Deadliest Catch: Alaskan Storm PC Review

Deadliest Catch: Alaskan Storm PC Review

What I Liked:

1. Pretty good simulation of crab fishing. (actually a bit more interesting than it probably sounds) You get to fish both for King Crab and Opilio Crab. As a fan of the show, I was really glad to be able to play a game where I could try my hand at crab fishing.

2. Good use of the TV show license, with actual music, people, boats etc from the TV show.

3. I liked the videos that pop up at key times. These are short and usually helpful vids with guys like Sig and Edgar Hansen giving advice or relating their own experiences.

4. It's a decent management game too. You have to balance crew members, bait, pots, profits, and especially time, to get the most out of the season.

5. You can customize one of the real-life boats, so you can feel like you have your own boat rather than playing with one of the real ones. Unfortunately customization is limited to paint job, cabin color, and boat name. I painted the Northwestern yellow and blue, and renamed it "Legendary". After each season, you can spend the money you earned buying upgrades for your boat. This kind of helps extend the replay value a bit.


What I Didn't Like:

1. The game runs at a whopping 5 frames per second on my PC. That's a consistent speed no matter if I neuter the graphics or run them at max. Makes it feel like the game is in slow motion.

2. The missions are extremely tedious and boring. If you play this game, slog through the first few missions until you unlock career mode.

3. The number of crabs you pull up in each pot don't seem random enough. I'm consistently pulling up 70-80 King Crabs with each pot after a 40-48 hour soak. Every time. I've never pulled up an empty pot. Ever. If you fish in the red survey areas, it seems like you will be on the crab without fail, everytime.

4. Bugs. In 3 seasons my boat has never consumed a single gallon of gas. Fuel consumption is completely broken on my game.

5. The game pace is SOOOOO SLOWWWWW.... Because the game is largely hands-off at times, it get can get very slow and boring at times. You're basically sitting there waiting for your crew to drop or pull pots. Pretty true to life, but it's going to lose all but the most committed crab fishing simmer.

6. The graphics would have looked nice if the game came out in 2000...


YAY: I just find it exceptionally cool, that they actually made a game based on Alaskan crab fishing. Despite everything, I'm actually liking this game. I just tend to have to be doing something else during the slower parts. Thank goodness for the Nintendo DS, dishwashing, or burning DVDs on a second PC... +1

GAY: Unfortunately there's so much a player has to look past to really appreciate this game. The people who will actually enjoy it, are most likely fans of the TV show with a lot of patience. They're probably also into other simulation games as well. -1


Final Badassian Scale Rating: -1 NOT SO GOOD