Steel Horizon Review - DS

There are some good strategy games on the Nintendo DS—anything with the words “Advance” and “War,” for instance should be enough to get any strategy fan jumping for joy. Konami’s Steel Horizons, however, is not one of them. A disjointed WWII naval-based game for those with lots of free time on their hands, this is an overly long and unrefined tactical mess.

Dive! Dive!

Unlike most strategy games from Japan, the game actually uses real countries instead of country Red and Blue. In this case, the game includes the US, Germany, and Japan, with missions in both the Atlantic and the Pacific. The story line is surprisingly complex, with plenty of reasonably fleshed-out characters to move the pre-mission narrative along, and provide commentary during specific portions of an on-going mission. While the plot is the most interesting aspect of the game, it also makes the missions seem longer because of the need to explain things.

War is… slow

Pacing is one of the biggest problems in Steel Horizons. There are twenty missions, and each can take upwards of an hour to complete. This would be great if the bulk of the gameplay actually felt meaningful. Unfortunately, too much of it is just turn-based fleet maneuvers, waiting for something interesting to happen. The mission maps aren’t huge, but constantly searching for the enemy, looking for shipyards to take control over, and then finally engaging the enemy just doesn’t manage to be compelling.

In particular, combat is almost broken, even though it looks good. You’ll see your units battle it out in a fully 3D seascape on the top screen, while the touch screen shows you radar and options. Despite the first-class visuals, combat is almost non-interactive. You have some vague ability to move ships, and tell them when to fire, but mostly you just watch the short battles play out with little to no real interaction. The lack of real control during combat creates a noticeable disconnect with the player.

You can acquire 14 different types of ships, in addition to your flagship, which is the only upgradeable unit in the game. Usually, you’ll use only a few of the ship types, and the rest seem almost extraneous. Specific missions will usually provide you with new fleet additions as well, which often just get in the way.

Naval Fuzz

All the elements for a deep, interesting naval simulation seem to be waiting in Steel Horizons. While it should be expected that a game like this would have ample cat-and-mouse elements, there’s too much redundant gameplay here. The missions feel boring and repetitive after a while, and the combat is a mess. While the story is solid, and the overall presentation of the game is pretty good, the floundering gameplay manages to sink the entire fleet. 

Article by: Jason D'Aprile
Video produced by: Michael Leffler