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:
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.
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
- 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"
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.