X-Com

[Arondell]

So the remake to X-Com is coming out next month. So far from the preview videos its looking pretty good. Note this is not that FPS version that was in development but a tactical turn based combat like the original. Its being developed by Firaxis the same guys who do Civilization so I have high hopes. Yes they are including some form of competitive multiplayer.

http://tinyurl.com/9tcuupz

www.firaxis.com

[Aethling he/him]

I liked the original versions of X-Com. X-Com Enforcer was just a cheesy fps that didn't have anything to do with the original ideas. I managed to find a decent knockoff a few years back that worked on Ubuntu.

[Deoradhan]

This is going to be awesome. X-COM is epic, and I have no doubt Firaxis of all studios will be able to to do it justice.

[Eerongal he/him]

I do hope it's good. X-Com is easily one of my favorite games of all times. I just really hope it isn't watered down compared to the original too much. They can make it easier, though, because lord knows that game was NOT easy in any sense of the word.

[Arondell]

They can make it easier, though, because lord knows that game was NOT easy in any sense of the word.

I felt the first was pretty well balanced with difficulty. The sequel X-com : Terror from the Deep could be ridiculously difficult. Especially the tentaculat aliens which were effectively flying chrysalids. Also two level missions were really common and often turned into a bit of a slog fest as you hunted for that last alien hiding in some remote corner.

[Eerongal he/him]

I felt the first was pretty well balanced with difficulty. The sequel X-com : Terror from the Deep could be ridiculously difficult. Especially the tentaculat aliens which were effectively flying chrysalids. Also two level missions were really common and often turned into a bit of a slog fest as you hunted for that last alien hiding in some remote corner.

I dunno, even on the easiest difficulty, it was entirely possible to run into stuff that's way above your current technology level and just wipe the team you were working on, essentially putting you back to square one. Though, it makes it pretty easy if you're constantly saving non-stop. Honestly, until you figured out what you were doing, you could pretty much expect to die/lose constantly even on the easiest difficulty, which can be frustrating to a new player. I'm not saying that it was impossible, just that there was a very steep and unforgiving learning curve to it, no matter what difficulty you put it on.

I never really played the sequel that much, but I have had people tell me that it got significantly harder.

[Deoradhan]

It did. This was due to the combination of several massive bugs, and being more difficult then what X-COM's superhuman was supposed to be.

Its ridiculously difficult.

[Arondell]

I never really played the sequel that much, but I have had people tell me that it got significantly harder.

Basically they made all the aliens tougher.

Examples?

Lobster Men : Very high health points.(100+) Decent Time units. On top of that every ranged weapon of any kind did a fraction of full damage. 30-40% of full damage. The melee weapons introduced in TFTD actually did 200% damage vs lobster men. The downside of course being you had to be in melee range. Often not easy.

Tentaculats : Basically the "chrysalids" of the game. Enormous amount of TU. Could effectively "fly" in the underwater areas. Fairly high health points. Upside is you wouldn't have to worry about them in land missions. These ones alone taught you the advantage of disciplined use of covering fire. ALWAYS

Tsaoths : A cross between the mutons(?) and etherials(?) from the first game.

[Arondell]

A demo has been released!

http://store.steampowered.com/app/200510/

[Geoffray]

Tested the demo last night. It was F... incredible. I've find the feeling of the first X-com. I'm really impatient to see the full game !

- Tactics is prevalent: sent your men forward without reflection, and bam! Your team is dead.

- Attachment to your soldiers: Yon can personalize them in any way you see fit. Then, when they died, it's really "important"

[Thought]

I dunno, even on the easiest difficulty, it was entirely possible to run into stuff that's way above your current technology level and just wipe the team you were working on, essentially putting you back to square one.

The difficulty is one of the things about the original series that I truly loved. The thing is, it rarely felt like the AI was cheating (as in some other games). There were rarely no-win scenarios, just mistakes that the player has made. I really hope that, at the least, they take the Devil May Cry approach to difficulty (that is, easy mode is only unlocked if you can't cut it on normal difficulty).

Terror from the Deep was beautiful, near perfection. The two (AND THREE!) stage missions were brutal, because of time commitment, but that aside everything was rearranged to be just delicious.

Both had wonderful psychological impacts, too. Want to know what pure terror sounds like? Listen to a crysalid moving around a map.

[Arondell]

Terror from the Deep was beautiful, near perfection. The two (AND THREE!) stage missions were brutal, because of time commitment, but that aside everything was rearranged to be just delicious.

Terror from the Deeps biggest flaw I felt were that the maps were a bit too big. I often felt like skipping terror missions on ships simply because tracking down some last alien hiding in a corner took at least a third of the entire mission. Don't get me started on the alien base missions that had all those twisty tiny corridors that went on forever. What a cunning base design. Bore the enemy to death as they hunt around.

My impression of the new demo was positive. You get to go on two combat missions. The first one tightly scripted for learning purposes. You also get a limited view of your base. You only get to zoom in on a couple sections though. Giving you a nice taste of the game without truly satisfying your curiosity.