Fish Racer Arcade Review

C

Want to race some fish?! No me neither, but I fired this one up anyhow because I was hoping there might be ninjas involved. And thank heavens, there was.

Here's how this works. You pick your fish (there's 8, and they all have the same swimming ability, but look different) and hit the ocean. And I wasn't kidding, there's a ninja fish. We have to use the term "racer" liberally because you aren't so much racing as you are avoiding things as the screen scrolls to the right in attempt to survive the longest. Rinse and repeat - each race seemed to last about 30-45 seconds on average which is sort of refreshing.

Fish racer gets points for some cute artwork, appropriate music, and simple gameplay. It's kid-friendly, and if you happen to have several controllers or a bunch of kids at your house, it'll probably keep them entertained for a bit. I also have to say that the starfish mechanic is pretty fun, because you become less and less mobile as more starfish stick to you. If you have 5 of them on you, you basically become imobile, praying that your b-line doesn't get you killed.

The single player portion (you vs. 1-3 other AI fish) is pretty bland. You can sort of bump them around and collect the basic powerups to gain advantage, but it's really just about staying away from stuff and letting the others kill each other. Not much else besides what I have described. You won't find any story/narrative - no adventuring, no upgrading or customizing, etc. Just hit start and bump your fish around while taking evasive action. So the simplicity is nice, but you aren't getting much overall.

I can imagine this being more fun if I was really drunk with a bunch of friends, talking lots of trash when my Catfish bumps your Babyfish into some coral ("awwww snap, what's up now Babyfish?!!") Or it's also good for some QT with the kiddies, should you have some. It's appropriately priced at 200 MP too, so if you have a fish fetish (yum salty), a youngster, or get drunk with friends at your home constantly, it might be worth a look.