Steel Diver (3DS) Impressions

Steel Diver is a submarine title that Nintendo first revealed as a demo for the Nintendo DS at E3 2004.  This tech demo was also shown at E3 2006 as a downloadable demo onto show goers personal DS systems.  It’s clear that Nintendo thinks this game has potential.

In the Steel Diver demo players had access to two modes.  The first mode was nearly identical to the E3 demo for the original DS hardware.  Players could use the touch screen to move levers that would determine how quickly their submarine would sink/rise, and to control how quickly it could move forward/back.

The submarine was also equipped with two types of Torpedoes.  The difference between the two was that one type could shoot horizontally and the other vertically.  These torpedoes were used to break through walls in the demo, or to sink enemy ships.  The sub also had a masker button that would deflect enemy torpedoes.

This first mode was also available to try as a Time Trials, but I didn’t have time to give that a try.

The second mode was the Periscope mode.  This mode gives players the view of a submarines periscope and the objective is to sink ships around the players sub while in the open seas.  Periscope offered two control methods that could be used on the fly.

The first control method allows players to move their Nintendo 3DS from side to side to control the view.  If a player were sitting in a swivel chair they would feel as if they are truly in a submarine.  Players also can use touch screen controls to move the sub in the same way if they prefer not to move around as much.

This mode was fun and where Steel Diver’s 3D effects really shined.  Hitting enemy ships in the middle would give critical hits.  Players could also dive to avoid enemy attacks.

There was one more gameplay mode in Steel Diver that wasn’t available during the event.  It was some sort of tactical combat mode.

Overall Steel Diver isn’t as bad as many out there make it sound.  The final copy is sure to have at least three different gameplay modes that are sure to have various options.  I’m still interested to see what the tactical combat mode will offer players.

Steel Diver may not be the best title ever, but it looks like it will be a solid title that will offer many different gameplay modes to keep players busy.

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