Panda Fishing

Summary

Hmm—a crazy Kung Fu Panda and Fruit Ninja cocktail, does that bode well? That’s the image Panda Fishing conjured up in my mind, and I must admit that at first I was somewhat baffled and didn’t know what to make of it. I decided to give it a go; read on to find out what our verdict of the game is.

Test device
Samsung Nexus S
Android version: 4.0.1
Root: Yes
Modifications: Cyagenmod 9 Alpha 11

App details
Runs as of: Android 2.0
Apps2SD: Yes
Total size: Ca. 8.75 MB

Smartphone application developers are facing a bit of dilemma these days: when Android had just been newly released on the market it was relatively easy to garner success for interesting new applications. By now the market is flooded with hundreds of thousand of apps, and a lot of new apps drown in the masses—which is why I like taking the opportunity to test apps that don’t seem like mere copies of other, already successful applications. That said, Panda Fishing brings three (already existing) things to mind: a film (Kung Fu Panda), a game (there are tons of fishing games out there, take your pick) and another game (Fruit Panda). So what’s it all about?

The intro is very brief – it consists of only four images, very much in Kung Fu Panda graphics style – and informs you that the game’s protagonist (you guessed it, it’s a panda!) wants to train with some sort of Ninja master, who in turn tells the panda that first he must learn to fish. And so the panda casts the hook, which the player must navigate to the bottom of the water, through the schools of fish, using motion sensors. You must then bring the hook back up and nab as many fish as possible. Finally, the fish have to be sawed into bits (Fruit Ninja flashback). You will receive money for each fish; different fish types are worth different amounts of money. Along the way you will experience a few fun little surprises, such as squids that splatter ink on the display when you hack them into bits.

Money can be spent on upgrades such as longer fishing lines, better knives, cuter bait (not that bait is a thing of cuteness per se)…

Bottom line:
Thanks to the upgrade function Panda Fishing is the kind of game players will stick with for a fair amount of time, because, truth be told, the game does not have all that much to offer. It’s entertaining, true, but not mind blowing. If you’re on the prowl for new apps to try out go ahead and give this one a go—but there are cooler alternatives out there, in my opinion.

 

The Panda Fishing graphics are described as stunning in the app description—and I’m sure they are to some, but they simply strike me as cute 2D graphics, the likes of which I’ve seen in countless flash-browser games. Controls are very easy, though the hacking of the fish isn’t quite as precise as one might imagine it to be.

The game takes ages to load at the beginning. Aside from this Panda Fishing runs well, though not quite as smoothly as I would like.


 

Panda Fishing is available for free but with ad banners from the Android Market.