2K bringing back X-Com

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GDstew4

[H]ard|Gawd
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http://kotaku.com/5516654/x+com-is-back

Exciting news, but deep down I'm losing hope that this will be a game that excites me more and more as the release date approaches.

"FPS" is one reason. Granted, that's all I really play these days and the genre that I enjoy the most, but to me X-Com was all about outfitting your squad and taking control of an open battlefield. It was slow paced but very suspenseful and rewarding.

Sadly "2K" and "360" are the other reasons. I ran into so many little aggrivating annoyances with Bioshock 2 on the PC that I only got about 25% through the game. I put just about all the blame on their shoddy and convoluted keyboard/mouse support. I was never able to get immersed in the game because I was always fixing the sensitivity or trying to get my re-bound keys to work properly.

I'm still going to keep a close eye on this and hope for the best.
 
I already went on a rant about this at my own site, but I'll sum up my feelings by copying the title I used for my news post on the issue: A new X-com? Yay! A FPS? BAD 2K BAD!
 
Will likely fade into obscurity much like the other X-com clones have. Even if this can have the X-com name, the fact that it is an FPS as well as the "2K" and "360" reasons, lead me to believe that this will be far less similar to the original than many of the clones have tried to be.

Publishers these days, helping churn out one crap game after another. :rolleyes:
 
Blah, this game managed to lose all it's momentum already.

These guys need to go back to the drawing board and either come up with a new game concept or a new title.
 
Wish they never cancelled Dreamland Chronicles.


This is most likely fail...
 
GDstew4 said:
http://kotaku.com/5516654/x+com-is-back

Exciting news, but deep down I'm losing hope that this will be a game that excites me more and more as the release date approaches.

"FPS" is one reason. Granted, that's all I really play these days and the genre that I enjoy the most, but to me X-Com was all about outfitting your squad and taking control of an open battlefield. It was slow paced but very suspenseful and rewarding.

Sadly "2K" and "360" are the other reasons. I ran into so many little aggrivating annoyances with Bioshock 2 on the PC that I only got about 25% through the game. I put just about all the blame on their shoddy and convoluted keyboard/mouse support. I was never able to get immersed in the game because I was always fixing the sensitivity or trying to get my re-bound keys to work properly.

I'm still going to keep a close eye on this and hope for the best.
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eh dont worry i got about 45 minutes into bioshock 2 on the 360 and turned it off.. by far the most boring game i ever played..
 
Atleast rush through for the good ending on Bioshock 2. That ending is well done.

Aside from that:

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU~

Whats it take to get a good squad turn based strategy around here?! Do I have to fund my own studio?!
I'm still fucking pissed that I can't even play Silent Storm anymore because it won't work on systems with more than 3gigs of RAM.

I probably shouldn't down on it so hard because I was disappointed that FO3 wasn't turn-based but it turned out pretty damn well. Still though, where am I gonna get my small scale turn based strat fix now?
 
I don't have any particular faith in 2K after Bioshock,

However; games *can* jump genres, e.g. Bethesda did amazing IMO with Fallout 3.

e.g. WOW has been very successful after a long run of RTS's. IMO quite enjoyable in appropriate doses, I say that even after just letting my account expire to take another hiatus. I seem to only be able to play for 3-4 months at a time before I take a break. But something always keeps drawing me back. I've had several ~6month hiatuses. Only game I've ever experienced that keeps drawing me back time and time again over such a long lifetime.

It really depends on the skill, effort and creativity of the developer and the marketing push behind it.
 
Menelmarar said:
I don't have any particular faith in 2K after Bioshock,

However; games *can* jump genres, e.g. Bethesda did amazing IMO with Fallout 3.

e.g. WOW has been very successful after a long run of RTS's. IMO quite enjoyable in appropriate doses, I say that even after just letting my account expire to take another hiatus. I seem to only be able to play for 3-4 months at a time before I take a break. But something always keeps drawing me back. I've had several ~6month hiatuses. Only game I've ever experienced that keeps drawing me back time and time again over such a long lifetime.

It really depends on the skill, effort and creativity of the developer and the marketing push behind it.
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Bethesda did a good job with FO3, but they didn't do great. The writing was terrible, the humor was highly lacking, a lot of freedom was lost, a lot of the complexity of the old game was simplified. Ignoring a lot of what made the first two games good yes FO3 is a good game. Adding it into the rest of the pool its only slightly above Brotherhood of Steel in the over all quality of the entire series.
 
Hopefully it'll be a good FPS but I can definitely understand where fans of the games are unhappy. Why change genres? Just call it something besides X-com at that rate because X-com isn't about being an FPS.
 
GDstew4 said:
http://kotaku.com/5516654/x+com-is-back

Exciting news, but deep down I'm losing hope that this will be a game that excites me more and more as the release date approaches.

"FPS" is one reason. Granted, that's all I really play these days and the genre that I enjoy the most, but to me X-Com was all about outfitting your squad and taking control of an open battlefield. It was slow paced but very suspenseful and rewarding.

Sadly "2K" and "360" are the other reasons. I ran into so many little aggrivating annoyances with Bioshock 2 on the PC that I only got about 25% through the game. I put just about all the blame on their shoddy and convoluted keyboard/mouse support. I was never able to get immersed in the game because I was always fixing the sensitivity or trying to get my re-bound keys to work properly.

I'm still going to keep a close eye on this and hope for the best.
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xcom has now been destroyed why well let me explain why this is bad. t2 is taking an iconic game, one named by ign as the top pc game of all time (http://pc.ign.com/articles/772/772285p3.html) and making it into an fps. xcom's appeal was its depth. If you want to see the real xcom look here http://www.xcomufo.com/gameinfo.html. the thing that upsets me the most is this quote "'XCOM' will put players in charge of overcoming high-stake odds through risky strategic gambits coupled with heart-stopping combat experiences that pit human ingenuity--and frailty--against a foe beyond comprehension as an FBI agent. " this sounds like someone watched one too many x-files episodes... now to gain incite on why this game is begging for failure, i present you with the background from the first xcom game

"It is the year 1999. Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) have started appearing with disturbing regularity in the night skies. Reports of violent human abductions and horrific experimentation has struck terror into the hearts of millions. Mass public hysteria has only served to expose Earth’s impotence against a vastly superior technology.

Many countries have attempted to deal independently with the aliens. In August 1998, Japan established an anti-alien combat force; the Kiryu-Kai. Equipped with Japanese-made fighter aircraft, the Kiryu-Kai certainly looked like a powerful force. However, after 5 months of expensive operations they had yet to intercept their first UFO. The lesson was clear: this was a worldwide problem which could not be dealt with by individual countries.

On December 11, 1998, representatives from the world’s most economically powerful countries gathered secretly in Geneva. After much debate, the decision was made to establish a covert independent body to combat, investigate and defeat the alien threat. This organization would be equipped with the world’s finest pilots, soldiers, scientists and engineers, working together as one multi-national force.

This organization was named the eXtraterrestrial COMbat unit."

the only way this bastard child of a game would work if it is a prequel to the establishment of the eXtraterrestrial COMbat unit. though i sincerely doubt Ken Levine's intentions if xcom was his first love... he would not allow this paste of the xcom name onto the BioShock formula for fps games... this is just bad all the way around and this time it hurts
 
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I don't know about anyone else, but I would gladly shell out some cash for a graphically updated version of the first game, maybe with a few more research paths thrown in.
 
My favorite part of X-Com was that even though you were playing from a top-level view of earth's fight against the invaders, you were sucked into the personal victories and losses of your men.

I got so attached to my soldiers and when I lost men, it hurt, it /really/ hurt. Not just fiscally, or tactically, but I'd had experiences with them. Some were obvious redshirts, but others were my "go-to" guys/gals that seemed to always land the hit when I really needed it. Daring escapes, intense firefights, and ages of training and experience invested in them and then after surviving so much together, seeing them die stung hard.

Fighting across the globe made it feel important, especially those city battles where civilians were getting attacked. That claustrophobic fog of war made it feel like there was an alien breathing around a corner. Something as simple as turning slightly to the left would stop your heart when you saw a chryssalid breathing on your shoulder...It was always so tense when your favorite soldiers were knocked down. You'd wait with baited breath for your first chance to get over and see if he was unconscious or dead. But when the chryssalid gets them, it was awful going from hoping they might have somehow survived...to finding out they're a zombie and you're forced to shoot your favorite soldier.

Oh an "Hidden Movement" was just damned ominous. Your imagination goes wild hearing all that stuff going on that you can't see.

I don't know how they can capture these moments in an FPS format. Players go into FPS games with a certain mentality that has been developed from playing hordes of other FPS games. When I go in, I'm not afraid because I know I can headshot my way out of pretty much anything. They'd have to make the player extremely weak, weak enough that they have reason to fear the unknown.


I don't think they'll be able to capture these experiences in an FPS. In every FPS game, you can just headshot your way through just about anything.
 
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This is a bummer to hear. I still fire up Defense and Terror from the Deep and really enjoy the gameplay even with the dated graphics and interface.

FPS just won't have the same feeling.
 
God dammit, how many more good franchises will be kidnapped, raped, and left for dead along side of the road?

It's pretty clear they are just trying to cash in on the name. If we are lucky this will get canceled.
 
This makes me want Bullfrog back too. WHERES MY GOOD DOS GAMES.

GET OFF MY LAWN.

/me slaps his peon to mine the tunnels faster

Ugh, why didn't I remember to turn on torturing the fallen invaders?
 
meatfestival said:
Fallout made the transition to FPS very successfully, maybe this can too?
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FO3 I think may be the exception and I know a few people who while they liked the game didn't really think of it as a Fallout game.

I'm thinking this will turn out more like Shadowrun than FO3.
 
Considering that I have not played any other of the X-Com games I will take your word for it. :)
 
The original X-Com was one of my first Playstation games. What a classic.

I can't believe 2K are labeling their new FPS an X-Com game, they are just raping the name for marketing puposes. Calling it X-Com has guaranteed it will sell better than whatever it would sell named as a new FPS IP. Meh. 2K aren't some obscure studio. They didn't need to do this. If feels worse the Bethesda making FO3.
It might be a good FPS, with some tactical scenarios and character advancement like the old game, but it won't be anything like X-Com. FPS X-Com ? No.

I played aftershock and afterlife ? Two crappy x-com "spiritual sucessors". They didn't play well and were deleted off the hd within an hour. X-com just had a perfect gameplay quality, sort of like what I hear people say about Starcraft, a game I've never played.

Some manufacturer needs to find the old x-com team, give them 10 million bucks and a few years to create the next true x-com masterpiece. 1080p isometric graphics with really nice Diablo 3 quality 3d character models.
 
Take note aspiring game creators:

Take XCOM, add in Jagged Alliance 2's combat system, and have it display in 1080p isometric = Where do I sign up to give you all my money. ;)
 
I seriously am hoping that the FPS part is only a small part of the game. It's certianly possible for them to add in a feature to take over the squaddies in first person, but this sounds hard to get right. I have to go and fire up my steam version after thinking about the game for a while.
 
A clever disguise to hide the fact that x-com fps is really just Bioshock 3.
 
sounds terrible, I still play xcom 1 because it is fun, mix of strategic gameplay and research. I dont understand how they didnt learn not to do this after the fps style play of the latter (failed) xcom games.
 
umm yea...some of the xcom clone were alright provided you temper your expectations. but even if this is a good game, its still not xcom.
 
BloodyIron said:
This makes me want Bullfrog back too. WHERES MY GOOD DOS GAMES.

GET OFF MY LAWN.

/me slaps his peon to mine the tunnels faster

Ugh, why didn't I remember to turn on torturing the fallen invaders?
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Yeah, a little Syndicate action would be pretty awesome right about now.
 
I was really excited hearing about this one until I read it was an FPS. I want the old school turn based game back with updated graphics and stuff. Online? That'd be awesome.
 
TED said:
Considering that I have not played any other of the X-Com games I will take your word for it. :)
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X-Com UFO Defense is five bucks on Steam. You won't be disappointed.

Nothing like shooting a blaster bomb through a door, up the stairs, around the corner, down the hall, then into a bedroom taking out half the house. Oh man if it weren't for the house I'm buying I'd buy it right now.
 
What I would love to see is an X-com style game: turn-based, team-based, individual experience for squaddies, research, manufacturing, base building, etc. Pretty much all the stuff from the original, except the whole intercepting UFO thing... Because it should be about demons who are attack the earth by opening gates from hell. So a little like a cross between X-com (all major gameplay elements), and Hellgate: London (story). The UFO thing is cool, but it is getting a bit long in the tooth. Time to change it up!

The player controls an international paranormal activities research and defense organization. They start out with equipment to detect paranormal activity using both aircraft and hand-held systems. Players have aircraft that they send on regular patrols near their bases to detect concentrations of paranormal activity. When they detect something they can direct the aircraft closer to find the center of the activity, then send in a squad to deal with it. They also will have reports from various cities to respond too, like the terror sites in X-Com.

The player starts out with weapons that can harm all paranormal creatures, but which are designed primarily for non-corporeal enemies. Early on most enemies are non-corporeal so this is not a problem, but small short-term gates start opening very early on, and these let in corporeal enemies. After the first encounter with physical enemies regular guns become available (better against corporeal foes), as well as the ability to research weapons that are equally effective against corporeal and non-corporeal enemies. Remote controlled/robotic vehicles, powered armor, and manned heavy vehicles also become available over time (in that order). The player also gets the ability to research magic and magical artifacts (with separate research teams of "mystics" for this, not scientists), and eventually can have his own mages on the team, armed with various magical implements, and even the ability to summon "good" creatures to help the team.

As the game progresses the player finds out that there is a secret organization of humans behind the gates that are opening, and they end up having to destroy this group. Some of the organization are armed humans, some are weird demon/human mixes, and some are just outright demons. This encounter will also be the first time the players have to deal with a fully open gate. After beating this group they player finds out it is too late. Now that one gate has been opened the head demon is able to force open more gates, and do so faster and faster. The player also has to deal with gates occasionally opening directly in one of his bases as well.

So now the player has a much tougher challenge ahead of them. Open gates spawn new demons every turn, so the player has to get to them quick, and get them shut down as fast as possible, while also dealing with whatever is coming out. Later levels may even have multiple open gates, a/o gates that let larger a/o more demons through. Gates can be closed with paranormal weapons if enough damage is done, though it might take a few turns. Players can eventually research special bombs that will take a gate down much faster, though it might still take 2 or 3 bombs to take down a big gate.

Eventually the player does enough research to figure out how to open a controlled gate that goes directly to the master demons home. The player has to open this gate, kill the initial wave of demons that comes through, and secure the other side. The player then plays through a series of missions taking and controlling more demon territory with limited reinforcements, until they reach the master demon and kill him, thus ending the ability of the demons to open new gates, and winning the game.

To me this seems like a natural "evolution" for this style of game. There can only be so many UFO versions before the whole concept becomes stale. Demons are the perfect change, allowing the core game-play to remain the same while introducing a lot of interesting new elements and very different styles of enemies and attacks.
 
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I'll only be interested if it top down like the original.

Oh...wait.....nevermind...
 
xcom is my go-to game for the netbook. When I'm bored I can just sit on that thing for hours shooting up aliens and praying I don't land next to one with a handy grenade while my squads still grouped up... Save, Save often.

But FPS, no thx..
 
Omegas said:
xcom is my go-to game for the netbook. When I'm bored I can just sit on that thing for hours shooting up aliens and praying I don't land next to one with a handy grenade while my squads still grouped up... Save, Save often.

But FPS, no thx..
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If you dont meta game, X-com is tough as shit (sorry for my language), losing a general to a teeny green alien phase blast hurts like hell. Or having one of your guys going insane, tough business.
 
How about they release a patch for UFO defense so I can play it in eyefinity :D
 
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