Fighting Steel

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Most of you gamers are familiar with the "release now/patch later" controversy because you have experienced it firsthand. You buy a game and bring it home assuming that since you just completed your end of the bargain, plunking down 50 bucks at your local software store, the designers would deliver on their end. That is, giving you an enjoyable and reliable product. Well my friends, SSI has released their latest war game, the World War II naval game Fighting Steel, and I am sorry to say that there are bugs galore. Because I know that there are many gamers who will be spending their hard-earned money on this buggy piece of software, I should be fuming! Right? Well, I am, but I am also happy to report that if you have a deep interest in the subject matter (and I do mean ONLY if you have a deep interest) Fighting Steel may be worth your money, bugs and all.

It must first be said that the manual is excellent. After my last review of a naval war game, Fleet Command, which had an abysmal excuse for documentation, I was praying that I would not have to once again rely on tutorials and fan sites to learn how to play properly. Don’t get me wrong, I loved Fleet Command’s in-game tutorials, but I also like to have the option to learn about the game away from my computer. The 123 page manual covers every aspect of the game with extreme clarity, and contains full data tables for every vessel and weapon. But chances are you may not need to read more than the first few pages. This is because they complement two excellent in-game tutorials that will have players of any skill level sinking the Bismarck in no time.

So much to replay, so little time…

Fighting Steel’s strongpoint is definitely the replay value. While there are only 12 historical scenarios to choose from, which include Guadalcanal and other important World War II naval conflicts, you can generate battles on the fly, customizing everything from nations to fleet size to time of day and weather conditions. There are also two types of campaigns to choose from, historical or fantasy. Historical campaigns pit the United States Navy versus the Imperial Japanese Navy, and the Royal Navy versus the Kreigsmarine. Or you can choose to spice things up a little and have the British fight the United States. If you feel like getting creative, you can also make your own scenarios with the included Scenario Editor.

How much depth (pun intended) is there to this game?

Grognards will be happy to know that this game is a tactician’s dream. It is in real time, so you have to constantly make decisions. No stopping to take a breath before you hit the End Turn button. Sure, there is a pause feature, during which you can allocate commands, but even the tutorial states that the designers look at this as cheating. In other words, if you can’t take the heat, get out of the water. Fortunately there is a nice, clean interface. At first I thought it was a little confusing, but after a few play sessions everything becomes second nature.

First off, there are two ways to play. You can give all your orders from the 3D view, in which you can see all the action (I’ll be getting back to this), or you can opt for an overhead map view, in which all vessels are represented by icons. Either way, there is a side panel that, in the 3D view controls the camera, and in the map view lets you zoom in and out and decide what will be displayed. For instance you can choose to display your ships courses, track both your own and the enemy’s fire, or track the course of your fired torpedoes. In the 3D view you can move the camera around using the keyboard, look "through" your vessels to track the enemy, or get a top down perspective.

You will be spending the most time, however, with the panel at the bottom of the screen. It is from here that you select your divisions (groups of vessels), and tell them what to do. There are three primary features you have to keep up with. These are deck guns, torpedoes, and ship movement. You can choose from a nice selection of firing options, including Threat and Range targeting, or manually target specific enemy ships. When you fire multiple torpedoes you can select how far apart they will be spaced, closer if you want to decimate a single target, or farther apart if you are trying to sink multiple ships. When you need to navigate you can set your course with the compass in the 3D view, after which arrows appear in front of your lead ship indicating where it will be heading. Or, as I prefer, use the overhead map view to have the computer automatically set the fastest route to a destination you choose. You can also use searchlights and starshells during night missions in order to make the enemy easier to hit. But be cautious, because you will also give away your position, and the game’s AI, which I found to be quite good, will take advantage.

All of these features add up to create a convincing and challenging game…

So what’s the problem?

Well, there are a few things. The first problem is the graphics. Now, I don’t consider myself to be hung up on graphic quality. I would certainly sacrifice some visuals in the sake of good gameplay…but what year is this? Fighting Steel’s graphics would have been impressive in 1997, but they just don’t cut it today. Thankfully, I find the overhead map view easier to use, so I only spend about half my time in the 3D view. Despite their less than stellar quality, the graphics do succeed in immersing you further into the game, especially when you watch an enemy ship sink as smoke billows from it.

Another problem is the voice acting. While playing, a voice actor will update you on some events such as when an enemy or friendly ship is sunk. The fact is, they just do not sound serious enough. Sort of like the guy who kept you up to date on the battles in Lucasart’s Star Wars Rebellion. It may be fine in a world of science fiction, but not in a serious combat game. The sound effects fare much better, with nice booming echoes as your guns fire and shattering explosions as ships are hit.

Lastly, there is the issue of the bugs. This game is full of them, which makes it play more like a Beta version than a finished game. And many are not little quirks you hardly notice. These are big bugs that will completely lock up the game or send you crashing to the desktop. Sometimes when trying to play a scenario I found myself spending more time looking at my Star Wars wallpaper than the actual game. The solution? If you simply refuse to pay for a buggy game you may want to pass, or you can wait for the inevitable patch, but in the mean time save early and often, and pick a nice picture for your wallpaper… chances are you’ll be seeing it a lot.