2K Marin has been heavily criticized by fans of X-COM over its reboot for a number of reasons, many of which revolve around the game not being perceived as faithful to the original titles. The studio has since tweaked the game after a sizable quiet period, and today we're given a 22-minute look at the new-and-improved XCOM.
Narrative director Jordan Thomas admits that the old version of XCOM felt like "a run-and-gun affair, without a lot of focus on the command of your squad, or indeed on tactical play itself." You can see how they've addressed these complaints in this video. Personally, I'm optimistic about what's being shown off.
Of course, people are still b*tching, because that's what the Internet is skilled at. That said, it seems like there are fewer complainers this time around. Maybe.
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I actually never heard of this series until they first announced this game prolly due not ever being much of a pc gamer. It looks good and I now want to give the older games a shot so I can bitch with everyone else.
It looks like a forced love child between Mass Effect and some shitty sci-fi story set in the 60's, not X-Com. Fuck you 2k, give me the turn-based strategy I expected.
Looks really interesting, a huge improvement on the stuff they'd shown prior. The tactical elements all look well done.
And to everyone saying it isn't X-COM, sorry, but it is. It's in the title and everything. Not liking it is fine, but trying to will it out of existence is just silly.
It's a step in the right direction. I would recommend a huge Artwork change (the rural 60's settings look fairly boring, and the "assembly" effects look like something from the Lawnmower man mixed with Super Mario Bros. the movie. I don't get the sense of urgency yet, that fine line between being scared to run around a corner, and having aliens literally demoralize and tear your squad apart. Make troops expendable, make the main character killable/replaceable, and make the missions random and we're almost there.
It's a step in the right direction. I would recommend a huge Artwork change (the rural 60's settings look fairly boring, and the "assembly" effects look like something from the Lawnmower man mixed with Super Mario Bros. the movie. I don't get the sense of urgency yet, that fine line between being scared to run around a corner, and having aliens literally demoralize and tear your squad apart. Make troops expendable, make the main character killable/replaceable, and make the missions random and we're almost there.
I think the complaining is fully justified, regardless of the game's quality. They're using the name as fan bait, same as Fallout. They're mitigating risk, same as Fallout. And same as Fallout, its not XCOM any more than the Uncharted movie was Uncharted. Seems like nearly everyone swiggin that Haterade when a movie turns a gaming franchise into something it was never meant to be, but when its game-on-game, well then you're just a whiner. Cult of gaming, its retarded.
Anyway, I do like the way this game looks. Its XCOM only in name, just like Fallout 3 is only Fallout in name, but I fucking loved Fallout 3. Definitely on the radar.
Looks wonderful to watch, but ultimately, there just isn't anything going on under the hood, considering its supposed to be X-Com. Honestly, I don't care that if it deserves the name or not. If it was called The Invaders or It Came From Planet X or something equally hokey, it would still be horribly familiar and eventually make me dig out the games it humbly "borrows" from.
"Almost overwhelmed with choices between missions"
That is not an encouraging quote.
It still looks like a boring cover-based FPS with very limited tactical elements that has absolutely nothing to do with the original X-COMs.
And the more I pay attention to it, the more the setting bothers me; what used to be a global organization funded by every major nation with hardware and recruits from all over is now American only, with America defending the world entirely by themselves. He talks about this being an origin story, but there already was one in the first game, and it was better than "America saves the day" by far.
@Paul Stone: for me saying this game is XCOM is equal to saying that wolf in sheep cloths is sheep. Sure it might try to look like same, sound like same and act like same but you will notice there's something wrong with it.
The original X-Com games are still as awesome as a box full of baby kittens. There's no need to update them. It would be cool, sure. But unnecessary. I think this game looks great, and the fact that you still have an upgradeable squad sweetens the fuck out of it. I'm pretty anxious to give this hyphen-less Xcom a shot.
X-com is possibly my favorite game ever. This looks like, as was said above, a first-person mass effect. The "strategy" aspect seems highly contrived to me. But my biggest issue is simply the name. I wouldn't be feeling any butthurt
X-com is possibly my favorite game ever. This looks like, as was said above, a first-person mass effect. The "strategy" aspect seems highly contrived to me. But my biggest issue is simply the name. I wouldn't be feeling any butthurt right now if it was called anything else. What's it have in common with the classic? An alien invasion? Fine. Call it War of the Fucking Worlds.
I agree. While I'm fine with them calling it Xcom, I really don't see the point other than to reel in the players that recognize the name. But they could have just called it Bucket Butts from Uranus or Intergalactic Assbastards and completely avoided any ruffled feathers... unless someone has a problem with Bucket Butts. :P
You're right, no one complained about Halo Wars being an RTS. That had everything to do with Halo Wars not being billed as a reboot, indicating the direction the Halo franchise would be going, so no one really cared that it took everything they loved about Halo and shoehorned it into a completely different genre. It was a side game, it was billed as such, and people went about their merry way knowing all was still good in the Halo universe.
But that's where this is different. The old X-COM games were not the same old FPS game with a different name clogging the shelves every week; they were turn-based strategy titles. This new X-COM has as much to do with the old ones as Halo Wars has to do with Halo, but 2K Marin hasn't promised us that this is just a one time thing and they'll be going back to the game we all actually wanted next time around.
@JohnApocalypse - Halo Wars was a side game created to compliment the main series while also allowing them to revisit the series' original concept; it was not proposed as a replacement or reboot to the other games.
My problem with XCOM, other than the fact that it's taking one of my all-time favourite franchises and turning it into a cover shooter shitfest in a world seemingly dominated by cover shooter shitfests, is that it's shamelessly copying wholesale a series I've already played and love. Not only that, but it's attempting to compete directly with that series, as if your average gamer is somehow going to not want to know how the Mass Effect trilogy ends so they can play an uninspired, derivative piece of shit just like it. Seriously, BioWare is going to shove their enormous cock so hard and so deep up 2K's ass that they'll never be able to walk right again.
"People didn't bitch about Halo Wars being an RTS"
Wow, what a load of fail. Halo Wars is a side game meant to compliment Halo. X-COM has been radically changed from what its original fans had come to like. It's the same thing with the Fallout series. A turn based RPG turned FPS.
I'd be more interested if you had control over more (a significant amount more) units, and if they made playing the game tactically an absolute requirement for not getting devastated.
Uh, all these fuckers talking and complaining. You don't want fucking the same damn XCOM, you want to be young again and play XCOM. Assholes complaining that it isn't X-COM. Well guess what dipshits, how many fucking people remember that game? Do you honestly think another major studio was going to come a long and BLESS YOU with a turn-based strategy game, top down of course? You fucking people and your unrealistic expectations...
you guys are acting like there was actually a chance of there being a new X-COM game coming out anytime soon in the same vein as the original. like this game being made somehow stopped the imaginary production of another X-COM game that was coming down the line. like it or not, this is an X-COM game, as much as Enforcer or Interceptor. you don't have to like it or even play it.
most of the people stuck on the naming don't even seem to know that there are a handful X-COM clones out there that have been released recently and i think another coming out soon that are X-COM in almost every way but the title which begs the question, are you interested in the genre or just the name?
and the IP itself has been tossed around a whole lot. originally created by Mythos Games and MicroProse. MicroProse then owns the IP. then they are acquired by Hasbro Interactive and the IP goes along with them. then Hasbro Interactive was sold to Infrogrames Entertainment which was then renamed to Atari Inc. Infogrames gave the IP to Take-Two Interactive. then Take-Two handed the IP to Irrational Games. Irrational Games then split into 2K Boston and 2K Australia. 2K Marin was spun off from 2K Boston after they all worked on BioShock and 2K Boston went back to being called Irrational Games. 2K Marin then made BioShock 2(which was a good game, Grisham). then 2K Australia merged with 2K Marin under a single name and this is their first game together.
It's not like the fact that it's an FPS is the issue here. It's that the actual content of the game has NO FUCKING CONNECTION TO X-COM. There's no logical reason what-so-ever to call it XCOM apart from trying to reel in a small fan-group that you only succeed at pissing off.
There are NONE of the classic alien races, it's set in a different time period, it follows a different history of the organization, etc. etc. etc.
So WHY is this named XCOM? There's no good reason for it to be called that, it HURTS the game, nothing else. If they rebooted Resident Evil and made it about demons from hell, but kept the "S.T.A.R.S." team (only calling them "STARS" now), would that be acceptable? I'm going to guess, no.
I'm still wary, it looks good, while I was watching it I was slowly becoming more convinced. The fact that you can capture things and that there might be some random loot is a plus. Agents, plus. However the other things are kind of missing the ability to fight off alien landings with your own craft looks gone and I don't mean pilot but decide to prevent the aliens from taking a part of the globe by preventing a landing. The ability to build your own base looks gone. I would say my biggest issue is that some of those more tactical elements still appear to be missing. You know where and how you decide what to research, is exactly the same thing is when and how you upgrade your agents. What features in your base should be there, for instance more research labs to develop more technology or more craft to complete more missions (this doesn't seem possible). I just hope that there are more options, because it looks like all tech is just a tree (more captured stuff the further up the tree you travel). Missions all predetermined. What about psychic power? That seems to be removed. Armor? Seems to be removed.
Lots of stuff missing, but it looks like it's at least attempting to head in the right direction.
AielSavage: If they didn't call this game XCOM there would be no problem. If one day Jim Sterling goes missing, and when he comes back his is really thin, has become a priest and is very serious with no sense of humor and calls himself Jim Sterling, we'd all be like wtf? You're not Jim, we want our real Jim back!
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Contest:
5:00 PM on 08.26.2011
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Improved? I don't think so
And to everyone saying it isn't X-COM, sorry, but it is. It's in the title and everything. Not liking it is fine, but trying to will it out of existence is just silly.
Sure, it's not the same XCOM people grew up with, but it still looks to be a good game.
This is Fallout 3 all over again.
Anyway, I do like the way this game looks. Its XCOM only in name, just like Fallout 3 is only Fallout in name, but I fucking loved Fallout 3. Definitely on the radar.
That is not an encouraging quote.
It still looks like a boring cover-based FPS with very limited tactical elements that has absolutely nothing to do with the original X-COMs.
And the more I pay attention to it, the more the setting bothers me; what used to be a global organization funded by every major nation with hardware and recruits from all over is now American only, with America defending the world entirely by themselves. He talks about this being an origin story, but there already was one in the first game, and it was better than "America saves the day" by far.
I agree. While I'm fine with them calling it Xcom, I really don't see the point other than to reel in the players that recognize the name. But they could have just called it Bucket Butts from Uranus or Intergalactic Assbastards and completely avoided any ruffled feathers... unless someone has a problem with Bucket Butts. :P
This is as much X-Com as Halo would be Halo if Microsoft released the next Halo game as a SHMUP.
You're right, no one complained about Halo Wars being an RTS. That had everything to do with Halo Wars not being billed as a reboot, indicating the direction the Halo franchise would be going, so no one really cared that it took everything they loved about Halo and shoehorned it into a completely different genre. It was a side game, it was billed as such, and people went about their merry way knowing all was still good in the Halo universe.
But that's where this is different. The old X-COM games were not the same old FPS game with a different name clogging the shelves every week; they were turn-based strategy titles. This new X-COM has as much to do with the old ones as Halo Wars has to do with Halo, but 2K Marin hasn't promised us that this is just a one time thing and they'll be going back to the game we all actually wanted next time around.
My problem with XCOM, other than the fact that it's taking one of my all-time favourite franchises and turning it into a cover shooter shitfest in a world seemingly dominated by cover shooter shitfests, is that it's shamelessly copying wholesale a series I've already played and love. Not only that, but it's attempting to compete directly with that series, as if your average gamer is somehow going to not want to know how the Mass Effect trilogy ends so they can play an uninspired, derivative piece of shit just like it. Seriously, BioWare is going to shove their enormous cock so hard and so deep up 2K's ass that they'll never be able to walk right again.
Wow, what a load of fail. Halo Wars is a side game meant to compliment Halo. X-COM has been radically changed from what its original fans had come to like. It's the same thing with the Fallout series. A turn based RPG turned FPS.
This won't happen. Mass Effect 2.5, here we go...
most of the people stuck on the naming don't even seem to know that there are a handful X-COM clones out there that have been released recently and i think another coming out soon that are X-COM in almost every way but the title which begs the question, are you interested in the genre or just the name?
and the IP itself has been tossed around a whole lot. originally created by Mythos Games and MicroProse. MicroProse then owns the IP. then they are acquired by Hasbro Interactive and the IP goes along with them. then Hasbro Interactive was sold to Infrogrames Entertainment which was then renamed to Atari Inc. Infogrames gave the IP to Take-Two Interactive. then Take-Two handed the IP to Irrational Games. Irrational Games then split into 2K Boston and 2K Australia. 2K Marin was spun off from 2K Boston after they all worked on BioShock and 2K Boston went back to being called Irrational Games. 2K Marin then made BioShock 2(which was a good game, Grisham). then 2K Australia merged with 2K Marin under a single name and this is their first game together.
Haters are gonna hate.
There are NONE of the classic alien races, it's set in a different time period, it follows a different history of the organization, etc. etc. etc.
So WHY is this named XCOM? There's no good reason for it to be called that, it HURTS the game, nothing else. If they rebooted Resident Evil and made it about demons from hell, but kept the "S.T.A.R.S." team (only calling them "STARS" now), would that be acceptable? I'm going to guess, no.
Lots of stuff missing, but it looks like it's at least attempting to head in the right direction.
reality check: most of the audience today don't care about some archaic isometric rts or whatever it was. deal with it and cry moar.
This looks great. will buy.