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Re: X-COM

#91

Post by baq »

eru wrote: post #71
user5994461 wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Chimera squad is the latest Xcom game. It's a bit simplified and you jump straight into position. It's nice to not have to spend 50 hours moving around but not everybody likes the change in gameplay. Do NOT buy it though, the game is buggy as fuck.

Yes. If you want to have a quicker tactics game that's a tiny bit like some aspects of X-Com, then 'Into the Breach' is probably a better use of your time than Chimera Squad. Chimera Squad is an OK game, and good if you like the (rebooted) X-Com universe.

now that you mention it, into the breach is like the essence of x-com tactical phase squeezed out and prepared in a three-michelin-star restaurant.

Re: X-COM

#92

Post by JohnBooty »

zenojevski wrote: post #60

Even greater than UFO Defense, in my opinion, was its expansion - Terror From the Deep . It truly taught me that our oceans are so close, yet much farther than outer space can ever be. Looking at that lone blue globe in space always makes me feel so insignificant, so meaningless. Space is vast, but empty, and sterile. Down the abyss, not even light can shine to bless and purify. The greatest contributor to that is ce…

As a diehard fan of the series, I'm shocked! TFTD was such a major letdown to me after the predecessor, and I believe even Mr. Gollop doesn't have a high opinion of it. I'm also shocked to see the author of the linked article laud it as better than the original. I've honestly not heard that expressed by other XCOM fans.

It, bizarrely, leans heavily into its predecessor's flaws instead of fixing them or at least steering around them.

- The much more cramped battlefield areas (namely, ships) expose the very frustrating shooting/projectile mechanics. you can understand squaddies missing an easy shot in the heat of the moment. fine! understandable! but in cramped areas they make even more exasperating mistakes -- if a guy is standing next to a doorway for cover, i might expect him to miss his shot... but i do not expect him to empty half his clip directly into the door frame six inches from his face

- grenade tossing in cramped areas is essentially just a great way to frag yourself and your squadmates. dear lord. grenades are really only useful in the early game, mostly, but TFTD doesn't even let you have that!

- some weapons only work underwater, some only work in air! adding to the already mind-numbing micromanagement of equipment, not to mention the punishing difficulty

- perhaps my memory fails me here, but I remember distinctly less destructible environments, which added so much fun to the original. can't find a way into the house? Blow a wall open! But, also, watch out for collapses! So much fun and so unique at the time.

More importantly, regardless of which series entries we like the best... nice to see a fellow X-Com fan -- and so many others on here! Cheers!

Re: X-COM

#93

Post by Paradigma11 »

eru wrote: post #55
kiksy wrote: post #35

A solid article. I'd disagree with the "single play through" and "pointless starting weapons" comments though. For me it was multiple play throughs learning about what worked and what didn't. This for me was actually a thing that kept me coming back. Trying out new tactics, base locations and equipment to see what worked. All the while trying to balance the budget and keep the squad alive long enough to level up. A t…

If you want to play the classic X-COM today, make sure to grab the latest community patches. I really liked the old X-COM games and had anticipated that I would not like the reboot very much. However, while I wouldn't want to miss the originals for the reboot, the reboots are done very solidly and in most instances I even find myself agreeing with the streamlining the new authors chose. If you want a tactical squad-l…

There was also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_Squad_Nemesis which was also simultaneous turn based. I don't like the puzzle aspect of FS since it's deterministic. It is all hard edges, hit or miss. Maybe if I spent more time with it it might me different.

Re: X-COM

#94

Post by int_19h »

JohnBooty wrote: post #92
zenojevski wrote: post #60

Even greater than UFO Defense, in my opinion, was its expansion - Terror From the Deep . It truly taught me that our oceans are so close, yet much farther than outer space can ever be. Looking at that lone blue globe in space always makes me feel so insignificant, so meaningless. Space is vast, but empty, and sterile. Down the abyss, not even light can shine to bless and purify. The greatest contributor to that is ce…

As a diehard fan of the series, I'm shocked! TFTD was such a major letdown to me after the predecessor, and I believe even Mr. Gollop doesn't have a high opinion of it. I'm also shocked to see the author of the linked article laud it as better than the original. I've honestly not heard that expressed by other XCOM fans. It, bizarrely, leans heavily into its predecessor's flaws instead of fixing them or at least steer…

Which of the first two X-COM games is the favorite usually depends on which one the person played first, from my experience.

Re: X-COM

#95

Post by zelos »

pjmlp wrote: post #28

I loved this series all the way back to Rebelstar Raiders. Must have spent endless hours playing all Laser Squad versions on the Speccy and it was only natural to jump into X-COM. Although the ones that moved away from the Rebelstar Raiders/Laser Squad initial concept are not worthy to me.

I spent hours playing a similar game on the Speccy that I've never been able to track down. Turn based with graphics that looked like Lords of Chaos, except you controlled an army of wizards and soldiers against invading swamp/rock monsters.

The one distinguishing feature I remember is that you had to aim ranged weapons manually, a bit like a golf game with a rotating direction arrow where you have to press stop at the right time.

Re: X-COM

#96

Post by JohnBooty »

kiksy wrote: post #35

A solid article. I'd disagree with the "single play through" and "pointless starting weapons" comments though. For me it was multiple play throughs learning about what worked and what didn't. This for me was actually a thing that kept me coming back. Trying out new tactics, base locations and equipment to see what worked. All the while trying to balance the budget and keep the squad alive long enough to level up. A t…

    I'd disagree with the "single play through" and 
    "pointless starting weapons" comments though. For 
    me it was multiple play throughs learning about 
    what worked and what didn't. This for me was actually 
    a thing that kept me coming back.
Absolutely! Without cheating and looking at FAQs, it's essentially impossible to win your first playthrough... or your second, or third. It's not fair. But it makes you keep coming back. And when you finally learn to beat those bastards it's just exhilarating! In retrospect, I'm not sure how it manages to hook us. But it does. For me, perhaps it was the (intentionally) pulpy 90s-style, X-Files-style, paranoiac alien invasion/infiltration plot.

In many ways we could say X-COM broke so many rules of game design. By any conventional standards it's way too hard at the beginning and you'll generally be way too overpowered at the end, if you've got the flying armor suits and such. But that is part of its unique charm, intentional or not.

    Played the newer versions on Xbox 360 and mobile, 
    and whilst fun, they had removed far too many features 
    to keep me engaged for more than a few hours.
I thought the 2012 reboot was just good. Like you said, I think it removed a little too much of what made X-COM.... X-COM, though there was certainly much I loved.

For me, though? XCOM2, and particularly the "War of the Chosen" expansion, actually do surpass the originals.

    OpenXcom is a much better offering, especially on mobile.
I've been putting it off for years. I need to dive into that.

Re: X-COM

#98

Post by int_19h »

eru wrote: post #57
jraedisch wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I did not play the original Master of Orion, but absolutely loved the second part. I started focussing on science (namely Psilons) and only later developed a taste for trying out other strategies/races. I often played multiplayer with friends too, and really liked the laid back atmosphere enabled by turn based strategy.

Please go ahead and play the first Master of Orion. It's by far my favourite of the pair. (Make sure you get the latest community patches.) The genius of the first MoO was that it really paired down the tedious busy work. And the tech system works a charm, it's cleverly randomised in a way that's not really possible with the more prevalent DAG based tech trees.

If you like the first MoO, take a look at Dominus Galaxia.

Re: X-COM

#99

Post by JohnBooty »

int_19h wrote: post #94
JohnBooty wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a diehard fan of the series, I'm shocked! TFTD was such a major letdown to me after the predecessor, and I believe even Mr. Gollop doesn't have a high opinion of it. I'm also shocked to see the author of the linked article laud it as better than the original. I've honestly not heard that expressed by other XCOM fans. It, bizarrely, leans heavily into its predecessor's flaws instead of fixing them or at least steer…

Which of the first two X-COM games is the favorite usually depends on which one the person played first, from my experience.

I know what you mean. So many things are like that. =)

But I'd really like to hear the case in favor of TFTD. I might go so far as to call it objectively worse!

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