Nintendo doesn't often hire celebrities to be voice actors in its games - in fact, fully voiced dialogue simply isn't particularly common in the big N's titles. Kid Icarus: Uprising was a recent exception, along with the likes of Metroid: Other M, but we're normally just treated to occasional catch phrases and gibberish. Unless Monolith Soft is involved, naturally.

Code Name: S.T.E.A.M., the upcoming strategy title from Intelligent Systems, is rather different - it features a range of fully-voiced characters within its Steampunk aesthetic, but Nintendo's even invested in recruiting a high profile name for the cast. Nintendo of America has confirmed that Wil Wheaton - known for Star Trek: The Next Generation in his younger days and a range of projects including The Big Bang Theory nowadays - is playing the role of Abraham Lincoln.

For his part Wheaton shared his delight at it finally being announced on his blog.

And after waiting almost a year to be able to talk about it, Nintendo of America has announced that I play the voice of Abraham Lincoln in their insanely awesome 3DS title, Code Name STEAM.

I am extremely proud of this game, and I can't wait to play it. It's got a great balance of humor and strategy, and there may be some awesomely weird stuff in it, too.

Wheaton is a hugely popular figure (he has 2.8 million followers on Twitter), even though there are those that aren't his biggest fans and have reacted negatively; that's the nature of being such a visible personality. It's certainly a high-profile piece of casting by Nintendo that'll grab some attention for the 3DS title, due in North America on 13th March and Europe on 15th May.

Let us know what you think of this announcement in the comments.