Developer: ProjectorGames
Publisher: KISS ltd
Platforms: Xbox 360, PC
Tested on: PC
Steam Heroes – Review
Steam Heroes, developed by ProjectorGames – the same creators behind Ampu-Tea, uses the classic Match-3 gameplay mechanics that we all know best thanks to Bejeweled. The classic gameplay is upped with some ‘unique’ boss mechanics which you are fighting with your three heroes, who have their own unique abilities. While the general concept is good, the execution of it is not as we had hoped.
Story
Steam Land is under siege by an overlord, the diabolical Baron Von Smog, who is havocking the peaceful lands. Three adventures travel the lands and find themselves aiding the people of Steam Land by going after the Baron. Before facing the Baron himself, you’ll need to face several of his minions as well as characters that attack you out of fear that you are aiding Smog.
While Steam Heroes is a Match-3 type of game, it does have a story mode which is fairly surprising. However, the story is fairly short as the story mode in the game is used as a tutorial which is a shame. The story is certainly not the greatest but it does have more potential.
Graphics
The visuals in Steam Heroes are fine but they are certainly not the best ones. Each boss has their own unique backdrop which always a positive feature since change of scenery is great in any kind of game. However, because each boss also has their own ‘unique’ mechanics, there are far too many effects going on during the ‘fights’ for you to truly notice the backdrops and the details they may entail. The menu UI on the other hand is simply terrible and could have been more creative and cleaner.
Sound
The sound design in Steam Heroes is something you’ll either love or hate. I found myself somewhere in the middle mainly because the sound design is lost when you are ‘fighting’. The sounds of the bosses is far too loud for you to be able to hear the actual sound which is an instrumental loop. The ‘clinging’ and ‘clanging’ sounds will disturb you in the end and you’ll resort to turning down the music rather fast because of this. Surprisingly enough, the voice-acting is quite fine.
Gameplay
The gameplay is fairly simple. Anyone who has played Bejeweled before will understand the core Match-3 mechanic: match three colors or icons by switching two adjunct ones either horizontally or vertically. Steam Heroes tries to up the ‘difficulty’ of this mechanic by adding three kinds of steam which your heroes need. Max uses blue steam to keep his steam cannon powered up, Pearl uses yellow steam to keep the heroes in tip-top shape and Harrison uses red steam to keep his steam pressure up which reduces the damage the heroes will take from enemies. So our three heroes can be divided into classes: Max is blue and a DPS, Pearl is yellow and a healer and Harrison is the fierce red tank. Each hero has their own bar and once that is filled up, you can use super steam to perform bigger spells. Max can do a super steam blast, Pearl can do a super repair aura and Harrison can super armor guard the entire team. Additionally, there are green flasks and white bombs in the grid which tend to be fairly useful as well, especially the bombs. The goal is to keep your heroes alive while you deplete the health bar of the bosses – easy peasy.
There is not much to say about the controls in the game or the lack thereof. Spacebar is used, both in the menu and the game itself, to enter a mode or ‘skip’ dialogues while B is used to go ‘back’. You’ll be using 1, 2 and 3 a few times during fights since they are used to activate your heroes’ super steam abilities. Other than that, your mouse will be your best friend throughout the entire game.
You’ll need to complete the story mode, which acts as a tutorial in the game, in order to unlock the steam hero mode. There is a catch in story mode however: you cannot save the game. If you decide to close down the game before reaching the Baron, you’ll be forced to start from the very beginning. A fairly annoying downside to the game, especially since you need to complete the story mode in order to unlock the bosses in steam hero mode.
The steam hero mode is a mode where you will be killing the exact same bosses as before, except this time you’ll be doing it as fast as possible since this mode is your ‘highscore mode’. There is an additional boss to be unlocked in this mode, on top of the eleven others from before but let’s not spoil everything.
Conclusion
Steam Heroes has the potential to become a better game than Bejeweled but has failed miserably. The concept is there, the execution simply isn’t. Steam Heroes is not a casual game due to the overly usage of effects but it is a good game to keep your kids quiet for a short period of time.
Steam Heroes - Review,
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