Title: Steambot Chronicles

Date: 06.17.2006

Genre: Sports

Platform: PlayStation 2

Developer: Atlus USA

Publisher: Atlus USA

Steambot Chronicles is a fun little game that isn't as fast-paced as a lot of games that are developed nowadays. Its the story of a boy (names Vanilla Beans...yeah, its kind of dumb, but that's the least of your worries) shipwrecked on a beach with no recollection of who he is or where he's come from--The perfect slate to set this game against (I'll get to all that in a moment).

Graphics
The graphics in this game are very tastefully done. The animation style is very pleasing, the models are constructed well, and everything looks very aesthetic. The steambots are drawn well and are believable in the context that the game world is set. Overall, the artwork is very pretty and helps to draw you into the game world, and just looking at some of the scenery is wonderful (try looking out from the lighthouse).

There is one drawback with the graphics and the programming that goes with it: The game is prone to dropping in frame-rate. While it’s not a drastic drop, it might be enough to irritate some people.

Sound & Music
This is big for me (being a musician myself, and part of the game being based around musicians), but while the audio tracks were done very well, the songs aren't really all that memorable ("See You Later" being the only song that stuck with me after I shut off the PS2). The BGM is just as generic, and some of the fight music doesn't fit a real battle all that well. The sound effects are done well, and all the instruments are done respectably.

Gameplay
The statement I made in the introduction comes into play now--the main character having amnesia gives you free reign on how you behave controlling Vanilla. A very good chunk of the game contains conversations that have some kind of choice to make. While some of these choices don't have a lot of impact on the game, some of them really do. Other than the simple "yes/no" stuff that crops up, you can choose to be the nice guy, play the jerk to lots of people, or even end up on the "bad" side of the fight with the choices that you make. Beyond that, you have plenty of things to do, like play pool, perform on street corners and with bands for cash, hunt for fossils, fight in arenas, and so on. Even after you go through the game once, you can go through again making different choices to see how the story changes, or pick up after you beat the game and just do whatever you want.

Controls
This is probably the biggest problem with the game. On foot, the controls work well, but when you're on a trot-mobile, its not as smooth. The controls on the trot-mobile work just like Katamari Damacy, with both analog sticks driving the machine. The problem here, though, is that the sticks only respond in 8 directions. It would've been a lot nicer had the controls function like a true analog stick (i.e. infinite directions), but the controls still respond well, even though direction is limited. The other problem with the controls comes in the same area--the trot-mobile. The shoulder buttons control the arms and their attacks, dash, and jump functions, the ability to "lock-on" to a target is functioned with the square button. Your hands are already full using your thumbs to guide it and your fingers to attack...While there are not really any battles where this will end up being a problem (battles aren't really fast-paced), its still somewhat inconvenient.

Replay Value
There's just so much to do. If you're following the story (like I did) the first time around, there's a lot of things that you'll miss doing. The fact that the game lets you pick up after the game's end and just free-roam lets you do whatever it is that you didn't before.

Besides that, its fun just to go through the game and play in a manner which you normally wouldn't (i.e. play the opposite "role" you played the first time).

OVERALL

It’s a fun game. There's a good story to go along with all of this that will keep you interested, although it might be a little short. There's so much to do even without staying with the story that you'll be busy for plenty of hours after you've finished the story. Its almost like Animal Crossing meets a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure book, and it makes for a pleasant, slower-paced game that most people will find some uniqueness or charm in.

Game Score

8.7

Reviewed By: Contributed