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Code Name: S.T.E.A.M.
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Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. is a strategy game developed by Intelligent Systems for the Nintendo 3DS in 2015. The game draws from both third-person shooters and tactical games, and mixes the art style of American comic books with steampunk visuals.
Contents
Blurb
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Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. needs you!
Plan your squad's strategy!
Use teamwork to lay ambushes!
Pilot S.T.E.A.M.'s ultimate weapon!
Fight to save history!Join the forces of Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. ~ Strike Team Eliminating the Alien Menace ~ and harness the power of steam to outmaneuver, outflank, and outfight your enemies!
Play as Fire Emblem™ characters using compatible amiibo figures on the New Nintendo 3DS XL system
Story
The game is set in sixteenth century London, where huge advances in steam technology have been made. On the day of the opening of the Steamgate Bridge, the city is suddenly attacked by aliens. Henry Flemming is on security detail at the American embassy when the enemy attacks. Meeting up with his best friend John Henry, they advance toward a waypoint where they are saved by an airship captained by the President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. immediately conscripts them into S.T.E.A.M. (Strike Team Eliminating the Alien Menace). Thus, it is up to S.T.E.A.M. to save London from the attackers.
Gameplay
The gameplay of Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. is a turne-based strategy game that draws elements from third-person shooters. Missions consist of individual grid-based stages in which the objective is to reach the goal on the other end of the stage. The camera can be controlled using either the touch screen, the A/B/X/Y buttons, or the New Nintendo 3DS C-stick or a Circle Pad Pro. The player is able to control each unit in their team of four and move freely across the grid, though their actions are limited by their steam gauge, which is refilled every turn. Actions such as moving and attacking the enemy use up a unit's steam power (the amount of steam an attack takes is indicated by a bar over the steam gauge. Each character also has a special attack they can use once per stage, which doesn't cost steam. By conserving steam, units can perform an overwatch attack during the enemy's turn when using certain weapons, automatically attacking whenever an enemy approaches; enemies are also capable of using overwatch attacks.
In each stage players can collect medals both off the ground or by destroying environmental pieces or enemies, which can be used at checkpoints and between levels to unlock weapons, save the game, and heal. After each mission, the number of medals the player has collected is added to their total, which increases their rank and unlocks new weapons. Each area also has three gears, which unlock upgraded boilers when enough are collected.
Two players can play either online or locally, competing by trying to defeat the enemy team.
By scanning an amiibo of the Fire Emblem characters Marth, Ike, Lucina, or Robin, the player can unlock that character as a playable unit in the game. If said character is defeated in battle, the player loses the ability to use that character and must scan the amiibo again to regain them.
Development
Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. was originally announced at an E3 2014 developer roundtable event on June 11[1], which was originally announced to be revealing a new title for Nintendo 3DS.[2] Prior to the game's official unveiling, it was uncovered that Nintendo had filed to receive a trademark for the title "Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. Strike Team Eliminating the Alien Menace" on April 2, 2014.[3]
According to creative director Paul Patrashcu, the game's initial pitch was created around the idea of "Steampunk Civil War".[1] While thinking about why players were not as keen to play strategy games, producer Hitoshi Yamagami came to the conclusion that there was "too much abstraction between the player and the game world," and so chose to incorporate gameplay elements from third-person shooters to make the game more accessible.[1] The steampunk appearance was based on Victorian era art and 19th century British designs, while the game's comic book visuals were based on Silver Age comics.[1][4] The alien designs were inspired by the works of H. P. Lovecraft.[1]
Reception
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Metacritic | 69 |
GameRankings | 68.62% |
Reviews | |
Famitsu | 34/40[5] |
IGN | 7.9/10 |
Game Informer | 8/10 |
GameSpot | 4/10 |
Destructoid | 6.5/10 |
Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. was released to largely mixed to positive reviews from critics, with many being decisive over several gameplay elements, most notably criticizing aspects such as the slow enemy turns. Famitsu rated the game a total 34 out of 40 (8/9/9/8).[5] Jose Otero of IGN gave the game a 7.9 out of 10, calling the game, "a memorable challenge that you can take seriously, even if its setting is anything but serious." Destructoid's Kyle Burlson gave Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. a 6.5 out of 10, stating that, "The idea of a Nintendo studio authoring a western comicbook-inspired steampunk tale about American folk heroes is just so off the wall it's enthralling. However in practice, it really underdelivers." At release, Justin McElroy of Polygon gave the game at 3.5 out of 10, stating that, "the game's pacing or annoying tendencies rear their head to spoil the fun. The dead weight even sinks bits of the game that should be strengths." and that, "Code Name: STEAM is misguided and horrifically dull," revealing at the end that he did not finish the game. Following the 1.1.0 patch and the implementation of the speed-up function during enemy turns, however, he revised the score to a 6 out of 10, stating that, "This one simple change doesn't make Code Name: STEAM great, but it's a whole lot easier to deal with its faults after the patch and, by extension, a whole lot easier to recommend."[6]
While exact sales figures are unknown, Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. failed to place on Media Create's weekly top twenty sales chart on the week of its debut, meaning that it sold less than 1,863 copies.[7]
Technical details
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Demo
A downloadable demo for the game was released on the Nintendo eShop on January 29, 2015[8] The demo requires 1871 blocks, and can be played 30 times.
The demo allows players to play the prologue and first chapter, and the first mission of chapter 2. Players can transfer the medals they earn in the demo to the full game, which also unlocks an exclusive weapon.
Updates
Version no. | Release date(s) | Description |
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1.1.0 | April 7, 2015 | Adds the ability to speed up the enemy's turns. |
1.2.0 | July 28, 2015 | Adds compatibility with the Nintendo 3DS NFC Reader/Writer. |
External links
Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. on other NIWA Wikis: | ||
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References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Nintendo's new IP, Code Name S.T.E.A.M.: Strategy for a new audience. Gamasutra (June 12, 2014). Retrieved May 14, 2017.
- ↑ Nintendo dedicating 90 minutes to a new 3DS game at special E3 event. Polygon (May 16, 2014). Retrieved May 14, 2017.
- ↑ Kadokawa trademarks Gods War Frontier, The Lost Child; Nintendo files Strike Team Eliminating the Alien Menace. Gematsu (April 6, 2014). Retrieved May 14, 2017.
- ↑ Why Does S.T.E.A.M. For Nintendo 3DS Take Place In London? Siliconera (June 11, 2014). Retrieved May 14, 2017.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Famitsu Review Scores: Issue 1378. Gematsu (April 27, 2015). Retreived May 14, 2017.
- ↑ Code Name: STEAM review: off the rails. Polygon (March 13, 2015). Retrieved May 14, 2017.
- ↑ Code Name S.T.E.A.M. Fails to Chart in Week of Poor Sales in Japan. Nintendo Life (May 20, 2015). Retrieved May 14, 2017.
- ↑ Code Name S.T.E.A.M. Demo Appears on eShop. IGN (January 29, 2015). Retrieved May 14, 2017.