So the first game that I reviewed for this section didn’t really turn out to be that bad at all. Deadliest Catch: Alaskan Storm, however, is probably one of the most boring games I have played yet. Being a huge fan of the show, I figured I would give this one a shot. I knew just by the sheer fact that it was based on a Discovery channel show that it was going to be bad.
Which button turns on the fun, or speeds this up?
I had no idea it would be THIS bad. The game just reeks of cheese. From the opening of the menu, I knew it was downhill from there. It looks like it was made for a Nintendo 64, the graphics are just THAT horrible. When the “crabs” are brought on board, it looks like vomit on the deck, seriously. To make matters worse, the docking menu is way too detailed for any video game.
Overall, the sound is pretty well done and the music sounds just like the show. Plus, sound effects are exactly like you would think they would be. The one thing about the sound that bothered me was that some of the guys from the show were in the game and voiced their own character, but some didn’t and the replacement voice actors sound NOTHING like the original.
If you were to describe this as the SimCity of Crab Fishing, you wouldn’t be that far off. Players are forced to micromanage everything that both you and your crew do. It truly feels like you are the captain of a crab boat. That aspect of the game is great, but as my friend said, “There’s a reason why they edit this show…”
Which brings me to the most debilitating feature of this game, the wait. Good lord, you have to wait for everything. Launching pots, retrieving pots, setting bait, counting crab, fueling, repairs… EVERYTHING. There is a feature that lets you speed up time, but that only works when you are jogging from one string to another, to port, or soaking your pots. In between pots you have to wait and manage the throttle and direction. It’s just not made for people that want action. At one point while waiting to make it back to the docks, I literally walked out of the room and made a sandwich. Crazier still, when I came back, I still had to wait!
Sorry, Sig, you oughta know, we don’t pay for dead loss.
This is one of those games that I just couldn’t bring myself to play any longer. I tried to look past all the issues. I tried to find some sort of “fun” lurking behind all the work, but I just couldn’t do it. I really hoped against hope that this was going to be just a lot of fun, but it truly is no fun at all. All I can say is that I am happy that I didn’t put any money towards getting this game to play it. To all the fans of the show out there and people thinking they may enjoy this one, just let it go. There are about a million jokes that could be made about it being dragged to the bottom of the ocean, or the coast guard rescuing it, but really, the game itself is a big enough joke.
*originally posted August 21, 2009, on Games Are Evil.com. no longer active
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