Subm.: XCOM: Enemy Unknown

[Munin]

XCOM: Enemy Unknown

What is this game?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6ks03EprFE

XCOM: Enemy Unknown is a turn-based tactical role-playing video game, developed by Firaxis Games and published by 2K Games. The game is a "reimagined" remake of the 1994 cult classic strategy game UFO: Enemy Unknown (also known as X-COM: UFO Defense).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XCOM:_Enemy_Unknown


Setting?

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The game is set in the near future, as a global alien invasion begins.[7] Prior to the start of the game, a group of countries called the Council of Nations has banded together to create XCOM (short for Extraterrestrial Combat Unit), the most elite military and scientific organization in human history, tasked with defending them from the alien attack.[5][8] The player assumes the role of the commander of XCOM, and proceeds to engage in a war against an extraterrestrial enemy with overwhelming technological superiority.

For story: see wiki page

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XCOM:_Enemy_Unknown


Features

XCOM: Enemy Unknown puts the player in control of an elite multinational paramilitary organization called XCOM and tasked with defending the Earth. The player commands troops in the field in a series of turn-based tactical missions; between missions, the player directs the research and development of new technologies from recovered alien technology and captured prisoners, expands XCOM's base of operations, manages XCOM's finances, and monitors and responds to alien activity.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XCOM:_Enemy_Unknown

Most encounters are also random, just like they are previous Fallout games. There are some non random missions like the tuturial mission & several more challenging ones.

The environment is also fully destructible, you can blow up cover of your enemies. Which is nice & gives some nice tactical gameplay.

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Turn based Strategy, with a Fallout 1 & 2 look and feel to it! If this doesn't remind you of Turn Based Combat between humans & Aliens/creatures in Fallout 2 then I don't know what will!


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You make a party of Soldiers, you start of with only 4 soldiers & 2 closed slots. You upgrade each soldier individually both skills & items, skills by gaining xp during combat and the items by unlocking things in your tech tree & buying them.




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Tactical overview map, You get bonusses for controlling a continent. You controll nations by sending a satelite over them (the green icon right next to a Nations name), by doing this you get income (the dollars to the right) and you get Nation dependend bonuses => for example: you get more Scientists if you take a European or Asian Nation. You can also lose Nations & their funding, this happens if the panic bars go all red.


[spoiler:835d06725a]

[/spoiler:835d06725a] The Tech tree, you need to take several things into account. The tech for interceptors & a lot of basic research tech is more related to strategical objectives, while Armour & Weapons are obviously more related to tactical combat. Some researches are needed to unlock main quest missions, so very important if you want to have a chance winning the game


[spoiler:835d06725a]

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The building tree of your facilities. Alien containmaint = for capturing & interogating Aliens. Satelite Uplink = this is what you need to build to be able to build satelites (each uplink can provide 2 sattelites, nexus give 4). Officer school = provides you with officer options like more xp per kill, increased squad size (initial squad size = 4 and can increase to 6)





What can annoy RPG fans?

Is this a real RPG like Fallout 1 & 2? No, it is more like the combination of a Hardcore RTS game (like Hearts of Iron, ...), Turn based combat game, dungeon siege game. No dalogue options.

The grey choices & "dark world of Fallout feel" are there in the sense that you have to make choices between doing missions, you can't save everyone. You need to make decisions wether you will prevent aliens from invading China, Europe or US. You may need to choose strategical in order to progres faster but at the cost of losing countries.

What makes me like it and gives brings me back to the time I was playing Fallout 1 & 2: The turn based cartoonish combat in all its glory! & the retro-futuristic setting!

This game to me gives me a feeling of what Fallout 3 also could have been like. It relieves me to see that not everything has died with Interplay at the end of Fallout 2.

Apologies for the oversized pictures, I have no idea to rescale them while using internet links

 

[Hassknecht]

You can put the pictures in

Spoiler

tags.

I don't think this counts as an RPG, though. It's a tactical squad game with some character progression.

 

[Munin]

Thx for helping me get the pics right dude!


Yeah, I agree with you there. The sad thing is that this is the closest game to a Fallout game I could find (I don't recognize Betesda s version Fallout 3 as such a game).

The problem is if I had to be honest, I would say almost no good RPG games have come after Fallout 2 that could match the game in the tons of dialogue complexity & maturity.

I would compare it like reading a book, playing a Fallout game is like playing an interactive book with multiple scenarios. In the case of Fallout this would be a mature book for grownups. With tons of possibilities.

Playing most other RPG games nowadays is like playing an interactive farytale where you go either: Option 1 "Farytale prins going to save the princess and everyone else." or Option 2 "Doctor Evil from Austin Powers". It s black or white.


The only recent games that manage some maturity are The Witcher and Dragon Age, the only problem there is: Although the Witcher is a great game, the actual choices you have are limited: there are 2 main storylines where you pick one from. Most quests don't involve a lot of different dialogue paths that actually give you different outcomes.

Dragon Age Origins has the same problem, it has tons of potential in dialogue possibilities & different storyline paths. Like when you start as Dwarf Noble, the only problem is that no matter the choice you get similar outcomes.

I pick Option 1 you get outcome A, I pick option 2 you get outcome A again! (no matter what you do at the start you will get funneled to the Greywarden path). But yes, I have to say that Dragon age Origins is probably the better one of the 2 in terms of choices. [spoiler:d62b4d8de8]For example: In terms of who becomes King in Dragon age: You can marry the queen if you re human, you can put the queen alone on the throne, you can make alister sole King or force Alister to share the throne with the queen.

That s at least 3 different Paths at the end. The Witcher only has 2 big paths at the end: You side with team A or with team B.[/spoiler:d62b4d8de8]

 

[Hassknecht]

There have been quite a few good RPGs after Fallout 2. Just look at some of the other submissions on here.

 

[Languorous_Maiar]

The only recent games that manage some maturity are The Witcher and Dragon Age,

I lol'd.

Dragone Age is greatest example of:

Playing most other RPG games nowadays is like playing an interactive farytale where you go either: Option 1 "Farytale prins going to save the princess and everyone else." or Option 2 "Doctor Evil from Austin Powers". It s black or white.

It's more hack'n'slash than RPG... same for Mass Effect, which is more 3 person shooter, than RPG.

 

[Munin]

There have been quite a few good RPGs after Fallout 2. Just look at some of the other submissions on here.

I ve looked at them and played all the recent ones mentioned in the list (except Mass effect, which I noticed also has limited dialogue & storyline options. I watched a playthrough of it on youtube.)

There have been plenty of mediocre RPG games after Fallout 2. None that came close in terms of dialogue paths & storyline options. Which for me defines the RPG as a game where you are playing a Role like an actor in a play, in Fallout games I had the impression I was picking my script as the actor.

In most games in the list, I m more feeling like the guy watching the movie then the actor.


As for the Xcom game, I think it s the closest you ll ever get to a vision of how the combat system of Fallout 3 might have looked like if it was turn based. And how Fallout 3 graphics could ve been done when not made like a FPS looking game. Even the weapons are similar to the ones from Fallout, except that you don't have melee weapons. But all the blood and gore of Fallout games is there

For those about to play it: Enjoy the game and enjoy the little bit of free time you had because this game will take all of it :p




Also: someone needs to Add: Risen 1 & Risen 2 + Ghotic 1, Ghotic 2 to the list.

The only recent games that manage some maturity are The Witcher and Dragon Age,

I lol'd.

Dragone Age is greatest example of:

Playing most other RPG games nowadays is like playing an interactive farytale where you go either: Option 1 "Farytale prins going to save the princess and everyone else." or Option 2 "Doctor Evil from Austin Powers". It s black or white.

No there is a greater one, it s called "Fable":

But at least the game is honest about it, it portreys itself as a black and white RPG.

In a way you could say that Fable is what all RPG games have changed into. Why? I assume it has something to do with devs being lazy or wanting to make a game faster (more efficient). I can imagine making pure black white choices is a 100 times faster than coming up with more difficult options.

I think someone could add Fable 1, Fable 2 & Fable 3 to the list here as well. Even so I must say I enjoyed Fable 2


Not to Forget: Bioshock is also a great example of an game that also honestly admits to being a black & white RPG type game

 

[Lich]

Never played, it make me sick after am read few reviews about how broken and dumbed down it is. I understand that X-Com 1 could be voted for best, but this?

 

[Big HooDoo]

Never played, it make me sick after am read few reviews about how broken and dumbed down it is. I understand that X-Com 1 could be voted for best, but this?

I'll drink to that.

 

[PegasusOrgans]

I'm sorry but you are/were either A) a young gamer, B) Someone that only plays major release games from big publishers or a combination of the two.

You only mention Dragon Age and Witcher when there have been many indie/middle tier releases that are very much in the style of the classic RPGs. Hell, Witcher
is even a bit too damn actiony to be in that group, is a single character game series AND little character development on the players part. You play a pre-defined
character, afterall. That isn't to say that the Witcher series isn't one of the very best, but it is far removed from the Wizardrys, Ultimas, and early Fallouts of the
world. Hell, you didn't even mention any Troika games!

Thx for helping me get the pics right dude!


Yeah, I agree with you there. The sad thing is that this is the closest game to a Fallout game I could find (I don't recognize Betesda s version Fallout 3 as such a game).

The problem is if I had to be honest, I would say almost no good RPG games have come after Fallout 2 that could match the game in the tons of dialogue complexity & maturity.

I would compare it like reading a book, playing a Fallout game is like playing an interactive book with multiple scenarios. In the case of Fallout this would be a mature book for grownups. With tons of possibilities.

Playing most other RPG games nowadays is like playing an interactive farytale where you go either: Option 1 "Farytale prins going to save the princess and everyone else." or Option 2 "Doctor Evil from Austin Powers". It s black or white.


The only recent games that manage some maturity are The Witcher and Dragon Age, the only problem there is: Although the Witcher is a great game, the actual choices you have are limited: there are 2 main storylines where you pick one from. Most quests don't involve a lot of different dialogue paths that actually give you different outcomes.

Dragon Age Origins has the same problem, it has tons of potential in dialogue possibilities & different storyline paths. Like when you start as Dwarf Noble, the only problem is that no matter the choice you get similar outcomes.

I pick Option 1 you get outcome A, I pick option 2 you get outcome A again! (no matter what you do at the start you will get funneled to the Greywarden path). But yes, I have to say that Dragon age Origins is probably the better one of the 2 in terms of choices. [spoiler:d62b4d8de8]For example: In terms of who becomes King in Dragon age: You can marry the queen if you re human, you can put the queen alone on the throne, you can make alister sole King or force Alister to share the throne with the queen.

That s at least 3 different Paths at the end. The Witcher only has 2 big paths at the end: You side with team A or with team B.[/spoiler:d62b4d8de8]