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> Results: Steambot Chronicles
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Imagine a world set at a time right around the Industrial Revolution at the turn of last century. But instead of riding around Model T's, everyone drives two legged mechs called Trotmobiles. In Steambot Chronicles for PlayStation 2, that's the game world you adventure within.
You play as Vanilla Beans, a young man who has lost his memory. Washed ashore on a beach and found by a young lady named Connie, you soon find an abandoned Trotmobile and the adventure begins. Controlling your Trotmobile with both analog sticks is easy and intuitive, and the cartoon graphics and themes make Steambot feel like a Miyazaki film (Howl's Moving Castle) come to life. Steambot Chronicles describes itself as a "relaxing, non-linear adventure," which is a pretty good description. While there is a storyline and set goals to follow, most of the way you spend your time as you choose. Be a good guy or a bad guy and select polite or rude responses for the people you meet and they react accordingly. Customize Vanilla's appearance and surroundings by equipping him with hats and outfits, and rent an apartment and decorate it with furniture. Repaint and design license plates for your vehicle, and "pimp your Trot" with weapons and armor for the arena battles, or make your Trotmobile more useful by delivering goods and people from town to town, digging for fossils, or fighting for justice. You can even join Connie's band and play several different musical instruments, or play on a street corner for cash. A free-roaming adventure in such an imaginative world makes Steambot Chronicles an entertaining and immersive game.  
Even though you battle with other Trotmobiles in arenas and out on the fields, violence is minimal. After the defeated Trotmobile explodes, you clearly see the driver hop out and run away. The only time you see anyone die in the game is at the end. The main bad guy gets shot. According to the publishers at Atlus USA, a small red cloud of blood comes out when he gets shot, but I didn't see anything myself. I must have blinked.
The towns you walk around on foot have all sorts of businesses and services. There are churches in the towns but they don't practice any particular religion. People in bars and taverns drink and talk about liquor, but you can't buy or drink any yourself. At night you can sometimes see women walking around that look like they may be ﾑladies of the night,' but the worst they say to you when you speak to them is "Talk to me when you get older." Vanilla can ﾑdate' one of the women in the band in the game, but all you do there is give her presents and invite her over to your apartment if you have one. When she comes to your apartment, all you do is talk to her, give her more presents, or rehearse your band music together. While most of the game has spoken voice, strong reading skill is still required. Thanks to a well-written script by the localization team at Atlus USA, any crude humor or suggestive themes mentioned in the game are handled as maturely and subtly as possible, and mild language is used sparingly. Steambot Chronicles gives players a choice to be a good guy or a bad guy through responses made to people in the game. If you are a bad guy, you sometimes have to fight police Trotmobiles. However, just like in real life, the game rewards you for being a good guy and penalizes you for being bad. If you choose to be bad, you can't change Vanilla's outfits or appearance, you can't play in the band, townspeople won't speak to you or trust you, and certain side quests become unavailable. Steambot Chronicles provides more to do if you play as the hero. The game earns its solid T for Teen rating, but because the overall tone of the game is friendly and good natured (even the bad guys are genial), I would be OK with a preteen or younger playing this game. It really is a charming and imaginative adventure. This review edited by Dave Long Comments? Chat about it in our forums! Format For Printing | Tell A Friend | Digg | Slashdot | del.icio.us | Buy This Game Browse Amazon.com's selection of "steambot" themed games Home > Review Archive > Video Games > Results: Steambot Chronicles |
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