Steel Diver

Overview

Steel Diver Logo

Steel Diver is a simulation/action game released for the 3DS. It has the player in the year 19XX. The player is tasked with controlling one of three elite submarine units trying to complete missions while taking down as many underground submarines as possible. The game was originally a tech demo for the DS. Nintendo has decided to move Steel Diver to the 3DS, making it a full game. Steel Diver is set to launch with only the North American 3DS, with other regions getting the game later. Steel Diver uses the touch screen to control the direction and speed and torpedo firer, while the accelerometer and gyroscope are solely used in an extra game mode called "Periscope Mode".

Controls

In mission mode, only the touch screen will be used to control the player's submarine. One switch on the touch screen, moved up and down, controls the speed and vertical direction of the player's submarine. A second switch on the touch screen moves right and left, and it controls the speed and horizontal direction of the submarine. When in periscope mode, using the 3DS's built-in gyroscope and accelerometer, the player swivels around to "look" around the submarine for enemy ships. Torpedoes are fired at these enemy ships using the face buttons. (A,B,X,Y) Steel Diver, interestingly enough, was one of the only launch titles to not make use of the new Circle Pad on the 3DS at all.

Gameplay

Throughout each mission, there are various obstacles to avoid. Whether it be enemy fire from ships or natural obstacles such as sea floors or cliff walls, the player must get around or destroy these obstacles in order to succeed. Torpedoes are the main (and only) source of firepower for the player's submarine, and while the player has an unlimited supply of them, their fire rate is low, and shooting too close to solid objects can damage the player's submarine. Many enemy ships and creatures have weak spots that can only be exploited from time to time, so the player must learn to master the correct positioning to exploit these weak spots and destroy enemies.

Game Modes

Three game modes are available to play in Steel Diver:

Missions Mode

In Steel Commander mode, the player takes on the role of an elite captain in the year 19XX. The player can choose from three submarines to play Steel Commander in. There is a small, medium ,and large submarine available in the lineup. The large one is slower and harder to control, but can take more damage. The smaller one is quick to control and agile, but is more fragile. The medium is a compromise between the smaller submarine and larger submarine's attributes.

There are seven missions total for the player to complete, and afterwards the player can try to beat mission times for each mission. The main objective of each mission is for the player must get his/her submarine from Point A to Point B in the fastest time possible while avoiding damage from natural obstacles such as sea floors and cliff walls, and enemy submarines sending mines or depth charges in the player's path. Many obstacles blocking the player's pathway can be destroyed using torpedoes, but if the player's submarine gets too close to the explosions, the player's submarine will take damage. Three missions will have special enemies to be fought, as they are not enemy submarines but large creatures of the deep. These "bosses" can be beat during the storyline or during a replayed mission.

Periscope Strike

Featured throughout the game, Periscope Strike Mode will have the player using the 3DS's accelerometer and gyroscope to shoot down as many enemy vessels in the allotted time of 30 seconds. The player must "look" around through the submarine's periscope for enemy vessels. Once an enemy is spotted, the player can shoot torpedoes at the enemy by pressing the face buttons. As the torpedoes move very slowly through the water, during Periscope Attack Mode, the player must "lead" shots, or shoot torpedoes in anticipation to where the enemy vessel is going. Once an enemy is shot by a torpedo, the vessel will display a health meter in front of it. If a torpedo hits the hull of an enemy vessel, the vessel will take critical damage and immediately sink.

Points are not awarded for, rather, the player's score will turn up in numbers of each vessel sunk, although certain vessels may be ranked higher than others. Occasionally, instead of having the ships themselves be icons, random pictures such as Snakes and Eyeballs will be representing two different kinds of vessels. Periscope Strike Mode is featured between each mission in Steel Commander Mode, but it can be accessed any time through the main menu.

Steel Commander

Similar to the popular strategy game Battleship, this game mode pits the player against a friend or computer, trying to take down all of the opponents's ships in a mapped area before the opponent does the same to the player. Each player will get five different ships to be placed around the area, and one of those ships will be piloted by the player.

Two different minigames are played out depending on the player and opponent's actions. When the player moves to a space already occupied by an enemy ship. A minigame similar to Periscope Strike plays out, with one player being on offense and the other on defense. The twist to this minigame is that the defensive player can move his/her ships out of the way, so the offensive player must have careful aim if the player wants to take down any of the opponent's vessels. The second minigame activates when the player moves to a space occupied by an enemy submarine. This game mode has the offensive player drop a depth charge at depths of 50M, 100M, or 150M. The defensive player must choose to hide at one of those depths. This method usually involves pure luck, similar to that of the game "Rock, Paper, Scissors"; essentially, there is a one in three chance that the attacker would be on target. Sometimes, though, patterns can be derived with other players, and players can anticipate each other. Once one player has managed to eliminate all of the opponent's vessel, the game ends and the former player wins.

Reception

Upon its release in North America, it has been met with fairly mixed reviews, ranging from "Good" to "Poor". IGN has give Steel Diver a score of 7/10, or "Good" score, praising it's addicting gameplay, but stated the slow-paced strategy is not for everyone. Gamespot, on the other hand, has given the game a score of 4.5/10, or "poor", stating that the game is "Very easy, short, and dull". A few other critics have reviews in between these scores, resulting in Metacritic's mean score of 58/100, with most reviews being "mixed". Most gaming websites and magazines list a score percentage of 50-59% as "mediocre"