Developer: Intelligent Systems
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Strategy / Tactics
Players: 1 (2 players local/online)
Console: 3DS
Progress: Completed single-player campaign
Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. is one of those games that come along once in a while that makes me wonder what kind of magic mushrooms Nintendo developers have been into lately. It’s hard to explain the level of uncanny that’s going on in S.T.E.A.M., but the combination of factors presented makes it a rather decent romp on the 3DS. Part turn-based strategy, part 3rd person shooter, part tactics RPG, S.T.E.A.M. takes players through a challenging campaign set in an imaginative world while meeting colorful characters. Does Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. deserve a home in your 3DS? Read on to find out.
Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. is set in an alternate version of 19th century London at the height of a steampunk revolution. Not wanting to miss out on a reliable video game trope, the good times are cut short when the city is suddenly attacked by hoards of mean and ugly aliens. As the narrative unfolds, you meet up with other heroes and join the secret organization S.T.E.A.M. under the direction of none other than Abraham Lincoln (voiced by Wil Wheaton no less), who is alive and well after apparently faking his death. The heroes that make up your team are a pretty cocky bunch, cracking jokes even as they take direct hits from aliens. Mostly they seem to get a sadistic thrill out of blowing up their alien foe as they work through their missions to save London and later the USA. As if this wasn’t fantastical enough, not all of your squad members are exactly human either. It all adds up to a crazy weird, yet interesting world that suits the gameplay well.
The gameplay follows a rigid square tile-based movement system that is enhanced by access to higher elevations, multiple paths, destructible obstacles, refill stations, and collectable items. The camera sticks so closely to your characters that it creates a claustrophobic experience where you often can’t quite see the enemy lurking just around the next corner until it is too late. The game requires you to plan your moves carefully because enemy aliens are ruthless and an unfortunate ambush can quickly deplete your health bars. Once enemies have you in their sights, prepare to get hammered. My initial strategy was to take exploration slowly and kill enemies one at a time, but S.T.E.A.M. makes sure that you don’t dawdle. On most levels, enemies constantly respawn behind you, giving you incentive to wrap up the mission quickly without killing them all or collecting all the items. The alien enemies are very aggressive and with nearly each mission more powerful enemies are introduced. Strategy is the name of the game and a savvy player will soon learn to use the terrain to their advantage. For example, hiding under a hanging platform to avoid being hit by missile rockets from a level boss, or jumping off a perch to perform a stomp attack. Clever level design gives the player multiple options to reach the goal, however it is impossible to completely avoid getting hammered with enemy attacks. You just cross your fingers that you can reach the goal without your last hero running out of health. S.T.E.A.M. is a challenging strategy game that will take most people considerable time to master. One annoying aspect of combat however is that once your turn is over, you have to wait for at least half a minute for the enemies to take their sweet time shuffling around and attacking your characters off-camera. It would have been much nicer to have a broader view of the playing field.
Staying true to the theme, your moves and attacks are limited by the available steam in the boiler on each hero’s back. Each space you move uses a unit of steam, but backtracking restores that steam. Each hero has a main and sub weapon which when fired uses steam. Each turn an amount of steam refills in each hero’s boiler allowing you to move forward. After subsequent missions you can gradually upgrade boilers and weapons giving you more steam, which allows you to do more moves and attacks during each turn. As your proceed through missions, you meet new heroes and add them to your squad. Each hero has a unique main attack and therefore how you use that character in battle will depend on the usefulness of that attack in each situation. For example, Lion can jump to higher or lower elevations and/or stomp on an enemy dealing major damage. John can launch a projectile grenade dealing damage over an area, while Henry wields a rifle suited for direct close attacks. Each character performs best when you use them to their strengths and work together as team. The great thing about Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. is that you can control your hero’s moves and attacks in any order whatsoever. The game also introduces you to a strategy of deliberately leaving excess steam available at the end of your turn in order to execute an overwatch sentry-like attack when an enemy sneaks up during its turn. This all makes for a very deep and functional strategy combat system that works pretty well overall.
Most of the story aspect of the game plays out in between missions and when you meet new playable characters. The story is shown through cutscenes that appear as if they came from a comic book, complete with panels and popular explosion illustrations. Even the graphics themselves look as if drawn for a comic. The animations, however, are sparse and wooden and would have benefited from higher production values. Character models and environments look boxy and jagged, but I sense that this was done deliberately to keep to the art style. Regardless, the 3DS hardware is capable of smoother animations and character models, and unfortunately it appears that the developers took some shortcuts. The sound development in S.T.E.A.M. is a little better, with ample voice work and suitable music. The characters communicate during battle to indicate their positions in relation to enemies and when they’re being attacked, but their comments get repetitive very quickly. The music is not particularly memorable, but it creates a feeling of danger and urgency.
Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. has a decent concept and gameplay style, but it appears as if it was yanked out of developer’s hands before they could polish it. The strategy-based combat has variety and depth, but could have used some fine-tuning, particularly with the camera issues. Overall the presentation and storyline of S.T.E.A.M. were a bit of a letdown, but if you can look past that, there is at least some entertainment to be had here.
[taq_review]
A review code for the game was provided to us by its publisher.