Written by: Alex

 

 

 

"Steel Diver" is Nintendo’s first original title for their new system. Originally a tech demo for the 3DS it eventually has emerged as a full release of what is essentially three submarine-based mini games, albeit with one more rounded than the others.

 

Showing the motion tracking ability of the machine and the 3D in its tiny little underwater dioramas it may not be the most stunning use of the machine, but it offers some pleasantly subtle use of its abilities.  

 

 

It is the year 19XX and one nation has decided to go on a power mad rampage. The other nations have gathered together the greatest submariners they could to fight this evil force from beneath the waves. In command of this fleet you are out to stop the advance of this despot country. With only three submarines in the small flotilla you pick which craft you are to command and then pilot the selected ship through the missions on offer.

 

It is the thinnest veil that could possibly be placed over the Second World War, and an unnecessary one. As you work your way through the various missions it becomes increasingly apparent that the thread holding them together is very thin, but at least travelling through a range of ever more unexpected environments keeps this from becoming a problem.

 

 

The campaign could be considered Steel Diver’s ‘main game’, being the only one that makes any attempts to frame itself inside the games story. Taking the ships through a set of seven missions, all of a similar type, you navigate your way though a 2D underwater maze in your chosen submarine. This is then topped off with a world event or some kind or boss to destroy, including a rare aquatic creature (insert joke about Japan here).

 

 

Controls are perhaps the most interesting part of making it through each of these maps. On first glance I actually through Steel Diver would use the analogue stick but in fact all the controls are located on the lower screen. Two sliders determine horizontal and vertical speed and these are joined torpedo, pitch and a selection of other buttons and readings.

 

While the controls sound simple, jumping around the bottom screen can prove quite a challenge as you avoid depth charges, torpedoes and walls Steel Diver throws. To add to the difficulty of the controls, mastery is made even more challenging thanks to each submarine handling very differently. Size and manoeuvrability are all notably altered between craft, as are the inputs required to pilot them.

 

These differing controls would usually result in players being able to pick their favourite craft to play through the game but unfortunately this isn’t the case, as the campaign mode requires completion by all three craft before the final missions unlock. It is a cheap play to artificially lengthen the game which would weigh in at a rather unchallenging ninety minutes were this not the case. This proves especially frustrating on later missions that can take up to twenty minutes and can easily be ended by an over powered bosses.

 

 

The second game mode is periscope strike. As the name suggests you man a periscope and take out enemy craft (comparatively) safely from beneath the waves. Divided in to three environments it is possible to hunt enemy ships on clear water, stormy seas or under the oceans surface.

 

 

With the top screen working as the periscope it is possible to move by rotating the 3DS, or more accurately your body, towards a desired target. This is fun, but incredibly unsocial and impractical on a commute. Fortunately Nintendo have taken this in to account in what seems like the first case of realising ARGs may not be so good in public. To accommodate for this alternate controls are found in the form of a scroll wheel on the bottoms screen, along with all of the other soft buttons.