Code Name: S.T.E.A.M.

Codename S.T.E.A.M is an interesting 3DS title made by Intelligent Systems, the company behind the Advanced Wars and Fire Emblem series. At its reveal Codename S.T.E.A.M generated a lot of buzz in looking to play similar to Sega’s Valkyria Chronicles games; however, outside of them both being odd combinations of turn-based and real-time strategy, S.T.E.A.M does a lot to display itself as something all its own.

S.T.E.A.M’s story is fairly simple on paper. Aliens have invaded the world and it’s up to a strike team of North American literary heroes, such as Henry Fleming and Randolph Carter, to repel the outer space menace. It’s completely silly, but the game revels in it with a comic book-style presentation reminiscent of old super hero stories. It’s a bright and colorful experience with plenty of cheesy one-liners and silly dialogue. This is all complimented by a soundtrack filled with ominous tunes for when the alien creatures are on the prowl and striking rock-like numbers for the player and their troupe of freedom fighters are moving.

Efficiency is key in Codename S.T.E.A.M. Each character has a backpack that stores units of steam which determines how many spaces they can move in a turn as well as how many uses out of their weapons they can get. Each character is unique in how their weaponry works, and this is how S.T.E.A.M creates diversity among its 12-member cast. There are no classes or stats like in other Intelligent Systems’ games, so when you gain a character that can heal you can bet she will be the only character that will have a primary heal. You can gain sub-weapons that do various things such as heal, but sub-weapons serve more of a purpose of helping balance your team a little rather than make them flat out godlike.

You’re limited to four characters at a time in any given level, and sometimes how well you do can be reliant on taking the right characters with you. In general, mobility seems to be a very strong attribute to have, or maybe that’s just how I like playing. One character in particular, the lion from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, pounces on enemies as his primary attack, but this move can also be used to navigate him across the map and up cliff sides that many characters cannot scale. Some characters can are immune to stun, some give a passive buff, others can climb walls, but each character has their own quirk that makes them stand out.

Another interesting mechanic in Codename S.T.E.A.M is the Overwatch system. If a character does not use up all their steam when you end your turn they have the option of counterattacking an enemy. This can result in a stun, forcing the enemy to be unable to move for the rest of that turn. It adds another nice level of depth to the game where on top of moving and shooting you need to decide if maybe saving some steam for a counteroffensive would be a better investment. Enemies can also use Overwatch though, so planning around where you can spot an enemy is also important.

Level styles are also nicely varied. Most of the time your goal is to simply reach a designated spot, but other objectives can be things taking out every enemy or capturing multiple targets on the map. Most missions are made up of one to three maps bundled together which gives levels a total completion time of anywhere from ten to forty minutes give or take how much time you invest in roaming and exploring, and there’s plenty of reasons to do that. Medals scattered about maps can be stockpiled to unlock new sub-weapons, and special gears hidden on each map give you access to new steam tanks for your team. You can replay old missions after clearing them, which lets you go back and try them with characters you’ve unlocked later which can sometimes help in finding gears and medals.

S.T.E.A.M is not without its problems though. While I enjoy the colorful and silly approach it takes with the story visuals, the actual in-game character models and assets look stiff and blocky. Arms and legs look less like appendages and more like building blocks or poorly defined polygons. Probably my biggest issue though comes from the few chapters where you have to pilot a large Abraham Lincoln steam-robot to fight large enemies. Piloting A.B.E, as he’s called, is difficult without a second analog stick. You move the robot with the circle-pad and swap between weapons on the d-pad, leaving camera movement (and also where you’re aiming) with either the four face buttons or by using the touch screen. I could never get used to the face buttons, they just didn’t move the camera fast enough for me. There’s a bit of a learning curve to A.B.E, and it’s not an enjoyable one. Thankfully he only shows up a few times.

There’s also a multi-player mode where you can face off against a friend in various match types from medal collecting to team elimination. S.T.E.A.M feels very much like a single-player experience though, and a lot of its tactics mechanics don’t convert well into a human vs human setting. You can also have A.B.E fights, which are just as much a frustration here as they are in the main game.

Codename S.T.E.A.M is a great strategy game that rewards creative thinking and encourages experimentation with its range of unique characters and weapons. Its cartoon-like graphics and less than serious story might not be for everyone, but in what other game can you say that you took down a large Cthulhu monster with Tom Sawyer, the Scarecrow from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Queen Califia, and Herny Fleming?