SteamWorld Heist

[The Shoemaker]

This is a new game by the guys at Image and Form, creators of the previous hit SteamWorld Dig. Heist plays completely different from Dig, but shares the same world and general feel. I really enjoyed Dig, and I like this one just as much, if not more.

It's a turn based strategy game, but it 2D. I hear it plays similar to XCOM. The 2D nature of the game makes it feel pretty unique, and great for quick bursts. The cool thing is that you actually need to aim your gun to attack. Some guns have a laser site, which shows you the exact trajectory of your shot. You can bounce bullets off of the walls and different objects so the laser site makes it easy to pull off complex shots. Most guns are free aim, so it becomes increasingly hard to aim properly at long range.

Just like Dig one of the big hooks is gathering loot. Usually getting all the loot in a mission is part of 100% clearing it, and you can also replay missions to gain more. You can level up your crew as well and gain different abilities. Pretty standard fair, but the abilities are really useful and mostly unique to each team mate making it tough to decide who you want to bring with you.

I just finished the first section of the game (45/45 stars achieved) and moved on to The Core. I'm playing on Experienced, which is proving to be a nice balanced difficulty. Really good game so far. Anyone with a 3DS who likes strategy (and even if you don't) should consider picking this up. It is also planned to come to PC and other consoles at a later date.

[The Shoemaker]

Another cool thing about the game is it features songs by Steam Powered Giraffe when you're in a bar in the game. They're an actual band and they animated them into the game to sing. It really adds to the dreary western feel.

This is a good song that's in the game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwOg5wI5Gj8
(I like the music, but the video is a little weird)

The other music the game has it cool too, gives me a Metroid feel.