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(6)Cheats and Walkthroughs
2K Games has finally announced the much-rumored reboot of XCOM, to be handled by the team at 2K Marin, the studio that delivered BioShock 2. That last point is a big one as XCOM has gone the way of the narrative first-person shooter, as described by Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K, “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.”
Yup, XCOM is no longer a strategy game, and instead will be a first-person shooter developed exclusively for the Xbox 360 and PC. The game is described by 2K below:
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.
Naturally, I reserve judgment on this until I know more, but as a fan of the classic strategy series, I admit that I'm a little weirded out by what seems like a distinct lack of X-COM. Though, who can be surprised by the shift considering today's marketplace? Let's just hope 2K Marin can wow us with this one as I love a good UFO tale. More to come when we know it!
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Renaissance Spam
A lot of people have been throwing out Fallout 3 as an example as to why this isn't a reason to run screaming to the bulletin boards to let loose a torrent of nerd rage, and for the most part I agree.
Strategy games are, to my eternal disappointment, slowly being phased out in this console-heavy gaming industry. The general lack of mouse control has led to isometric point and click to die a slow death and game developers, especially those with older IPs needing a reboot have been choosing to switch around play style into more "mainstream" gameplay so as to draw in new players. I understand this and can't really criticize as it would make me a raging hypocrite, seeing as how I fervently defended Fallout 3.
The thing is though, X-COM was a strategy game with the thinnest of plots. It wasn't about the overarching conspiracy brought about by the alien invasion, it was a game about "there's some aliens, here are your paper thin soldiers. Kill 'em all!"
Half the fun of the game was the simplistic insanity of it, and trying to turn it into a single player story-based FPS just makes me feel like that simplicity is going away and the game is going to be bloated by a cookie-cutter alien invasion story.
Now, for all I know I'm being overly pessimistic about it and it will be awesome. I hope it will be awesome; the FPS genre needs quality games coming out to remove the stereotype that they're brainless fodder for console cowboys. If X-COM can work towards removing that image, power to it.
If I could do some fantasy designing, I'd do a game similar to Brothers in Arms, allowing that squad based tactical element while having the visceral FPS element as well.
kyoput
It's 2K so the story should be at least mildly interesting. Circles which shoot beams of light that fracture people apart into small pieces? Well, I've seen that. 1,000 times. Luckily, for me at least, it never gets old.
I just love press releases for upcoming titles. Games, movies, books, etc. They make the most simple things sound so over the top.
".....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."
Translation: Soldier/Cop/Scientist/ shoots lots of aliens to save the world/President/girlfriend.
I'm sure it'll be a well polished, engaging experience so I'll probably give it a rental.
ilovemyjeep
Awesome! Another Sci-fi FPS! We haven't seen THAT before!
(Notify me when something original is announced)
Msharpe803
Why the hell does every game made by certain companies HAVE to come to the Xbox 360 and PC.
It's so freaking stupid to do something like that. I mean the PS2 was the best system out of the it and the xbox. and almost every game has to be for it. dumb @$$es, microsoft has to bribe all the game companies for games. and eventually ps3 gets em anyway.....
Phazer.Brain
A new X-com game will only work as an FPS, for the fans, if they remain true to what made this game one of a kind in the first place. X-com was a base builder, a tactical game with a brilliant sand box experience. X-com was way before it's time back when the gamers of today were still learning their ABC's.
shyguy
never heard of this series until now....guessing it came out in 1991 when I was born...haha. but the visuals look so interesting to me. that UFO doesn't even seem to fit in the world...and it just makes it that much more alien. Idk if it is going to be some sort of XBLA game...or a 60 dollar buy...but it has caught my eye..
nuclearday
I... guess I just don't understand WHY???
It's not like any of the X-Com games wove such an incredible story that THAT's the thing that needs to be held over in a "reboot." It's just about trying to stop aliens from taking over the world - which sort of describes quite a slew of FPS games already out there - likely already with a more established fanbase for that sort of game.
The only thing that was really unique about the series was it's gameplay. That's honestly the only thing I'd look for from anything labelled "X-Com." Given who's making the game, I'm sure it'll be quite good, but I hate to say it - the fact that it looks like it'll nothing of what I'd enjoy out of an X-Com game means I just don't see myself ever bringing myself to buy it...
This just makes me sad....
DrowNoble
XCOM was an outstanding turn-based strategy game from the ol' PS1. To make it a FPS is beyond absurd. I guess they are hoping to sucker fans of the old series into buying this and make a quick buck.
skinjob
I love the crazy assumptions people have been making. SOMETHING NEW!!!!!!!! KILL IT!!!!
spacemonkey086
why xbox exclusive? do they suck at programing for ps3?
teabags
Ok so my understanding is, this new "x-com" title will have no strategy and no X in it, except for the name..brilliant, wonderfull..way to go to screw it up..why do they feel they HAVE to change something from one genre to another?? 2K dont know how to make strategy games?? they figure hey we'll just change it completely so theres no real story at all..yeah, wonderfull idea..i love the old x-com games the strategy, story..the building of assets etc. all good elements, sounds like this game will have NONE of that being an fps,
oh and just to be clear here, they didnt change the genre with fallout 3 they only changed the perspective, and used todays technology to make it a better looking and better actual working game..more real time, and just because something is developed with newer tech does not make a replacement for an original game, the original fallout was released what..'97? over 10 years ago..of course its going to be a "superior game" but as i said, they never really changed the game, just the perspective.
Apparently theyre not doing that with this planned release, theyre changing it completely...and to me, thats not X-com, thats just a game with x-com slapped on the box
ZyloWolfBane
I wouldnt mind so much if the creators of said franchises just made a new game from scratch.
But whenever they take a franchise and "Change" it the series never retains what made it great in the first place and even if the new experiment fails they never learn from it and take a step backwards before they totally run it into the ground.
And whats worse is they think they are making the old fans happy while making new ones while in reality they turn off old fans for screwing up a good thing and alienate new players cause they dont know anything about the game's roots, nor would they be able to since its basically a new game at that point.
Like all the experimentation with Final Fantasy once Nomura started controlling the majority of the development, none of it is making anyone happy including the japanese, but do they learn from this and think of ideas that a good? or better yet actually LISTEN to what the REAL fans ask for?
Well after FF13 I belive we have our answer to that.
JonahFalcon
Hold on! The presser says there's strategy as well. It could be that only the COMBAT is resolved through first person - and it said NOTHING about being a shooter. It could be something akin to Brothers in Arms.
EricEckstein
I'm *ALL* for a FPS set in the XCOM universe but remember that Fallout 3 was a first-person RPG, not a narrative shooter in the world of Fallout (though that could be cool too!). I did like BioShock 2, so XCOM should be in good hands, but as it's currently revealed, I'm not sure what the connection to XCOM is other than name.
As someone who enjoyed the strategic aspects of base building, squad management and research from the original game, I'm curious which, if any, of those tactical elements exist in the new game. For example, will there be alien research a la BioShock to improve weapons or abilities? I guess we have to wait and see.
CustosIntusSilentium
@ ZyloWlfBane
While I agree 120%, in a creative respect, I can see why developers do this from time to time. Doing the same old gameplay with a new story gets tedious after several iterations for some people and many studios don't want to get in the habit of fan service. Sometimes ya just need something new. But as a gamer, I see that as the only circumstance when it's acceptable to deviate from an established canon. Being a writer, I'm all for creative exploration, but it strikes me odd when developers take something which already has a time-line and run in a direction which alienates the fans and reason "X" franchise was loved. It might seem simple-minded, but the solution is simple to me- don't make these additions part of the ongoing story arc/series (i.e. Final Fantasy XI). Make them spin-offs. Sure it's semantical, but this allows the fans to more easily ignore additions they feel are inferior and don't apply to the canon. It sucks to be a creator sometimes, but a good one never forgets his audience. But I still would have liked to have seen StarCraft Ghost.
Infinityman
@ ZyloWolfBane:
While I realise that the old saying "Opinions are like(insert body part here), everyone has one" is true and obvious, I have played all of the Fallout games, including Fallout Tactics, and I hands down believe that Fallout 3 not only was a superior game to the others (while they were great), but also a forward step for gaming. I have never felt so immersed in a game world than the world of Fallout 3. (especially the first run through)
ZyloWolfBane
Why do developers insist on taking RPG/RTS/Strategy games and turning them into something completely different that neither old fans or new players will touch?
Franchises forever ruined by this asinine idea:
-Shining Force
-Front Mission
-Fallout (Yes, I think it was stupid turning it into a FPS)
-Castlevania
-Metroid
-Might And Magic
-Final Fantasy
-Phantasy Star
-Breath Of Fire
-Tales of (Insert name here, was better as a 2D series)
Id also list Starcraft cept Blizzard cancelled Starcraft Ghost a long ways back, smart move.
I can go on, when will developers quit with this assbackwards idea!?
Tim_1138
I know absolutely 0 about XCOM. Can you give a little more so we can either be Xcited or enraged.
Levi1976
I was a big fan of the first X-Com games. I loved Bio-Shock, and I'm a huge fan of the new direction of Fallout. I can see this being a really great game! I'm hoping they still have a research and development part in the game, maybe Mass Effect 2 style. 2K Marin has done some really great games in the past (Bio-shock, Freedom Force, remember that?) so I'm sure they'll make a solid game. It's tough though when you see a game that you already enjoyed, being drastically re-tooled. Here's hoping that they at least keep the spirit of the original!
dwmatteson
WHY?! Ugh. Dammit, jerks. First they stink up BioShock 2 now they're going to stink up XCOM? Laaaaaaaaaame.
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