Crab fishing in the Bering Sea is one of the most rewarding and dangerous jobs you can have. One second, you haul in a pot bursting with king crab, and the next, a giant wave crashes onto the deck of the boat and sweeps you overboard, or perhaps the ship stalls in the middle of nowhere or maybe a piece of equipment conks you in the head. All sorts of horrible things could happen, which is why we're content to play Greenwave's Deadliest Catch: Alaskan Storm on Xbox 360 from the comforts of home. Based on Discovery Channel's popular television series, the game lets you command your own vessel and fish for crab, the goal to haul in as much as possible and make tons of dough. It's rougher than a turbulent sea and downright ugly looking, but the rewarding simulation gameplay somewhat makes up for its barnacles.
In order to become a virtual crab fisherman, you need to leave your first person shooters, lightning fast sports games and adrenaline fueled racers on the shelf and embrace Alaskan Storm's slow pace. You don't steer jet skis. You captain a gigantic fishing boat that moves slower than an arthritic senior citizen. You'll stare at your TV screen for long periods watching one of five real world fishing boats (Northwestern, Sea Star, Cornelia Marie, Bering Star or the Shellfish) cut into the game's giant waves. Don't expect to man the pots (traps that catch crab) either. Instead, you'll instruct your five-man crew to get the job done, steering the boat close to drop points and then giving the signal to let them go (or pull them up, if it's time). This is a simulation, so it's your job to pour over the details and keep an eye on the radar. Are you too close to the rocks? Are the waves too intense? Is there too much ice on your boat? Is the crew tired? Did someone get injured? Is morale low? All these things and more should be on your mind at all times, lest you screw up and have a bad season, or even worse, sink.
Fortunately, developer Liquid Dragon does a good job making everything manageable so you don't feel burdened. Helpful tutorials at the beginning walk you through all of the controls, and Captain Sig Hansen of the Northwestern chimes in with video clips that help you along. There's a lot to learn, and at times, the controls seem overwhelming, but you can always view them by hitting Start, and the manual has easy to read diagrams that'll get out of port in no time.
Overall, Deadliest Catch is fun. After a brief intro sequence, you unlock Career Mode and set out to become the best crab fisherman of the season. This involves selecting five crewmembers from 20, each of which has signature abilities; you'll need to study their strengths and weaknesses in order to fill your jobs (Deck boss, Deck hand, Bait boy, Engineer, Cook and Medic) accordingly. From there, you'll fuel up the boat, stock it with traps and then head out to sea, where you'll use your electronic Plotter device to help drop plots, monitor crab movement and decide which port to dock. Furthermore, to keep you from falling asleep, the developers let you advance time instead of forcing you to endure hours of boredom.
At times, this game is a harrowing adventure full of peril. Not only will you need to keep chipping ice off the boat, but you'll also have to make repairs, dodge hazards and navigate through an unhappy sea with humongous waves. Multi-tasking is key to success, and once you master everything, you'll achieve great satisfaction in reaching port without injury. This is what makes the game worthwhile, in addition to the wealth of bonus content, which includes a virtual tour of the Northwestern, unlocked videos and Coast Guard and Skiff race mini games. There's even a multiplayer mode in which you compete against seven fishermen to see who becomes the ultimate crab daddy, though at the time of this writing, we had trouble finding lots of people to play with.
On the downside, Alaskan Storm suffers from a choppy frame rate where the boat stops running for a second or two before continuing. In addition, the game has annoying load times that take you out of the action and ugly graphics that fail to bring out the Xbox 360's best. Ports and rocks look terrible, and the ocean, while an impressive size, doesn't have phenomenal looking water effects. Even the ships lack detail, with plain looking decks and propellers that awkwardly lift from the water. Bottom line, you don't play this one for the eye candy.
These issues notwithstanding, Deadliest Catch: Alaskan Storm is a unique and well-executed simulation game that does a good job recreating the TV series. Sure, it's rough around the edges, but the same could be said of the real-life fishermen captaining these boats. Get over its faults, relax and enjoy one of the more interesting Xbox 360 games. Then call your loved ones and tell them you caught crabs, just to see their reactions.
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