The Steel Empire

Written by Tom Clare in MegaDrive Game Reviews, Tuesday 18 September, 2007

Released: 1992
Developer: Hot B
Publisher: Flying Edge
Genre: 2D shoot 'em up
Platform: Mega-Drive
Region: US

At a glance, The Steel Empire may not look any different to a hundred other early nineties shoot 'em ups. To the untrained eye, it's routine, by-the-numbers and doesn't stand out. Invest some time in it though, and you'll be rewarded a little more with each play and despite the shortcomings that deny it classic status, it is one of those rare gaming anomalies that you'll appreciate for the sheer beauty of its craft.

Released in 1992 by Flying Edge (a part of the now-sadly defunct Acclaim), The Steel Empire (or Empire Of Steel in Europe) is a horizontally scrolling shoot 'em up complete with the usual cliched story about how you are the last defender of your nation (in this case, the Republic of Silverhead) as you single-handedly take on the collective might of the Motorhead empire.

TSE's graphics are pretty impressive, but it's the unique artistry of the game that really makes it stand out. Rather than opting for the usual space-crafts and laser-beams setup, its influences lie firmly in 'steampunk' - a trend recently resurrected in the 2004 film Steamboy and a recurrent theme in the animes of Hayao Miyazaki. And that means a curious retro-future; there is still a lot of shooting, power-ups and bombs, but it features zeppelins and airships instead of space-shuttles and mother ships, and takes place (mainly) in rural and industrial Earth-like settings.

Predictably, this makes for a markedly slower and less flashy isometric shooter than many will be accustomed to, but to this day, few are as perfectly playable. The controls are just about flawless and, along with the unusual presentation and superlative level-design, make TSE a joy to play. Whilst the eccentrically-designed enemy crafts tend to offer little unusual in the way of attack patterns (aside from the odd pincer attack), the overall movement and feel of your own craft is totally convincing. It has a gentle learning curve and with high-score possibilities galore from the get-go, you'll be quickly engrossed.

Though perhaps a little too frequent towards the end, the boss battles are awesome and provide a brilliant showcase of the games strengths - some foes are nothing short of epic in scale; a couple of airships are so big that barely half of one can fit on to the screen at one time, and they aren't just for show - they have a wide range of attacks that include gun-turrets, cannons and homing rockets and in many cases, these devious defence mechanisms must be defeated in order so as to dismember the behemoths one step at a time. Impressively, there are also extensive visual damage parameters as you can see your foes in their various states of destruction. Success is as much about where you place your ship as what you shoot at - the framing of the action never stays still, so you must identify the safe pockets of screen you have to squeeze your ship into and find ways to attack the enemy's weak points.

Another nifty addition the boss battles bring to the fore is the ability to fire forwards and backwards (or right and left as it is on the screen), adding an extra tactical element as enemies occasionally attack from behind. Multidirectional firing allows the player greater freedom of movement, as in many similar titles, one-dimensional firing has prevented sneaking around the back of enemies, but The Steel Empire makes good use of this without overdoing it. The 'A' button holds the now-customary 'get out of jail free' bomb in the form of a giant lightning storm, and is best saved for precarious situations - though it is wise not to rely on it too heavily as it's hardly the most powerful in shoot 'em up history.

Though you can't unearth new weapons, there's a range of power-ups you can collect to help things along, with effects ranging from the entirely uniform health aids, point bonuses and extra lives to more useful kit such as additional ships firing alongside you, and experience points that can increase the power of your ships gun up to twenty times.

There are seven large levels to tackle in all. The early ones are the best, as though the settings of the later levels become ever more futuristic and advanced, you start to see the recycled use of earlier bosses, forcing you in effect to 're-run the gauntlet' - the fact that they are a different colour is hardly a convincing way of covering this lazy tactic either! The opening levels revel in their industrial splendour; you pass by damaged cityscapes that are home to more than a hint of exuberant architecture - they could have been something Isaac Asimov had dreamt up. Later in the same level, flying your zeppelin over a mountain railroad feels like a scene ripped straight out of Laputa: Castle In the Sky. Then there's the suitably claustrophobic mine section; with an excessively murky, grimy-looking interior and the added danger of giant boulders crashing down on your craft at intervals. The passage of play most likely to live long in the memory however is the mad dash you must undertake as the mine collapses, seeing you having to jackknife your craft through almost impossibly-small tunnels at break-neck speeds - you barely have time to blink.

Visually it is superior to the majority of its competitors of the time; the backgrounds are diverse and detailed, and the scrolling is smooth, though the game is susceptible to noticeable quantities of slow-down when the action heats up (ironically, this makes evading hazards easier). The use of colour is at times slightly drab and the enemy crafts are nothing to write home about in themselves, though it does have those enormous bosses to fall back on. Also worth a mention are the FMV sequences, which appear before each level as a way of helping the story along with a quick briefing. Their flickering, monochrome appearance is a beautiful and very distinctive effect, and further evidence of how excellent the games presentation was for its time.

As with the gameplay itself, the best of the music is to be heard in the first half of the game. The title song is likeably chirpy, whilst the music on the opening level is highly atmospheric - at once inspiring and ominous, it hints at the battles that lie in wait; you couldn't ask for a stronger start. And to be fair, whilst the latter levels can't maintain the same dizzying levels of audio-excellence, the tunes do at least remain of a notable good quality. The explosion, firing and icon collecting sound effects are extremely crisp, clear and sprightly too.

You are given the choice of two different crafts - not just at the beginning of the game, but before each new level; the nimble-but-vulnerable Striker plane, or the bigger, slower, yet more heavily-armoured Zeppelin - both control really well, and are both useful in varying circumstances thanks to their differing attributes. What makes The Steel Empire preferable to its competition from the point of view of a less-serious gamer, is that your craft can withstand several hits before you lose a life, and fortunately, when you do get destroyed, you are not removed from the action and placed back at the beginning of the level as in the case of many of the games competitors (Gynoug, Gaiares and Zero Wing to name but a few), instead simply respawning where you were shot down. By removing the one-hit-and-you're-out train of thought, the game is significantly less frustrating...

...But at the same time, a lot less of a challenge. The Steel Empire's only real failing is that, for many, it is too easy to complete - most players will finish it second or third time through on the Easy skill setting. The seven levels are relatively lengthy for a scrolling shoot 'em up and it will require around an hour or so to complete, with the Medium and Hard settings providing a rather sterner challenge for those who wish to master the game beyond completion. Enemies require far more firepower to dispatch on the higher skill settings and as a result, certain sections are significantly tougher. It's fair to say the longevity isn't the games strongest suit though, and matters aren't helped by the lack of a two-player option.

Still, this doesn't diminish the amount of fun it offers and The Steel Empire is a worthy addition to any Mega-Drive collection. It may not have the bells and whistles of some of its space-based counterparts, but its forgiving nature and slow pace make for a welcome departure from the norm, plus its remarkable low-tech stylings make it almost inimitable as a video-game. Seasoned gamers may find it a touch on the easy side, but for everyone else, excellent-design, first-rate gameplay and three difficulty settings should be enough for it to warrant attention - especially as it's going for £1-2 these days on eBay, with the 2005 GBA remake also available at a rather less wallet-friendly £15-20.

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