XCOM Defence - Part 2

Part 1

If you want to gets some information on the upcoming "remake" of XCOM (and I say remake in quotes, as there is a lot of discussion as to if it is really a remake) check out their site and these two videos:

XCOM site

XCOM Demo walkthrough (June 2011) 22 mins

Dev Diary #1

Just to put my own preferences in perspective, shooters are not my favourite game type. If I do play shooters, it tends to be those very heavy on the story side, such as Halo and Gears of War. I find those stories well written and engaging. If I am looking for multi player carnage, I will switch from console to PC and play something like Battlefield: Bad Company.

There is quites a bit of discussion on IGN and Blue's News as to whether or not this upcoming game from 2K is really a remake of XCOM.

The original XCOM was a turn based while this remake has become an FPS. Does this deserve to be part of the XCOM legacy?

In a word? Who cares!

What we want are great games. If this XCOM can deliver a great game, I don't care if it is a true successor or not.

However, let's look at soem of the details. Probably the most obvious aspect of the original was the turn based squad movement. While I enjoyed this aspect, some of the battles could become tedious at the end. As I mentioned in Part 1 of this post, the key aspect of the original XCOM was the tension, the not knowing what was in the fog, what horror I would see next. When those evil aliens attacked my base (something I never expected) I was pissed. I don't think we took any prisoners on that mission. If this remake can maintain that tension, they are a long way towards following in the footsteps of the original. Unfortunately, I think some of the video they are releasing will make it harder to capture that tension. Imagine walking through those towns in the video and seen that black stuff and thinking "What the hell is that?!" If you have seen the videos some of that tension is already lost. Note to 2k if you are reading this: Don't release any more details of the enemies the player will face. No more screenshots, nothing. It will make the game that much better.

What also made the original so enjoyable was that you could recruit new agents, develop those agents, capture alien tech and aliens, and research them to discover new weapons (and mind powers). It seems this remake has all of that (not sure about the mind powers). You can recruit new agents, take them on missions to gain experience, find tech and use it to research new stuff.

For me, the jury is still out on this remake. However, if it captures the tension of the original, along with the ability to recruit/develop agents and discover new tech, it will have covered the key aspects that made the original so compelling.

Your mileage may vary.

The Joy of XCOM - Part 1

I remember the first time I played the original X-COM. It was the mid 1990's (1994 or 95). The internet was just starting to see widespread use at speed of 14 or 28k. I did not even own a PC, but a friend of mine lent me his when he went away for a few weeks.

I remember finding the game on his hard drive and starting it up, not knowing anything about it. The game didn't really explain what was going on (or at least I did not bother to read it). The first thing I saw was the globe with the terminator marching across it. I had one base and I remember clicking on it to open it up and wondering what I was supposed to do with these agents and fighter jets.

Suddenly the screen lights up and something is invading our airspace! I scramble my fighters to engage. The first one escapes without me even getting off a shot. I am better prepared the second time, but the enemy shoots me down! Third time is a charm, and I shoot them down. Now what? I guess it might be a good idea to find out what I shot down. Unfortunately, by the time I get there, they have left. Nuts! What is going on and what are these things?

Another incursion, this time I am ready. I shoot them down and have my troops ready to land on the site and find out what is going on. I remember the scene, a farm area with hay bales and most of the map dark. Where are these things? I spread out my troops and advance, moving from cover to cover, having no idea of what kind of monsters lurk in he shadows. I few turn pass and still no enemy, is anything even here? I scan the map several times and finally see a pair of non human feet poking out of the fog of war. What else is there? What are these aliens up to?

No game since has captured that level of tension. I never did finish the final Mars mission, but the sheer delight of not knowing what will happen, what new weapons I might be able to research and what these aliens were up to made the game a joy to play. I have been searching for a game with that level of joy of discovery ever since.

Part 2 - A discussion of the new FPS version vs the turn based.

X-COM Wiki