jpinard
3941
Some aliens on the maps are randomized and others are static (like those that have to be in the center of a UFO). It seems like the special scenarios and missions every alien location is static.
Limited modding can be done for the xml’s, but for now I’m guessing Firaxis would like to monetize the release of new maps and content and with the game being so well done… I don’t mind as I’d like to see them continue the series.
I don’t mind them monetizing it, but I’m a bit concerned because their next announced DLC is a three mission pack, and three missions is about two hours of gameplay, if that. I don’t really want to pay $5 for that.
$5 for two hours of entertainment isn’t that bad. Going to a movie is more than that.
Quaro
3944
Playing through static content like that is antithetical to this kind of game though. The expansions to a strategy game should be more like Civ and add variation/depth/options to future playthroughs. Not more scripted missions. The council missions are already the worst part of replays since they don’t change at all.
Binding of Isaac DLC is another great example that does it right.
jpinard
3945
There’s obviously a lot they wanted to do (second wave) but ran out of time. Maybe when some DLC comes out they will add a patch (or options) to make the maps more random. They were probably concerned how people would react to getting killed on the second turn if an enemy spawn went bad. But now that it’s been out for a while and reviews are done they can get a bit more crazy with things to flesh it out for replayability.
ShivaX
3946
Sure, but by this logic we should be cool with paying $70 for nearly every game made and $500 for a game like Skyrim.
So, I really liked the first game, and was very undecided about this one for the gamey-ness of it, and lack of the things that made the first one great, after watching 6 hours of actual gameplay and playing the demo twice. I decided to skip it.
Do you guys still think that was a bad idea?
No, you researched it and tried the demo twice. This sounds like it would be an informed decision for any game.
It does sound like you’re questioning your choice now though. Maybe wait until it is on a good sale?
This is the closest a mainstream game will get to xcom though. Although xenonaughts will likely be more faithful.
You’re right.
Somewhere between the $5/2h and $500 for Skyrim the logic kind of falls apart. But the comparison to a movie ticket is still valid.
And one might also ask what the cost of all those months of WoW subscription add up to…?
robc04
3950
I bought it on release and wished I had waited for a big sale. I think I would have been content to get it at less than $20 since I don’t plan on playing it again. I tried to start a second play through a couple times and never got past a n hour or two. It just doesn’t hold my interest at all. I did enjoy it the first time though.
Alan_Au
3951
I suspect that the announced DLC was cut content that wasn’t ready at launch. While I can’t blame 2K for wanting to make some extra money, the addition of canned missions is really antithetical to a game like XCOM where a large part of the appeal is the emergent narrative. Named characters and destructible terrain add to that, while scripted missions do not.
I bought it at full price too, and also wish I had waited a bit. At the very least if you’re on the fence I would suggest waiting for more patches and/or mods. Even so, it might not work for you… the old X-COM feel is present in the tactical battles, but the removed strategic elements are so many (and the selection of tactical maps available is so small) that there’s no way the game can have the legs the original game had.
Wrapped up my Ironman Normal playthrough this weekend. Tried starting a classic playthrough, but haven’t been motivated to get past the first mission yet.
Normal really is fairly easy once you’re familiar with the systems. Knowing an effective research path and keeping an eye on your spending makes a huge difference, and there’s really no way to know what will be effective without just playing the game once and getting screwed. There’s a pretty big positive feedback loop where success begets success: if your soldiers survive, they get better abilities and they unlock officer training abilities that improve all your soldiers and give you more troops / mission. It helps to build attachment to individual soldiers, but I feel like it’s too punishing when an officer dies, because not only do you lose his abilities, but it sets back your entire project. (One of the side effects is that it makes snipers even more valuable, since they’re the least likely to die in combat.)
Having played 1.5 games, by the end I started to feel the complaints about map variety. My successful playthrough was pretty fast also (finished in November, I think), and I’d already started seeing duplicates so there really aren’t enough maps for more than 1 full playthrough. They get a little help by sometimes dropping you into a different side of the map, but at the end of the day, it’s still not enough. One of the problems is that, like the soldiers, the events on each map are pretty memorable. So, I vividly remember that I’m back at the construction site where I first saw a floater, or the graveyard where I first met a cyberdisc, or the cafe that was a fucking meatgrinder and killed all my troops. It’s good to generate memorable stories, but it’s bad for map re-use.
About the ending
I like that the “good” ending is that thousands of people are crushed by flaming space junk, instead of the earth being destroyed. Very X-Com.
I’m a complete XCOM (X-COM?) newbie: I never played any of the old games and I doubt I ever will. I started this over the weekend and I’m having a ball. I’m only into my first (normal) playthrough, but I’m already looking forward to taking a crack at a Classic Ironman.
It’s amazing how attached I get to these little soldiers. My most experienced operative got hit behind cover by a freak critical shot that brought him from full health to dead, and it felt like a punch in the gut. I pulled together the rest of the team and scraped out a victory with a couple of them badly-injured but nobody else dead, but it still felt like a loss. ENRIQUE NOOOOOO!
I love how the difference between everyone coming home and losing half your soldiers can hinge on whether I placed that guy one square to the left or right. Or missing a shot that had an 80% chance. Likewise, I feel like a genius when my placement of men on overwatch turns out to be spot-on and I drop a second wave of flanking aliens before they even get to attack, or when I make a clutch low-probability sniper shot to turn everything around.
I got it for $32 and I’m happy with it at that price. If anyone’s on the fence I’d wait for the big Christmas sales on Steam and the other distributors. Chances are it will be that price again and possibly a bit less – it might be 50% off which would be $25.
The problem is that not only are the maps canned but a lot of the maps are very similar looking so they have the same feel. The maps are also narrow so you have a pretty good idea where the crashed ships are for those missions – either top left or top right from your starting position.
The tactical combat is really great though.
Had my first alien base assault last night and christ, was I ever unprepared. I brought my four best people and one rookie, like I usually do on a hard mission. Had a couple in carapace armor and my favorite assault trooper in a skeleton suit. All I could afford. We were taking it to the sumbitches for a while, but then my Heavy got zombified. Shortly thereafter everything went to hell. I eked out a victory with just one soldier left standing–and her just barely, at one measly health bar. Her skeleton suit actually saved her, in the end. One-on-one with the boss, I was able to grapple her into position for a third and final shotgun shot. The alien had missed its first two shots–no way I was going to get lucky on a third.
Nothing like nearly losing your whole team to make you go from “yeah, I got this” to “holy shit what is happening!”
Yeah, the alien base assault mission was the beginning of the end for my first game. Considering how guided much of the experience is, it does a very poor job of letting you know if you’re ready for that mission. Which is fine for an oh-shit moment the first time through, but every subsequent playthrough that’s lost, so it just feels like they screw you a little the first time.
This might just be a “me” problem, but I found that the first time I played, it transitioned from “tutorial objectives” into “game objectives” very seamlessly. That’s good, but it means that I assumed that I was ready for every objective as soon as it was presented to me. If I’d known otherwise, I would have taken some extra time to prepare.
The problem, as I mentioned above, is that before my team was wiped, I was just one or two kills and a couple bucks away from a 6-man team. Afterwards, I had to scramble to even get troops in place, and my long downward spiral began.
I would have paid more. I have sunk 58 hours into this game. Look at it like chess, not as a narrative, and please play it above normal. Normal is a cakewalk.
Wolff
3959
Play it on normal till you learn the rules and realize the importance of satellites.
Yeah, it may very well be a cakewalk once you get the hang of things, but coming to the realization that I only thought I had things under control because I was still in the tutorial was a bit jarring! At least I didn’t get completely wiped, and I’m left with one veteran soldier (and one sniper who didn’t come on the mission) and a bunch of rookies. Surely I’ve still got time to pull out a victory, and nothing bad will happen to anybody else ever.
