Steel Diver

Steel Diver is an interesting game, but it's short and lack of depth.

It seems safe to say that Steel Diver will not reach the level of popularity among Nintendo's most beloved franchises, but Miyamoto and company still deserve kudos for inventing another unique gameplay experience that is seldom seen elsewhere. While the learning curve can be steep, enough patience will lead to a satisfying package that's two games in one and easily bears replaying.

The challenge/reward loop will simply not click for many, with the touch-screen controls being little more than a clunky irritant attached to a slow-paced and slightly directionless game.

Steeldiver is a novel and varied title that should entertain the casual gamer.

Unfortunately, though, as impressive as the in-game content may be, everything ends far too quickly, even with the extra missions to unlock, and means that the RRP of £39.99 is too steep.

While it lasts, it's a brilliantly designed, original and fun experience. It just needs to last a lot longer.

It's good while it lasts. [Apr 2011, p.48]

The mechanics, while a little obtuse, are interesting, and the three different game modes are varied and fun. It's just that there is a large focus on replaying the same content with minor differences.

If there is any fault here, it is that the Mission Mode is shorter then one would hope for, and the visuals don't take enough advantage of the 3D capabilities.

Additional online modes would have put this title right at the top of my recommendation list but despite its lack of depth (get it?), Steel Diver remains an interesting title to experience, if none of the other launch titles manages to grab your attention.

Truth be told, its an extremely challenging side-scrolling ... well, it's part shoot-'em-up, part submarine simulator and part strategy game. The sum of these parts is actually a lot more compelling than the game taken at face value.

Well executed, but lacking in depth (which is ironic for a multitude of reasons). However, once you give it a fair shot, you'll be surprised how addictive the gameplay is and how much fun you'll have trying to master the controls and conquer each mission.

Steel Diver is an average game for Nintendo 3DS. It's fun for a while, but too short and poor in contents.

Steel Diver offers three different types of mini games. Each mini game is ok, but not more. The combination of all three modes would have been interesting, but there is no possibility to mix them up. The strategy multiplayer game is lame and not entertaining, while the periscope game is pretty funny in the beginning, but it is, like the campaign, too short.

Unique and engaging foundations wrapped in a package that fails to capitalise on the potential. If content is king, then this is a pawn.

There isn't much to explore in Steel Diver's shallow waters. There are better ways to showcases the new hardware, even among the 3DS's sparse launch lineup. Only the most dogged would-be Nemo need apply.

Once you've run out of game in Steel Diver, it simply sinks without a trace. [May 2011, p.98]

Some good ideas and stunning graphics with nice 3D effects rise this underwater arcade slightly above average. [June 2011]

True, it could have been tedious, but there's still not enough for us to want to take the plunge. [July 2011, p.88]

It's a recommendable experience to anyone looking for something new, it's up to players to decide whether the price justifies the opportunity.

A decent game, with variety of modes, but not that well put together. It offers some challenge in the submarine mode, but not enough content to be replayable.

Steel Diver has an original concept but the game itself isn't really that good. There aren't enough missions to play and the gameplay is difficult to handle. Therefore it's not something you should buy immediately.

It is, at least, pretty original, and getting to grips with your submarines' controls is both fun and satisfying. We would, though, have preferred to see it priced more realistically to reflect its brevity. It's true that it simply wouldn't work on any console other than the 3DS, but it's by no means an essential purchase.

Steel Diver provides exciting, tactical underwater action, but a steep difficulty curve and lack of content make it difficult to recommend.

Travel in a submarine is never a short trip. Steel Diver really is short, and although try to extend the fun, this does not appear as we thought. Miyamoto should scold his developers and search the great game that we expected.

In spite of its steep learning curve, dearth of content, and lack of depth (both figuratively and literally), Steel Diver grew on me. It may have less to do with being a submarine commander than Trauma Center does with being a doctor, but it's a novel premise nonetheless, and the tactile fidgeting with the sub's controls is strangely rewarding.

Pick it up because you want to spin yourself around the living room hunting for ships, or can deal with the submarine style controls. Accept the game for what it is, and you'll enjoy what it has to offer.

Steel Diver is easily one of the more creative titles in the initial 3DS lineup and offers a nice glimpse of the type of innovative gaming experiences the system has to offer.

I'm still in awe of the graphics, and the game's strategic depth eventually grew on me, but unless you're the kind of person who can afford to buy every launch title the 3DS has to offer, I don't think Steel Diver should be your first pick.

There's just not enough to do, at least not for the price. We appreciate that Nintendo did something different here, and a system's launch is a great time to be more experimental, but if we're going to pay $39.99 for a new 3DS game, we're going to need more than this.

The learning curve in Mission mode is quite steep, and many will undoubtedly be put off by the slow pace at which each stage unfolds.

The core "side-scrolling submarine action game with a bit of realistic physics" campaign is either way too short or frustratingly padded.

Steel Diver is a launch title that shows off some of the great features of the 3DS (gyroscope sensor and 3D) but leaves some of them out as well (including StreetPass, online play, and Play Coins). If I were looking to buy the game, I would have loved to have purchased this for around $15 from the 3DS online shop. However, at the current price of $39.99, this game has too few overall content to warrant a purchase at the price of a full-length game. If you're itching to check this game out, I would wait until it drops in price.

Simple arcade game with relatively addicting gameplay which suffers from a severe lack of content. In this case it's quite a fundamental problem.

Steel Divers are submarines that are just as hard to handle as their real-life counterparts. And real submarines also have periscopes. There ends the resemblance with reality, though. Steel Diver is a slow shmup in disguise that on top of it all offers very little content to the buyer – and should have remained the downloadable DSi-title it originally was meant to be.

Too short with boring game modes. This should have stayed a demo.

An enjoyable, nicely crafted and beautiful game that does justice to the unique characteristics of the 3DS. However, we cannot recommend a full priced game that lasts only a couple of hours.

It's essentially the slowest side-scrolling shoot 'em up you'll ever play, demanding you laboriously guide a submarine to the end of each level while avoiding damage and destroying evil submarines whose perfidy knows no bounds and warrants no backstory. [June 2011, p.97]

Quotation forthcoming.

Steel Diver is a disappointing game, mixing an arcade nature with over-complicated controls. The result is a short and flat experience, maybe good for a two-days rental.

In short, Steel Diver is an extremely underwhelming launch game. The eight missions can be knocked out in about 2 to 3 hours and the two player Steel Commander mode is buggy in addition to boring when playing against the AI. It doesn't make any sense to me why Nintendo would sell this at a $39.99 MSRP.