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If there's one thing the DS is perfect for, it's strategy games. Real-time or otherwise, the dual-screen, stylus-controlled setup is much more ideal for commanding troops than wrestling with a console controller, and just begs to be host to countless brutal skirmishes. Now that we're seeing more games of this ilk popping up on Nintendo's portable cash machine, Konami, ever wise to the system's potential, has released Steel Horizon, a turn-based WWII strategy title that takes the fight to the seas with devious naval war combat.
Though it may seem strange to say about a somewhat involved strategy game, the first thing you'll want to do when you pop this sucker in is avoid the extensive tutorial, which prepares you in individual sessions for pretty much every aspect of the game. After finishing this monster course, you'll feel like you've already clocked in enough time to warrant a few more stripes on your uniform– that is, until you start the real game and realize that they're essentially using the first few missions to teach you everything you just spent far too long soaking in during training.
It's not very uplifting to see a boring, soulless release like this come from one of the game industry's top dog companies, but there's just too much goodness on the DS – past, present and future– to spend any time on something like Steel Horizon.
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Nevertheless, you need to suck it up and champion on into the campaign proper, a plodding story that has you filling the role of a Captain entrusted with the charge of a cutting edge fleet ready to sink the Axis for good. The premise, at least for those of you that haven't played an absurdly huge pile of war-related games at this point, is a promising one. Taking turns with the computer or– in the case of the multiplayer– one of your buddies, you command fleets of vessels that you can mix and match for the best possible strategy. This grouping aspect, more than anything else you do, can be crucial to your victory against the enemy. In addition to setting up fleet-on-fleet action on the grid-based map, you also need to concentrate on protecting your flagship, stealing enemy ports, removing mines from the playfield, and so on.
Ideally, the setup to each battle would be followed by some engaging action, or at least a nice, visual display of the results, like those in Advance Wars. Instead, you're thrust into a terrifying, three-dimensional prison from which you'll never mentally escape. The top screen displays an ultimately confounding engagement; ships circle one another and there are explosions, but beyond that it's hard to tell what's going on. The bottom screen begs for your input, laying out the event via a slightly more manageable radar. Through this interface, you can move your ships, choose their targets, and fire off a special attack that's unique to each class of vessel. Instead of really thinking about it, the 60-second time limit demands nothing short of aggravated button pounding.
This isn't frustrating because it's difficult. It's frustrating because the design choice is so inherently backwards that it's unbelievable. Whatever fun there was to be had on the main grid is dashed by these "real-time" segments; there's nothing there to compel the player to progress to the next mission. Even those that can get past these major grievances, and stick it out for the long haul, will likely be asleep at the wheel within moments. It's not very uplifting to see a boring, soulless release like this come from one of the game industry's top dog companies, but there's just too much goodness on the DS – past, present and future– to spend any time on something like Steel Horizon.
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