Hot off the wire tonight comes an announcement from 2K Games that the long-rumored reboot of the XCOM franchise is, in fact, a reality. Not only that, but the title -- coming to the PC and Xbox 360 -- is being developed by the talented guys at 2K Marin, responsible for nearly achieving the impossible by making a BioShock sequel that didn't ultimately herald the apocalypse.
That's the good news. What's the bad news? Well, it might not be bad news depending on your perspective, but I'm less than totally thrilled that the game will be in first-person. I have so many fond memories of moving about my little suited guys and watching them get killed because I was never particularly good at the game that... well, alright. I'd probably actually be able to finish an FPS version, so that might not be such a bad thing.
Nevertheless, it's a new direction and that's liable to rub people the wrong way. Are you one of said people, or does this news still excite without tarnish?
2K Games Announces XCOM® - Suspense and Mystery-Filled First-Person Shooter from Creators of BioShock® 2
Award-winning developers set their sights on re-imagining the suspense, tension and fear of one of gaming’s most beloved franchises only on Xbox 360 and Windows PC
New York, NY – April 14, 2010– 2K Games announced today that XCOM®,the re-imagining of one of gaming’s most storied and beloved franchises,is currently in development at 2K Marin, the studio behind the multi-million unit selling BioShock® 2.Currently in development exclusively for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and Windows PC, XCOM combines the strategic core of the groundbreaking franchise with a suspense-filled narrative and distills it into a tense and unique first-person shooter experience.
“With BioShock 2, the team at 2K Marin proved themselves as masters of first-person, suspenseful storytelling, and with XCOM they will re-imagine and expand the rich lore of this revered franchise,” said Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K. “Players will explore the world of XCOM from an immersive new perspective and experience firsthand the fear and tension of this gripp
ing
narrative ride.”
XCOM is the re-imagining of the classic tale of humanity’s struggle against an unknown enemy that puts players directly into the shoes of an FBI agent tasked with identifying and eliminating the growing threat. True to the roots of the franchise, players will be placed in charge of overcoming high-stake odds through risky strategic gambits coupled with heart-stopping combat experiences that pit human ingenuity – and frailty – against a foe beyond comprehension. By setting the game in a first-person perspective, players will be able to feel the tension and fear that comes with combating a faceless enemy that is violently probing and plotting its way into our world.
XCOM is not yet rated by the ESRB. For more information on XCOM please visit www.XCOM.com.
Contest:
11:07 PM on 04.13.2010
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Also I hope this is going to be something like SWAT 4, but with aliens.
"FPS X-COM? Hell it worked for Fallout 3, why not?"
Well, I'm sold!
...
::nerdrage::
look, the unit is called X-Com. I want to be on the multinational team called X-Com. If I'm playing as an FBI agent, then I'm going to be doing it wrong for a good portion of the game.
Also, while I'm at it, who ever told PR that X-Com is about telling a tale? X-Com is about its fucking systems, through which a story ends up being told/created.
WTF is this bullshit?
::end nerdrage::
Promise I'll be civil for the rest of this game's release cycle. For reals... but dang it, yall...
That is all I have to say.
I don't see how you could use the term "True to it's roots" and "First Person Shooter" when describing an XCom reboot. Maybe the game will end up great and that'd be nice but that's you know...it'll still be an FPS in Xcoms clothing.
So...sure, it could be cool. And Bioshock 2 was competent, so it's not like it's in the hands of a bad developer.
god damn it I just want a DS version or something not just another horror FPS oh well maybe the "strategic core" will include squad mechanics RPG elements and research/technology and a flight sim interceptor component. lol a man can dream
But if they try to make it another story-based run through a corridor sort of FPS game, it's going to suck as much as Enforcer, and they will be ruining their chance of reviving one of the best franchises in video game history.
And trust me, that game was bad. Very very bad.
Yeah... but that's different! :)
The story of X-Com is pretty interesting...someone linked a cool article earlier today somewhere around here detailing the history of the franchise.
Basically there was one really good game (the first, a turn based strategy), a couple of cash-in cloner sequels, like three off-shoot different genre games (a flyer and an action shooter?), and very nearly a "true" sequel to the first by the original guys. But that go cancelled.
Honestly, I can conceive a few ways to make it true to the original and keep it primarily FPS... but the sinking feeling fans of the series (or just the original, even) have isn't completely unwarranted. :/
Oh rite, someone beat me to the Fallout 3 punchbowl already.
I'll wait and see, but X-Com without bases and resource management + FPS pov just makes it an "aliens on earth" game...
@Reginald You've only read about them? Why not play them? They still hold up. Or at least UFO defense/the-underwater-version-of-it do. Ya hafta walk in dese shoes to unnastan how dey feel.
@MaxDemage I am more distressed by you using Halo as either a mispelled Hello, or as the game (of many) that has aliens and guns in common with the X-COM world.
There's some good and bad from this announcement, but the key thing is 2k Marin is a pretty okay studio, and more attention to the franchise sits well with me.
The FPSness threw me off as well, because I expected Levine's crew to attempt another overhead view game (Freedom Force!). Probably makes huge sense from the financing-less-new-tech perspective (ie. get another Unreal license and use old Bioshock code).
- built customized bases from modules
- planned base placement on world map to intercept as many alien craft as possible
- sent fighters to shoot down ufos
- sent in soldiers to kill the surviving aliens and gather alien tech
- defended cities and your bases when the aliens invaded
- hired scientists, engineers, soldiers
- balanced budget
- customized fighter planes, attack craft and soldier equipment
- researched alien technology which yielded new weapons, tools, base modules, fighters etc
In short, it was a strategy game and like most strategy games, it hasn't aged. It looks like shit, but if you play it today, it's still exactly as great as it was back in the day. In fact, everyone should go play it right now:
http://www.impulsedriven.com/xcom1
Aww sorry, I just misspelled "Hello" - my Polish (L1) just jumped in coz all of the frustration with this being a fps.
Well enforcer wasn't really fps but tps, nonetheless as a shooter it sucked... and I payed for it...
*
Right now my almost all time fav title jumped into my mind: Battlezone2 - I don't know if anyone remembers it. It was a FPS with strategy and vehicles. IF and I repeat IF new XCOM would be like Battlezone 2 - now that WOULD be GREAT. Otherwise. NO!
If we are to hope for a REAL X-Com reboot, it has to be by someone willing to bet on the PC for distribution. I always hoped the guys behind Shadowgrounds would somehow end up with the license, since they seem to have the tech, and the grasp for top-down-ish view that actually works. This FPS crap is gonna satisfy my desire for an X-Com game as little as Fallout 3 did. They might be great shooters - but they have nothing to do with the original game(s).
Remember the last time they tried to make XCom anything other than an isometric strategy game? Yeah, me too unfortunately.
I'll wait and see...