Looking at Steambot Chronicles from an artistic point of view, the game looks good, if a bit humble. The character designs are nice, as are the various trotmobiles. The latter is especially true once you delve into the various customization options that are available. At the same time, the backgrounds don’t quite live up to the characters and have a plain, bland look. Also, the game has a tendency to drop framerate at the most unlikely of times, causing any small graphical flaws to really stand out.

Atlus has always done a great job when it comes to voice acting, and Steambot Chronicles only reinforces that. There are a few rough patches when it comes to the delivery of some characters, but overall, the voice acting is good. Music proves to be one of the few really rough areas. Since you’re traveling with a band, there is a lot of music in the game, much of it with lyrics. While the melodies are decent, there are noticeable translation problems with the lyrics, so some songs sound off.

Steambot Chronicles opens with a young boy, Vanilla Bean, waking up on a beach unable to remember anything. He soon latches on to the only person around, a young girl named Coriander, who invites him to accompany her and her band on their next tour. Along the way, the two are caught up in a plot involving a group with not so nice plans for the world.

Steambot Chronicles is best described as a kinder, gentler Grand Theft Auto. Both offer open-ended worlds that you can explore on foot or by vehicle. But where Steambot Chronicles differs (aside from the lack of adult themes) is that nearly everything around you evolves based on what you’re doing – including the story. Pivotal story scenes are all told in a “Choose Your Own Adventure” style, giving you a variety of choices for how you would want to answer a particular question. Depending on which option you choose, characters will respond differently and cause the following events to play out just a little differently. These comments will also determine how the rest of the city sees you. If you’re a nice guy, you’ll have a nice-guy reputation. If you’re a jerk, everyone will let you know that.

Mechs, or Trotmobiles, are the main mode of transportation in the world and can be modified in any number of ways by visiting garages. Once in a garage, you can swap out parts and customize your trotmobile’s look as well as changing its functionality. You can attach a flatbed and start a transporting business or increase your passenger load and start a taxi business. You can even add combat modifications and enter the battle arena. The possibilities are nearly endless and assure that there is always something to do.

The number of things you can do extend beyond trotmobile modifications. If you’d like, you can become a street musician, play pool, or even decide to become the town Casanova. Or, if action is more your thing, you can venture into the world and battle bandits. As you complete tasks, you’ll earn new parts, outfits and licenses. It is hard to jump into Steambot Chronicles and not know what to do next. The only downside is that not all of the activities are as easy to get into. Some, especially the music ones, have awkward control mechanics that take some practice to really get into.

Steambot Chronicles is a pretty straightforward game and not all that hard. Most of the game’s challenges are related to controls, whether you’re trying to get a handle on playing a musical instrument or piloting your mech.

Controls issues are what really hamper Steambot Chronicles, especially when it comes to driving your trotmobile. The control mechanics are the same as most other tank games and use both analog sticks as well as the shoulder and face buttons. Just moving around is okay, though the response is sluggish and makes tight turns difficult. Even after a few hours of gameplay, I still struggled to make some of the simplest of turns.

Things really break down during combat. The layout is okay, except for targeting, which requires you to press the square button to lock-on and D-pad to toggle targets. Normally this wouldn’t be an issue, but doing so while trying to maneuver with both analog sticks isn’t the easiest of tasks. This becomes especially troublesome when you have to target specific areas.

Overall, Steambot Chronicles is a great game that simply lacks that last bit of polish to really make it stand out. There are so many activities to participate in, that there really is something for everyone in the game. If you can get past the control issues, Steambot Chronicles is worth a shot.