- Title: Deadliest Catch: Alaskan Storm
- Platform: Xbox 360
- Publisher: Greenwave
- Developer: Liquid Dragon Studios
- ESRB Rating: “T” for Teen
- Genre: Simulation
- Pros: Music from the show; touring the Northwestern; nice waves and water; satisfying gameplay; great for fans of the show
- Cons: Very slowly paced; presentation is last-gen; not for action fans; glitches, bugs, framerate issues
Deadliest Catch: Alaskan Storm wouldn’t work very well if it weren’t true to the show. Thankfully, the game was crafted with fans of the show in mind first and foremost. It features a handful of boats from the show, including the Northwestern, Cornelia Marie, and Sea Star, as well as real life crewmembers from the boats. It is also noteworthy that Bon Jovi’s “Dead or Alive” song that plays during the opening credits of the show is present in all of its glory at the start menu. Pretty much the only thing missing is Mike Rowe, but I guess his voice over recording schedule must have been full.
The main mode in the game is a career mode, where you hire a crew, buy supplies, upgrade your ship, and head out to sea and catch crab. There is also a mission mode that gives you specific objectives in various scenarios. You can also play Coast Guard missions for the first time ever in a videogame. A very nice touch is that you can explore a fully modeled Northwestern. There are also a ton of videos recorded by the captains and crews that are pretty interesting to watch.
Gameplay
The gameplay basically boils down to this. You autopilot to where you want to start setting pots. Then you get your crew out on deck and they start setting your string. You control when you want the pot dropped by blowing a little horn. Setting pots, you just set a decent speed and drive in a straight line. Picking up pots, however, is a bit more difficult. You have to carefully control your speed and position so that your guys on deck can actually throw the hook. Then you have to decide if you want to set the pot back or stack it on deck. Once you get it all figured out, it is mostly rinse and repeat.
Motion Sickness Warning
One other thing that needs to be mentioned is that this game should probably be the Guinness World Record holder for giving you motion sickness faster than any game ever. At the default setting, the camera moves separately from the movement of the boat, and as I mentioned in my Videogames and Motion Sickness article, two separate movements like this are what give you motion sickness. Thankfully, you can turn off the “Seasick Cam” in the menu, which holds the camera steady and should fix and potential motion sickness issues. It did for me, anyway.
Graphics
Graphically, DC: Alaskan Storm is an okay looking game. The menus have kind of a junky look to them and the textures are generally kind of low-res, last-gen looking. The boats look good, and are easily recognizable. The real star here is the water and the lighting. The water reflects the sun or moon, the sunrise/sunset is beautiful and changes the way the whole world looks, and it just looks good overall. The waves and movement of the ocean is also very realistic and very well done.
The sound is merely okay. It does have Bon Jovi and the “Northwestern Theme” music plays occasionally, but mostly the game is pretty quiet. There are some voice clips here and there, but the only sounds you hear when you are out fishing is usually the rumble of the boat’s engines, the machinery on deck, waves slapping on the boat, and seagulls. One thing about the voice clips. Most of the crew members did voice work with the lone exception of the Northwestern's Nick Mavar who suddenly became British and snooty. Hilarious.
Bottom Line
For fans of the show, Deadliest Catch: Alaskan Storm is a fun game that has more than enough little nods and winks and references to the show to keep you very happy. It has the look and music and feel of the show right off the bat, but it is also a surprisingly deep crab fishing simulator. Now, you are just sitting on your couch and not actually risking your life, but you do get attached to your boat and crew in the game, and when something goes wrong it has a pretty big impact. The game has more than its share of rough edges (poor presentation, glitched achievements, bugs, freezes), but it is still a pretty darn compelling game overall. All in all, Deadliest Catch: Alaskan Storm is a pretty decent game that I highly recommend to fans of the show and gamers that like slow paced, grind it out-style gameplay. The $60 price tag might be asking a bit too much for a blind purchase, even for fans, but definitely give it a rental and decide from there.
