Been looking for place to vent out my XCOM nerdiness for awhile and (un)fortunately, this forum seemed to be the place. So this is my way of introducing this piece of a forum stalker to the community.
Now, I wouldn't have any business here if I haven't played the digital craft out of all the turn-based games of XCOM (Excluding TD) and UFO AI. So far, I do love all the games I've played. They all have their own little features and own little fallbacks. Now, let's start on my mass wall of text dedicated on each alien tactical game reviews
Original XCOM: Enemy Unknown or just UFO Defense
I remember getting this game from flea market after I had been introduced to games like Heroes of Might and Magic II, so I was fairly new to this "no-doom-shooting-or-mario-jumping" things While I was decent with the HoMM, even on easy setting this game blew my ass. The first time getting a terror mission? Oh boy, guess what in Ripley's names I had waiting in the corner ready to annihilate my rookies? Still, the sheer terror and complexity kept drawing the little me to play this.
Every and now then I find myself starting a game, mostly enjoying the early game and its brutalness. Despite sometimes the computer appearing like a cheating bastard, most of deaths I've suffered were in my opinion fair. It was my fault for sending that person so far, my fault for not getting the guy/gal to cover and definately my fault for not checking/bombarding that barn which happened to hide sniper floaters
Though, a seemingly trend in XCOM, it did get little boring and tedious once you had dozen of good soldiers decked in high end gear and knew how to deal with each alien. Still, while the graphics don't hold up nowdays, the game mechanics certainly do!
The sheer randomness of encounters are heaps of fun, in last game I remember getting heavy plasma after TOUGH crashed ufo battle. Tough because my guys were toting lasers and wearing personal armor and there was around 6-7 heavy plasma snakemen located in a building. Still losing 8 operatives were worth the early heavy plasma in my books!
XCOM: Apocalypse
Oh boy, when I got this game. It was new adventure. As I had mysteriously avoided terror from the deep since it never appeared in local stores, I was hyped to relive the sensations of first game. Granted, it was bit of letdown and perplexing at first. Just one city to defend? Atleast the game brought up new features I did enjoy. Your troops trained in facilities and you did start with a decent armor, so less casualties.. Up the point when I encountered my first blue bastard.
The early weapon selection was astounding not to mention the ability to choose between turn-based and realtime battles. Granted, Realtime battles were always bit too easy due the fact your troops didn't have spend time healing or reloading, so blotting the battlescape with machinegun and some autocannon fire was a suretactic. The turnbased mode, better have accurate guy ready to react to that smoking running bomb in time. The alien tech was a letdown, looking so ugly and phalllic in my opinion and even more limited than in the first XCOM.
Air combat was a bit of a downer as well, sure it was fun to have such degree of customization on the planes, but I kinda was enjoying the first XCOM's intercepting window more. Atleast you could have an armada attacking at once!
UFO: AI
So one day I browsed through the web, looking for a way to get my UFO Defense to run on new computer, only to stumble upon this beauty of game. Oh boy I was so pleasantly surprised. The mortality rates of soldiers was there, so many weapons to choose from and whatnot. First I thought AI had the usual XCOm approach of having direct upgrades to conventional firearms with the plasma and lasor. To much of my surprisement, they were not, only opening more choices. Loving grenade launchers, machineguns and whatnot. Each new alien enemy were a pleasant surprise, even though some of them ended up murdering my troops as well. My only gripe about the game was approaching the grounded ufos, always had to spend several turns moving carefully with enough left in reaction fire, making boring 5-7 turns untill I reached the entrance point. More often if I was thinking no alien would emerge from the ship and rushed my troops to breach position, one always popped to gun down 1-2 troops. Haven't played the game awhile and just about to start a new game, eager to find about the new updates too!
X-COM: Enemy unknown/Within
Oh boy, remake of XCOM? I was so darn happy to get this game. I like it too, it has its charm while having its own annoyances as well. I miss fielding large amounts of troops and I dislike the new intercept phase. The game without the expansions also feels a bit lackluster. Having only one base was a letdown as well, the research trees felt even more limited than in originals and the satelllite coverage thing was crap! Also no base defense. Not to mention it felt like there was little to do in the end.
Then I got my hands on the expansion! Ohmy, so much needed content. For starters, MECs are freaking awesome when properly used. They might take few extra hits, but they're still troopers, not tanks. The EXALT brought extra early-mid game pressure as well and they were fun to fight against. While one base defense mission only, it was buttloads of fun! While lot of people seem to find heavies lacking, especially in lategames without buttloads of rockets, I like them. They never seem to be too inaccurate for my tastes. The customization options and randomly generated looks of soldiers also made me more attached to them than in previous games. Second wave options made the game more enjoyable!
The trait and class system was nice, but didn't feel like XCOM. Still they brought nice variety of tactical applications and I found every single ability useful.. except maybe the extra smoke grenades since extra medikits were always worth it! I also found the feature of granting vision behind a corner super nice, something that could've been in the other XCOM. (Granted Apocalypse had the peek-a-boo in real time, but it felt so... delayed and odd). As always with XCOM games, the direct gun upgrading wasn't as fun as the weapons of AI. Though light plasma gun was awesome rookie trainer. As last notes, found the way shooting wasn't affected by props between the shooter and target, only cover and distance were the factors.
In a nutshell, a nice streamlined, graphically improved reboot of XCOM series. Here's to hoping things get more wide varieted.
Now with this stuff vented out, I wish to toss out my ultimate dream of next XCOM game
-Jagged Alliance 2 1.33's suppression and autofire mechanics. Unlike portrayed in reboot, Suppression fire should kill if a bullet hits! Even maybe the accessory system...
-Aliens with morale
-The sheer brutality of first XCOM with the ability to send out large squadron of soldiers
-Vechile customization of Apocalypse
-Weapon variety of AI, so heavy plasma isn't just tech upgrade of machinegun.
-"Peek-a-boo" and option to have the cinematics of Enemy Within
-MECs and cyberimplants
-Base management of UFO Defense
-The virtual market of Apocalypse
-The stat growth of UFO defense with ability to train soldiers
-On that vein, mayhaps some acquirable traits that make a soldier aim better with a specific gun type or heal better/faster with medikit.
