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What do you think about Code Name: STEAM's eclectic combination of influences?

N

Neiteio

Member
So yeah, Code Name: STEAM is that one Nintendo game... of which no one knows what to think.

I was indifferent to it, until Andre at GameXplain said it's really starting to grow on him. I then started watching videos of it. There's something nice and immersive about how your view of the battlefield is limited by what your characters can see from a third-person POV. During the enemy's turn (this being turn-based and all), you might just see the uppermost joints of the enemy's spider-like appendages, as they scurry behind walls and other obstacles that block your view of their bodies. It feels like a deadly game of hide and seek.

At any rate, the premise is what I find especially interesting. Nintendo has crafted a scenario that, for better or worse, combines the following influences:


  • Victorian London
  • Steampunk technology
  • Art inspired by Jack Kirby
  • Aliens inspired by Lovecraft
...and the following historical and literary characters:


  • Abraham Lincoln, 16th president of the United States
  • Henry Fleming, from "The Red Badge of Courage"
  • The Cowardly Lion, from "The Wizard of Oz"
  • Tiger Lily, from "Peter Pan"
  • Tom Sawyer, "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer"
Personally, it sounded a bit like a "try-hard" indie title the moment they name-dropped Lovecraft. But this -is- Intelligent Systems we're talking about here -- the same people who make Fire Emblem -- and Hitomi Yamagami is also involved. So you know the quality will be there.

But yeah. What an eclectic combination of influences. I'm not sure if it comes from a focus group-tested attempt to appeal to the West (this would seem... uncharacteristic of Nintendo, no?), or a genuine fascination with those concepts and styles. So what do you think of this game? Like I said, I'm not sure where I stand... but it's starting to pique my curiosity.
 
R

Regiruler

Member
It has fucking steampunk Abraham Lincoln and extremely patriotic shots. The flavor mixing is the game's strongest asset.
 
Y

Yagharek

Member
Don't forget the apparent influence from Valkyria Chronicles. Developer heritage aside, that is one of the biggest draw cards for me.
 
L

Lunar15

Member
Can't say everything is to my tastes, especially the art style, but I'm not offended by anything and the gameplay looks right up my alley.
 
F

fredrancour

Member
I'll give it a shot. i need to see if there's a trailer on the eshop. I'm down with the weird blend of conceptual influences and the gameplay systems shown so far, but I'm curious as to how the graphics look on the actual console.
 
R

random25

Member
The biggest draw for me here is the gameplay. The previews really look good to me. I'll keep a look out on more gameplay footages of this game.
 
N

Neiteio

Member
fredrancour said:
I'll give it a shot. i need to see if there's a trailer on the eshop. I'm down with the weird blend of conceptual influences and the gameplay systems shown so far, but I'm curious as to how the graphics look on the actual console.
Click to expand...
I suspect the game will look great when you see it on the system itself. Clean linework, bold black lines, splashy effects, vibrant colors... Hopefully there's a strong 3D effect for dat pop-out comic action.
 
N

Niraj

I shot people I like more for less.
I was sold as soon as I heard it was from Intelligent Systems. Their body of work is just so good as a whole, and I'm willing to trust them. Grabbing it day one probably, and I'm really looking forward to it.
 
R

Regiruler

Member
Lunar15 said:
Can't say everything is to my tastes, especially the art style, but I'm not offended by anything and the gameplay looks right up my alley.
Click to expand...

For whatever reason the models remind me of Kid Icarus Uprising. The enemies in KIU looked fairly off-putting so Steam hardly makes me look twice in terms of design.

In a way, it's charming.
 
A

Axass

Member
Not having played it (of course), my most recurring thought right now is that it's Valkyria Chronicles with a horrible artstyle.
 
C

chaobreaker

Member
But where are my safe as fuck anime artsyle? 0/10

/s

I'm really looking forward to Codename Steam, even more so than the upcoming Fire Emblem. I recently played Valkyria Chronicles and realized I need more turned based third person shooting in my life. Intelligent Systems look like they have a winner with this game.
 
H

Hatchtag

Banned
The final boss better be John Wilkes Booth wielding alien technology.
But I actually think its pretty unique and hope there's more literary characters to the roster.
 
M

Mory Dunz

Member
I mean the gameplay seems really similar to Valkryie Chronicles, so people should generally know if they're into it or not.


I kind of like the "real" characters and that it doesn't take itself seriously tbh.
Sometimes I don't want to read long dialouge about warring kingdoms and betrayals and all that stuff in SRPGs. (More like all the time.)

Hopefully it's funny. Are all the custscenes and battles Voice Acted I assume?
 
C

Chmpocalypse

Blizzard
Neiteio said:
So yeah, Code Name: STEAM is that one Nintendo game... of which no one knows what to think.

I was indifferent to it, until Andre at GameXplain said it's really starting to grow on him. I then started watching videos of it. There's something nice and immersive about how your view of the battlefield is limited by what your characters can see from a third-person POV. During the enemy's turn (this being turn-based and all), you might just see the uppermost joints of the enemy's spider-like appendages, as they scurry behind walls and other obstacles that block your view of their bodies. It feels like a deadly game of hide and seek.

At any rate, the premise is what I find especially interesting. Nintendo has crafted a scenario that, for better or worse, combines the following influences:


  • Victorian London
  • Steampunk technology
  • Art inspired by Jack Kirby
  • Aliens inspired by Lovecraft
...and the following historical and literary characters:


  • Abraham Lincoln, 16th president of the United States
  • Henry Fleming, from "The Red Badge of Courage"
  • The Cowardly Lion, from "The Wizard of Oz"
  • Tiger Lily, from "Peter Pan"
  • Tom Sawyer, "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer"
Personally, it sounded a bit like a "try-hard" indie title the moment they name-dropped Lovecraft. But this -is- Intelligent Systems we're talking about here -- the same people who make Fire Emblem -- and Hitomi Yamagami is also involved. So you know the quality will be there.

But yeah. What an eclectic combination of influences. I'm not sure if it comes from a focus group-tested attempt to appeal to the West (this would seem... uncharacteristic of Nintendo, no?), or a genuine fascination with those concepts and styles. So what do you think of this game? Like I said, I'm not sure where I stand... but it's starting to pique my curiosity.
Click to expand...

Depends on the narrative and storytelling hooks. Not Nintendo's strong suit, so no hype here yet.
 
N

NewVegasDog

Member
I find this the silliest thing Intelligent Systems has ever thought of. But I want it because I would never think a game like this would exist.
 
D

Doorman

Member
I don't know that I'd say I'm 100% sold on the mashup, particularly the design of the alien enemies, but the mere fact you can say "this is a game about Abraham Lincoln commanding a steampunk army against aliens" is absurd enough to keep me interested. I recall seeing a screenshot at one point that showed a rather large roster of characters (I want to say at least 20-25, which is fairly large considering you can only ever use 4 at a time) so I'm partly very curious to see what other Western literature they opt to draw from.

It's strange, yes, but I think it's fun to see this out-there take on people and characters that are normally more reserved. I've often said it of games like Dynasty/Samurai Warriors and Sengoku Basara, how a development team can take real historical figures and throw them completely over-the-top. This isn't quite comparable since most of the characters were fictional to begin with, but I like the combination. So long as the technical side of the art style holds up well enough I think it will be a fun ride, though I don't expect to see this turn into a legitimate new franchise for Intelligent Systems.
 
K

kirby_fox

Banned
I have no positive opinion on this, as I'm not interested in the gameplay. It doesn't look like much fun to me.

But even if it was a classic FPS I'd probably avoid it, looks a little too off with the eclecticness it brings.
 
C

Calamari41

41 > 38
I really don't like how the character portraits look like bad clip art, but I have faith that the game will be great. Seriously though, those portraits look like they were drawn by a 13 year old trying to make a webcomic.
 
V

Vitacat

Member
It's an IS game. I mean, cmon... It HAS to be good, if not great. Right?

As for the aesthetic, its different and I'm staying open minded about it.

Guess we'll find out.
 
R

rhandino

Banned
I really loved the reveal, concept and look of the game. Also looking forward to the gameplay systems since even when people said that is Valkirya Chronicles on another artstyle, apart from the third person perspective... I don't know, looks more like a turn based shooter since you can't look the map of the area, so you need to be aware of the enviroment and visual cues more like the map overview of VC.

But the game will thorn a lot of people just for the artstyle... the safest choice would have been copy the artstyle of Awakening since is very clean and crisp but I found that the one they choosed looks really cool even in his cheapness, remind me of show that I used to see in Cartoon Network :p

PD: At least with the artstyle and theme they choosed there is a very low chance to encounter another Nowi in this game, so there is that :/
 
B

billy beane

Banned
Intelligent Systems are one of my 5 favorite developers in gaming. They always make high quality games. For that reason alone this game is a must play for me.
 
D

Deleted member 17706

Unconfirmed Member
It looks like one of the least visually appealing video games I've ever seen, and that's saying a lot.

Normally, I'd be all over a new strategy game from Intelligent Systems, but I'll probably pass on this one unless people are absolutely raving over it.
 
M

Mr. RPG

Member
I'm not interested in the setting nor the art style.

And I'm also not at all interested in that form of game play.

I would have preferred a new Advance Wars. I haven't played any of those games yet.
 
Z

Zebetite

Banned
It would probably look a lot better if it wasn't on the 3DS, I don't think the low resolution is doing the art style any favors at all.
 
B

BorkBork

The Legend of BorkBork: BorkBorkity Borking
I like the mishmash nature of it, but I can see how it can be offputting for many. The pedigree behind it is undeniable though. I think it will surprise.
 
D

Draconian

Member
I think it looks great, and I'm intrigued to see what kind of crazy storyline they will come up with. Interestingly enough, I hadn't really paid all that much attention to it before the Nintendo Direct last week. The gameplay looks very fun. I should probably watch the Treehouse Live demos where they go more in depth with it. I'm excited for it. The 3DS is going to be big the first part of this year for me.
 
Bitanator

Bitanator

Member
I actually like the art style, it has grown on me. Gameplay looks diverse and fun as well, can't wait to play it.
 
S

sn00zer

Member
Considering the only other large steampunk game coming soon is The Order, which probably has the best art design in years, it does not look great.
 
M

Masked Man

I said wow
I like Intelligent Systems, Hitoshi Yamagami did a great job overseeing my now-favorite Wii game (Xenoblade), and I dig Bruce Timm's style. I just don't know if all of these considerably disparate elements coming together is going to be a success. I'm still hedging my bets, so I'm going to wait until some reviews come out so I have a better idea of what to expect.
 
N

Neiteio

Member
sn00zer said:
Considering the only other large steampunk game coming soon is The Order, which probably has the best art design in years, it does not look great.
Click to expand...
Between STEAM, The Order and Bloodborne, it's like Nintendo and Sony are on a Victorian London kick
 
R

roos

Member
Neiteio said:
I suspect the game will look great when you see it on the system itself. Clean linework, bold black lines, splashy effects, vibrant colors... Hopefully there's a strong 3D effect for dat pop-out comic action.
Click to expand...

You might be right about this. Currently, it just looks like a mess of colors. Perhaps in 3D it works better.

The part that really bothers me though, is that I have no idea what the enemies look like. They don't have recognizable shapes or easily discernible silhouettes.

Provided you will probably want to shoot most enemies from the greatest difference, due to the 3DS's low resolution screen, enemies will just appear like a jumble of twitching dark pixels.

For example, look at this screen shot, and tell me if you understand the shape of the enemies on the screen.

screenshot7.jpg


Bugs don't make good enemies if their silhouette isn't easy to understand. It's more "tactile" and fun to shoot at a bulbous objects.

I'd rather be shooting at those big green blobs in the screen shot :)
 
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