Steel Diver: Review
Steel Diver is a weird game, isn’t it? It was released in 2011 as a launch title for the Nintendo 3DS and received mixed reviews because of its lack of content. It’s true, it’s not a particularly beefy game and I imagine paying full price for it at launch would have been a somewhat unpleasant experience. But it’s 2014 now and it can be found for real cheap! I recently bought this for ~$5.4 USD and for that price I can say it’s absolutely worth playing. Honestly, I can see potential for Steel Diver to become a minor Nintendo series. Sadly the F2P sequel already abandoned this game's core gameplay.
Gameplay is really simple – get from point A to point B without receiving too much damage, defeating a boss sometimes. In what has not become a trend with 3DS games, everything is controlled on the touch screen. You have to quickly and strategically manage switches that make you go up/down and forward/backwards, while “masking” your submarine as soon as you detect a homing projectile, fixing water leaks if you take a hit and destroying mines, obstacles and submarines from enemies. While it’s a slower paced kind of game there are times when stuff gets pretty crazy if you want to avoid being destroyed.
You have three different submarines to choose from, each with different handling, speed, power and projectiles. Eventually you’ll have to beat the game with all three of them, which unlike some people, I don’t find as a cheap way of increasing replay value since the submarines do control differently. Some missions are way more difficult or easy depending on your submarine of choice.
Once you beat a mission you have to play a periscope mini-game with gyroscope-only controls, this is not too awesome because moving your 3DS around messes with the 3D sweet spot. Basically you have to look around and shoot missiles at any enemy ship out there. Not my favorite part of the game, but gladly it’s over rather quickly. Multiplayer is present in the form of a simple turn-based strategy game which I haven’t been able to try against other people, but seems to be a nice extra addition.
I mostly like the sound of this game, understandably laid-back and with emphasis on atmosphere – water sounds, projectiles, explosions, collisions, etc. Visuals are okay, and the 3D effect is quite pleasant and not obtrusive at all. Overall I really like the presentation of this game. With seven missions plus a training one, this game is definitely not a lenghty game. The meat of the game comes from improving your times, it’s pretty much a high-score game – nothing wrong with that in my book.
Worth Playing?
Yes, Steel Diver is definitely worth playing if you don’t mind a slower-paced kind of game and you can find it for cheaper. Maybe because I hadn’t played anything like this, but it makes for a very refreshing and addictive experience! I’d love to see a similar sequel.