[PC] [360] [PS3] [MAC] [TAB] [MOB] XCOM: Enemy Unknown

[Tain]

It looks like the rumors going around when the XCOM FPS was announced were true. Firaxis is developing an XCOM turn-based strategy game.

Game Informer reveal: http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/arch ... known.aspx

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.

[icycalm]

Best news ever. Almost makes up for Sullla ruining my hopes for Civ5. I've got to take its banner down from my frontpage now :(

[watatatow]

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/ ... known.aspx

[icycalm]

The 3D tactical view reminds me of Operation Darkness.

[Olick]

Here's a developer commentary video, with some play footage too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kX9r0S77Vh0

[Daniel Lancaster]

I particularly liked seeing that they included the base-building and research element. The ant farm view is a good solution for the new title. I'm cautiously optimistic but it's hard to tell how the stat balance is being handled until I can get hands-on time with it.

[knecht]

A week ago, Rock, Paper Shotgun released a video of three Firaxis employees demoing XCOM: Enemy Unknown for an hour. This was the first significant amount of direct play footage I’ve seen for XCOM, and, being a big fan of the original X-COM: UFO Defense, I was extremely excited to see how the new game was shaping up.

A link to the video is provided here:

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/08 ... om-remake/

(The video actually starts at 3:55, so be sure to skip ahead – the first 4 minutes play a static 2K logo screen along with what I presume to be XCOM music. Probably a consequence of some delay getting the live feed up for the demo.)

The video has 3 main parts:

1. The demo begins with an Alien Abduction mission (7:30 – 32:00). A squad of 5 soliders and a Heavy Weapons Platform is deployed to kill and/or capture aliens from an urban area. The squad has some upgrades: the soldiers have researched armor and laser weapons, while the HWP has been upgraded to provide cover for nearby soldiers.

The squad comes up against some classic X-COM aliens: Sectoids, Cyberdiscs, and Mutons. A new enemy type – Drones, which work alongside Cyberdiscs – is also introduced.

2. The demo moves on to the Geoscape / Base portion of the game (32:00 – 40:00). Post-mission screens provide status updates on squad members (injuries, damage, etc.) as well as upgrade screens for promoted soldiers. A tour of an XCOM base follows, showing off the new “ant farm” art style as well as various base facilities, like the Barracks, Alien Containment Facility, and the Situation Room.

3. The final section of the demo is a classic Terror mission – the squad is deployed in an urban area to contain a violent alien attack and save civilian lives (40:00 – 1:01:20). Chrysalids make an appearance in this mission. More differences between the original X-COM and the new XCOM tactical systems are highlighted.

For veterans of the original X-COM, there are a number of changes that merit discussion: the new “Abilities” system that accompanies squad promotions, the emphasis on soldier classes and the changes in soldier stats, and the apparent removal of base defense missions are just a few fairly important changes in the game design.

I think it’s clear that the most important design change is the removal of Time Units (TUs) from the tactical system. In the original game, a solider would have a finite number of TUs that he or she could spend on various actions (shooting, moving, ducking, reloading, throwing, picking things up from the ground), each having a different TU cost. Experienced soldiers increased their number of TUs over time, which made them incredibly valuable.

In the new game, TUs have been replaced with “actions”. Soldiers seem to be able to perform 2 actions per turn. Certain soldiers have unique abilities, like running and shooting in the same action, or using a grappling hook to reach higher positions on the map. I don’t know if these soldiers can get more actions per turn as they grow in experience, but at the end of the day it looks like the level of control a player has over each unit’s actions per turn has been severely diminished – or "streamlined", I suppose, depending on your tastes.

The great moments in X-COM’s missions had you feverishly calculating how much your soldiers could do in a given turn, and what the best option was, given that soldier’s position on the map and what you knew about the alien threat. Do I have enough TUs to grab a grenade from that soldier next to me and throw it at that cluster of Sectoids? Should I just take cover and save some TUs for return fire? If I take a second soldier into firing position, will he be left exposed to an attack during the alien’s turn? Will he be able to at least duck? Even deploying your squad from the back of the Skyranger could be a terrifying proposition, forcing you to develop an opening gambit that prevented you from moving too many units out at once, or moving any of them too far without leaving them enough TUs to return fire at a Muton suddenly appearing and shooting at them. I liked having that detailed level of control over a soldier’s actions, and this new “2 action” system doesn’t look like an adequate replacement at first blush.

I’ll definitely give it a shot, but I have to say I’m a bit worried that this XCOM won’t be as interesting as the old one. We’ll see how it goes.

[knecht]

According to the following article, from the beginning of its development XCOM had two distinct UI teams which worked separately on the console and PC versions:

http://www.theverge.com/gaming/2012/9/7 ... e-original

Screenshots of the PC version:

[icycalm]

http://www.spacesector.com/blog/2012/10 ... wn-review/

Seems like a proper review, by someone who has played the original games (far superior to the one I linked in the Tactical Insights thread a few weeks back). It's interesting how he points out all the ways in which the game was dumbed down/simplified, and yet manages to sort of convince you that these simplifications were (mostly) not a bad thing. Overall, the original game comes out on top, even by his own admission, but he still strongly recommends this and has totally sold me on it. Really enjoyed reading the review.

[Turnus]

Announcement Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4KdSli869U
Warmachines Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kS83xuoDPs0
Narrated Demonstration: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buW1FtMOTwI

http://gematsu.com/2013/08/xcom-enemy-within-announced

2K and Firaxis Games have announced XCOM: Enemy Within, an expanded experience of last year’s XCOM: Enemy Unknown, coming to PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC, and Mac internationally on November 15.

The game adds new abilities, upgrades, and weapons, as well as new maps, tactical and strategic gameplay, and multiplayer content.

Here’s the full list of new features:

• New Soldier Abilities: Research a new alien technology to advance the capabilities of operatives:
• Gene Mods: Construct the Genetics Lab to physically enhance operatives’ abilities, including augmentations to the chest, brain, eyes, skin and legs.
• MECs: Build the Cybernetics Lab to enable the construction of the new Mechanized Exoskeletal Cybersuit, or MEC. The new MEC Trooper class has specialized abilities and each suit can be upgraded with new weapons including the flamethrower, grenade launcher and more.
• New Weapons and Equipment: Give operatives an extra tactical edge with new projects from the engineering team in the Foundry;
• New Enemy Threats: Adopt new tactics to counter the threats from a host of new enemies, including the Mechtoid;
• New Strategic Resource: A valuable new alien resource, known as Meld, has been discovered. Secure it on the battlefield and use it carefully back at base to unlock new research and upgrades;
• New Tactical Challenges and Maps: Face new tactical challenges, on nearly 50% more maps;
• New Multiplayer Maps, Units and Abilities: Create custom squad from a wider array of options and dominate opponents in intense, one-on-one, turn-based matches.

On PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, the game will be available in a $39.99 Commander Edition that expands the XCOM: Enemy Unknown experience with the new Enemy Within content and add-on content previously released for Enemy Unknown. On PC and Mac, the game will be available for $29.99 and feature additional content that can be enjoyed with previously purchased copies of XCOM: Enemy Unknown.

[Turnus]

Enemy Within - Security Breach Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd9CmpLZVMI