Fishing Joy 2 has been an interesting experience for me, especially as a relatively new iPhone owner. On the surface, it’s not a bad game as a touch-based shooter, but its depth is unintuitive and that can lead to quick disinterest or a reliance on in-app purchases (IAPs) to extend the experience.

The basic objective of Fishing Joy 2 is to “catch” the myriad of colorful fish and other assorted aquatic life by shooting at them. Each shot drains the player’s bank of coins, with stronger weapons depleting that bank more quickly. As fish are “caught”, more coins are deposited into the player’s bank. Weaker weapons can’t catch bigger fish, though, so there’s a bit of strategy involved in managing the bank and aiming for the right fish on the screen. Timing is also important, especially as the coin balance dwindles.

Special cards sometimes appear during gameplay. There are three different cards that can help the player. The Blow Fish card grants the player bouncing ammo that is helpful when multiple schools of fish are tightly crowding the screen. The Volcano card works like a smart bomb and wipes out all of the fish on the screen. Finally, the Pearl card initiates a bonus game that has bonus coins hidden underneath various shells, along with a crab icon that immediately ends the minigame.

If players run out of coins, they can be replenished one of two different ways. Free coins can be obtained after a certain amount of time passes. In-app purchases can immediately fill a player’s coin bank. 500 coins can be added for $2, and there are several higher increments including a $100 purchase that supplies 55,000 coins. The waiting period for the free coins isn’t overly long, but the payout is pretty small and I waited for to accumulate a few of these before engaging in a play session after running low on coins.

The biggest problem that I had with Fishing Joy 2 was that the tutorial didn’t prepare me enough for the intricacies of the game. I understood how to change weapons and why, but never understood which weapons worked better for which fish. Consequently, I ran out of coins fairly quickly and had to wait for some time before getting back into the game. I wasn’t drawn in enough to want to spend money on more coins because I didn’t get why they were depleted so fast. It’s important to hook a player (pun intended) by getting him/her involved and giving a sense of accomplishment before asking for more of an investment. Fishing Joy 2 didn’t accomplish this for me.

It’s unfortunate, because Fishing Joy 2 really isn’t a bad game. The graphics are colorful, there’s plenty of variety in the fish, and the music is just fine. Ultimately, while it’s fun at its core, as with many games that rely on IAPs, the experience ends too quickly before asking for a handout. It’s just another fish in a crowded sea of apps trolling for your money.