New XCOM is ... a shooter!

Here a link with more details in English:
http://liveforfilms.wordpress.com/2010/05/09/xcom-first-screenshots-of-ufo-sequel/

To me it's just a yas. Yet another shooter.

PC Gamer did a preview this month on the game. It sounds pretty interesting! And yes, it takes place in an idealized 50's environment, so you may see the Cleaver family eaten up by aliens.

Yes, I read that preview too. It read more like a survival horror adventure than a pure shooter. You have to sneak steal alien technology under deadly no-win circumstances. Shoot a few aliens, grab their technology, and run away before the mother ship descends on you. Appeals to me.

But... I still need to play the originals...

Time for a thread necro.

Here's a 20 minute gameplay video of XCOM from E3.
http://www.ggmania.com/?smsid=31530

Believe it or not.. It actually doesn't look too bad. Yes, it's a first-person shooter, but the strategy is still there in a different sort of way. I'm finding myself interested..

JDR13 said:

Here's a 20 minute gameplay video of XCOM from E3.
http://www.ggmania.com/?smsid=31530

Believe it or not.. It actually doesn't look too bad. Yes, it's a first-person shooter, but the strategy is still there in a different sort of way. I'm finding myself interested..

Click to expand...

Traitor!! If I liked pure fps games more, I would probably be (somewhat) interested after seeing the gameplay footage, but a shooter has to bring something really unique to the table to draw me in these days. And it's still a travesty that it's not a true XCOM game!!

Did you actually watch the footage though? I realize it's a far cry from being isometric and turn-based, but I was pleasently surprised by the amount of strategy that seems to be present.

I also like the art direction. It looks like they do a good job of capturing a 1960s sci-fi atmosphere.

I never really played the original X-COM games though, so I'm probably a lot less biased because of that.

JDR13 said:

I never really played the original X-COM games though, so I'm probably a lot less biased because of that.

Click to expand...

Yes.

The stuff implemented in this game doesn't even scratch the surface. It's like comparing Neverwinter Nights with DOOM and say DOOM at least have an inventory, armor and hitpoints.

X-Com deserves the title of being one of the most strategic game in gaming history.

The first important thing to count for is that X-Com were several games in one package. The first you have to deal with is a manager in which you have to plan your economy and make economic decisions. You have to do this well or your finance will go sour, causing pain no matter what you try to do. You get decisions like whether or not producing stuff to sell for more cash, make research to get new stuff and finally produce that stuff for your staff.

Then there's a basebuilder with many strategical choices that one normally find in RTS. How will you build your base to properly defend from an alien attack? Will you buy more research stations to speed up or more factories to produce more? Or will you buy defense to protect you from attacks or perhaps grab more living quarters to host more people? Where will you place your bases so you can quickly chase down UFO's or reach crashsites?

Finally you had the landbased game that easily makes most RPG's of today look bleak. Only Jagged Alliance competes with it's complexity. The people you recruit have stats like in any RPG, including psionics which is very useful later on. Getting them equipped with the right equipment is vital to succeed on the ground. There are tons of weapons and cool equipment to use, including droids that can safely explore the map while your staff is safe.

X-Com were one of those games that simply went crazy and packed as much as possible into the game at once and pulled it off. X-Com was a game for those who enjoyed to use their intellect as the game was packed with crunchy numbers and vital tactical decisions that were often the difference between success or complete party annihilation.

Yeah, I did see the footage, and it does look pretty decent so far. I fully admit that I would much rather have an XCOM reboot that sticks to the original formula but with modern improvements (graphics, interface, etc), but I'm also not one who is against new ideas. With that in mind, here's what I liked and disliked form that demo:

Pros: I like the pre-mission elements, as well as the ability to choose which mission to take on next. I also like the way that research seems to be handled in the game. The different agents appear to have enough differences between them to make different party choices change the gameplay and tactics available.

As far as gameplay goes, this game definitely looks like it was inspired by Mass Effect in terms of the tactical wheel, party orders, etc. I don't think this is a bad thing, as it also looks like it will potentially throw a more diverse range of challenges at the player compared to ME and actually take advantage of such features in a positive way (meaning more tactical depth than ME).

Cons: I really only have one major gripe given the limited time of the gameplay video: The level shown appears to be very heavily scripted and extremely linear. The cerebral aspects of the game might make up for that (in terms of it being an FPS), but I hate linear, scripted level design. This approach to level design is the biggest reason why I have lost interest in FPS games over the years; it's just too sterile and boring for my tastes, and the lack of more open levels lessens the tension that is present in other squad-based games, where you have no idea what to expect behind each corner as you slowly explore a level (Jagged Alliance 2 comes to mind). I guess it's too much to ask for non-linear levels from modern games…

So all in all, the game definitely looks far more promising than I ever thought it would. Even though it won't come close to living up to XCOM's depth and cerebral qualities, it still looks like it might be enjoyable. It will probably be worth playing, but I'll have to see more details and better, less scripted and linear levels to get too excited.

JDR13 said:

Time for a thread necro.

Here's a 20 minute gameplay video of XCOM from E3.
http://www.ggmania.com/?smsid=31530

Believe it or not.. It actually doesn't look too bad. Yes, it's a first-person shooter, but the strategy is still there in a different sort of way. I'm finding myself interested..

Click to expand...

Looks really sharp.

My only reservation is the Mass Effect type combat style. When I play a shooter I get into a 'zone', I've never liked 'pausing' to direct strategic actions. Merging a FPS and a squad-based RTS just hasn't been 'invented' correctly yet imo.

Otherwise this game looks really well thought out.

JemyM said:

X-Com was a game for those who enjoyed to use their intellect as the game was packed with crunchy numbers and vital tactical decisions that were often the difference between success or complete party annihilation.

Click to expand...

I think they had to make this a shooter. A re-hash of the old X-Com gameplay wouldn't appeal to most console players. It's a shame, but PC gamers are more and more at the mercy of that trend. Game companies have to think cross-platform, and that includes creating a game that appeals to the lowest common denominator (widest demographic).

Gregz said:

I think they had to make this a shooter. A re-hash of the old X-Com gameplay wouldn't appeal to most console players. It's a shame, but PC gamers are more and more at the mercy of that trend. Game companies have to think cross-platform, and that includes creating a game that appeals to the lowest common denominator (widest demographic).

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I doubt it's a PC vs Consoles thing. I had this debate with people around 95' when DOOM came about. Games requiring you to use intelligence such as planning, build strategy and other similar tasks have gone down regardless of platform.