In 1994 arguably the best tactical SCFI game forced many PC gamers into a darkened room for days on end pitting their wits against alien attackers hell bent on invading the earth. I miust have played 100's of hours of XCOM over a period of several years as it was always a go to game to rack up some hours.
To me the original XCOM was a masterpiece as there had not been a game which was has as much playability and different ways to play with almost endless tactical options and such great depth to what on the face of it is turn based combat.
Nearly 20 years on and there is a new XCOM out tomorrow with simplified combat and strategy elements but I am still very much looking forward to this remake of a classic :woot2:.
Will let you know what I think of it.
DZ
I stayed up last night and played an hour of this after it had unlocked on Steam.
It's one of the best strategy games I've ever played, a fantastic evolution of the original classic.
After noticing the release of the new game on Steam I fired up the original, still great. :) And I don't have the cash to buy more games right now. :(
Never heard /played the original I was 4 at the time of the original coming out lol trailer for the new one looks good though.
http://www.xcom.com/enemyunknown/videos
Yeah great fun played the tutorial through and customised my inevitable Ex-Soldiers with some cool looking gear.
TB did a video of it if anyone is interested. Runs like silky smooth butter on my I3 mid range lappy so performance and optimisation are top notch. Some awkward camera controls and somewhat simplified upgrade trees spoil an otherwise great game well worth a shot if you like turn based games but I'd wait for a price drop if you don't. I'd give it a solid 8.5 out of 10 if I were to make up a pointless arbitrary number.
I am a few hours in and loving it...
Already my highest ranked officer got killed as a car unexptedly blew up while he was taking cover behind it. It just as mean as the original in terms of your troops but not quite as tactical in terms of outfitting.
Looking forward to playing some more when I have time.
DZ
arahghagh!
Just did a Very Difficult difficulty abduction mission with no one dying in less than 5 turns and then it CTD's **** ******** ******** with a broom handle
Overwatch is your friend... For hard missions with no time or turn limit have at least half of your troops on overwatch. IF needing to dash as no cover is available then make sure other are in front and behind with overwatch enabled. Snipers are amazing this time round so use them wisely and give them a scope or jetpack armour as soon as you get them.
My tactics so far have been to get as many satellites up as possible up as quickly as possible and go for one continent at a time as you get the regional bonus.
I am not yet going for weapons, only armour as my veterans need to be protected and my research takes forever as I have gone for engineers rather than scientists. Scientists make stuff research faster but you cant build stuff without engineers... they are way more important!
DZ
I think some XCOM multiplayer needs to happen this weekend DZ.
Sounds good to me =)
having completed this a few times i know a bit..
Satellites are a good investment, more so if you can get the "we have ways" coverage, as this provides instant research, and yes it is instant, just click and you done..
Delay doing the mission you need the... thing for(no spoilers) as this starts the "next level" of alien activity (aka they get a lot harder)
and try to rank up you marines.
Armour and weapons RnD need to be balanced, as if you have too much investment in one of them, then your going to either have your ass handed to you, for lack of armour(carapace is ok) or your not going to be able to put some of the bigger things down quickly.. try to get the laser kit asap, as this is a great start.
Live capture, yes.. your marine who has the zap gun may get killed in attempting this(good armour helps)
It may say 90% hit, which means.. zip, the alien may just turn around, looking really happy, as you in really close to it and score a 100% hit, 100% crit on your zap guy..send flowers..
If you can upgrade the zap gun, it become "somewhat" easier, more so with "weak" aliens like the thin man or the sectoids, as they only have 3 hp, but can be annoyingly hard to capture, due to your marines opening a can of whoop ass on them. (aka boom, dead) as the upgrade makes it upto 6 hp to KO them, still some of the big things need some serious fire power to bring down their hp.. and they shoot back !
Later on when you can research.. "magic stuff"... best way to describe it..
Make this a top priority, as the "alien leaders" are... nasty, if you have ever played the original, you`ll understand the word,
"panic" and drops gun...there`s the other effects...
So suit up and shield you "magic man", to help prevent this.... still one of my top magic people got hit and went on a killing spree...a run & gun + double shot at 0 range with an alloy cannon sorted this problem, against the "leader".
Once you have some support class, make sure you have the +3 medic ability and the Saviour one too, if you can, carry 2 of these in your squad, as you can get shot up pretty bad on some of the missions....
When exploring the map, as DZ said, use overwatch, do not go running into the darkness, like forrest gump, singing i`m a human, come shoot me... they will gladly do that...oh yes ! I recall a mission, in the garage, where 5 of the 6 marines were on the left of the map, edging towards the building, and the sniper was on the roof of the forecourt, legging it right forward into the middle of the map..
After making a full lenght run along the roof top, He see`s the following :
3 mutons- they scatter
another 3 mutons, they also scatter
2 mutons & a muton beserker...they scatter, they beserker comes legging it forward.. i now have 8 enemies with guns and one badass melee, i have no move left, and no shot.. oh dear.
I could of sworn i heard the words "Leeroy, you jack ass", boy was i glad that i had 2 heavies on my mission, engage enemy with EXTREME PREJUDICE !
Initially the weapon fragments are VERY important, try not to gank too many with grenades or rockets, yes i know it looks cool but, you destroy any fragments, so your gimping your RnD stuff.. the nice lady also shouts at you...
And my biggest tip, Save!
Save often, make sure you go no more that 15mins real time, as having to reload after getting your ass handed to you is not great... no sir, when you realise your 2 weeks or more behind your last save...
Once you have "unlocked" the last mission, be very careful.. i can say anything more!