XCOM: Enemy Unknown by Firaxis announced

BOOOOOOOOOIIIIIIIIIING

Oh boy.

The original XCOM was a top 10 game of all time. Terror From the Deep was decent too (I actually liked the HP Lovecraft theme more than the B movie theme of the original), but the series died after that. Redoing the series is big if they do it right.

I am wary of such an endeavor. I would like to hear more about their vision for the title. This could be really bad. Or maybe it will be great. But It might be their plan to modernize it and use it as a DLC spamming kit.

Schwing!

I just came to the forums to post this info! lol. Good beating me to it, Russ. If anyone remembers, back when the news was first put out that the shooter XCom was coming out I mentioned Firaxis would be also be making a traditional strategy version as well. I hadn't heard anything about it since then though and even then it was only a rumor I had heard in a e-mail between me and one of Ken Levine's associates from 2K. I'm glad to see they followed through. Now I don't have to buy that horrid shooter version. Between Xenonauts and now a new REAL X-Com reboot, I think I'll be fixed on my alien hunting strategy combat for a good while to come. AWESOME!!!!!!

hah - i declare LightofAbraxas the winner. Well done.

I'm looking forward to this!

I was a huge fan of this game when it first came out and it was one of the first PC games along with Civ II that got me hooked on strategy games big time!

Let's hope they do it right and make this a true successor to one of the best TBS games ever.

The big pull of this game to me was the vast amount of technology you could research, the interesting base building system and the ingenious world map with cool fighter vs UFO battles. The tactical battles were almost secondary to me, only cool because you could get new stuff to research from them.

Yes! It's about time!

I'm a bit nervous because it is also set for consoles. That isn't always a bad thing, but it does make me worry about the depth and UI. Maybe I will be pleasantly surprised. So far it looks like it is getting most things right. The combat is the big question right now.

Xenonauts is also coming soon, so hopefully at least one of those two will get it right. Oh, and also Jagged Alliance: Back in Action.

I just really, really hope that they do the originals justice. Doing an X-COM FPS was a slap in the face without an actual X-COM sequel. I'll be really bummed if the actual TBS X-COM sequel also departs too much from the original.

It's a TBS, how far can you stray within that?

Okay granted, there was a real-time mode in XCOM Apocalypse, but I think they would have mentioned that, and besides it would be optional.

While I do hope that they stay true to the original, I hope they don't introduce the same old bugs. Remember the 'produce anything at the workshop for zero materials' bug? Abused much.

I guess since they can't do Alpha Centauri, this is the next best thing right?

I dunno... I was really looking forward to that Halo ripoff...

Quoting MarvinKosh,

reply 12

It's a TBS, how far can you stray within that?

Ummm, how about doing away with time units? Seems that is the way Firaxis has decided to go. All a part of the "streamlining" process I guess. From what I understand, in place of the TU's there is a move+action system. My enthusiasm is waning for this Firaxis re-imagining. No TU's, only one base, the very console-ish UI shown in the screen shots, the comment from the devs that the difficulty has been toned down because the original could be brutal to new players. Only an opinion based on very sketchy information, but this seems to be going the way of the JA2 remake. A watered down, console friendly action game with a few elements from the original thrown in.

Time units were also a bit restrictive though. Remember getting to the airlock of an alien ship and opening it only to find you didn't have enough left to duck to the side? Call me crazy but ducking to the side isn't exactly a 4 TU action.

The relation of time units to reactions also meant that even aliens who are taken by surprise fire back as if they haven't just taken three in the back. I would rather they ducked into cover if they're wounded instead of blapping off a few rounds uselessly.

When I had multiple XCOM bases running it was usually the result of raking in so much cash from alien supply ships. it made winning the game almost trivial, because I couldn't fail to take down alien ships, I had so much coverage. Cutting it back to just one base might well reduce the exponential improvement from cash and improve the challenge level.

The original XCOM was what, 17 or 18 years ago? The AI then could be pretty brutal at times. So if they're having to tone things down, it might actually be needed. Look at The Sting. Great idea, too annoyingly difficult to ever bother with.

It's all a matter of personal preference. For me, I enjoyed having to plan my movements and keep track of how many TU's I had left. It wasn't about how the TU's matched reality, it was about the enjoyment of having to co-ordinate the varying movement points of individuals so as to accomplish the task. Setting up outside that airlock with three sqad members, one to open the airlock and two to the sides with enough TU's left to get reaction shots on any alien that pops it's head out.

The alien taking three in the back and still returning fire is not so much a problem with the TU system as it is with the AI. I would welcome an updated AI, but it doesn't require abandoning TU's altogether.

As for only having one base, I'm willing to give it a fair go, as long as the reported tie-in with the FPS version (that only has the US being invaded) doesn't require it to be in the US. Part of the charm of the original was being able to personalise the game to an extent by placing your first base in your own country. Forcing the base to be in the US would remove some of the charm of the game, for me.

Many fans of the original love the game so much 'because' of that brutality. There was no hand holding and no second chances. Accept a night mission and blindly walk your squad down the ramp without first throwing flares or smoke and yes, the AI would rip you a new one, but that's what EU was about, it's part of the reason why some of us still play the game now. Removing that tactical requirement from the game, for me at least, removes a lot of the challenge and interest for the game.

As I said at the start, it's all a matter of personal preference, but after watching the video of the devs discussing how much they loved all the brutal aspects of the original, and how they 'get' what X-COM was about, it's a bit disappointing to see so much of what some of us consider to be core parts of the experience being ripped out. I still have hope that they can make a great game, but my expectatios and excitement have diminished.

Firaxis' EU's lead designer, the producer and the art director discussing the original:

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2012/01/06/why-firaxis-loves-xcom.aspx

Edit: I now find out that ammo is unlimited. The tactical side of this game is shrinking with every reveal they make.

The only difficulty original X-com had was how many times you could be bothered to reload a saved game before you would hit that grey that was standing right in front of you.

I don't agree. If that was the way you played the game, then you removed the difficulty by reloading.

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XCOM: Enemy Unknown by Firaxis announced