot…

Judgement time…

Fishing is hardly the most exhilarating sport. In fact, it’s downright boring at times, so it was with trepidation that we approached Hooked On: Creatures of the Deep. Thankfully, we were in for a surprise. This is one of the first N-Gage games and the graphical grunt unleashed by Nokia’s new platform is immediately obvious.

Also evident is the depth of games available through N-Gage. There are hundreds of fish in Hooked On, not to mention equipment and extras to unlock, new locations to tap into and secrets to find.

The process of fishing itself is handled with aplomb. Casting and reeling in are done with single button presses, although when you land a fish it’s a tricky process to balance pressure on the line with progress in hauling your catch from the water.

Graphically, the process is slick. A particularly tough battle will leave you with water splashes on the inside of your Nok’s screen, and different locations are rendered well too. Hooked On’s various fishing spots change visually as you move from place to place. You’ll also land different fish at different spots too, so you’ll need to move around if you want to bag them all.

As well as plucking fish from the deep, there’s the ability to reel in odd objects too. We found several bits of junk on our travels, as well as a long-lost message in a bottle, and a semi-useful scuba mask. They’re all collected in your library, so you can review progress at any time.

Sure, the pace of Hooked On is far from frantic, but it’s still addictive, as well as graphically striking. We’re steadily working towards a full shoal fish in our keep net, and suggest you get cracking too!