The game's objective is to doc ships and boats into their ports safely without letting them crash into each other. To do this, you basically create a path for the boat/ship to travel...hopefully creating one that will avoid collisions. The game appears easy at first (I've only tried the demo), but as soon as you start getting more boats/ships on the screen, I found that it's very easy to lose track of where the boats/ships are...and thus, we have a crash. The game's description has it right...definitely a game of multi-tasking to keep all boats/ships safe!

Indie Game (IG) under Review: Dock’em
Developed by: Quantum Squid Interactive
System: Xbox 360
Genre: Strategy & Simulation
Version: 1
Cost: 200 Microsoft Points ($2.50)
Download Style: Full Game/Trial Game
Download Size: 10.51 MB
Learning Curve: 5-10 Minutes
Overall Rating: 8/10
Main Features:
- Players 1
- HDTV 720p
Other Features:
- One mini-game
- High scores tracked locally and online!
- Enable or disable online score sharing
Puzzling:
- Only one mini-game
- Cannot change any settings for mini-game to change gameplay
Rating:
Violence - 0/3
Sex - 0/3
Mature Content - 0/3

INDIE GAMES INTRO:

Please Note: Unless otherwise specified, I have bought and played all aspects of the games I review.

Downloading Indie Games:
1. Turn on Xbox 360 and sign into XBOX Live.
2. Navigate to: Game Marketplace=>Explore Game Content=>Indie Games
3. Look around and download games!

Important Indie Game Reminders:
1. They are NOT rated by Microsoft or the ESRB.
2. They can only be played while connected to Xbox Live.
3. They can only be played for four or eight minutes before the trial ends (depending on when released).
4. Some features may be locked in the trial mode.

REVIEW INTRO:

Dock’em is a multi-task game where the player must safely navigate multiple ships into their correct ports. While doing so, players must be sure to avoid collisions with land or other ships.

GRAPHICS: 5/10

I am pleased by the graphical work done by Quantum Squid Interactive. Not only in this game, but in their others, it never disappoints. The title screen, water, ports, and ships are all done really well. Ship types also vary by sail boat, cruisers, and a few others. Why did this receive a five then? Because every time a player starts a new game, the ports are all in the same spot. There is no graphical variety to the game because there are no levels, only level. I know some people like to play the same level over and over, but that is why people can choose what level to play. The font in this game is fuzzy on a Standard Definition Television.

MUSIC: 8/10

The musical quality is great and fits the game’s atmosphere quite well. The mini-game does not necessarily have music other than “portly” sounds (waves, ships, etc.). This is a good and bad thing. It is good because it leaves the player to concentrate on what they are doing. It is bad because the lack of music can sometimes make the game a bit boring. It will certainly vary by person, but I everyone would like more music variety.

STORY: 0/10

No story.

GAMEPLAY & FEATURES: 9/10

Dock’em is a game that tests the multitasking skills. The one mini-game (yes, it is a mini-game) is the entire game. This mini-game tasks the player with navigating multiple ships to their respective ports (at least three ports). The game starts out easy at first only giving the player a few ships to navigate, but as time goes on, more and more ships come at once. This leads to retracing new paths after already tracing a path for a ship. Tracing a path is easily done by highlighting a ship, holding the (A) button, and tracing a path to the ship’s respective port. Then move on to the next ship while the one you just set follows your course! If a ship does not have a course set for it, then it will move forward until it collides with something or it receives a course. A red anchor shows the next incoming ships and from where they are coming.

A great feature that Quantum Squid Interactive has taken to using is Online Leaderboards (local and online). With this game they have even upgraded upon their system. In Rabid Gophers, players could see the best fifteen players for each mini-game (three total). In Dock’em, there is a scroll function so that ALL high scores can be viewed. This is a welcome addition and was one of my few complaints with Rabid Gophers. Online score sharing can even be disabled if the player chooses to.

This section received a 9/10 because there is only one mini-game and its settings cannot be changed. The number of ports, islands, time limit, etcetera. These features would have added more depth to it which is always good. Another thing I find odd is that the game does not allow the player to change the analog stick sensitivity. Rabid Gophers allowed this for Gopher Sniper, why can’t Dock’em allow this for…Dock’em?

OVERALL: 8/10

Dock’em is a fast-paced thriller that will make players sweat as they navigate more and more ships to their respective ports. The game is solid and has good polish, but does not have as much content as it could and should. For what it has though, it is a great game for 200 Microsoft Points ($2.50).

Other Games by Quantum Squid Interactive (as of 8/16/09):

- Rabid Gophers (Indie Game - 200 Microsoft Points)
- Battle Havoc (Indie Game - 400 Microsoft Points)


For more full reviews, visit the ExL Studios Website .

For quick reviews, visit the ExL Studios Blog .

Wish they weren't working on an iPhone game right now, can't wait to see their next xbox project.

Game is fun and chaotic when they really start throwing boats at you.

As always, high production values in the interface, so it actually feels like a professional product and not a hack job like most community games.

While this is essentially Flight Control but with Boats it is still really fun. Graphically it looks really good and the controls work well.

While other levels layouts would have been cool they are not really necessary.

The one thing I would like to see would have been support for custom soundtracks so I can more easily listen to my music and not have the in game sound effects. But really that is not a huge deal.

Anyone who has played Flight Control on the Iphone will be straight at home with Dock'em.

It is a very simple game, guide the boats to the docks without crashing them. The action starts off at a very easy pace but soon quickens up.

It is quit addictive and easily worth the 200 MS points