Damn! A new X-COM gone gold and I didn't even know!

S

SynthWailer

First time out of the vault
http://pc.ign.com/articles/655/655504p1.html

October 3, 2005 - Publisher Cenega announced today that UFO: Aftershock is officially gold and slated to reach stores on October 21. Developed by Altar Interactive, Aftershock is a follow-up to 2003's UFO: Aftermath. The new game offers more tactical strategy, as well as the addition of resource and base management, new training procedures, diplomacy, and improved combat.
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Yes, i know it's sad that is a sequel to aftermath, but they claim they had a lot of development time and player input on this one . you can see more of the news on ign. So, what are your thoughts about it?
 
Judging by the screenshots and the video, it doesn't look very promising. The 3D engine looks like crap, for one thing.

I'm still trying to get my hands on one of the original x-com games, though... Never played them. :(
 
alec said:
Judging by the screenshots and the video, it doesn't look very promising. The 3D engine looks like crap, for one thing.

I'm still trying to get my hands on one of the original x-com games, though... Never played them. :(
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by all means get them. I never before got so immersed on a game without a good plot. If X-COM had a nice and solid plot, it would surely compete for being my all time favorite(my mind was blown when i saw the destructable environments). It seems they are abandonware now, since sites like abandonia.com have all of the original games for download.
 
I think you can't get xcom1 for free.It's in and old classics strategy collection box (with civilization 1,heroes of might and magic 1 and some others) so most abandonware sites just link to where you can buy it.
 
Crazy_Vasey said:
This isn't a real X-COM though, is it?
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Nope. It's inspired by X-COM though. The demo was just released. List of mirrors here. It's sort of hard to get into the combat system at first (you can customize the pause feature in options), but when you do it's quite nice. I prefer turn-based, but...
 
Guys, face it: X-COM I and II were pretty dumb. I mean, beside the tactical system, all you had left was that old corny evil-aliens-with-superior-technology-invade-us-for-no-apparent-reason....
I bet noone ever played that game for its story or athmosphere.

Therefore: take away that great tactical element, and turn it into something like this, and you're left with one steaming pile of dung. I'm not going to waste a cent on this game.
 
Jebus said:
I bet noone ever played that game for its story or athmosphere.
.
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This statement,Jebus,is extremely ridiculus.X-com 1 is one of the most atmospheric games i've ever played.
 
Jebus said:
Guys, face it: X-COM I and II were pretty dumb. I mean, beside the tactical system, all you had left was that old corny evil-aliens-with-superior-technology-invade-us-for-no-apparent-reason....
I bet noone ever played that game for its story or athmosphere.

Therefore: take away that great tactical element, and turn it into something like this, and you're left with one steaming pile of dung. I'm not going to waste a cent on this game.
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I have to agree with jebus about the backstory and story. But since it was such a kickass game, i easily overlooked the lacking of story and lost oh so many hours. And that's the only thing that lacked in x-com, for if it had a great story and rememberable characters(even though i still remeber the name of my only survivor from my first mission: tatiana romanov) it surely would sit on top of fallout on my favorites list. And as jebus said, all the kickass-ness of X-COM was lost in the originals, so i don't expect much from this one. I would at most play a good X-COM themed SS mod, but i still have many hours to spend on Terror from the deep.
 
Guys, X-COM was strategy/tactical/sim game tied neatly into one. Typically, that doesn't require much of a story involvement if it is as open-ended in construction but with varying levels of progression. Really, it's like expecting a backstory to Rollercoaster Tycoon, or for a game like Masters of Magic to have a backstory after the beginning when the player instead is the driving force (and again, it doesn't surprise me that CRPG lovers also like games of these kinds). It was the gameplay that was the focus of the game, and it was that gameplay people enjoyed.

In fact, that is the main charm of those games, which people sometimes forget when they try to make a more mainstream knock-off...like, say, a half-ass clone with RT+P combat that misses the point of the genre, to feel more like Dungeon Siege With Aliens.
 
Honestly, I enjoyed the management aspect more than the combat though both were top-notch. I think I really only preffered the management since it seemed less nail-bitingly scary.

I really liked sending interceptors after the UFO's, trying to decide where to put a new base, and how to best divide research subjects.

Sincerely,
The Vault Dweller
 
Jebus said:
Guys, face it: X-COM I and II were pretty dumb. I mean, beside the tactical system, all you had left was that old corny evil-aliens-with-superior-technology-invade-us-for-no-apparent-reason....
I bet noone ever played that game for its story or athmosphere.

Therefore: take away that great tactical element, and turn it into something like this, and you're left with one steaming pile of dung. I'm not going to waste a cent on this game.
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Well, no duh. I played the game because it had a great combat system and interesting base management and such, not because I wanted to be the Chosen One and collect the Four Orbs of Planetshatter and then defeat the Alien Horde. Like Rosh said, in some games (Like Adventure games) story does matter, it's the driving force in fact. But for strategy games, and to a lesser extent, CRPGs, story should take a backstep to more important and essential gameplay elements.

X-Com was certainly not "dumb", and I still believe it's unsurpassed in terms of gameplay, which if you think about it, is all that really matters, eh?

EDIT: I've played Rebelstar, and yes, it is quite fun but it has a pretty poor interface that can hamper it. And the sometimes long cutscenes before missions can get boring. But overall, I enjoyed it.
 
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