4001

^^ Yeah, at this point I’m hoping Xenonauts will carry the torch (flare?).

4002

Agreed: different languages should have been in the game in the first place. But since they aren’t, and since I have about 75 hours into the game and feel like I got my money’s worth out of it anyway, I would gladly pay for it.

It wouldn’t have to be the whole languages by the way, just the cheesy accents would do fine…

4003

The new X-Com is not to my liking either. Like most modern ‘consolified’ games they streamlined all the nooks and crannies out of it until we were left with a round boring lump. It sure looks very pretty, but they ripped out all the options and items that made it fun.

So I re-installed UFO Extraterrestrials with Bman’s mod and have been having a blast playing that instead.

4004

Just finished my first ironman game, on normal. A few thoughts:

  1. I love the tactical gameplay. It’s a really solid engine for that stuff.

  2. I enjoyed the aliens. I even liked the Thin Men as a substitute for the Snake Men.

  3. The lack of replay diminishes the game. I played it and have no desire to replay it until enough new content is released or created through modding. The issues for me are the reuse of maps that don’t change, a somewhat static approach to research and engineering (you’d better build satellites and deploy them quickly), and the way the game gives you same four kinds of missions each game month.

  4. I didn’t really miss getting to build multiple bases since I got a bit of that by being able to buy and outfit interceptors for each continent. I did miss being able to design my base and I missed the base invasion missions. There was always something cool about the aliens being in my base and my squaddies being randomly distributed in the base.

  5. Ending was a dud. The cinematics were cool but really, that’s it? Also, the constant voiceovers in the final mission were annoying.

I really enjoyed the game and since I got it on sale for $32 I was happy with the amount of gameplay I got. I don’t feel like I spent too much for what I got and it was nice seeing a classic game updated.

I could replay the game on a harder setting, and I probably will at some point, but I have no interest in seeing the same maps over and over again anytime soon. I got tired of them before I won my first game. That’s my biggest disappointment – the lack of replay value.

If Firaxis wants to milk this game through DLC I’m all for it as long as they give us good DLC.

4005

Wait. Zak, I have to know how you think Bethesda is making modding harder for their games. Skyrim has to be one of the most modded games ever published.

4006

This is more or less just my feeling about the game, too. Ironman normal was the level I played at too – somewhat too easy, but I disliked the feeling the tight resource squeeze on the harder level, so I made do with the easy tactical play.

I also liked the look and animation of the Thin Man aliens better than any of the others.

4007

Am I the only one who finds it a little weird that Zak watched what must have been >10 hours of “Let’s Play” for a game he doesn’t own because he doesn’t think he’ll like it?

Not even the first dude in this thread to do that, either, there was some other guy posting about not wanting to buy the game after watching hours and hours of gameplay of a game he was predisposed to dislike.

Bro, you might want to look into Netflix or something.

4008

I normally stay away from let’s plays on a game i might get. The thing is i had my hunch about this new Xcom, so decided to take the risk, and it was more like +40 hours of let’s plays. The main game, from beginning to end is about 15 odd hours or so it seems?

I’m a huge X-com fan, to me the original game has been a constant top five of all time game list entry. TFTD less so (too hard, too ugly, compared to the first game). I’m also a huge fireaxis fan, via the Civ games, and Sid Meier has been involved in some of my favourite game experiences down the years, from Sword of the Samurai, to Solo Flight, to Alpha Centauri and to CivIV.

My criticisms are only ever based on knowing where something/someone has once been (in terms of ‘game quality’(ymmv)) and where they are now going. I can’t ever be a mindless ‘pom-pom’ cheerleader for the games industry, games are too important to me for that, so i call as i see it. I’m also not looking for a job in the industry (i’m not crazy! I know people in it and the conditions that can often exist), as to be honest as it is now, i just would not fit in, i’m no ‘pom-pom girl’.

And as is normal i suspect the publishers (2K in this case) are the main reason for my personal gripes with the new Xcom, as publishers (over devs) have often been found to be down the years, on other releases that ultimately disappointed or were not even as good as what came before. People might be comfortable with saying the new Xcom is just a different game (i’d ask why?), there is the ‘for console’ aspect etc…but well, it just seems like another huge missed opportunity, again probably due to the publisher mind-set that way too often dominates this industry, imho. To put in another way, a way i’ve seen mentioned around the industry websites, no-one is going to be talking about this Xcom in 15 years time sadly. Ymmv.

4009

Turn based tactical game selling well in 2012. With fairly high production values. This title and others will hopefully (I can dream right) take some money away from yet another mms and deliver more variety.

4010

If Firaxis is allowed to do a big sequel or lot of extra content we will be talking about it for a long time. To define a great narrative for a current-gen game they had to narrow their focus, and hopefully with that done they can expand and focus on replayability.

Also, I’m not sure why you think this, but Bethsoft games are just as moddable as ever. It is ironic to me (having played the original Arena and Daggerfall on release) to hear people make any complaint about moddability for Bethsoft games as they are much more mod friendly now than they ever were in the distant past.

4011

I think by no one he means himself and the handful of other people who enjoy turn-based games yet didn’t buy XCOM. That’s fine. I’ll still be playing it off and on years from now, assuming Firaxis has not made it obsolete with XCOM 2, because the gameplay is fun. I love inching along the terrain, not knowing what’s coming next (other than certain doom) or how I’ll deal with it. It’s great.

Then again, I am one of the irrelevant masses who a.) did not play X-COM, b.) will not be buying Xenonauts, and c.) welcomes sensible streamlining if it means we can have big budget games for such a niche genre.

4012

And the industry is doing just fine right now? hmmm. We had this thing in the 80’s, it caused a lot of issues, some didn’t survive the shake-up, there was a reason for it. That is all.

4013

As opposed to that golden age when studios weren’t closing with some frequency? I really have no idea where you are going with this.

4014

If you didn’t play the original, how can you comment on ‘sensible streamlining’?

4015

Sadly, I think watching 40+ hours of footage from a game you refuse to play falls into the “actual insanity” category.

It’s a shame you didn’t actually play it, Zak, because you’re dead wrong about the game being trivial. I have a graveyard of failed Classic Ironman games that attest to that. I think it’s actually significantly more punishing than the original game, because having veteran soldiers is so much more important, and resources are tighter. On higher difficulties a bad mistake in the tactical level can pretty effectively end your campaign, which has not ever been the case for me in X-COM or TFTD.

4016

But isn’t this kinda similar to re-electing Obama with the hope that he now will finally act in a way as to actually deserve a peace nobel price?
In other words, Jake Solomon has made it clear that this is basically the game they wanted to make - all the steamlining (which is what hampers replayability) was fully intentional. And if XCOM sold/sells well enough to warrant a sequel, isn’t it even reasonable to assume this is exactly what people want?
And about DLC … they said they had all of two planned DLCs, and the first one doesn’t exactly deliver in a way remotely related to those hopes.
Sadly.

It’s right that XCOM is rather punishing in Classic/Ironman, but obviously that is a very high difficulty and the reason is that all the ways in which you could make a comeback in X-Com have been steamlined away.

rezaf

4017

I thought the streamlining was like, the smaller maps/squads, the “consolization” that Zak was complaining about? That doesn’t hamper replayability.

all the ways in which you could make a comeback in X-Com have been steamlined away.

I’m now sure I have no idea what you guys mean by “streamlining”.

4018

I keep checking in this thread to see if there is news about a mod or dlc when it is reliably bumped by someone who hasn’t bought the game, has watched 20+ hours of let’s play, and makes really weird statements as facts. Almost but not quite as entertaining as the game!

4019

This is totally untrue, and is a view you’ve gained by watching Let’s Plays. This is like the equivalent of complaining that the hero in the movie always gets the girl. You’re watching an edited version, only a completed playthrough that’s been posted. I had to abort several of my initial classic iron man games after making bad decisions that led to crippling losses.

But oh well, a games worth is totally different from person to person. I think you’re oddly predisposed to disliking it for someone who has spent so much time looking at it.

4020

Me too. Especially the new patch that will supposedly fix the teleporting aliens issue, or a dlc that will introduce much needed variety instead of canned missions and characters. Alas…

Also, I do not think longevity was factored at all in the design. The game feels like it’s gasping for air, what with the incredibly corseted “strategic” gameplay and limited tactical maps. I’m still hoping mods will come to the rescue and help unlock its potential.