Code Name S.T.E.A.M Demo Available Now on the 3DS eShop

Sweet, I'll probably get the actual game because of the amiibo support so this is a bonus I guess.

Wow. Just WOW! Wow wow wow wow!

Such an unexpected surprise. Nice move, Nintendo.

I would get this if it comes to NA just cause i wanna try it NOW!

cant wait to play this

I hope this comes to NA soon, because I can't wait to play this. I mean I'm gonna get the game anyway, but a little pre-release peak would certainly be most welcome. Also, Nintendo seems to be very pleased with the game, or they wouldn't put out a demo.
Still curious that EU gets the demo first, but the game last

Automatic good week if NA adds this
thus they won't

Wow, that's seriously early for a Nintnedo demo. For any demo from any company ever actually.

So what are the control options - the camera always looked like a natural for the "new" 3DS thumbstick - does it work w/ that CPP add-on? Just curious.

Sweet! I really hope this comes here as well!!

Downloaded. I'll try it out later tonight.

@Sparx Urgh, yeah ... you're probably right I guess. I mean once they start meeting expectations, they might set into motion a series of events that are no longer grounded in a constant stream of disappointment. Who knows where this might lead in the long run ... stick to your comfort zone, it's hard to really blame them.

Well it's awesone but I prefer those rumored cool-looking S.T.E.A.M. demo cards that the US is getting. I'll play this demo when the N3DS releases.

I am looking forward to this game, but that art style is just.....I wish it was darker.

GameStop in NA has some codes for demos

@JasonAnArgoNOT64 I read that the demos where only for GameStop employes.

@Warruz
You mean edgy and only 400 shades of brown?

I see what you mean, but the comic book style fits the outrageousness of the setting

@HeroOfCybertron
I've heard conflicting reports so who knows? I'm getting it regardless

@ThomasBW84
Do you have any idea if GameStop is handing out demo codes for steam in NA?

Good! Downloading this now. Let me see if it's my thing.

Come on America!

Really glad this is happening, I can finally see whether I want to preorder or skip this game!

@Warruz
Have you tried valkyria chronicles? Similar game but more realistic and darker in tone

When I saw the headline, and quickly rushed over to the e-shop; 'twas not there. I headed back over here—to see if I read it correctly—and saw what the problem was, quite clearly: "...on the 3DS e-shop in Europe."

Darn.

@BensonUii we have to spend money to get those most likely considering how most gamestops make you pre-order or order something before they give you codes for stuff now.

Playing this right now, so far so good! And for those who were wondering, it does support Circle Pad Pro and the C-Stick on the N3DS.

Cool, I hope the US gets a demo, too, but yeah, @rjejr, this seems early!

Does that suggest some confidence? Nintendo is thinking that an early release gives some time for word of mouth? I hope so.

I do think this is the kind of game that people need a demo for. The theme is hard to categorize and even the genre of the game can be confusing at first blush, but being this early must suggest something.

Not sure if I'll buy this game (mostly because of time), but I'll try the demo for sure. My son loves turn-based strategy stuff on the iPhone and plays that Fire Emblem demo on our 3DS quite a bit. He wants me to buy that one, but the content isn't exactly 5-year-old friendly from what I understand.

@rjejr Oh and @gianlucazogno answered your question above: it supports circle pro pad and C stick for aiming. It controls like a fps but is turn-based.

I'm glad I just upgraded my SD card to 32GB.

Nice one! MPT, Gunman Clive 2 and this demo for me today. Very intrigued with this game, not really into real time strategy games but it's Nintendo, they always have a good twist on gameplay.

This demo is soooo good - a definite BUY

That awesome. The game had me on the fence for awhile with the added amiibo support leaning me over the buy side. Maybe the demo will give me the final push to buy.

Yay! Will download it once I get home. Hope they print enough Lucina and Robin amiibos, I'm having enough trouble getting Ike as it is. I already have Marth though, so that's a plus.

See? THIS is how you handle a demo. No special codes or only getting one with a preorder. I'm not sure if I'll get this game, but who knows maybe the demo will make me change my mind

Played a couple of hours of this so far... very impressed with it. Was turned off by the style in early trailers but it makes sense once you see the narrative and how it looks in 3D. By the way... credit earned in this demo will transfer to the full game, and unlike other demo's it actually saves your progress. Seems there is a fair bit of content here.

@DrMonk
Really? Nice! Can't wait to get home and download this, as well as Metroid Prime Trilogy.

@rjejr I'm too lazy to read all the comments to see if this was already answered, but yes, it does support the CPP

Will definitely have to give this a go, I've been sitting on the fence about it for a while.

@Sparx
Paranatural! This is the first time I've seen a fan outside the website.

Damn, this is great news. I'll go try it out right now.

It's alright, but I found the enemy movement phases quite tedious.

I did have my eye on it, but I'm not too sure now - I'm sure it was streamlined for the demo, but it didn't really appeal to me.

I've only done the first set of maps, but I will try to get the other ones done. The new Fire Emblem is looking much more appealing to me.

@aaronsullivan - turn-based

Sriosuly? I thought it's a run-n-gun team based 3rd person action shooting game like Splatoon, how the heck can it be turned based? Had no idea it's one of those, good thing there's a demo I guess. Thanks for all the info.

North America, too? Sweet. Getting on that now.

@rjejr
Yep, turn-based. It's made by the developers of Fire Emblem games. Like you said, a good reason for a demo.

This was a nice surprise today! The game's awesome, really enjoying it. Reminds me of Ghost Recon Shadow Wars. I was happy to see C-Stick support, too. I wish this demo was unlimited though, as I've now got to somehow make those 30 tries last till May. Shouldn't be too hard, eh? ...

Good, lengthy demo.

Turn based action RPG. As previously mentioned, slow monster turns and initially less steam power than my grandma's old pipe. Initially prefer using ABXY instead of C stick. Find it slow after my re-visit to Project X Zone, but a definite Buy for me when its released in UK.

@JasonAnArgoNOT64 Boooring I'm already playing it here on the East Coast. Totally worth it

Found it pretty underwhelming didnt really do anying that exciting when compared to other strategy games. And damn the enemy phase is so slow.

I played the demo 5 hours without pause. I made every mision and map on 100%.
This game is awesone
First day buy Ninty!

Dat 30 use limit doe! Good thing my local Gamestop was cool enough to give me two of their demo cards on Tuesday, which allow for unlimited uses and no restrictions.

They also threw in two of the promotional posters as well. Great demo. More than likely buying this.

Too bad I don't own and can't find the FE Amiibo's... Anywhere...

The enemies turns take way too long :@

@emiingham Welcome to SRPGs.

Will have to give this a go when I have a chance.

Wasn't really hyped for this game but the demo is actually pretty fun!

Kinda looking forward to it now

Nice! I've been keeping my eye on this game, so the demo should help me decide. I'll give it a go when I can.

@rjejr
You didn't know this was turn based? It's developed by Intelligent Systems- ya know, Fire Emblem, Advance Wars, all that. Strategy is all they do. But I would think getting an Intelligent Systems-developed strategy game akin to Valkyria Chronicles is a much more exciting notion than an over the shoulder 3rd person shooter. Unless of course, you haven't played Fire Emblem and aren't familiar with just how excellent IS developed strategy games are...

@edhe
That's the sign of a good strategy game. The pause means the AI is calculating the various possibilities and is reacting according to your choices. All strategy games of this caliber have a calculation pause, like Frozen Synapse Prime. Normally it would be aggravating but being a strategy game, where you have to think about what you're next move is, it's not such an issue. At least for me it isn't. For one, I know the AI is carefully considering how to react to me, and for two, I use that time to study my next move anyways.

But like I said, that's just me. I can understand the pov of someone not accustomed to calculation pauses seeing it as irritating.

I'll confess that the revelation of this game is quite underwhelming. Coming from Intelligent Systems, one of my favourite developer ever (loved Fire Emblem series), I know it must be good, but looking at trailer and such, I don't know if it'll appeal for me. But boy it is, the demo literally turn my view on it 180 degrees.

I loved the comical style of the cut scenes, the 3D is well done, character looks much-much better than in any trailer video! And more importantly, strategy element is as strong as ever. Waiting for the enemy moves is quite annoying at first (wish we could fast forward it), but it make a lot of sense actually, it just feel long because we don't know where and how the enemies is moving, besides of those that close to our unit. This gives it a rather different experience than Fire Emblem, and so far, I loved it.

Between this and the new FIre Emblem, 2015 is clearly the year of Intelligent Systems! And here's hoping the new FE to arrive here in 2015, as it is in Japan.

After spending a little time with the demo I was shocked with how much nicer the graphics look on the hardware then any of the preview vidoes/images. I know the 3DS is quite lower res, but some games just do not look very good as screen shots for some reason.

@Jim_Purcell .Hello, looks great on N3DS.

I liked everything except the tedious enemy turns. speed it up!!

Anybody else thinking this resembles Jet Force Gemini and Burning Rangers????

Yes Jet Force Gemini indeed.

Regarding the speed just add a fast forward button ala Fire Emblem and other rts games.

I LOVE this game now. Just got the gamestop demo (unlimited uses it looks like?) and it is so much fun. I was worried about the movement mechanics but it isn't too different from FE/AW. The game looks way better than I thought. Somehow the trailers made it look worse to me. Feb is going to be a REALLY expensive month.

I can actually see why they didn't add a fast forward button since you don't have an overhead view of the action and you can switch perspectives. It helps with planning.

@JaxonH @Captain_Gonru - What part of any video that we've seen said "turn based"? All I've seen are people running around, hiding behind boxes, and shooting each other. I'm going to go watch a bunch of videos now.

And yes I know who IS is, Advance Wars was great, doesn't mean they coudln't branch out, lots of companies branch out.

OK, watched the 3 minute annouce trailer, I can sort of see how it's turn based, but in 1st viewing it really looks like the cast of W101 invaded Columbia form Bioshock Nfinite, run and gun team stuff. I seriously can not be the only person who saw that video and thought that. And Idon't recall any of the newer trailers emphasizing turn based either. IT's going to take me awhile to get used to this.

@cbkummer - Thanks. Though now that I've been set straight and find out it's turn based I guess there's no rush for a CPP.

@aaronsullivan - Yeah like I just said to the other guys, I can't be the only person who thinks this was going to be a fast paced run and gun. Can I?

Maybe if EX Troopers ever made it to the west people would see what I saw? Really enjoyed the demo on PS3.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyUqyuDr30Q

@rjejr How dare you not know!!??!? I kid, of course. It was pretty clear to me, but I watched the extensive initial reveal at E3 (it was the last surprise game). It is a bit of a hybrid that can introduce those not used to turn-based tactical games gently. At first it just feels like you can't move more because you ran out of steam so then the aliens get to attack while you wait. It's 100% turn-based strategy, though.

I played it last night and I'm really digging it. Like so many others I find the graphics much better in person. Everything seems, I don't know, more cool and important without all the big flashy words zipping across the screen (during gameplay).

As for the pause, it depends on the situation. Sometimes it's annoying because you aren't learning anything new or you are watching an animation of a creature who decided to stand still, but like @JaxonH said, the AI is working. While that creature is animating, the decision of the next one is being calculated. They seem to be pretty smart (once they are aware of you) and very often you need to pay close attention to what you are seeing when it's the enemy's turn to keep aware of the changing battlefield.

All in all I love this take on tactical strategy. Keeping in the perspective of the soldiers only and allowing you some freedom of movement is a combination I've never seen and it's fun. Far from a gimmick it keeps you fighting for awareness and adds a greater feeling of control. It's living up to expectations for me and it got me to dig out my 3DS and actually play it for awhile!

@rjejr Didn't catch your comment on CPP but the game would benefit. You are wanting to control the camera all the time. Most of the touchscreen is the camera control and not being able to just hold it to continue spinning your view is frustrating at times. Works well, but CPP or C-stick will be much nicer for this game.

EDIT: Oops just tried it out and ABXY buttons control camera that way and it helps quite a bit. CPP or C would be better but the combination of touch and ABXY is pretty good now.

@aaronsullivan - Thanks for all the comments. I think I'll like it, really enjoyed Advance Wars (even though I played clone Mecha Wars on PS3 first) but I'm still wrapping my head around it being turn based. I'll DL the demo later. new 3DS XL is probably my birthday present in July so I have time to get used to it

@Dizzard gotta spread the isaac love

Junk demo it's like a rip off of Gears of war one man is a ripoff of cole from gears every few steps they say run out of steam. iPad games are better than this rubbish sort it out. somebody who made this is a clear Gears of war fan even the cogs you collect look like gears cogs.

@Luna-Harmony You're right, how dare they make a game that happens to have the same idea of another game!

and what were they thinking with having a cog in their game? Only gears of war can have a cog, they invented the cog! Silly nintendo.

Don't like it. It would have been good but when they showed Abraham Lincoln that's just silly. What a waste of time in my opinion.

@aaronsullivan - Demo was fun, but I can't play on those tiny little screens. Well the bottom screen is ok, it doesn't do much, but I can't see anything on that top screen. Partly size and partly resolution I think. I had an iPod Touch and my wife has a $100 Android smartphone and they both seem much more viewable. 3D looked good though, but I find it hard to discern objects. I've spent enough time on store kiosk XL models and those seem the right size to me, so I wait.

@jj87 So folklore hero John Henry in a steam powered world of the past invaded by aliens was plausible to you, but Abe Lincoln. Now we've gone too far. lol.

I think it's a pretty awesome mix of alternate history, folklore, legends, and characters from classic fiction. Pretty sure Lion is from Oz, too.

@Luna-Harmony Wow. Gears of War. I guess armored guy with gun. Third person viewpoint. Rip off, though? Junk? Perhaps you didn't expect the turn-based strategy game that it is?

I'm just at a loss why you are thinking Gears of War. So, I looked up cole in Gears of War. Oh, there's an African American in it. It must be a rip-off. Well steel-driving man John Henry came way before Cole. lol.

I don't want to pile on, but it doesn't seem like you gave it a fair chance. If you don't like turn-based strategy and expected it was something else, I can understand that. It's probably going to happen to many people who are expecting something a little different. Means the demo was a good idea. Just don't be surprised when people really like this game because for it's genre, it seems pretty sweet to me.

@rjejr I have a 3DS XL and I could never do the smaller one, either. I'd have loved this on Wii U... again.

@aaronsullivan yes I understand aliens but Abe? Lol.

@aaronsullivan - Turns out Disney Infinity Toy Story playset is a lot of fun, been playing it w/ my youngest. So much so that we bought the Lone Ranger set even though we'll never see the movie and he has no concept of the story, but the train sounds cool, and there are no separate characters to buy - I spent $7 on Woody just to open a vault. And it was $15 on Microsoftstore.com and I had $15 off $50. And we bought Hulk over Venom b/c he plays in the Avengers play set, we'll get Venom someday when we can pick up the Spiderman set for $20.

Activison was brilliant giving us DI free on Wii U, and bundling 2.0 w/ PS3.

Going to delete later, just wanted to catch you up on my good DI activities.

@rjejr Interesting. Do you know that if you synch up the playsets to Disney Infinity 2.0 it unlocks ALL toys from that set for the ToyBox in 2.0? Sort of spoils the fun of unlocking for 1.0, though.

We really thought Lone Ranger and Toy Story were the best ones. Building the train up and opening up areas for it to travel was fun. Pirates was pretty fun, too, with all the sea battling.

@rjejr Glad you guys are having fun with DI and it looks like you are keeping on top of the deals! We got too many figurines for 2.0. Nothing wrong with the choices, just they could be having just about as much fun with half the toys.

Plus, there's always Minecraft and we just discovered an end gate in our big non-cheating survival game. 6/10 ender eyes gathered but we need more diamond armor.

Oh, and I love that Hyrule Warriors! We've been getting into euro board/card games lately as even the 5-year-old can play them now. Dominion is a fun one and my 9-year-old is great at it. Forbidden Island is working great right now, too. Very fun and social.

@aaronsullivan - "Pirates was pretty fun, too, with all the sea battling."

I think I already told you, but I bought 2 pirates - Jack and Barbosa - to play the Pirate set, but I don't have that little piece - like an idiot I assumed the free DL on Wii U would have the 3 main sets unlocked. I mean the game only came 1 way right, w/ the game, portal and 3 characters, why did they even need a set piece? It's $10 used on eBay, I'm holding off until we finish Toy Story, Avengers - we did the first 2 missions but it's so gray and boring, should be better w/ Hulk though - and Lone Ranger.

Having the stuff unlock in 2.0 is the main reason I had my sister buy us Toy Story. The jet and booster packs change everything. And we are unlocking everything in Toy Story, my kid is saving up for the grow and shrink guns - so I'm ok w/ it all being unlocked in 2.0.

We have over 60 Skylanders - I know all about using half. On the bright side my kids actually play w/ them as toys - they call it "pretend real life". To bad one girl broke her head off But a least they get used. And my wife and I played all of Giants. We'll play Trap Team but I think we're skipping Swap Force. She's not very good so it helps to have so many leveled up toys.

I can't play Minecraft w/ my kids, though I may pay $4 for Skyrim skin (on PS3). We have been playing a lot of Hyrule Warriors lately, you get that? A bit violent, but I have 10 and 12 year old boys, so it's better than FPS of which we play none.

Didn't like the demo one bit and have no plans on buying it. Thanks Intelligent System for making ANOTHER "Fire Emblem" but not "Advance Wars".

Played the demo with the CPP.. I did not enjoy the demo. The voice overs are annoying (OUTTA STEAM), graphics were so-so... (The aliens looked like they had 5 polygons)
Gunman Clive 2 is way better

@rjejr Yeah, we did buy Hyrule Warriors and I thought the violence was very on par with mainline Zelda games. The more challenging part for my 5-year-old was dealing with (spoilers) fighting against good guys. Not just when you play a bad guy, but how they kept spinning the good guys against you as well. (end spoilers) We talk about it, though.

There's a couple awkward Cia moments as well, but the content has been okay. Obviously, it is pretty violent, but it's very fantasy and they've been slowly exposed to it in other Zelda games over time.

We all like it. The multiplayer is great and it's a fun, fun game to keep going back to. I love just mowing down the armies as a sort of catharsis. It gets more interesting and deeper as you play the adventure mode or try on Hard or later difficulties as well. (For those that are worried about it just being a button-masher, I recommend starting on Hard.)

I'm already looking forward to a Hyrule Warriors sequel on a next generation Nintendo console. Seems like a given.

@aaronsullivan - In a mood for a long story? Guess I don't know any other kind though, do I?

We got our MS order today of Hulk and Skylanders, but no DI Lone Ranger. Called MS to see what happened - after way too long on the phone w/ Trudy - we were practically dating by the time it was all over - we could't resolve anything. About 30 minutes later she calls me back, tells me it's Out of Stock so they never sent it but they already charged the full amount to my credit card adn she can't take it back. I'm not happy so she emails me a $50 MS store credit, which I dont 'really want b/c almost all DI stuf is OOS, but it's $50 so I say ok. At 5:30 I got an email saying DI Lone Ranger has shipped.

Now I get to listen to the little devil and angel on my shoulder to see if I try to use the $50 credit. It is tempting, but it is wrong. Guess we'll see.

Glad you are enjoying HW, it's fun. I finished the main storyline before losing my save file, now I'm about halfway, so I been playing w. my son on his.