Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. first revealed its unique third-person, turn-based strategy, alternate history, comic book style (whoah) all the way back at E3 in 2014, and today you can finally get your hands on it. It’s going to sell a lot of copies based on the fact that it’s Intelligent Systems first strategy game since 2012’s acclaimed Fire Emblem: Awakening, and as a brand-new IP, the game definitely stands out as a quality release, albeit with a few major annoyances.
The game is all about Abraham Lincoln (yep, that Abe Lincoln), who brings together heroes from classic literature and American folklore to fend off an alien invasion. The S.T.E.A.M. in the title seemingly has many meanings, but it actually stands for Strike Team Eliminating the Alien Menace. Steam is also the technology that our heroes will use to defeat the aliens; steam boilers strapped to their backs give them super-human abilities. All of the weapons are steam-powered, of course, and all of the characters and the world itself have a decidedly steampunk styling. Yep, that’s a lot of steam.
The first thing that you’re likely to notice about the title (aside from, yep, all of the steam) is its gorgeous comic-book art style. The game actually opens with a kid (who owns a damned Marth Amiibo, which is sitting on his desk taunting you) diving into a Code Name S.T.E.A.M. comic book, and from time to time you’ll actually see cutscenes flipping between panels, sound effects will pop up the relevant onomatopoeia, you’ll see comic style voice bubbles all over the place, and of course the game’s cel shading makes it look as though the characters are popping right off of a wonderful 3D page (for the most part). From each cutscene, to running around the game’s many, many maps, presentation in Code Name S.T.E.A.M. is stellar.
Now, those wonderful visuals would be nothing without great sound to go with it, and Code Name S.T.E.A.M. delivers here too. Sound effects are high quality and varied, and the game’s commendable score is definitely headphone worthy. The game also features more voice acting than I’ve ever heard in a 3DS game, and it’s well acted on all counts, and with the limited storage space of the 3DS cartridges, I really have no idea how Intelligent Systems could possibly have fit it all in there, but I’m really, really glad that they did. Seriously, the audio is an absolute treat.
With the game’s outstanding presentation, and the history of Intelligent Systems, Code Name S.T.E.A.M. must kill in the gameplay department as well, right? At first glance, it looks like a third-person shooter, and rather than simply selecting which square you want your characters to move to as in most strategy titles, you can actually move your characters around in real time. Basically, each unit has a certain number of ‘steam’ that they can spend each turn. Moving, attacking, activating special abilities, etc. all use different amounts of steam, but certain actions, moving included, aren’t finalized until you shoot or activate an enemies Overwatch attack. This allows you to really play around with different strategies and visualize multiple vantage points before deciding on what to do each turn, and it’s a welcome and intuitive addition to traditional strategy mechanics. Throughout the game, you’ll unlock different team members, abilities, and equipment, which let you really customize your team, and thus have vastly different experiences.
The Overwatch ability is another mechanic that keeps Code Name S.T.E.A.M. feeling fresh. Both players (well, most characters) and many enemies have access to the ability, and its existence makes you really think about every action you could possibly take. Basically, if you end your turn with a certain level of steam left over, your character can automatically attack an enemy should an enemy come into range. It’s risky, of course, as that steam can always be utilized during your turn, and there’s no guarantee that saving it will lead to an attack, but when utilized correctly, Overwatch can be the difference between winning a map, and having to go back to the previous checkpoint. Enemies may also take advantage of Overwatch, which can leads to one of the biggest issues and strangest oversights in Code Name: S.T.E.A.M.
Aside from some lacklustre multiplayer, which is worth mentioning about as much as it’s worth playing, there are two big, glaring issues with the game. The first is one that I didn’t know could even be an problem in a strategy title: the lack of an overhead view. Your only viewpoints are those of your character’s, which amount to a tight third-person view that can make it impossible to see beyond obstacles. This means that you’re often moving blindly around obstacles and activating more enemy Overwatch attacks than I can even count. As I mentioned above, you can typically keep moving, figuring out the most efficient turn before locking it in, but being noticed by an enemy or activating their Overwatch makes your actions up to that point permanent. With no overhead view, and no map whatsoever, you’re getting hit, and you’re getting hit often, because you simply can’t see your enemies. It can happen pretty constantly, leading to a lot of replayed levels, and a lot of swearing at your 3DS.
Next up. In a game like this, your team is typically outnumbered. In most strategy titles that I’ve played, when it’s an enemy’s turn, you’ll see those turns played out at high speed. In Code Name S.T.E.A.M. you… stare at your characters while what amounts to a ‘loading’ bar fills across your screen. What. The. Heck. Sure, you can move the camera around your character, but why the heck would I want to do that? Unless you’re near an enemy and can actually see them moving (or you’re getting attacked), the enemy turns essentially amount to a loading screen to get to your next turn. Did I mention that this takes forever? This is an Intelligent Systems game, and a Nintendo published title, and in all my years of gaming, I can’t recall ever seeing such a polished game with a mechanic like this. It’s definitely not a means to pad out a short experience, as Code Name S.T.E.A.M. offers hours upon hours of gameplay, but I definitely find myself playing the title less knowing that more than half of the experience will be me waiting for my next turn.
Code Name S.T.E.A.M. is jammed pack with awesome content (including Fire Emblem Amiibo functionality that I wasn’t willing to open my NIB Amiibo for), and features some of the best presentation I’ve seen in a 3DS title. From its voice acting, to its gorgeous cel shaded art style and beyond, the game is a treat for the senses. Unfortunately, a few major questionable design choices ground Code Name S.T.E.A.M. as just a ‘very good’ 3DS title, instead of another gem from Intelligent Systems and Nintendo.
Code Name S.T.E.A.M. scores a steam-powered 3.5/5.
tl;dr:
+Top-notch presentation.
+Unique mechanics make the turn-based gameplay feel fresh.
+A ton of varied content.
-No overhead view means you’re staring at your characters through enemy turns.
-Enemy turns happen in real time. Meaning that you’re kept waiting… and waiting for your next turn.