XCOM: Enemy Unknown - "True" sequel revealed

OK, not an RPG but I'm sure a good number of you are XCOM fans. GameInformer breaks the news of a "true" XCOM game in development by Firaxis, titled XCOM: Enemy Unknown.

Unlike 2K Marin's previously announced XCOM shooter, which sparked tempers among longtime fans for turning its back on the series' cerebral roots, this title is a full-on strategy game that puts players in command of a global anti-alien defense force. XCOM's leader needs a worldwide perspective where threats are identified, populations reassured, and national leaders mollified – but a tactical mind is just as critical considering every shot XCOM's soldiers fire on the battlefield is under the player's turn-based control.
"It’s been a dream of ours to recreate X-COM with our unique creative vision. We’re huge fans of the original game and it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to re-envision a game that is as beloved as X-COM," said Steve Martin, president of Firaxis Games. "We were careful to keep XCOM: Enemy Unknown true to the elements that made X-COM such a revered game while delivering an entirely new story and gameplay experience for both die-hard X-COM fans and newcomers to the franchise."

More information.

Sounds great. Now if someone could make a true new Syndicate, please… :-)

btw. Xcom series is on Steam sale today. Currently i play the first game again and I still love it

That first Xcom game is simply amazing, even to this day. Wish the newest one was going to be similiar -xxxx



-Carn

There's already a true-to-the-spirit successor to X-Com: UFO:Extraterrerstrials. In fact, UFO2 should be released soon. The Firaxis folks, after their horrible misstep with a shooter, have missed their opportunity.

In what world is Firaxis making a first person shooter?

This would be the first non-Civ game they have made in about five years. Or maybe he's talking about 2K?

Originally Posted by BlackKnight
btw. Xcom series is on Steam sale today. Currently i play the first game again and I still love it

All five X-COM games for $5.09.. I'm extremely tempted to grab that despite never having much interest in X-COM.

Interceptor and Enforcer look pretty bad, and most reviews would indicate they are. I'm not sure if I could still get into the original X-Com or TFtD, considering how old they are now. I wish I hadn't missed those back when they were released.

Originally Posted by dteowner
The Firaxis folks, after their horrible misstep with a shooter, have missed their opportunity.

I'm not so sure. Did you read the comments in that article? It seems the old farts like us are the only ones excited about this. A FPS might have been the way to go for a AAA game. Most of the young whipper snappers don't give a rat's behind about X-Com.

Remind me never to visit another website where the average visitor/poster is under 20 years old. It's really annoying reading them whine about a classic like this. Of course not everyone was whining, but a lot more than I thought would be.

Originally Posted by Zloth
Or maybe he's talking about 2K?

Yep. Very unclear, I was.

The potential is there - but I don't like the first thing I read to be "opening to a wider console audience".

If you're going to stay true to X-Com, that's not the first objective you proclaim loudly.

X-Com was, first and foremost, a cerebral and challenging game with the emphasis on tactical gameplay, which was a struggle in the beginning stages of the invasion.

That kind of rhythm is vital to preserve true terror, which is why the somewhat cartoonish visuals worked - because the terror was in the gameplay and the way you could get slaughtered in the first few rounds if you weren't very careful.

Obviously, a wider audience isn't going to appreciate something like that.

You heard it here first.

Originally Posted by dteowner
There's already a true-to-the-spirit successor to X-Com: UFO:Extraterrerstrials. In fact, UFO2 should be released soon. The Firaxis folks, after their horrible misstep with a shooter, have missed their opportunity.

Well UFO:Extraterrerstrials got some pretty poor reviews, Firaxis has a chance of doing a much better job. Fingers crossed.

Daniel.

There's nothing wrong with most games being made for various platforms, but strategy games do not work with a gamepad - unless they are extremely stripped down in order to be playable with the limited command inputs of a controller and the lack of a mouse. Firaxis of all developers should know this after the tepid, mediocre "Civ Revolutions." Furthermore, the console market doesn't even want a turn-based strategy game, so why waste the resources and time in a futile attempt to sell to a market that simply doesn't care about the strategy genre? I can understand why most developers want a piece of the console market, but only if the market for a particular genre makes sense; making a strategy game for consoles is just an asinine "business decision."

Now, if the PC version was designed and built completely separate from the console versions, there wouldn't be a problem. Unfortunately that almost never happens, so I have a bad feeling that at best we're likely to get an average strategy game with a lack of depth. Hopefully I'm wrong.

Originally Posted by Nerevarine
There's nothing wrong with most games being made for various platforms, but strategy games do not work with a gamepad - unless they are extremely stripped down in order to be playable with the limited command inputs of a controller and the lack of a mouse.

My extensive library of PS1 and PS2 strategy games (TB and RT) speak otherwise. The sheer amount of SRPGs for example should convince anyone.

Originally Posted by Irian
Sounds great. Now if someone could make a true new Syndicate, please… :-)

indeed., that would be like totally great !!

Originally Posted by Nerevarine
There's nothing wrong with most games being made for various platforms, but strategy games do not work with a gamepad - unless they are extremely stripped down in order to be playable with the limited command inputs of a controller and the lack of a mouse.

There's an option, if Microsoft hadn't lost it's vision; Kinect.

Originally Posted by Nerevarine
Firaxis of all developers should know this after the tepid, mediocre "Civ Revolutions." Furthermore, the console market doesn't even want a turn-based strategy game, so why waste the resources and time in a futile attempt to sell to a market that simply doesn't care about the strategy genre?

i havent played it but apparently civilization revolution sold 600.000+ units on PS3 and 600.000+ units on 360. that may not be much compared to Call of Duty but there are plenty of shooters which sold less (Brink, Bulletstorm, Space Marine, Red Faction Armageddon etc. etc.) this year.

Valkyria Chronicles also sold 1 million units (didnt play it either though, wish i could but cant stomach the artstyle no matter how good the gameplay might be)

so maybe even big publishers are finally getting a clue that its okay to "only" sell 0,5 - 1 million units and managing your budget properly …….. opposed to blowing a big budget on yet another FPS with target sales of 2 million+ and real sales of < 0,5 million ? i certainly hope so.

and while a gamepad isnt optimal for turn-based strategy it certainly works as evidenced in plenty of turn-based console titles before. i d rather play a turn-based game on a gamepad than a FPS and yet the later is the most popular genre on consoles.

edit: that being said i d obviously rather play it on PC

I lost all faith in this company after Civ 5 is still broke and the dev's ruined the series. On top of that all they care about is releasing dlc map packs.

Originally Posted by BlackKnight
btw. Xcom series is on Steam sale today. Currently i play the first game again and I still love it

Bought the package from Steam. Thanks for the tip.

Originally Posted by Siegmar
Valkyria Chronicles also sold 1 million units (didnt play it either though, wish i could but cant stomach the artstyle no matter how good the gameplay might be)

Not really comparable imo. From what I've played of Valkyria Chronicles, it seems very simplified next to something like Civilization or X-Com.

I actually liked the artistic style though, but I found the game to be a little slow-paced.