GYG Blog

I don’t get it.  Why do game developers continue to make games based on hit TV shows, expecting great results?  I’m a fan of this show; I’ve enjoyed getting to know the characters over the last few years, and I believe them when they say that crab fishing is one of the world’s deadliest jobs.  I was curious how that would translate to a video game, and now I have my answer.  Not well.

I have to be honest though; I only gave Deadliest Catch: Alaskan Storm about 30 minutes of my time, outside of the incredibly long tutorial level (but hey, I got 60 achievement points from it!).  I’d love one of our customers with much more patience than me to give it an honest review, because I just don’t think I gave it enough time.  But, I had better things to do, like watching paint dry.

The game’s tutorial lesson is comprehensive and lays out the game very well.  But, once I was on my own, I found myself forgetting everything that I learned.  I will give the game credit though; it really puts the player in the seat of being a ship’s captain, because you will find that you have to manage every part of the game.  First, I had to hire a crew.  I made the mistake of giving a greenhorn a chance, only to have him complain about how cold it was then hurt himself seriously enough that I had to fly the coast guard in for an evacuation, leaving my crew down a member.

Graphically, the game is so-so.  I had to turn off the “seasick cam” because I didn’t want to be the sorry sack who puked from a video game.  Seriously, the boat’s rocking back and forth was enough to do me in.  The game has great audio, although you’ll get tired of hearing the seagulls constantly fussing on your boat.

This game is definitely a simulation game, because you’ll get your hands in every aspect of the game.  I think if I had given it more time, I probably would have enjoyed it more.  I just didn’t have the heart to do it, especially with reviews to do on Don King’s gaming turd and Alone in the Dark.

I’ll give the game 2.5 Captain Sig’s out of 5 for now, with a possible upgrade coming when I give it more time.

I used to be a big fan of boxing.  I’ll never forget the night that Tyson lost to Buster Douglas in an incredible battle.  But, I slowly lost my appreciation for the sport as it seemed to get more and more corrupt, and I solely place the sport’s demise at the feet of one Mr. Don King.  And now, Don has managed to get his tentacles wrapped around the video game consoles as well.

I have to admit that this game was going to have a hard time living up to its predecessor, Fight Night Round 3.  The Fight Night game was excellent with incredible graphics and realism, but I always found the “story” mode to be lacking.  Luckily, the game overcomes that with its play.

Don King Presents: Prize Fighter manages to accomplish exactly the opposite of what Fight Night did.  The story in Prize Fighter is compelling, and I found myself actually being interested in the documentary-focused campaign mode.  I thought the little injuries were a nice touch as well; one fight I had to fight primarily with my left hand because of two broken fingers suffered on my right during training.

But, the true focus of any sports game has to be the game play, and this is where this game suffers greatly.  To keep this review from running even longer than it already has, I’ll limit my complaints to two chief areas: player graphics and hit detection.  The graphics of the boxers are very poor (and don’t even get me started on the ring girls!) and even look like a last-gen title, which is inexcusable at this point in the game.  And the hit detection is atrocious; I can’t tell you how many knockdowns I had thanks to punches to the shoulder, or somehow managing to hit my opponent in the ear with my forearm.  In fact, several times my entire arm seemed to pass through my opponent, only to have my gloves and wrist appear behind him.

As I mentioned before, this game has a great storyline.  Sadly, the game play just doesn’t back it up.  Don King once said “It ain’t about if he knocks a guy out. It’s about how he knocks a guy out. It’s the style, the improvisation.”  Clearly he wasn’t concerned with the style of the game that he graciously lent his name to.

The best I can give this game is 1.5 shoulder knockdowns out of 5.