Steam Wars

Modern technology lacks something of a wow factor. It’s all very stylish and (mostly) efficient, but its creators seem to have placed compactness and quiet functionality as primary attributes.

People in the 19th century had far grander ambitions. Great big iron leviathans roamed the earth, their engines belching steam and containing cogs the size of Taiwan.

Like many sci-fi writers from the 1980s onwards, the makers of Steam Wars think it far cooler to power their hi-tech robots with decidedly low-tech steam power. Set across a series of compact planetoids, the game challenges you to take your little chugging automaton and unleash hell on your opponent.

The whole steam-powered angle is there for more than mere aesthetics: it dictates how far you can move and which weapons you can employ based on your remaining steam levels. More fundamentally, though, it justifies the fact that you must take turns opposite your rival to act.

This is essentially a one-on-one, three-dimensional Worms, with steam powered robots in place of smack-talking invertebrates.

Your first task in any round is to manoeuvre into an advantageous position. You do this by manipulating a dial in the bottom-right corner of the screen to rotate your tin can, then selecting the move command and hitting the 'action' button.

While in motion, your steam gauge ticks down towards zero, at which point you can move no further and it’s time to take a shot.

If you have enough steam left over, you might be able to unleash a powerful weapon such as a missile or a satellite. If not, it’s down to the trusty, low maintenance cannon to do your destructive bidding.

After lining your shot up (it’s the same as steering), you must select your weapon from the menu on the left and hold the action button until the power gauge reaches the desired point, then release. Again, very much like Worms.

Unfortunately, the aforementioned aiming system, while fine for movement, is unsuited to combat. It becomes noticeable when you’re taking a shot over moderate to long range, when fine tuning is needed. The dial is far too sensitive for its own good, consistently moving out of alignment in the process of removing your thumb from the screen.

The planetoid arenas - reminiscent of Star Defense - are as attractive as they are functional, allowing you to drag on the screen to spin them (or your viewpoint) around. Each offers unique obstacles from mines and spinning fans to helpful pillars that can be utilised for cover.

Each planetoid also has its own radius and gravity level, which plays a major part when it comes to judging the power of your shot. The globular nature of the arenas puts extra importance on taking this into account, as any overshoot could lead to your missile orbiting the planet and smacking you in the back of the head.

While the planetoids bring an interesting slant to the standard 2D Worms/Star Hogs formula, they prove restrictive in other ways. Despite each stage varying in gravity and appearance, they remain fundamentally similar. One finely rendered planetoid is much like the next.

In contrast, the less technically impressive 2D arenas of Worms allow for a great variety of battlefield possibilities, throwing up tough-to-reach cul-de-sacs and awkward peaks.

This lack of longevity is emphasised by the game's bare bones structure. There’s no real story or campaign. You just win as many rounds in a row as possible, accruing enough points to unlock the next planetoid or a new robot to control.

There’s not even the saving grace of multiplayer, which is nigh on unforgiveable in a game of this type.

Thin structure and niggling control issues are a disappointment when stacked up against considerable successes. Steam Wars is a refreshing and attractive take on turn-based battling, making several meaningful advances in the field.

Unfortunately it runs out of steam far too quickly, ultimately resembling a flawed prototype for a far more accomplished game.