[Multiplatform] Xcom etc etc

So, there's a new Xcom game already out and another coming very soon. For those poor, unfortunate souls who missed the originals, UFO - Enemy Unknown was the first X-Com game, followed by Terror from the Deep. These were probably called something different in 'Merka coz you people are odd. There were also some other games but they were shit so nobody cares. UFO was essentially a turn-based, strategy rpg with a wider tactial game around it where you controlled a shadowy organisation tasked with halting an alien invasion. You build a base, you buy some gear, you wait for the aliens to show up, shoot them down then send in the troops. If you're playing on anything other than easy mode, most of them get killed and if you're lucky you recover some alien shit, bring it back then research it. Then sometimes the aliens attack cities and you go to help. Pretty much everyone dies in these missions, even on easy mode. Terror from the Deep is the same kind of thing only underwater, except sometimes it's above water, and some of your guns only work underwater.

Anyway, the games were fucking amazing, offered exceptional tactical depth and were hilariously difficult. They had a big, cult following so it was only a matter of time before they got remade.

The one that's already out is a fairly faithful remake. It's turn-based, it's tactical and from playing the demo, it's only a bit dumbed down and they've hardly added any annoyingly cheesy American accents and stupid cut-scenes. You can't put your base anywhere anymore, instead picking a region with each giving different bonuses. You can't design the base yourself either and the maps are no longer randomly generated, although alien placement is. As far as I can tell from the demo, instead of shooting down UFOs, you get a choice of mission at each point. Your squad is fixed at four people and instead of kitting them out anyway you want, you pick specialisations for them and there are skill trees and shit, implying that the game isn't so tough and you don't face tpk's as often as in the original. Also, everyone has a cheesy American accent and there are loads of stupid cut-scenes, I was lying about that bit.

So it's not a complete, faithful remake but then, what really would be the point of a faithful remake? The original is easily available on cheeky download and runs perfectly fine in DOSBox, there's no need to pay for an Xbox version. Ive played the demo through a couple of times now though and once I get paid on Thursday, I'm going to pick this up because it's a decent, turn-based tactical combat game and there aren't enough of those. There aren't really any in fact on 360, except Vandal Hearts Fires of Justice and I already beat that. Certainly if you liked the originals and aren't the kind of dullard who refuses to embrace change and will complain that it's not as good as the original then this looks like being worth getting.

So anyone else bought this already or planning on getting it?

Oh yeah, the other one coming out is an FPS, set in the 60's. It looks bollocks.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Would be jumping all over that shit but they chose to not make it XP compatible. So it may be awhile.

Honestly I don't think the shooter looks that bad. Especially now that we know there was a proper X-Com being developed right beside it. Anyway I' really enjoyed C&C Renegade so why not this?

There's nowhere I can't reach.

The one that came out is amazing, and Shin is a twat. The shooter is going to be a whole lot of terrible.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Eh? I said the one that was out looked good and the shooter looks awful.

Or was that just a general purpose, unrelated insult?

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I haven't really looked too far into game mechanic details, but am pretty hyped from the trailers and aiming to get this when I scrape enough dollars together. I'm not sure how I feel about the squad/s being fixed at only 4 guys. It really does imply that old enemies like chrysalids are either somehow not as scary or just completely different. Am also wondering how the psi mechanics play out if they are still in and as a very minor aside, I wonder if the mighty X-Com organization is finally implementing the use of night vision goggles.

As for the new fps coming out, I'm sure it will be as "successful" as Enforcer was.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Fluffykitten McSnugglepuss

Eh? I said the one that was out looked good and the shooter looks awful.

Or was that just a general purpose, unrelated insult?

Unrelated insult.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Thought as much.

My copy should arrive tomorrow, although with it being Bonfire Night and Halo 4 arriving the day after, I may not have time to get in to it for a day or two.

How ya doing, buddy?

So thanks to my copy of Halo still not turning up yet (Fuck you the Post Office), I started playing this today and I'm loving it so far. Started straight from Classic difficulty (Hard mode) and it is suitably tough. Took me till the fourth mission to bring all the team home alive. It is a little simpler than the original but that's not necessarily a terrible thing. The research options hint as to what you'll unlock rather than in the old days where it was pot luck until you'd played it a few times. There's less money in the system but fewer options to spend it on which means a bit less customisation perhaps but it's more forgiving on the new player.

My one gripe is that at the start at least, you don't get the customisation in your combat team one might want. On the pc, you could buy any gear you wanted and stick whatever you liked on your team. If you wanted to kit out a rookie with a rifle, pistol, taser, rocket launcher, medipack and ten grenades you could, he just wouldn't have been able to walk very fast. I find that having to choose between a medi-kit or grenades, i.e. only having an equipment slot, is a bit limiting and only having four guys and them only having a speciality once they survived a mission means you tend to end up with pretty vanilla teams. I'm aware you can increase your squad size though and I guess you can open extra equipment slots so I'm sure it'll get better in that respect.

Enjoying it so far though!

Most amazing jew boots

So it turns out that Xcom is one of the best games ever. Once you unlock some stuff, there is a lot more customisation, perhaps more than in the original in some respects. It does get easy pretty quickly although there is an ironman mode which will make it hilariously difficult.

It's a hugely involving game, it's actually genuinely scary when you get rushed by Chrisalids and you get a real sense of achievement when your sniper with "In the zone " skill picks half of them off before a crashing volley of overwatch fire from the rest of the team wipes out the others.

I honestly thought I'd be playing this when I got bored of Halo, turns out it's the other way around and I've barely touched Halo since finishing the campaign.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Fluffykitten McGrundlepuss

So it turns out that Xcom is one of the best games ever...

Good news: a large expansion is inbound. More things to research, more battlegrounds, more tangos, more customization options (yes, you can have your operatives wearing fedoras).

• official site;
• Polygon preview;
• Joystiq
• IGN video feature (caution: hour-plus)

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I played through The Bureau: XCOM Declassified. For me, it replaced Assassin's Creed 3 as the poorest game made in recent years. But enough talk about that pile of crap.

XCOM: The Enemy Unknown is the game Shin is talking about and more people should be.

Playing it co-op together with my otter, it made a fantastic social experience when we were talking all night long about different strategies to overcome the "endless" swarm of enemies. As the missions start, you however DO get the enemy statistics, of how much which incarnation will be present in the level, but we realized that only in the end of the storyline. Oh, well.

The game provided us with a fresh type of challenge, even at normal difficulty. The kind of which games never nowadays do, unless you tweak up the difficulty to maximum, at which point games are usually no fun at all. (Except Civilization Revolution) The fact that the game forces you to make a strategy, or you will die instantly, is a sign of excellent game design. We didn't really go about tweaking the things in the base too much - just some basic operations and whatever was needed for the story to advance. We found out from endgame statistics that we blazed through the game ahead of average.

Things to note: There's basically one strategy that trumps all - early access to plasma sniper rifle. After that it's a breeze. There's no replay value whatsoever though, but that's been the case with every game in the past five years, anyway.

Easily one of the best gaming experiences I've had in years.

Waiting for the upcoming XCOM: The Enemy Within. From what I gather, it's just the same story, but with added complicity in the game mechanics. I think?

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I played through the game twice, and I gotta say overall they did a good job with it. They were relatively true to the original while not feeling as a 1:1 remake like something like Wild Arms: Alter Code F.

Having said that, the 2 problems I had with the game is that it has absolutely no replay value. Things are too scripted. they are always going to unfold that way, there might be a few random encounters throughout a month but the big events are always the same, including the enviroments. It kinda annoyed me the second playthrough.

The other thing is that they dumbed it down a bit too much if you ask me. Some things made sense to get rid off, others did not. Personally I miss the crouch for more accuracy, the 3 shoot options and more importantly the option to take up to 14 guys with you on a mission, 6 guys just seems so little, especially since the later missions you easily fight like 20 guys per mission.

At least I'm grateful the game isnt as insanely hard as the original. Once you started encountering zealots, the game stopped being fun. Mass mind control, and that fucking blaster launcher!

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by Put Balls

Waiting for the upcoming XCOM: The Enemy Within. From what I gather, it's just the same story, but with added complicity in the game mechanics. I think?

While you're waiting, here's a knowledge dump direct from the source about... well, let's just say that subtitle is quite apt, shall we?

Spoiler:

I was speaking idiomatically.