Decided to give my full opinion of the game now since I've been doing it on other sites.
Since last year at E3 when Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. was first revealed, there was something about it that caught my eye that I could not really explain. Was it because of interesting Third Person-Tactical RPG gameplay that seem like nothing of Intelligent System's usual affairs? Or was it because of the art style that made me do a literal double take when I found out that this was a new Nintendo franchise? Whatever the reason, I guess you can narrow it down to the words “Nintendo” and “different”.
Nintendo is not afraid to try something different every now then – unless when their new I.P.s are massively ignored no matter if they push it or not. But Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. is a new I.P. that I never thought that they would attempt; let alone in the way that they pulled it off. A tactical RPG that not only has art style that harkens to the days of golden age comics, but fully embraces the aesthetic in a multitude of ways through the cutscenes, writing, gameplay and tone just the name a few.
As I hyped as I was, I will admit that I was a little nervous even after playing the demo. And do not get me wrong, I enjoyed the demo quite a bit. Though while it was a lot of fun, it was also a bit rough to get into at the start and proved to be a bit strict at times. Still I bought the game at launch, revving to go. And after playing it a bit more, I grown to see that this was definitely a game that was not going to hold my hand. And it's that sense of challenge that makes me happy to say, that Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. was well worth my time and will have me coming back, flaws and all.
Code Name: S.T.E.A.M., or Strike Team Eliminating the Alien Menace, is an game where you play as a n outfit of soldier who origins root from folktales and folklore from all over the world. Characters like Henry Fleming from Stephen Crane's Red Badge of Courage to characters like the “Steel Drivin' Man” John Henry or even Randolph Carter of the H.P. Lovecraft's stories; and many more come together, lead by the 16th President of the United States Abraham Lincoln, to save the world from the otherworldly threat by blowing off some steam and telling E.T. to not "phone" home but “go" home.
In the beginning of every mission, you start on Lincoln's patriotic-decorative airship, the Lady Liberty. It is here where you can talk with him for mission briefings; or to the library where you can take with his associate, John Milton Hay, and look up info on characters, enemies and even the world of the game itself. Occasionally, Chief Engineer Katherine appears on the docking bay to give you advice on how you can advance thorough the maps more efficiently.
But when your not lounging about on the Liberty, it's time to embark into action! You can choose up to four your well-diverse agents and equipment them with a multitude of interesting weapons for offense and strategy, and boilers to help you with mobility and defense. Once you are ready, your agents are sent out onto the field and it's up to you to observe the field and ensure that their mission ends in success.
The whole of Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. takes place an pleasant steampunk alternative timeline where if it move rolls, swims or flies, it's powered by blowing off hot air. So if you could not tell from the title, steam is the name of the game... literally! All your weapons, movements and miscellaneous actions are all government by your steam gauge. Depending on how the player approaches the threat, the tank be your greatest asset, or your worse enemy if you are not careful.
If there is one things that I enjoyed about Code Name: S.T.E.A.M., is that it has an impressive sense of challenge. This game is hard, and even harder to you attempt to collect all the collectibles on the map. As I mention in an earlier preview, this game is not for the gun-ho and never fills and never strays to that as it goes on. The very moment you act reckless, the game will punish you for it. You have to tread carefully, keep an eye on your enemies, peek around corners, use your teammates to cover your blindsides and etc. Because running around without a plan equals failure. It is highly recommend to not test your luck.
I have already mention how your actions are dictated by the steam gauge, but another factor that plays into this are the enemies. They do range from easy to hard, but no matter the difficulty, these aliens are not slouches. Get over confident if you wish, and they will tear your team apart like cheap toilet paper. When you are approaching an alien, it's important to observe how it acts instead of running up to it like an idiot. Some aliens are aggressive, others evasive. Some are even blind and won't attack you directly unless they hear you. But no matter what it's important to remember this, "Everything you can do, your enemy can do, too!" You can hit them from around tight corners, they can do the same. You can defend yourself on your turn, so can they. The enemy won't ignore your strengths so it's important to not ignore theirs.
No matter what map it was, I always felt a strong sense of challenge on every map from my foes. But even with this as a factor, the steam gauge and also a lack of a map. I never felt like the difficulty was suffocating. Because of how well the maps where designed. Every map provides you with option and opportunities for protective cover, scouting, high-points, hallways and etc. All of which you can bend towards your favor if you're smart. Having trouble seeing enemy movements? Send an agent upward to a vantage point and keep an eye on the field. Enemy numbers seem too great? Play defensively by taking cover and keeping your agents close. I do wish that the game me a option on where to place my agents at the start of the mission to help capitalize on their skills, but still I was able to make due.
You are never just restricted to only the using the field to gain advantages. Katherine will have hints scattered across the map for you to see and think about – key phrase: “THINK ABOUT” – in case you need a helpful hand. This also replenishes your steam, allowing you to do more on your turn. Also all of your agents possess a special skill that can help you move through the stages easier. To name the few, Henry can move objects, friends and enemies out of his way; John Henry can break objects and Tom Sawyer can scout better than most with his abilities to climb up areas in his reach. With more skills in your disposal from the other characters, it's up to you to consider what agent to pick and how to use them. Using certain skills will consume steam, but using them right can prove to effective enough to buy you some time and lower consumption.
And when options are low, all agents possess a one-time use special move to help give you an edge. All moves feel unique are all pretty entertaining to use. Admittedly, some moves do seem more useful than others. As useful as characters are naturally, there are characters like Scarecrow whose special is a random number generator that doesn't have much use strategic value or Queequeg's special that feels a little under powered even when the correct opportunity presents itself. I tend not to rely on the specials, sure. But these little negatives did feel a bit disappointing.
Another trick you have under your sleeve is the Overwatch function. Whenever you have a proper weapon equipped with enough steam reserved, you can actually engage the enemy on their turn if they appear in your sights. This is a very useful tactic that I made sure to use at all times whenever enemies are close by. It worked wonders for defense and makes the enemies turns feel more engaging.
And yes... those enemy turns. That big fat elephant in room that always seemed to raise some hell every time someone talks about this game. I will not deny that lacking an option to properly speed them up – more than a measly second – is quite a bit of an oversight. Not everyone is a patient person, so they do not want to sit back and wait to have a full control again. However...! I will debate that the length of the turns have been a bit exaggerated. At it's worst, the enemy turns takes around 45 seconds give or take. And depending on how careful you are, the enemy turns will be reduced greatly overtime. And if you are not careful, I hope you like watching enemy after enemy beating your ass one by one, increasing the length of their turns. So have fun with that.
Another common complaint I have heard was the artstyle. I seen a lot of the trailers, and sadly like most 3DS games, trailers spread across on a bigger resolution on a TV or camera just doesn't do it justice. Because I honestly think that the game looks wonderful on the 3DS screen, sporting a style that's a mix of Golden Age comic inking, Bruce Timm and a tiny hint of anime that really pops in-game and compliments the tone and comic book aesthetics.
Now, you know what? With how demanding this game is, I must admit that what I love most about it is the sense of give or take it has. It's truly the main factor that pushes the gamer to be more cautious in their decisions. For example, whenever you use your steam, all of the steam that's selected is not completely removed, but stored in reserved. You see a health pack and your character is low on health. You can pick up the health pack to heal yourself, but you will lose all of your reserved steam you have. If you are not careful this can leave you open to enemy attack and make the entire attempt moot if multiple enemies are in attacking range, ready to beat the tar out of you. Same with the save points that can potentially heal you and refill your steam at the cost of a lot of medals, which will restrict your chance to unlock new weapons.
Now if the difficulty proves to be a bit too much, there are section where you jump into the A.B.E. Mech and take on giant aliens unrestricted by turns. These sections are much easier and do a good job keeping the game from feeling repetitive without overshadowing the core gameplay. However, I will complain that they are a little too easy as even near the end, I never felt like I needed to think about what I was doing. It does feel like I'm just repeating the same dodge, dodge, attack, refill steam pattern over and over again, but it does prove to be fun because it doesn't overstay it's welcome.
Anyway, it took me around 25 hours to complete the story campaign, which is great for an tactical RPG of this design to keep it from growing too stale. The story was enjoyable from beginning to end, as threat grew more immense, and journey takes you through places around the world and even a few places that existed in some of the agents' past. The overall tone and writing help complement the game, providing a mix of seriousness and cheesiness that only the golden age era could provide. It won't win any award, or blow you away like Paper Mario and the Thousand-Year Door, Advance Wars: Days of Ruin or Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn, but it will keep you entertained. If anything, it's just above the pre-Days of Ruin Advance Wars games in terms of quality, I believe. Which were fun stories that weren't all that deep.
Though as fun as the story was, the characters – while enjoyable – felt very flat. Besides their introduction, the agents – besides a few – are reduced to just being standard heroes with barely any time to truly shine. It's a bit of a shame considering how capable Intelligent Systems has proven to be in giving even the flattest of characters interesting roles in their stories. Luckily the characters tend to showcase their personality much better during gameplay, so they are not completely made of cardboard.
Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. sports an impressive amount of replayability. With an array of weapons and boilers that will require even more playtime to unlock them all. Plus, completing a mission will unlock the options to replay it again, but with optional stipulations such as stronger enemies, no reserved steam and etc. for those who are feeling ballsy and want to earn more medals quicker.
To add the this game's length even more, there's also local and online multi-player which proved to be an surprisingly deep bout between players, both blind by the surroundings until their agents meet. It definitely keeps you on your toes and requires you to think ahead. There's also other modes such as Medal Battle where each player are given five turns to collect as many medals as they can and A.B.E. Mode where two players fight each other in the A.B.E. mechs. These extra modes are nice options, but to me failed in comparison to the intense nature of the regular battle mode. I will play them more than once, but no where near as much as the better option.
The online even supports tournaments, which is nice. But no Friends List is a big oversight in my opinion. You can set up a private tournament so that your friends can play each other, but it feels more tedious on a console that is more capable than this ... It's like if Friend Codes came back from the grave one more time. Hopefully sometime down the line, the Friend's list will be patched in like with Steel Diver: Sub Wars.
Overall, Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. does have a few flaws, but it also has a much more right going for it it's favor. It is very weird that it's biggest flaws are problems that you would expect Intelligent Systems to correct, but they do not hinder the game quality as much as one would think. So while it can definitely benefit from a bit more polish, I believe that Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. is still a very enjoyable RPG with plenty to offer in charm, challenge and replay value.
The sense of challenge it provides is it greatest ace, but since it demands quite a bit from the player, it might prove difficult to others who want something more streamlined. Still, I had a blast. And I hope Nintendo sees it as a success so that this wonderful game can become a wonderful series. If a sequel ever emerges, I'll be one of the first to gladly shout, “Full S.T.E.A.M. ahead!”
