After some time with the new eShop demo, the wonders of this Intelligent Systems joint are readily evident.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/hands-on-preview/39561/falling-in-love-with-code-name-steam
Ever since Code Name S.T.E.A.M. was first revealed at E3 2014, I've been intrigued by it. The world seems ridiculous. The art style is Fire Emblem x Jack Kirby. It's a new style of strategy RPG coming from the same people who make Advance Wars and Fire Emblem. But, even when in attendance at the event where it was revealed, I never really understood what the heck was going on. After playing the eShop demo (available now), I not only get what makes it so special, I'm also incredibly excited to try it out when it comes to North America on March 13.
The eShop demo is lengthy, slowly revealing the mechanics over a series of maps. At first, you only start with one playable character, though slowly but surely build your way up to four. In your first playthrough, you only get access to all four characters on the very last map. However, upon completion, you’ll be able to replay all of the previous maps with all four characters at your disposal. . That way, if you were turned off by the plodding pace of the earlier maps on your first playthrough, you’ll find it all the more enjoyable the second time through.
Like most turn-based strategy games, the gameplay of Code Name S.T.E.A.M. is broken up into two turns: yours and the enemy's. From that point forward, it differs. During your turn, you can switch between your playable characters, using up their steam power to move around the map and attack enemies. You don't have a view of the map outside of your character's third-person viewpoint, though. Instead, you have to piece the world together by using the different perspectives of each character. It sounds limiting, but makes each battle feel more like a puzzle, as you strategically position your characters in such a fashion that lets you see as much of the map as possible.
During the enemy's turn, you just have to sit and wait as they move around the environment. Your character's view will snap to an enemy if they're close by, and you can often see them skittering around in the background. At first, I was bothered by how long each enemy turn took, but when I got to the harder maps, I appreciated the time it gave me to try and figure out where the enemies were hiding and what their plan was. It also provides a hint as to how many foes are lurking at the end of the map.
The highest compliment I can give Code Name S.T.E.A.M. is that I finished the demo and immediately wanted more. I went from being a little ambivalent toward this game to greatly anticipating it; and I didn’t even touch on how spectacularly goofy the story is. You control characters from literary works, such as Tiger Lily from Peter Pan and the Cowardly Lion from The Wizard of Oz. Also, President Abraham Lincoln is a bad ass. So yeah, it’s real neat.
Topic: Falling in Love with Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. (Read 1783 times)
