Welcome to a world that runs on steam! A world where the air balloons, cars and even weapons can only be used if there is enough of the aforementioned valuable resource. Code Name Steam, a game for the Nintendo 3DS, is stated to be released on March 13th, 2015. I was able to snag a demo code of the title and here are my impressions of my time with the game.
There are only a few Turned-based Strategies (TBS) style games that I have played and enjoyed, I just never got into the style of waiting to move and attack. Code Name Steam adds a few new tricks to the over the top TBS style of gameplay that it uses by moving the camera behind the character that you are using. This gives the game more of a third-person action feel, and for me, it feels very nice.
The demo is a small slice of what the game will be and only highlights a few missions and gameplay elements that will be seen in the final product. The story seems to have Aliens invading the world and a team of soldiers needing to band together to help save the world.
The player controls the action, moving the different characters from place to place on a grid style map. Only a few moves can be made at a time. Each move will use steam, and once the steam runs out, the player can no longer move. The other element that uses steam is the weapons. Once it’s the players turn, they will have the choose to move or fire their weapon. Moving the player only takes one puff of steam, while firing a weapon will take a few more. After the player ends there turn, the enemy will take over and move or attack, the player will not be able to see the enemy unless the enemy is in the player’s line of sight. Here is where one of the best features takes over. It’s called Overwatch and if the player has some left over steam the player will be able to shoot off a shot when the enemy comes in to the line of sight. This will work the other way around as well, if the player walks into the line of sight of the enemy they will also be able to get off a shoot before the player knows what has hit him.
There are a lot of options that open up pretty early, walking carefully and trying to stay hidden or go it guns blazing are come of your choices. Once a few party members enter the game, moving your partners, holding them back, and knowing when to attack all come into play. The game feels like chess played with steam and guns! Code Name Steam feels fluid and fast and the anticipation hits hard when waiting for the enemy to move. When the action gets going the gameplay holds strong.
Here is a game that has brought the love of TBS games back to my life. I will be there, day one, to pick up this game. The gameplay and the art style both hit home with me. Code Name Steam feels like the developers of the Tales series made a TBS, and i love me some Tales games. Do yourself a favor and keep your eye on this game. Don’t forget to keep on eye on the site for all your news and reviews!
