Some were hoping for Metroid Dread. Some were hoping for a 3DS remake of The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask. Some were no doubt crossing their fingers for a localization of Mother 3. What we got at Nintendo’s closed E3 2014 Roundtable however, was something else entirely; Code Name S.T.E.A.M.
Developed by Intelligent Systems, Code Name S.T.E.A.M. had the entire event dedicated to its high-profile announcement. The game takes place in London, during the so-called Age of Steam (the 19th Century or so), and sports a steampunk art style, though one that takes more inspiration from the cartoon aesthetics of Silver Age comic books from the 1950’s and 1960’s.
While primarily a turn-based strategy game, Code Name S.T.E.A.M. also incorporates elements of third-person shooters. In this sense, it almost feels like Nintendo’s own quirky answer to Sega’s highly beloved Valkyria Chronicles games available on PlayStation platforms.
The premise of Code Name S.T.E.A.M. involves a very different war however, with the titular organization being started by Abraham Lincoln to combat, what else, hostile alien forces. This ties into the meaning behind the titular acronym, which stands for: Strike Team Eliminating the Alien Menace.
Needless to say, this game sounds delightfully weird, but there certainly seems to be a method to its madness. The appealing blend of styles and interesting blend of genres should hopefully lend themselves to something uniquely compelling, and wholly unlike other strategy games that have so far released on the 3DS. It should also hopefully make for a game that’s equally inviting to both strategy neophytes, and hardcore tacticians.
In fact, that’s exactly the bridge that Intelligent Systems is hoping to build with Code Name S.T.E.A.M.! The game is being designed to appeal to hardcore strategy gamers, but also to be inviting to people who aren’t familiar with, or perhaps aren’t very good at strategy games as well. Nintendo hopes that Code Name S.T.E.A.M. will help to introduce people to strategy games, and get them to fall in love with them in a way that they felt they couldn’t before.
Intelligent Systems are no doubt the people for that job as well. They’re the developers of two other Nintendo-published strategy game franchises, Advance Wars and Fire Emblem. Fire Emblem’s latest installment, Fire Emblem: Awakening was even immensely praised by both critics and the community as being an impeccable 3DS strategy game that perfectly appealed to both unskilled and hardcore would-be strategists.
Code Name S.T.E.A.M. is primarily an offline game, though Nintendo did tease that one of its play modes would have online functionality of some kind. Unfortunately, no details were provided, though it’s probable that the mode in question allows online multiplayer battles between players and their Code Name S.T.E.A.M. forces.
Code Name S.T.E.A.M. will release exclusively for Nintendo 3DS in 2015. We at Eggplante will continue to pump your news and updates related to this promising 3DS offering.