Geekscape Games Reviews Steel Diver
When a new system launches, you expect developers to come out with guns blazing, giving us an exciting game that sells the new hardware. So what does Nintendo do to live up to this expectation? They give us a side scrolling submarine game… But while that doesn’t sound worth your $250 on the surface, the famous developer has a reputation of making even the strangest things fun, (whoever thought they’d want to play as a fat, mustached plumber?) Steel Diver attempts to bring a different type of fun to match the new hardware, and it does so with mixed results.
Given command of one of three submarines, the campaign offers seven missions in which you’ll explore deep oceans, discover ancient ruins and stop a nameless, faceless country from taking over the world with their evil battleships. The core of the game is controlled from a 2D side scrolling perspective, where you guide the sub from point A to point B while avoiding traps, walls, bombs, rocks and enemy subs. It might seem simple enough to avoid a giant wall that’s a whole screen away from you, but the challenge in Steel Diver lies in the controls. The entire game is controlled by the touch screen, so controlling your acceleration, depth and missile strikes are all handled on the bottom screen. My first few games proved why friends don’t let friends dive drunk, because I was slamming into everything in my way while trying to manage all of the doodads that were put in my control AND keeping track of my sub on the top screen. It sounds a little off-putting, but when I got the hang of things, the ride was very rewarding to pull off. Part of the replay value is to get through the game with each sub since each one controls differently. That, and it’s required to get through the whole game, tacking on a bit of forced replayability.
Once basic actions like avoiding giant rocks become second nature, the game gets more aggressive, with fights against sea monsters, battleships and giant subs. But a Steel Diver doesn’t go down like that, so between each level, parascope challenges are unlocked. Using a first person view, players can control the scope with the touch screen or by getting up and spinning for real using the 3DS’s gyroscope if you’re into the novelty of looking like a fool in public, (like me.) Taking down ships unlock decals that not only make your sub look fabulous, but collecting enough of them unlocks abilities such as increased defense or speed. But since these rewards can only be earned post stage, it’s more of the tacked on replay value. These challenges can be played independently from the main menu, but not for decals. Yeah, I know. It sucks…
Even with the incentive to keep playing, seven missions for a campaign is pretty thin. That’s where time trials and multiplayer come in. Time trials are a mix of familiar and new areas compared to the campaign where you guide your tiny sub to the end of the stage as fast as possible. The multiplayer mode plays very much like a 3D version of a famous board game that I can’t seem to think of at the moment. It involves two players battling ships by attacking on a grid that’s invisible to the opponent… Spotting the ship switches to parascope mode where the attacking player attempts to shoot the opponent out of the water. But even with these features added in, I doubt it’s something that you’ll be playing for very long.
And that is where Steel Diver sinks. While I enjoyed my time with the game, it’s definitely not for everyone. The controls and physics are expertly done, and the graphics, 3D effects, stage ambiance and music create a relaxing experience, but the hectic game play carries a steep learning curve. If you manage to stick with it until you get the hang of how your sub works, it’s a matter of whether or not you’ll keep playing. If you’re the kind of gamer who is satisfied with finishing the game and moving on to the next one, you won’t get much depth from Steel Diver. If the game had a larger, more robust set of stages, this game would be a surprise stand out in the sea of launch titles, but its reliance on the gamer wanting to play through it multiple times makes it a hit or miss game in the 3DS library.
