XCOM: Enemy Unknown mixes strategy and turn-based combat, first screens

@(Unverified) Umm, we don't even know what they meant by cutting out the tedium and uninteresting mechanics so don't go flying off the handle yet. That being said, Xenonauts does look pretty impressive as well.

@neojames82

You are right and I am probably jumping the gun but the screen shots just don't feel like Xcom and with what the general populace seems to like makes "cutting out tedium and uninteresting mechanics" sound like make the game easier and less micromanaging, which is what I enjoyed about it and has kept me coming back year after year.

Xcom could be such a brutal unforgiving game and that doesn't usually sell well.

I just wish companies would come up with there own IPs or truly try to encompass the feel and look of what they are trying to recreate instead of thinking hey if we slap the Xcom label on it it will sell more. Which seems like an odd decision considering how old the games are and how devoted the fan base is.

@(Unverified) the UI is very poor in the original, something more user-friendly would be nice, specially in how you build everything. I'd like more involvement when it comes to attacking/chasing the ships though. Not sure how but just something else.

@(Unverified) Don't be so negative. Actually, "real-time strategy on a global scale with turn-based combat" and "soldiers with different stats" sounds just like the old game. I just hope it keeps the spirit from the old one, and some creepy tunes from Terror from the Deep.

@Eniko Oh god, I remember having to bail on my first Battlescape fight because I didn't know how to attack. I had to watch Kikoskia's Antarctic Challenge Let's Play to figure it out. At least in UFO ET and UFO AI (the latter being a reimagining of the original game set in 2048) there are tool tips that tell you how to attack. To be fair, it was one of the few times that I went into a game completely blind.

@(Unverified)

It's an outstanding game, but I do remember a few tedious bits in the original. It might be a minor qualm, but not being able to save squad loadouts was a pain and stopped me from bothering with a lot of encounters in the late game.

Also, I wish they had toned down the psionics in that game. I hated that I had to instigate a eugenics programme for the sake of soldiers with meringue-like mental fortitude. I also hated that you could win the last misson in one turn by hosting an alien relay race.

@FlashJS The selling point of XCOM is that it's sort of a persistent strategy game. You build up a small army and take them around to different missions, and after each one, you use the supplies you find to upgrade your team, recruit new members, etc. It's a cool idea, and very few games have copied it successfully.

It's also typically very hard and scary, since the turn-based combat tends to create tension.

This version looks like it's sticking with that, but making it more accessible for consoles by limiting the micromanagement stuff. I'd imagine that the 2K version is taking those ideas and applying them to team-based squad mechanics you'd expect in a shooter.

@FlashJS Whoops, forgot to mention... I think people also enjoyed the original X-COM because of the near-future, realistic sci-fi theme, something akin to Starship Troopers. Again, this one looks like it's sticking with that, while the shooter is set in 1950s suburbia (a big change, but it could be neat!).

@FlashJS

Don't worry, I'm the same way. I love sci-fi stuff, and I've been vaguely aware of something called X-Com for a long time, but I've never played it, nor known anyone who has. Seems like its something about aliens invading.

The problem with resurrecting an old, niche series like this is that its a very difficult scenario, much like the Fallout games. How do you get new people to try it, while not alienating the old fans? Generally, you have to choose one or the other, and the money is usually found with the new fans.

@FlashJS The reason we want to play this is because the original Xcom is one of the first and best tactical/turn-based-strategy games, and we are hoping a company with the credibility like Firaxis, is able to create something as awesome. If you like tactics games like Jagged Alliance, Fallout Tactics, or Silent Storm, you should check out XCOM.

@Once known as Shadsy

Thanks for the concise and way more interesting answer than anything I've seen.

@SisypheanLife

I've been clicking on XCOM articles because, like you, I was drawn by the sci-fi aspect. I hope Jessica and other readers don't think I'm being mean. The heart of my comment is that they're doing a bad job of marketing the XCOM brand. You mentioned money being found with new fans. Well, I don't think they're doing a good job of selling this game to new people. Everything I've read and seen (including some video on the Xbox dashboard a while back) always references the old game and the differences/similarities. That, imo, alienates the new people.

@FlashJS Shadsy forgot to mention it's a really creepy game (specially the second one) and the research aspects make battles rewarding. It's great to discover a new alien on the battlefield to capture or perform autopsy on it, research and use their superior weapons, etc.

@Once known as Shadsy

A massive part of it was also the ever-so-spooky side to the game. The slightly creepy 'music' that played, the scary screams that would come out of the dark (what we now call fog of war) after a couple of gunblasts, and then suddenly some alien would move into view for a moment then disappear out again. Each time a new one showed up it was always a 'OH GODS WHAT IS THAT!??! OHSHITOHSHITOHSHIT!'.

The music during the air combat was really catchy and inspiring.

The feeling at first that you were at the beginnings of some mysterious threat by aliens of ever-increasing power and differing types really lent to a feeling of moving-on with the whole plot, like you weren't the controller, but just a player in a world that was going to continue on whether you liked it or not.

The way the game could switch from being a cocky I'm-hunting-them-down-and-kicking-their-asses collection of aliens, parts, weapons, and knowledge to suddenly being a OHCRAP!THATBATTLESHIPISSITTINGONMYBASE fight for survival really lent an edge to the game.

The turn-based combat in your base was actually in the base you had built, not a generated random design. How you trained and armed your soldiers made all the difference, and suddenly losing a soldier you'd spent ages arming and preparing to a big floating disc was heartbreaking...the same way the first time your plasma-wielding floating tank shot the crap out of a group of aliens was awe inspiring and gave a real sense of YEEAAAHHHH!

@FlashJS

Seriously dude, do yourself a favor and download X-Com (the original) off of steam. Its frequently on sale, and goes for at most 5 bucks when its not on sale. It is easily the best turn based tactical squad based combat game I have ever played. Nothing even comes close. After playing it for nearly 20 years (because its that much fun), I've only beaten the game once (because its that hard), yet always keep coming back (because its that much fun).

It defines the genre "Squad based tactical strategy game".

@Boiglenoight Darkstar

Agreed.

And if Firaxis is reading this - equipping an electro-flare and throwing it out into a dark area of the map to hopefully get a visual on a Chrysalid is definitely a very interesting mechanic!!!! >__