xtreme_phoenix
04-09-2009, 06:38 PM
I was so psyched about SC vehicle battle tournament that I decided to post this review to help people who haven't played get aquainted with the first game.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n94/Xtreme_phoenix/684118.jpg
From the opening, you might assume that Steambot is your standard JRPG. You take the roll of Vanilla R. Beans, a spiky haired youth who washes up on the beach with amnesia and is awakened by a beautiful girl. Yes, it seems that our hero suffers from almost every JRPG protagonist cliche there is, and the first town you visit being decimated by bandits just an hour in doesn't exactly serve to dissuade that first impression. Stick with it for a few hours, however, and you'll find the the whole thing evolves into a title that's much more unique and whimsical than the intro would suggest. You meet a diverse, endearing cast of characters, from a crazy old doctor to the single gayest fight promoter in history, and follow a quest that turns out to be a lot more personal, and a lot more real, than your typical "spunky teenagers save the world" plot. Who Vanilla is and how the rest of the world reacts to him is entirely up to you, and the game gives you dialogue choices in every conversation that let you shape his personality. Even more than Bioware's titles, this game really lets you decide who you want to be, and some of the later decisions you make will seriously alter the plot. The game also has a number of side plots that open up, as is typical in a sandbox game, and while the main quest will only take you around 20 hours to complete if you rush through, if you do you're missing the whole point of the game. One of the side-plots in particular tugs at your heartstrings by revealing an essential detail that was tastefully left out of the main plot line. I don't want to spoil it for you, but take my word for it that you are going to have to do some detective work to find out the truth behind an event that all of the other characters would much rather forget.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n94/Xtreme_phoenix/steambot013.jpg
Right from the outset you are given a multitude of dialogue choices.
If you had played the tutorial, which takes the form of a dominatrix pirate putting a pudgy little white kid through his paces, you would know from the outset that the game is anything but cliched. I seriously recommend going through the tutorial, partly because it provides a smidgen of backstory as to why Vanilla finds himself washed up on the beach, but mostly because it let's you get acquainted with the less than intuitive Virtual On style controls. Yes, the game is not what you would call pick up and play. It uses a more intricate control system for giant robot piloting than most will be used to, but once you get the hang of it, it grants you much more control over your steampunk mech than you would have with a single control stick. The combat is really fun, especially the showdowns with the massive bosses, and after you master the controls, you'll have a blast battling it out in real time with the likes of the Killer Elephants and Dudley the bully. Of course, this being an open world game, there are plenty of things other than fighting to keep you occupied, from a full featured pool simulator to a deep stock market that you can invest in and manipulate to make it big. Of course, one of the biggest minigames featured is the rhythm game, which sees you jamming out to six different tunes on nine different instruments. The instruments range between fun to play (violin, harmonica) and painfully unintuitive (piano, accordion), and the accompanying music is mostly average (except for one or two standout songs and one really terrible one), but considering that this is just a small part of a very large game, it's forgivable.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n94/Xtreme_phoenix/steambot_0000.jpg
Shadow of the colossus ain't got nothing on the Killer Elephants.
While the quality of the music minigame's songs wavers (due mostly to them being ported over in all their original engrish glory), the rest of the game has very nice tunes, which range from upbeat town music to epic boss battle music. The sound effects are also really good, with the hulking Trotmobiles (the game's giant robots) sounding suitably massive and the little things in the world, from birds in the trees to cars honking at you as you run in front of them, sounding like their real life counterparts. The voice acting in the game is also top notch, and even the most japanophilic of players won't miss the original audio too much, thanks in part to the characteristically wonderful localization from Atlus.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n94/Xtreme_phoenix/s28152_ps2_16.jpg
From jamming with the band to busking on street corners, music plays an important part in steambot's plot and gameplay.
The game looks, to be frank, very Japanese. Depending on your tolerance for the manga look, the stylized graphics allow the game to transcend the limitations of last gen hardware. The game employs cel shading to great effect, with a much more understated colour scheme than, say, Jet Grind Radio, giving it the look similar to that of a Hayao Miyazaki film. Of course, it does chug when the on-screen action gets heavy, and there are some textures that are a little too blurry for my tastes, but overall the game's graphics are attractive enough that they won't repulse you with last gen blockyness.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n94/Xtreme_phoenix/steambot_chronicles_screen_37.jpg
The graphics won't blow you away, but you'll find yourself getting lost in the immersive world nonetheless (and no, Vanilla didn't steal the bike.)
Bottom Line: If you're looking for a sandbox game that doesn't go out of its way to offend, and that offers huge quantities of gameplay, particularly one set in an immersive steampunk universe, you could do a hell of a lot worse than Steambot Chronicles.
Verdict: Buy it. If you see this game used, snap it up. Considering that it's an Atlus title, it's going to get harder to find with each passing day, and really, you're missing out on an amazing experience every day you go without.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n94/Xtreme_phoenix/684118.jpg
From the opening, you might assume that Steambot is your standard JRPG. You take the roll of Vanilla R. Beans, a spiky haired youth who washes up on the beach with amnesia and is awakened by a beautiful girl. Yes, it seems that our hero suffers from almost every JRPG protagonist cliche there is, and the first town you visit being decimated by bandits just an hour in doesn't exactly serve to dissuade that first impression. Stick with it for a few hours, however, and you'll find the the whole thing evolves into a title that's much more unique and whimsical than the intro would suggest. You meet a diverse, endearing cast of characters, from a crazy old doctor to the single gayest fight promoter in history, and follow a quest that turns out to be a lot more personal, and a lot more real, than your typical "spunky teenagers save the world" plot. Who Vanilla is and how the rest of the world reacts to him is entirely up to you, and the game gives you dialogue choices in every conversation that let you shape his personality. Even more than Bioware's titles, this game really lets you decide who you want to be, and some of the later decisions you make will seriously alter the plot. The game also has a number of side plots that open up, as is typical in a sandbox game, and while the main quest will only take you around 20 hours to complete if you rush through, if you do you're missing the whole point of the game. One of the side-plots in particular tugs at your heartstrings by revealing an essential detail that was tastefully left out of the main plot line. I don't want to spoil it for you, but take my word for it that you are going to have to do some detective work to find out the truth behind an event that all of the other characters would much rather forget.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n94/Xtreme_phoenix/steambot013.jpg
Right from the outset you are given a multitude of dialogue choices.
If you had played the tutorial, which takes the form of a dominatrix pirate putting a pudgy little white kid through his paces, you would know from the outset that the game is anything but cliched. I seriously recommend going through the tutorial, partly because it provides a smidgen of backstory as to why Vanilla finds himself washed up on the beach, but mostly because it let's you get acquainted with the less than intuitive Virtual On style controls. Yes, the game is not what you would call pick up and play. It uses a more intricate control system for giant robot piloting than most will be used to, but once you get the hang of it, it grants you much more control over your steampunk mech than you would have with a single control stick. The combat is really fun, especially the showdowns with the massive bosses, and after you master the controls, you'll have a blast battling it out in real time with the likes of the Killer Elephants and Dudley the bully. Of course, this being an open world game, there are plenty of things other than fighting to keep you occupied, from a full featured pool simulator to a deep stock market that you can invest in and manipulate to make it big. Of course, one of the biggest minigames featured is the rhythm game, which sees you jamming out to six different tunes on nine different instruments. The instruments range between fun to play (violin, harmonica) and painfully unintuitive (piano, accordion), and the accompanying music is mostly average (except for one or two standout songs and one really terrible one), but considering that this is just a small part of a very large game, it's forgivable.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n94/Xtreme_phoenix/steambot_0000.jpg
Shadow of the colossus ain't got nothing on the Killer Elephants.
While the quality of the music minigame's songs wavers (due mostly to them being ported over in all their original engrish glory), the rest of the game has very nice tunes, which range from upbeat town music to epic boss battle music. The sound effects are also really good, with the hulking Trotmobiles (the game's giant robots) sounding suitably massive and the little things in the world, from birds in the trees to cars honking at you as you run in front of them, sounding like their real life counterparts. The voice acting in the game is also top notch, and even the most japanophilic of players won't miss the original audio too much, thanks in part to the characteristically wonderful localization from Atlus.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n94/Xtreme_phoenix/s28152_ps2_16.jpg
From jamming with the band to busking on street corners, music plays an important part in steambot's plot and gameplay.
The game looks, to be frank, very Japanese. Depending on your tolerance for the manga look, the stylized graphics allow the game to transcend the limitations of last gen hardware. The game employs cel shading to great effect, with a much more understated colour scheme than, say, Jet Grind Radio, giving it the look similar to that of a Hayao Miyazaki film. Of course, it does chug when the on-screen action gets heavy, and there are some textures that are a little too blurry for my tastes, but overall the game's graphics are attractive enough that they won't repulse you with last gen blockyness.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n94/Xtreme_phoenix/steambot_chronicles_screen_37.jpg
The graphics won't blow you away, but you'll find yourself getting lost in the immersive world nonetheless (and no, Vanilla didn't steal the bike.)
Bottom Line: If you're looking for a sandbox game that doesn't go out of its way to offend, and that offers huge quantities of gameplay, particularly one set in an immersive steampunk universe, you could do a hell of a lot worse than Steambot Chronicles.
Verdict: Buy it. If you see this game used, snap it up. Considering that it's an Atlus title, it's going to get harder to find with each passing day, and really, you're missing out on an amazing experience every day you go without.