Would the real XCOM please stand up?

[-Bouncer-]

So my brother is sending me a copy of Game Informer all the way from New York. Yes, the issue with X-Com in it. I just cannot stop smiling now.

[echo]

Got this video from Geo on twitter and it looks marvelous. At first I was super exited for FPS but this one's mechanics looks awesome. I'm yearning for a good turn based game.

[-Bouncer-]

I.Want.This.Now.

I've spent hours, days, weeks playing the first game and Terror From the Deep back then.

[Chevron]

The games texture's look a bit low res. I hope the PC version will look better.

Still want it though. Looks good.

[Squirly]

I'm not too bothered about the textures. The game looks crisp and pretty and, more importantly, the mechanics look great. I like how the interrupt works, the destructible environment gets me all excited and the cover system looks awesome.

A game I'm genuinely looking forward to.

[echo]

Looks ace!

[Squirly]

Screw every other game coming out this year. I only want this.

[echo]

To grid or not to grid? How XCOM: Enemy Unknown modernizes turn-based strategy

It's a nice write up of how the game currently looks and plays and he (BEN KUCHERA) also talks about the differences there will be between the PC and console versions.

[Squirly]

The only that I'm not too happy about right now is that it looks like they took out base defending. Something about not wanting to punish the player for success or something like that, which I think is bull****. If this follows the same sort of progression as the original, then sooner or later you'll be a complete bad-ass and your troop of soldiers will be a collection of Schwarzeneggers from Predator. So upping the challenge by forcing you to defend your base makes sense to me. Well, they haven't denied it outright, but that's what I've managed to gleam from interviews and such.

[BattleMoose]

I'm a bit disappointed that they kept strictly to the turn based paradigm, as opposed to real time actions, like Jagged Alliance has done. It just doesn't make sense that if you know an enemy is around the corner that you can run out, take a shot with certainty that that shot would fire. Instead in JA you send the guy with the quickest reflexes and a light submachine gun or a shotgun around the corner because he can get a shot of in the shortest possible time.

[James Donaldson]

This is why the guys who made the 1993 game deserve to be hailed, no one in all these years has been able to match this 10 meg game in its game mechanics.

The line of sight worries me. One thing that made the original game so creepy, besides the fact one shot could kill your best guy/girl, was that even if your team spotted the aliens, you, the player, may still not "see them". Nothing creepier then a plasma shot flying in from nowhere, or seeing a Sectoid for a split-second during the enemy phase, or a team-mate spotting an alien that is in the dark, or worse, you can't even see it in the dark and you have to fire and hope you hit whatever is there.

http://www.themousetrap.co.za/images/comicidea04.jpg

[Squirly]

I'm a bit disappointed that they kept strictly to the turn based paradigm, as opposed to real time actions, like Jagged Alliance has done. It just doesn't make sense that if you know an enemy is around the corner that you can run out, take a shot with certainty that that shot would fire. Instead in JA you send the guy with the quickest reflexes and a light submachine gun or a shotgun around the corner because he can get a shot of in the shortest possible time.

While JA BiA's system actually works pretty well once you've figured out how to apply it properly I think you're one of the few that's disappointed that XCOM is turn-based. There's NO reason for it to be RTwP or anything like that. TB is how it works. It's like saying Civilization should become real-time. It wouldn't be the same game. Dozens of games have tried imitating XCOM but tried updating the interface to be more inline with games today. And not one of them really managed to recapture that magic. TB is how it is, TB is how it should be.

It just doesn't make sense that if you know an enemy is around the corner that you can run out, take a shot with certainty that that shot would fire.

That's a facetious argument against turn-based games that doesn't make any sense. If I'm playing chess, I'm not going to complain that I can't move my knight out of the way during your turn just because your queen is about to take him. Yes, you can't do anything with your soldiers once it's the AI's turn, but then neither can the AI when it's your turn. But then, you can set your soldiers to react to enemies during the AI's turn, giving them a chance at reactionary fire, you can set grenades to explode during the enemies turn, you can tell your heavy to give covering fire which extends all the way through the AI's turn back to when it's your turn. Firaxis did some awesome and sensible things with the TB system and it looks like it's a lot more "exciting" (in a somewhat superficial way) than your old-school system.

[Squirly]

Multiplayer, death-match style.

[.exe]

Really looking forward to this as well. Oh bugger, my pockets are going to be feeling really empty soon.

[Squirly]

I think this is the best video out there with the most gameplay. It also doesn't have retarded commentary so it's just the game. Really liking the flying suits and the special abilities of some of the aliens.

[GeometriX]

If there's anyone still in doubt about XCOM (but why would you?), watch some of the devs play it right now on Twitch.tv: http://www.twitch.tv/2k.

Also buy the next NAG, because it'll be a thing there. Like a big thing.

[Squirly]

The next NAG or the one I saw in the shops last week?

[GeometriX]

The next one, that's out this week. You'll know it when you see it ;)

[Squirly]

Seeing as I can't get enough of anything XCOM I will be buying that harder than I've bought anything since... forever. I swear.

New trailer which shows a giant robot alien that I've never seen before. Wonder what that is.

[.exe]

I'm so glad they went with turn-based for this game. That, to me, is XCom, not some horrible fps shooter. It's looking mighty fine so far, I must say.