Code Name S.T.E.A.M.
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This is a game I've not heard a lot of people discussing, which is really kind of a shame, as it's a pretty interesting new IP from Nintendo. I mean, the core concept is "Abraham Lincoln creates a steampunk army based around figures from American folklore and literature to fight aliens". How can that not be awesome?
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A demo for this game received some limited distribution through GameStop, and I managed to snag a code. So I thought I would share my thoughts after playing through it. The game is made by Intelligent Systems, the same guys who make the Fire Emblem games, and it is a turn based tactics game. There, however, the comparisons pretty much stop.
Steam is your core resource, and it works much as time units did in the original XCOM. Every square of movement costs one unit of steam, and firing a weapon takes from two to four units (depending on the weapon). You can reverse a movement in order to reclaim the steam used, but firing a weapon or getting hit by an enemy's Overwatch shots will lock you to your current movement. So, while you can scout relatively freely, if you get caught by surprise, you can very quickly wind up beyond the range of support units and in a lot of cover. You can also reserve units to fire Overwatch shots during your own turn. This steam will not be wasted, because units do not recover their entire steam bar on a turn end, only part of it, so if the enemy did not trigger your reaction fire, your steam will carry over to the next turn unless you reserved most of it.
Unlike most turn based tactics games, you don't have an overhead view. Instead, you have a third person over-the-shoulder view of whichever member of your four-man squad you are currently controlling. Thus, the game handles Fog of War differently from any other tactics game I've played. You have essentially unlimited sight distance, but you're restricted by line of sight to the units at your command. With no clear map of the location, and plenty of destructible objects, keeping track of the alien forces is not always simple. Plenty of tense moments can occur if you lose track of an alien around a corner, or when a new one attacks your from a rooftop.
Aliens are fairly typical insectoids, similar to those seen in the Starship Troopers movies. They do have a definite ice theme going on, and maps will feature blocks of ice both as cover and blocking off inaccessible areas. Each alien also has a weak spot, a glowing purple spot that can only be hit from a particular angle, but which will deal increased damage. You also get a few behavioral indicators from aliens. A "?" above their head indicates that they heard or noticed something, but don't have exact details yet. A "!" means that they know where one of your units is. A red arrow pointing from them towards your current unit will let you know that they're probably going to attack that unit on their next turn.
To combat these foes, you have a multitude of characters and weapons at your disposal. Each character has a signature weapon, unique to them (such as John Henry's Bear Grenade), while there are also a handful of secondary weapons that can be freely traded out. In addition to having different steam costs and damage output, each weapon also features some other unique properties. For example, the Steam Crossbow deals light damage on a standard hit, but if you hit a weak point, it's has the highest single hit damage in the demo (and for only 2 steam!). The Bear Grenade does damage to an area, will destroy destructible terrain, and knocks back foes it hits. However, it does have a substantial Steam cost.
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Throughout the map, there are a handful of collectables to watch out for. Steam tanks will replenish a units steam by a set amount immediately. These are prefect for getting in an extra burst of movement or damage. Health packs are usually contained in crates, and will heal units who walk over them. Then there are medals. These are the only items that can be picked up without locking you to your current movement. Scouting and grabbing medals is always a good thing, as they can be used to heal your squad at save points, or to upgrade your squad between missions (in the full game, at least, not in the demo). In addition to the medals found scattered around the map, extras can be earned by killing foes, with bonuses for killing them with Overwatch attacks or killing multiples at once with AOE weapons. There are also three unique gears to collect on each map. These gears provide a completion bonus reward of more medals, and the game has told me they can be used to buy better steam boilers, which would likely increase a unit's steam reserves or recharge rate.
Finally, there's the real-time aspect of the game. That's right, this is not strictly a turn based game. Any time you fire a weapon, you actually have to aim the reticle yourself. Even if you're at the right angle, if you don't point towards an enemy's weak point, you won't hit it. Certain weapons, like Henry Fleming's (from Red Badge of Courage) Eagle Rifle, have a bit of spread on them, giving you reason to close distance a bit to ensure that all three shots hit. Overwatch shots are also real-time. When a unit spots a foe moving into position, a red line will highlight where it is currently aiming, and then track that line onto the enemy unit. This gives you time to notice that movement and reverse your last decision, avoiding the reaction fire if you're fast enough. You can also use it to turn an enemy unit to give a fellow a better shot at an enemy's weak point if you have them outflanked. It's a minor touch, but it adds a lot of depth to the system. Your own characters have to aim reaction fire too. So, before you end your turn, point your characters towards where you think the enemy will come from to get the reaction shots off sooner (seriously, knowing this is incredibly helpful).
So far, this is looking to be a great game. Maybe not Game of the Year standards, but for a brand new IP? It's a fantastic title. I can easily recommend it to anyone who is a fan of turn based tactics games, XCOM, or to anyone who found the game interesting from my poor little demo review here.
TLDR: Abraham Lincoln forms a steampunk army of figures from American folklore and literature to fight aliens. What more did you need?
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Originally Posted by Omni-Odin
