New 3DS game: Codename S.T.E.A.M. ⊟
Nintendo’s big mystery project is a cel-shaded steampunk game developed by Intelligent Systems (Fire Emblem, Advance Wars). It’s a turn-based action strategy title in which you control soldiers from a group called S.T.E.A.M that’s led by Abraham Lincoln and fights invading aliens. Yeah.
The gameplay sounds very Valkyria Chronicles-ish, in that it’s third-person shooting/action, and you can switch between the four characters in your squad. There are even Action Points for movement/commands – your units run on steam, and have boilers on their backs with gauges indicating how much they have left. You’ll also have Overwatch attacks that let you attack enemies during their turn.
While character designs in Codename S.T.E.A.M. are inspired by Silver Age comic books from artists like Jack Kirby and Bruce Timm, the bug-like alien enemies riff on HP Lovecraft creatures. The weapon designs for main characters are based on animal motifs that tie into their personalities (e.g. an eagle rifle). No word yet on whether there’s a steampunk cat.
Apparently the game will not have online play, but it will have multiplayer that’s online? Yeah, that sounds contradictory, so I’m not sure what that means. Maybe play-by-email-style multiplayer?
It’s not scheduled to release until 2015. :o( Shout-outs to Polygon and @AshPaulsen for their updates from the event!
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