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| Finishing move: The Flying Railsplitter! |
The one thing about his popularity, however, is that it doesn't really carry over well into other countries, which is why his appearance is such an odd one in Intelligent Systems's newest tactical strategy IP. It's kinda like the localization of Nobunaga's Ambition. Koei's turn-based wargame received a considerable amount of praise, and was already extremely popular on Japanese PCs, but I had heard nothing of it from fellow gamers throughout the years. Granted, its first official release on the NES occurred in 1989, right? I wasn't even playing with power back then (...or was I? I can't remember.) I'll admit that just about everything gaming-related at that time was overshadowed by the introduction of the Game Boy, the release of Mega Man 2, and the premiere of The Wizard, though that shitty film was only popular thanks to Super Mario Bros. 3 (the game itself wasn't released in the states until AFTER the movie), so it's obscurity might simply be a result of poor timing. Ok, forget that. Um, imagine if Australia released a game centered around Neville Bonner *giggity*. He came from humble beginnings, loved boomerangs, and looks great in all his photos, but who the fuck is he and why is he the star of a handheld title? Outside of the land down under, I doubt anyone would care to know. With that in consideration, Japan felt it was necessary to add "Lincoln vs Aliens" to the title when the game finally reached the island nation. Yes, America received this game first... not that many appreciated it.
Code Name: S.T.E.A.M.
The game revolves around squad-based strategy using characters from American literature, folklore, and films.
For those of you with little interest in figuring them out on your own, here's a spoiler list of sorts:
Henry Fleming - the Union Army private from The Red Badge of Courage
Queequeg - the cannibal shipmate from Moby Dick
Tom Sawyer - a recurring character in Mark Twain's novels
Calafia - Queen of California's fictional island in The Adventures of Esplandián
The Fox - Zorro's Black Whip, a film from the 1940s.
Tiger Lily - Neverland-borne Native American from Peter Pan
Randolph Carter - the alter-ego and recurring character of H.P. Lovecraft
John Henry - from the tall tales of a "steel-driving man" who lost to technology
Dorothy Gale, Lion, Tin Man, and Scarecrow - The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
????????? - Original Character
Calafia's existence may not be of American origins, but she's important to the people of California, representing its spirit, so I'm not going to question her appearance in this game any further than to find out why she is associated with a rhino, instead of a griffin. She had an army of 500 griffins. Where the fuck did a rhino come from? A floating barrel?
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| Looks good. Looks interesting. Looks up. |
The story is a simple one - evil aliens need to be stopped, which is probably why little effort was made to flesh out the team. That, and these individuals already come with plenty of backstory from their respective sources (I was somewhat peeved at the complaints made by other reviewers about the matter.) The whole thing leaves me to wonder if this is just part of some alternate Dream Realm created by Randolph after he fell asleep in his study room. Considering how many heroic depictions of Lincoln were made around that time, it wouldn't be too farfetched to see him in charge of the whole operation, either.
Gameplay is what I love most about this. As I have stated before, I'm burned out on Fire Emblem. Each sequel came with changes, but not enough to really make any of them feel like something different. S.T.E.A.M. provides a genuine 3rd-person perspective, meaning enemies can hide behind obstacles and lurk around corners to get the jump on reckless players, and the option to counterattack (referred to as overwatch) must be taken into consideration alongside movement and being offensive. It all runs on the same supply of steam, which refills to some extent during the player's turn with the amount depending upon what boiler is strapped to a character's back.
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| You have to be in a high position for that bird's-eye view. |
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| Let freedom ring with a red, white, and BOOM! (I combined two one-liners from the actual game. I didn't make that shit up!) |
Add to that two sets of equipment to unlock: boilers and sub weapons, which help to better customize your already-diverse, four-man squad. Oh, and a few words of advice: Don't let the silliness of some of these weapons fool you. Littering the battlefield with banana peels and pumpkins will turn the enemy force into a bunch of clowns. Lures will bring them out of hiding, and stuns will not only halt their movement, but will also significantly increase the damage taken with the next hit, so feel free to shower your foes with high-flyin' electric eels.
As one plays through the story, characters will gradually tag along. From what I've seen on Youtube, they're more interesting to play with than the Fire Emblem Amiibo Force, so don't feel bad if you're among the 99% who haven't yet seen one of these figurines available for purchase. The aliens are boring to look at (not gonna sugarcoat that), though there is enough detail to help distinguish one from another, and they do come with their own quirks. Some will even kill their own if you know how to position yourself. Lastly, be quick, or your team will be overrun with respawns. Several can and will emerge each turn to slow you down.
The A.B.E. encounters are a nice change from the usual gameplay, and I suppose those moments could be considered boss fights, but I really wish there were a few more charismatic enemies to deal with. The only one you really have to struggle against is Starface.
The campaign will take about fifteen to twenty hours to finish, unlocking harder modes that place limitations upon those wishing to repeat missions. These include Intuition (meaning you can no longer see health and steam bars), No Return (backtracking will not replenish your steam), and Merciless (stronger enemies). Another challenge involves collecting 100,000 medals. 100,000! Is it really worth that much trouble? It would help explain those question marks I typed earlier.
Multiplayer modes are available, but you only get 60 seconds per turn. I can understand why, but that's rushing it a bit, isn't it? Maybe 90 would be better? I'm surprised this was put into place for PvP, but had to be implemented for the campaign through an update. Less importantly, who honestly believes I bought this (or any other game) for its online value?
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| "Full S.T.E.A.M. ahead!" Get it? Because he used the name of... awww, fuck it! |
The campaign will take about fifteen to twenty hours to finish, unlocking harder modes that place limitations upon those wishing to repeat missions. These include Intuition (meaning you can no longer see health and steam bars), No Return (backtracking will not replenish your steam), and Merciless (stronger enemies). Another challenge involves collecting 100,000 medals. 100,000! Is it really worth that much trouble? It would help explain those question marks I typed earlier.
Multiplayer modes are available, but you only get 60 seconds per turn. I can understand why, but that's rushing it a bit, isn't it? Maybe 90 would be better? I'm surprised this was put into place for PvP, but had to be implemented for the campaign through an update. Less importantly, who honestly believes I bought this (or any other game) for its online value?
The music is appropriate, if not familiar, and one can unlock the soundtrack within the game... or listen to it on Youtube. Yoshito Sekigawa (a.k.a. Yoshito Hirano) is the composer, but that shouldn't be a surprise considering S.T.E.A.M.'s developer. I am currently unaware of the singer in the alternate opening theme, though I doubt it was Yoshito's voice. Maybe Wil Wheaton sang it? I wouldn't put it past him. He is the voice of Abe Lincoln, after all and Michael Dorn tags along as John "somewhat a merry man" Henry. Unfortunately, Patrick Stewart was too busy finishing off a bucket of ice to participate. I know. It made me all frowny, as well.
Oh, and they're not the only recognizable voice actors worth mentioning. My three favorite of the bunch are:
Paul Eiding (Perceptor from the original Transformers; Col. Roy Campbell from Metal Gear Solid; Aldarius, Executor, and Overmind from the Starcraft series)
Kari Wahlgren (FLCL's Haruko Harahara, DoA's Kasumi, and Tales of Symphonia's own Professor Raine Sage, the only other fictional character I've had a crush on in the past besides Katt from Breath of Fire 2)
Grey DeLisle (pretty much everything over the last twenty years)
It's rare to see this sort of AAA-ish treatment being given to such an iffy new IP, but, then again, it's a product brought to us through Nintendo, the company who helped support Fatal Frame V, The Wonderful 101, and Bayonetta 2 above and beyond what a sane business would budget. I'll buy the games just to show my appreciation for the people at Nintendo taking these risks. They fuck up bunches, sure, but I'd hate to see them go the way of Sega after doing so much to help keep the industry changing... I still want more Amiibos, guys. Where are the Amiibos, Nintendo? Where are they?! Stop announcing new ones, and restock what you've already released! Assholes.
<3 I still love ya. <3
I thought it was a great game, and I appreciate the reference to both Nell and Caroline made through the inclusion of Katherine. A shame only 1800+ copies sold in Japan during the week of its release, and sales were not much better in the states, though I doubt anyone was surprised by that. Regardless, I'll recommend S.T.E.A.M. to anyone wishing for something more challenging (and charming!) than Fire Emblem: Awakening.
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| But not as much as it needs MORE AMIIBOS! |
~Acknowledgements~
Angela Moseley - Recommendation.
Murlocs - I killed a lot of them.
Chops - The only one who will actually read this post, but won't provide art support.
Josh - Borrowed the game. Never gave it back.
