4664

That’s hugely disappointing, I was going to use a lot of the “randomization” second wave options right out of the gate. Hopefully a quick .ini hack can be performed on PC, but I imagine there isn’t much can be done for the console/iOS versions. :(

4665

Steam says the release on the 15th. Is it the 12th then or the 15th?

Ars Technica has a very lukewarmtake on the game. This has dampened my enthusiasm finding out the last 1/3 of the game is exactly like the original.

4666

12th in North America.

4667

Will it unlock at midnight tonight?

4668

One of the Ars’ main complaints was the price, half the original game. If I recall correctly, I paid half the base game for Privateer: Righteous Fire (for a historical example) and Civ 5: Brave New World was initially $30 too, right?

4669

Too bad they didn’t address the endgame, and in fact made it easier according to IGN.

4670

Yeah that’s a big disappointment. Once you have satellite coverage the endgame is a grind through the plot buildings and missions – even a full squad wipe just means more missions to level up people. They need to have a way for the aliens to push back and keep the tension on, like battleships that actually shoot down satellites in mass if you fail a mission.

4671

Is it possible someone can mod some variety into the last 3rd of the game? I realize it’d be a decent amount of work…

When do Steam releases usually go live? 12:00 noon PST on the date specified?

4672

Yup. Midnight EST, so I assume 9 PST.

4673

I’m disappointed this is a a stand alone expansion for the ps3. I played through EU earlier this summer for ‘free’ via PS+, and would have dropped a couple bucks on it if it was DLC. Ten, or perhaps fifteen dollars if I thought about it in a moment of weakness. $40, though? Not a chance.

4674

I just hope there aren’t too many overly scripted bits. I hate playing an at least semi-randomized game like X-COM and hitting the fully scripted missions where you already know where everything on the map is from the last time you had to go through this mission at exactly the same point in the campaign. Even if the prizes from that original DLC are useful, I’ll gladly play with that crap cut out (as they showed in advanced options) to keep stuff fresh.

4675

$40? Where are you buying from? I don’t know if that’s a EU price or something, but it’s only $27 on Steam. I’m sure there will be some deals on GMG or something in the next few days, and by the Steam holiday sale I bet it’s down to $19 or something.

4676

Did you not read the bit where I said PS3? I don’t play games on PC, well, unless they’re 10 or more years old. And it isn’t a matter of ‘preference’, but a matter of ability. I have no PCs in my house capable of running even these ‘simple’ games.

Ok, and I just checked amazon, and its $30 for consoles, not $40. Still twice as much as I’m willing to pay, on a good day.

4677

Hmm. I really don’t want to replay the last third of the game. That is disappointing. I don’t even know if I’d play this if it was free now. It felt a bit tedious in the endgame my first play-through. I know I want to avoid the final mission at all costs. Maybe I’ll get it for $5 a year from now during a Steam sale and play the first half of the game and then stop.

4678

Ah, yeah I did miss that. Still, has any expansion ever actually been an expansion and not a separate purchase on consoles? I’m sure there must have been at some point, but I can’t think of any. I’m playing Dragon’s Dogma Dark Arisen, and I remember selling the original because I figured I’d get this some day, thought not when it came out - it was $40 when it came out. Too much for a game I’d already paid for and played, and it has a lot less going for it in terms of extra content than XCOM.

You’ll probably be able to get this on some Amazon sale though during the holidays, I’d bet - hang in there! Maybe some of the bugs will be ironed out by then, too!

4679

Well, there’s all the expansion content for Bethesda’s games or Borderlands 2, for example, and on the surface of it, some of those have a lot more content then this thing.

You’re probably right, though. Maybe in a year or so I’ll see it somewhere cheap and buy it on impulse.

4680

I’m pleasantly surprised by some of the good press on this expansion, but I’m still really bummed that they haven’t tweaked the strategic layer. Unless/until an expansion, patch or mod is released that changes some of the economy and satellite balance, I don’t see myself buying the expansion and playing through another game. That’s doubly true if the 2nd wave features aren’t enabled.

FYI: That isn’t a new bug in the expansion. I’ve seen this graphical glitch repeatedly in my EU game. It seems to be unique to snipers, but of course, it’s rare that my other soldiers shoot their pistols.

4681

I’m receiving a 4 Gig update right now and so is a friend who didn’t order the expansion. Weird.

4682

Me too. I came here hoping to find out why. No patch notes, no news, just a giant 4 gig patch.

I suspect Enemy Within is now “integrated” with the base game and needs to be unlocked. Strange decision to push it to everyone whether they plan to buy the expansion or not (I’m in the “or not” category for now)

4683

It’s 10% off at GreenManGaming + it is eligible for the 25% off coupon: GMG25-C5729-7SY25. That should put it at $20. I’m still going to pass since I can’t bare the thought of playing that campaign again, but hopefully the code can be of use to some people here.