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Steel Diver

Steel Diver

We've gone to the depths with Nintendo's 3DS submarine caper - Steel Diver. Read on for our impressions.

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There is something inherently cool about captaining a submarine. That alone makes for a great premise for game. The tension is constant as you need to navigate safely and undetected, with the threat of depth charges always looming. While the submarine simulation genre may be a bit daunting for most players (this writer included), there is still reason to look closer at Nintendo's take on the genre - Steel Diver. Perhaps it will make a captain out of me.

The game has been actually been on its way for quite some time. It first surfaced seven years ago as a tech demo showcasing what the touch screen of the original DS was capable of. Now, it will finally be realised as a full game on the successor.

Steel Diver

Steel Diver is a far cry from your typical submarine sim. Sure, you still raise your periscope, fire torpedoes, and navigate treacherous waters, but everything has been simplified down to the basics. With a bit of Nintendo magic, the complicated vessel has been turned into something anyone can control with the tip of a stylus.

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The submarine is controlled via the touch screen. One gauge measures speed, while the another one measures depth, and a wheel in between controls ascent/descent. You can only adjust one of them at a time, so you need to keep that in mind when you're on a collision course with a reef.

Steel Diver

While the game is as far from a sim as you can imagine, but it still keeps the slow and thoughtful pace we normally associate with submarines. It takes a while to accelerate and decelerate, and every collision your suffer does damage to your fragile sub. Therefore you need to be patient and make small and careful adjustments. You won't survive long if you charge full steam ahead, at least not until you've laid waste to your prey with a volley of torpedoes.

If you suffer hull damage and your ship takes on water you will be able to save your sub from sinking by holding your stylus steady on the leaks to stop the water. The game is full of that distinct Nintendo charm and it's a unique approach to the dangerous world of submarines.

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Steel Diver

The underwater environments really come to life when you turn on the 3D effects of the 3DS. The machine turns into a virtual deep sea aquarium, and your little sub chugs along an underwater landscape of sunken galleons, narrow tunnels and lush plants. The 3DS lets you see far into the background, far beyond the physical limitations of the screen.

I was completely immersed into my experience as a submarine captain, I was cursing like Captain Haddock as I took a hit or scraped the bottom of the ocean. "Ten thousand thundering typhoons!" So when the friendly, but insistent, Nintendo rep tapped my shoulder as my time was up I felt a bit embarrassed.

Steel Diver

The tiny submarine and the beautiful underwater world had me completely captivated and I'm curious to find whether the full game will be just as immersive. Steel Diver may be one of the titles that drifts silently by and avoids the attention of most gamers as it isn't full of Nintendo's popular, loud and colourful mascots, and that would be a shame.

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