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Code Name S.T.E.A.M. |OT| They made Lincoln Force! Or: "Welcome to Earth!"

Flying ones.

They really are just terrible. Practically impossible to kill and guaranteed stun. They're one of the worst enemies in the entire game.
Chapter 15 Mission 1, those things made that level harder than it needed to be :/
I found a good way to tackle them was with a weapon with a good spread, like if you can get close enough to them with a shotgun or something you'll take them out. But unless you got something with a good rapid fire almost no hope of hitting them :/
 
Nettlers can be pretty annoying, but as long as you've got Scarecrow on your team, they aren't that bad. The blast of his Pumpkin Stunner takes them out 100% of the time, and since Scarecrow's immune to stun, he can approach them no problem.

The only other way that I've found to take Nettlers out with a good degree of success is aiming an explosive weapon like Califia's at a wall near the Nettler and taking them out with the blast range, not a direct shot at them, but that doesn't always work.

Eyestalkers though, yeah, they're just tedious. All you can do is get out of their range, or take cover. It'd be nice if you could just get rid of them if you tried, even if they had a ton of HP or something. But I get what they were going for with them. Having to take down the large artillery aliens to get rid of the Eyestalkers does add something different to the gameplay, which is nice. Oh, and anyone else ever have an Eyestalker spawn outside of the map where they can't target you? It's happened to me a few times in Mission 5-2 where they spawn outside the fence; always makes me laugh :)
 

TheMoon

Member
Nettlers can be pretty annoying, but as long as you've got Scarecrow on your team, they aren't that bad. The blast of his Pumpkin Stunner takes them out 100% of the time, and since Scarecrow's immune to stun, he can approach them no problem.

I think Tom Sawyer's glove gun is the other miracle cure for these, iirc.
 

Riposte

Member
Here's what I had to say about Nettlers, way back when I was fighting them for the first time.


They say those are the most annoying enemies in the game, and boy do they live up to the hype (or anti-hype?).

Three strategies for approach:

-The first and most obvious is to just tank the hit with character and take it out with another. "Nettlers" never shoot more than once a turn, although sometimes they may have enough to shoot during both turns of a round (not always though). Now, that's cool and all, but often that means losing out on recovery steam (at least with the first nettler). So what you can do is use a healing carbine(?) to wake them up. If you are feeling a little daring, you can also just flat out shoot them out of it, which has the added benefit of knocking them forward (Tom's punch doesn't seem to work for some reason though). I never tried Henry's ability, but that may work. You only really need to do this once, with the first nettler, meaning you don't have to dedicate three people to one side (I preferred to go 2 straight and 2 right).

-Rattle Can basically makes them ignore you out right. This is a pretty useful item I could see myself using more in the future. Three steam for no kills/damage means this is kind of expensive though. (For example, most characters won't be able to reach the "tip" to restore their steam during their second turn after using this. Well that's assuming you give Tom the steam pick to kill both the nettler and the tentacle-elephant thing, maybe that wasn't the right call).

-This is very risky and I've never gotten it to be consistent, but you can bait the attack so that the nettler shoots you while are moving into cover. The camera will be mostly blocked by the wall or w/e, and the shot will literally just hit the cover in front of you.

As for actually shooting it, there's no perfectly straightforward way of doing it. It comes down to very careful positioning (you want it so that you crosshair stays active for at least half a second, rather than flicker in and out) and then timing (you don't want to shoot based on reaction, rather know when the crosshair is going to be active, then fire). It can still be a bit of a crap-shoot, which is why you'll want to use Tom (I've also used the 2-steam cost guns). At the very least, it was very good training for the game's aiming mechanics lol.

I ended up playing that map... A LOT. I don't even want to consider how much of my playtime was dedicated to it. In the process, I got to fully explore the layout and it continues to be very impressive.
You can use Lion to jump behind the area with the frozen civilian and gear to the right of the starting goal if you destroy the golden box; this allows you to cleanly circumvent the nettler patrolling the right side of the map, who can be an issue if you take upper level.
Also
there's a chandelier to help clean up that room in the middle, which can pretty rough to approach.

I too would like to know more about boilers, particularly the rocket pack one.
 

Weiss

Banned
Chapter 15 Mission 1, those things made that level harder than it needed to be :/
I found a good way to tackle them was with a weapon with a good spread, like if you can get close enough to them with a shotgun or something you'll take them out. But unless you got something with a good rapid fire almost no hope of hitting them :/

Chapter 15 was the absolute worst for fighting them. There should have been an easier way to consistently kill them before you got The Fox.
 

Weiss

Banned
I upsold somebody on Codename STEAM today.

I described it as a steampunk Valkyria Chronicles where American folklore characters fight Cthulhu.
 
Love this game. Haven't tried playing online yet, what's it like?
I have trouble getting a match
I've had one game online, poor guy I was playing, wrecked him with Lion equipped with the Shuriken when I got lucky with some steam refills.

Online is OK, I think there is potential there for it to be alot of fun if the online was more alive, maybe different mission types to play online, like one where you are defending a base or trying to stop a team getting to the other side. Also would have loved to see something like an online horde mode where you and someone online take a team of 4 each and try and defend against waves of Aliens.

Going back and slowly playing through the game on hard difficultly for that x2 medal bonus. I kinda wish the game had more stuff to do for replays, like I dunno daily challenges or something. The main story was a tonne of fun, but I kinda wish there was more to do outside of that other than replaying them. I want to keep playing the game, but playing the same stages again feels bleh.
 

Dryk

Member
Flying ones.

They really are just terrible. Practically impossible to kill and guaranteed stun. They're one of the worst enemies in the entire game.
I've played two levels with them so far. They're a giant pain in the arse the first time you fight them, but they were almost a non-issue on the level where you get Scarecrow. I think if you have the Pumpkin Stunner available before the first time you encounter them then they'd get less hate.

(They still suck though)
 

Velcro Fly

Member
Finished up Chapter 12 just now after not playing the game for a while.

I really wish there was a new game plus where you kept all your agents/weapon unlocks for the next go around no matter how little sense it makes for the story of the game.

Queequeg and the Fox dominated 12-2 though. I saw what I was up against and for a second I was like damn. But they crushed it.

Definitely looking to finish this game in the next week or two in case they announce DLC at E3 or something. Would totally buy new maps or even new characters/weapons/boilers.

At about 30k medals right now so I might have to grind a little bit to get the final thing.
 

TheMoon

Member
Finished up Chapter 12 just now after not playing the game for a while.

I really wish there was a new game plus where you kept all your agents/weapon unlocks for the next go around no matter how little sense it makes for the story of the game.

Queequeg and the Fox dominated 12-2 though. I saw what I was up against and for a second I was like damn. But they crushed it.

Definitely looking to finish this game in the next week or two in case they announce DLC at E3 or something. Would totally buy new maps or even new characters/weapons/boilers.

At about 30k medals right now so I might have to grind a little bit to get the final thing.

Well there might not be a NG+ option but you can replay all the missions with the special settings to make it harder while having your full crew/gear available.
 

Adamator

Member
Can you play through this whole game with a FE team if you have the amiibos? Do they have dialogue in the game for the FE characters as you progress through the story?

I've been wondering this for the longest time, and hoping to try myself if I ever get all 4 FE amiibo.
 

TheMoon

Member
Can you play through this whole game with a FE team if you have the amiibos? Do they have dialogue in the game for the FE characters as you progress through the story?

I've been wondering this for the longest time, and hoping to try myself if I ever get all 4 FE amiibo.

You can play the whole game with the 4 FE characters (amiibo option gets unlocked after the prologue chapter but you can replay everything with any combination). They don't have dialogue aside from their catchphrases and they don't factor into the story at all. They're just a gameplay option.
 
Also the risk of them getting taken down and not being able to respawn them with the save points makes things alot harder, given only 2 of them can go into overwatch means you need to play very cautiously with them.
 

Velcro Fly

Member
Chapter 13 down tonight. So good. So close to the end too.

I totally cheesed the second map.
Hit that nasty fellow in the middle with stun until he doesn't resist and then lay him out with The Fox. Have Cal blow shit up to weaken it and have stuff sitting at the start with overwatch ready to go. Heal as necessary. Probably could have used Queequeg too I suppose but Cal gives more flexibility hitting enemies up high.

Going to be sad when I'm done with this one. I might replay older maps with newer characters to grind out the coins needed to unlock stuff. I'm at 31k right now.

I'd love DLC and I'd buy it for sure but again this game bombed so I doubt resources are being allocated.
 

danwu

Banned
The Eye that follows you in ch. 3 reminded me a lot of Advance Wars 2 ! Though in Codename Steam, you can at least do something to avoid getting hit.
 

danwu

Banned
I'd love DLC and I'd buy it for sure but again this game bombed so I doubt resources are being allocated.[/QUOTE]

Hopefully they will give more online multiplayer maps as well, the online rocks !
 

Velcro Fly

Member
Just finished chapter 15. It was intense and crazy at points and I had to restart from last save a few times in 15-2 until I got the hang of the map layout. Feels good to finally be getting to the end of the game.
 

Hugstable

Banned
So I bought this a few days ago, and I really enjoy the game and it's mechanics (except Overwatch, it's annoying as hell and you can't do anything about it when the enemy overwatches all over your ass). But the game just feels unfair at times. I'm in 7-2 right now and enemies that just spawn out of nowhere each turn is ridiculous. The Nettlers were really bad, but it's just getting annoying. Even worse is that it seems doing good and high damage seems random even on the weakspots for me and sometimes won't do the full damage with my crossbow. Like as much as I'm enjoying the base of the game and alot of the previous missions, if it really keeps up like this I'm just going to shelve it. Like some missions go smoothly, and others I'm restarting tons of times and spending hours upon hours seeing the same things and failing but losing a party member just because I peeked around enemy set off his overwatch and stuns me. Even worse is when your turn starts and an enemy is right in front of you after attacking last turn. Barely touch the stick and bam, overwatch and possibly stun.

Like the game itself is enjoyable, but some of these design choices just make me feel that it's not balanced correctly and makes the games difficulty a bit cheap and unfair. Maybe I'm playing everything wrong and that's why I'm here asking, but right now it's like the game has it's fun missions, then missions where I struggle and it's just gets frustrating.
 

Adam Prime

hates soccer, is Mexican
This game is $24.89 next few days at Best Buy. I'm tempted to pick it up and then just sell it later if I don't like it. That's an a price I'd like to try it out at.
 

Dryk

Member
Like the game itself is enjoyable, but some of these design choices just make me feel that it's not balanced correctly and makes the games difficulty a bit cheap and unfair. Maybe I'm playing everything wrong and that's why I'm here asking, but right now it's like the game has it's fun missions, then missions where I struggle and it's just gets frustrating.
No that experience sounds about right. I was able to put up with it, not everyone will be. The mechanics of shooting are pretty consistent, but they're designed so they come of inconsistent due to weird shit like nettlers existing outside barely outside your maximum range or weak points not getting hit because the idle animation moves a leg infront of it or something.
 

TheMoon

Member
So I bought this a few days ago, and I really enjoy the game and it's mechanics (except Overwatch, it's annoying as hell and you can't do anything about it when the enemy overwatches all over your ass).

You can move (slowly) during enemy overwatch and try to get behind cover, you're not frozen in place.
 

OuterLimits

Member
I'm slowly playing this. Usually an hour or two a week.(addicted to Splatoon). I actually preordered the game but was a bit bummed when I read all the negative reactions. While it does have some issues, overall I think it is very good. Wouldn't be surprised if it becomes a cult classic years down the road. This will be a game I come back to every now and then to replay.
 

TheMoon

Member
I'm slowly playing this. Usually an hour or two a week.(addicted to Splatoon). I actually preordered the game but was a bit bummed when I read all the negative reactions. While it does have some issues, overall I think it is very good. Wouldn't be surprised if it becomes a cult classic years down the road. This will be a game I come back to every now and then to replay.

There'll be people grinding their teeth at the thought that they didn't pick this up for $25 right now at Best Buy when the game goes will be hard to come by and the only alternative is the eShop version.
 

Haldinian

Member
I finished it last night. This is going to be one of those hidden gems that nobody played, and it's really a shame that a new and fresh IP like this probably ends here due to the poor sales.

Right now I'm unable to understand the bad reception of the press and many of the absurd complaints in their reviews, even less when they fixed the only real problem of the game (the slow enemy turns). The only thing that relieves me is that Intelligent Systems was able to make the game they wanted.
 
There'll be people grinding their teeth at the thought that they didn't pick this up for $25 right now at Best Buy when the game goes will be hard to come by and the only alternative is the eShop version.

Is there still a lot of copies on store shelves though? I feel like there is still plenty of copies to be found. I guess what I'm saying is I'm not sure this is the last time it will be on sale. That said, I agree it will likely go OOP and people will curse Nintendo for not printing more.
 

TheMoon

Member
The only thing that relieves me is that Intelligent Systems was able to make the game they wanted.

Yup, this is still a nice comforting fact. The hilarious thing is is that this is a game directed by a Westerner and one of the things lots of people always whine about is that Nintendo needs to look more towards the West and then everyone just shits on this like it's Ninjabread Man or something.
 

Velcro Fly

Member
$25 (or just $20 with GCU) is probably as good as it will get. I doubt they made enough of these for it to hit the $10 Sticker Star has hit a few times. Even at the BOGO level it would still be like getting the game for $20. It's definitely the cheapest the game is going to get. And with the certified bomba status I'm not too sure Nintendo is going to make any more.

I finished it last week and got all 96 gears. Haven't had a chance to play around with the reward you get from that yet. Sitting at 35k or so medals so I might just grind up to 40k for that awesome sub weapon. Haven't even played around with the amiibo either. I'm not sure I could beat some of those missions with the FE characters to be honest.

It takes some getting used to though. But I feel like the pacing of the game with getting upgrades and new characters means that the challenge the game presents is constantly expanding. You might hit a snag earlier in the game but be able to come back later on and steamroll the map because of a new weapon or character that makes it easier. It's great in that you can't just grind your way past the difficulty.

Also after playing the game from start to finish I can say having a map would have ruined the game. Part of the fun for me is swapping characters to get their view of things. With a map it just becomes funnel everyone to the objective while nabbing collectibles along the way. I even played 80% of the game with slow enemy turns.
 

NeonZ

Member
I just got a Lucina and Robin Amiibo, and was surprised by some unexpected extras in here, aside from the characters themselves.

If you have all 4 Amiibo running in the title screen - the main screen theme changes to a remix of Fire Emblem's main theme. Also, if you go with a full Fire Emblem party in a stage, the bgm changes to a FE bgm medley remix, including a standard and combat variation. Anyway, I was waiting for these Amiibos before finishing the game, but I guess I'm close to the ending (finished
the secret base attack
mission).
 

Craft

Member
Finished this last week, great game.

There was a lot of variation in the character and so it was fun finding out which combinations worked well.
Fox & Califia are way overpowered, combined with the Tin man they are just unstoppable.

I was a little let down by how easy the game was
the hardest stage is 15-2 by a mile, those eyes were a pain.
I'll replay the stages on hard at some point.

Haven't tried the online multiplayer yet but I can't imagine that's very active due to how badly it sold.
 

Riposte

Member
Finished this last week, great game.

There was a lot of variation in the character and so it was fun finding out which combinations worked well.
Fox & Califia are way overpowered, combined with the Tin man they are just unstoppable.

I was a little let down by how easy the game was
the hardest stage is 15-2 by a mile, those eyes were a pain.
I'll replay the stages on hard at some point.

Haven't tried the online multiplayer yet but I can't imagine that's very active due to how badly it sold.

Did you use the save/recovery points? Or did you find it easy in spite not using them?
 

Craft

Member
Did you use the save/recovery points? Or did you find it easy in spite not using them?

Occasionally I used them to recover my entire teams steam, effectively giving your whole team a free turn, the penalty for using them wasn't high enough really.
I always saved at each point, which made it easy to scout out an area or reload if I botched an attack.
 

Effect

Member
I really should go back and finish this. The game just started pissing me off so much. Rarely will a game do that to the point where I say I'm done and put it back in the case and then back on the shelf. This game did it and I like strategy games of various types, really enjoy XCOMish styled games as well but how this game is designed hurts my enjoyment of it. It's more frustrating and annoying then it is challenging.
 
Imo strategy vets shouldn't find this game's challenge frustrating or annoying, especially on normal mode with all the save points and tutorial screens that refill your steam/life.

Merciless mode is where you need to know what you're doing esp. if you want the turn bonus and no squad kills bonus.
 

L95

Member
Y-yeah... I don't mean to sound like 'that person', but I honestly thought the game was a bit on the easy side...
 
I couldn't finish XCOM, couldn't finish Awakening without hiring those incredibly over leveled soldiers. Managed to finish STEAM without much difficulty at all. Maybe it's because I tend to play very aggressively and not so strategically?

Anyway, it's a great game and a guaranteed cult classic/sleeper hit. I hope we get more. Had a lot of fun with the characters, story and gameplay. I'd probably be OK with the IP being transformed into a straight third person shooter or something.
 

NeonZ

Member
I couldn't finish XCOM, couldn't finish Awakening without hiring those incredibly over leveled soldiers. Managed to finish STEAM without much difficulty at all. Maybe it's because I tend to play very aggressively and not so strategically?

Anyway, it's a great game and a guaranteed cult classic/sleeper hit. I hope we get more. Had a lot of fun with the characters, story and gameplay. I'd probably be OK with the IP being transformed into a straight third person shooter or something.

I think we're more likely to see them attempting a similar gameplay with a new IP, rather than going back to the STEAM IP itself. The immediate reaction to STEAM's visuals and designs was pretty negative, after all.
 
Just started plying this finally last night. I'm on Chapter 2 and so far it seems like a fun and maybe somewhat misunderstood game???

I know there was some initial backlash at the character art direction but the game looks better on the 3DS than screens online show, IMO. I like how it's presented like a comic book.

I find the gameplay fun and so far it seems it's definitely a strategy game, which is what I expect from IS.

Seems a lot of people are missing out on a game with a ton of potential. I bought mine at launch but noticed it's getting some price drops. Hopefully, more people are willing to give it a chance. Seems like a future cult classic.
 
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