Steel Empire was a 2-D shooter on the SEGA Genesis.  The unique thing about it was the premise, as all the flying vehicles were blimps and steam powered machines.  Kind of a Jules Verne steampunk vibe.  It got remade on the Game Boy Advance and then again on the 3DS.  And now it gets another remake on the Switch (reviewed here) and coming soon to the PS4.

Play control is pretty standard stuff.  Move with the analog stick and fire with the left and right face buttons.  You can fire forward and backward, so it reminds me a bit of Side Arms.  You also have a limited number of screen clearing bombs.  You can choose from a faster airplane or a slower yet stronger blimp to play as.  You can choose from three difficulty settings, and the easiest one even I could do.  You get a health meter and when it’s depleted you’ll lose a life, and lose them all and it’s Game Over.  Grab power ups to increase your firepower, speed, and health meter.  There are over half a dozen stages to complete.  Aside from the setting, there isn’t really anything that special about this shooter, but it’s a pretty decent remake for what it is.

Kid Factor:

The Legend of Steel Empire is rated E-10 with an ESRB descriptor of Fantasy Violence.  You shoot down blimps and other fantasy vehicles that explode when defeated and that’s it.  Reading skill is helpful for some of the text, but not necessary just to play.  The selectable difficulty levels mean that players of all skills should be able to enjoy this.

Tags: Game Reviews