Docked

When foreman and fellow Gamereactor writer Joel Petterson called from the harbour and asked me to come in for a few days of honest work, I was hesitant. Like, moving containers? My expertise is venturing out into the wide world on adventures, rescuing princesses and all that. But at the same time, I'm not one to shy away from a new kind of challenge. Besides, as foreman Joel was quick to point out, I've enjoyed the challenges in Expeditions: A Mudrunner Game, and I actually still play last year's fantastic Roadcraft to this day. So, despite some reservations, I pulled on my best overalls and trudged down to the harbour.

I'm actually grateful that I did. Sitting in big cranes turned out to suit me perfectly. It awakens a kind of "just a little more" addiction in me that keeps me sitting there for hours. So even though you're really just moving containers from one place to another, Docked manages this task very well.

As if my clever Bon Jovi introduction wasn't funny enough, the character in this game is actually called Tommy. When a storm hits Port Wake, he's the one who has to roll up his sleeves and help his father and colleagues make sure business flourishes again. It all starts with making your way to the cab of a giant STS crane to begin loading, and it quickly becomes clear that it takes quite a bit of skill and finesse to do the job as well as possible. To secure a container, you need to position the crane with pinpoint precision over it. Thankfully, a large part of the screen is filled with a quick reference guide to all the machine's controls, and once you start to feel comfortable, this is easy to click away, or bring back up again to refresh your memory.

Alongside the massive cranes used to load and unload cargo from ships, there's also plenty of work to be done in the port itself. Here, you get to take the wheel of other types of vehicles - though they're often some version of a crane. It doesn't take long before you realise that the work itself can become quite repetitive. But that's how challenges work in a game, after all. In truth, the only major drawback here is that Roadcraft made it far more varied and better. Sure, the theme here is working in the port, specifically crane work, while Roadcraft offers lots of different tasks. But it's also the fact that you're forced to do fairly similar jobs, and sometimes even repeat ones you've already done, that makes it a bit difficult to maintain interest at times. Even though there were times when I sat for a long time driving, I needed a few breaks to avoid getting tired. In the game, you can do two jobs per day - perhaps to simulate the character's working days, but more likely so that the management part that is also present here has space to function.

In addition to the jobs you do yourself, there are also various contracts you can take on to earn some extra cash. The money is used to upgrade the harbour and purchase new vehicles, which in turn allows you to progress so that you can take on new and bigger jobs. Quite simply, it allows the story to progress. Unfortunately, this part of managing finances and contracts is very sparse and could have been developed much further. It would also have been nice to see the contracts you sign create a bit of life and movement in the harbour, but I suppose that might have something to do with keeping the visuals more stable.

Because even though the machines and surroundings are detailed and impressive, Docked struggles a bit with image updates at times. It also feels, as mentioned, a bit of a shame that more cranes and workers don't take care of the contracts you've signed. All of that is just numbers on a screen. It would have been fun to have a bit of automation and other vehicles in motion to bring it all to life. Fortunately, there's some excellent attention to detail regarding the machines you operate yourself, and when you get to play one of those clever little mini-games to repair a machine, you really notice the meticulous care that's gone into the finer details. I think Docked does well graphically, even if it is a shame that the frame rate dips now and then.

It's also quite nice that Docked breaks up the working days with a bit of radio chatter between the characters, and that there are a variety of challenging and varied tasks. But above all, it's really fun to control the machines. I find myself sitting there completely focused when I'm attaching winches to something that needs moving from one side of the port to the other. And when I get to switch between different types of vehicles, I still think the variety is quite good. However, I would have liked to see more of this - loading something onto a lorry that you then drive away to unload. I know I've already made a number of comparisons with Roadcraft, but there I got exactly that variety of different tasks and machines. Here, it's a bit too much of the same.

Although it's fairly forgiving when it comes to controls and precision, it also does a great job of making everything feel really entertaining. You have to handle the load with care. You fail if you cause too much damage to it and then have to start the task over. It's never particularly stressful, yet it's challenging in terms of precision, and as you become a better driver, it also becomes more entertaining. There are clear visual aids throughout; you always know what needs to be done, and you can also switch between several different perspectives.

In first person, everything becomes much more challenging, but also more realistic, of course, but I must admit that I prefer to see the machines from different perspectives from the outside. Above all, it's the feeling of having fun when I sit in the cab of a machine that is the most important thing here. Docked may essentially be all about moving heavy things, but it does so brilliantly, and sitting behind a joystick on any of the machines is, as we know from an old internet legend, what gives you power. So, I find it difficult to see how this type of simulator could be made in a more entertaining way than Docked actually manages to do. Despite the fact that there are some undeveloped parts and that it suffers somewhat from the fact that their previous title, Roadcraft, is better in almost every respect. If you liked previous games from the developer, this is definitely something you should check out.