X-com Returns!11one!111!one
<div class="IPBDescription">UFO: Aftermath</div> Yes, the series we all thought was dead is back!
<a href='http://www.ufo-aftermath.com/pages/headquarters.html' target='_blank'>X-com Aftermath</a>
Aside from starcraft, X-com was possibly one of the biggest influences on NS (in my opinion. Flayra may not see it that way <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo--> ).
If you haven't played the X-com series, then you are very deprived. It was possibly the most screwed-over game series in the history of the universe.
IF YOU DONT WANT A LONG AND BORING HISTORY OF HOW THE X-COM SERIES WAS SCREWED PLEASE SCROLL DOWN
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First came "Ufo: Enemy Unknown" (or "X-com: Ufo Defense" in America). This was back in the days of the 386, not sure exactly what year. Personally, I only played it for the first time in 1997.
Basically, you took control of X-com, the eXtraterrestrial COMbat unit (yes, it should probably be E-Com, but that wouldn't sound so good would it? <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo--> ) in their defence of Earth. You had the geoscape, a map of the world showing your bases, interceptor craft, and UFO's if any are detected, and the battlescape, where the actual battles took place.
The best part of the game imho was the research. Once you downed an alien craft and captured some alien weaponry, you could research it and use it against the aliens. Although it was usually quicker to research the Earth-based laser technology first. Strangely enougth an alien weapon had to be researched in order to be thrown <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
Back on topic; the second game was Ufo: "Terror from the Deep". It had a good premise, aliens invading from underwater, you fight the aliens with crappy little spear-guns e.t.c, but it was basically THE SAME GAME. I.e, all the weapons looked, sounded, and were named differently, but they had the same effects as their UFO counterparts. E.g, Sonar array = Radar array. Missle launcher = torpedo launcher. Alien alloys = Aqua plastics.
The third game was when things started to go wrong. X-com Apocalypse. Now, personally, I thought it was a pretty good game. Sure, the city the game was set in was a little..... bright, and some of the aliens looked utterly stupid, but it was.... o.k.
Then, Hasbro bought the rights to X-com. They released X-com Interceptor. This was set in about 2080, and was..... crap. The premise was good, the strategy element was good, but your ship was IMPOSSIBLE to control.
But then, jubilation! Hasbro announced 2 new games, X-com Genesis, and X-com Alliance. Genesis was going to be, essentially, the first game but with modern graphics and effects, while Alliance was going to be an X-com FPS. They both looked amazing, but both were scrapped for reasons I can't be bothered to go into now.
Then Hasbro really decided to stick a big knife in the X-com series and released X-com Enforcer. I have never played it and never intend to. I will not discuss it here because it gives me computer-rage.
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But now, X-com is back! Oh ye who worship X-com, gather round and rejoice!.
Oh, and it's out on the 12th of September.
<a href='http://www.ufo-aftermath.com/pages/headquarters.html' target='_blank'>X-com Aftermath</a>
Aside from starcraft, X-com was possibly one of the biggest influences on NS (in my opinion. Flayra may not see it that way <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo--> ).
If you haven't played the X-com series, then you are very deprived. It was possibly the most screwed-over game series in the history of the universe.
IF YOU DONT WANT A LONG AND BORING HISTORY OF HOW THE X-COM SERIES WAS SCREWED PLEASE SCROLL DOWN
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First came "Ufo: Enemy Unknown" (or "X-com: Ufo Defense" in America). This was back in the days of the 386, not sure exactly what year. Personally, I only played it for the first time in 1997.
Basically, you took control of X-com, the eXtraterrestrial COMbat unit (yes, it should probably be E-Com, but that wouldn't sound so good would it? <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo--> ) in their defence of Earth. You had the geoscape, a map of the world showing your bases, interceptor craft, and UFO's if any are detected, and the battlescape, where the actual battles took place.
The best part of the game imho was the research. Once you downed an alien craft and captured some alien weaponry, you could research it and use it against the aliens. Although it was usually quicker to research the Earth-based laser technology first. Strangely enougth an alien weapon had to be researched in order to be thrown <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
Back on topic; the second game was Ufo: "Terror from the Deep". It had a good premise, aliens invading from underwater, you fight the aliens with crappy little spear-guns e.t.c, but it was basically THE SAME GAME. I.e, all the weapons looked, sounded, and were named differently, but they had the same effects as their UFO counterparts. E.g, Sonar array = Radar array. Missle launcher = torpedo launcher. Alien alloys = Aqua plastics.
The third game was when things started to go wrong. X-com Apocalypse. Now, personally, I thought it was a pretty good game. Sure, the city the game was set in was a little..... bright, and some of the aliens looked utterly stupid, but it was.... o.k.
Then, Hasbro bought the rights to X-com. They released X-com Interceptor. This was set in about 2080, and was..... crap. The premise was good, the strategy element was good, but your ship was IMPOSSIBLE to control.
But then, jubilation! Hasbro announced 2 new games, X-com Genesis, and X-com Alliance. Genesis was going to be, essentially, the first game but with modern graphics and effects, while Alliance was going to be an X-com FPS. They both looked amazing, but both were scrapped for reasons I can't be bothered to go into now.
Then Hasbro really decided to stick a big knife in the X-com series and released X-com Enforcer. I have never played it and never intend to. I will not discuss it here because it gives me computer-rage.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
But now, X-com is back! Oh ye who worship X-com, gather round and rejoice!.
Oh, and it's out on the 12th of September.
Comments
Edit: The fun thing about this was the cool way the buildings collapsed.
Oh, and the first two games were the only "real" X-com btw <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
*edit* Uh oh, it requires directX 9.... you know my feelings on <a href='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=10&t=39094' target='_blank'>DirectX 9</a> *edit*
Having looked at the site in more detail, I have seen that this is technically NOT an X-com game. It doesn't follow the X-com storyline, it has been developed by completely different people, but by people who are all huge fans of X-com, so that can't be a bad thing <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
For one horrible moment I thought this new X-COM wasn't going to be turn-based and therefore be just another squad-based RTS, which just wouldn't be X-COM in my opinion. Now I see all is as it should be, I can't wait. It'll give me something to do in the couple of weeks prior to HL2's release.
X-Com is quite possibly the most engorssing game ever, after Civ2.
Its the kinda game where you look at the clock and its 5am, and you have work at 8 :-)
I'm so glad to see its being remade and updated!
X-Com is quite possibly the most engorssing game ever, after Civ2.
Its the kinda game where you look at the clock and its 5am, and you have work at 8 :-)
I'm so glad to see its being remade and updated! <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Actually, there is a team out there making a complete re-make of the original with better graphics. I cant find the link right now but if you goto gamespys stratagy planet then X-Com Command in their forum there is a link to the re-make.
So far all thats done is the geoscape.
Actually, there is a team out there making a complete re-make of the original with better graphics. I cant find the link right now but if you goto gamespys stratagy planet then X-Com Command in their forum there is a link to the re-make.
So far all thats done is the geoscape. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
It's called Project Xenocide. goto www.xcomufo.com and click on Xencide.
=D~~~
/drools
The spirit of X-COM is returning to us.
We must now sacrafice the non-beleivers.
My dad overwrote the floppy disc version of TFTD I'v still got it on one machine. I'll have to transfer it one day. And the only 2 I dont have are Enforcer (becuase its mince) and E-mail X-COM.
[Prays]
Looks at site
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Simultaneous turn-based combat: combines the best of the real-time and turn-based combat systems; <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
GOD NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Interest killed <!--emo&:(--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/sad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad.gif'><!--endemo--> It isn't X-Com without the old school TB system.
I think this post made by ZuckerDoc on that sites forums sums it up best:
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->IMO, this isn't an XCOM game at it's heart, or any other part of it's anatomy. A recent thread in the "general" forum discussed my reasons for this viewpoint. Others disagree. MustangMR doesn't care one way or the other. However, you should be aware that this isn't XCOM with a "wink and a nod" for copyright reasons. This game is very different, and likely won't play similarly to XCOM.
This game started as Freedom Ridge, you're right about that. However, when ALTAR was given the job of completing the game, they found that they could not use any of the code for the partially completed "Freedom Ridge". Thus, they scrapped it, and started from scratch. The design parameters they decided upon are NOT what the designers of Freedom Ridge intended. This game won't be anything like what Freedom Ridge was intended to be. This isn't a secret, BTW; ALTAR has gone out of their way to inform us about these developments.
This game isn't XCOM. It isn't Freedom Ridge, either. It will stand or fall on it's own.
<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I guess the wait for a true sequal to X-com continues <!--emo&:(--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/sad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad.gif'><!--endemo-->
Anyway, anyone know how to get UFOD/TftD to work on XP? For some reason they worked somewhat on my laptop, although they crashed out after a half-hour to two hours time...
Apoc I know of a fix for... but it runs slow, and the mouse sensitivity is horrid...
Have you tried using a Dos emulator (yes, they exist)? I haven't tried one personally but a friend of mine has one and swears by it. I'll see if I can find you a link when I see him next. Apparently they work pretty well.
And yeah, I don't think another X-com game, in the true essence of the original, will ever happen again. Microprose did to X-Com what Interplay are about to do to Fallout. <!--emo&:(--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/sad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad.gif'><!--endemo-->
How depressing.
they had a decent TBS game called M.A.X. (Mechanized Assualt & eXporation) and its sequel, although adding a number of things to the mix, totally tossed the gameplay to hell...
So I'd rather X-COM rest in peace (or in the realm of fanmade games) than be screwed the interplay way....
they had a decent TBS game called M.A.X. (Mechanized Assualt & eXporation) and its sequel, although adding a number of things to the mix, totally tossed the gameplay to hell...
So I'd rather X-COM rest in peace (or in the realm of fanmade games) than be screwed the interplay way.... <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Oh no, Interplay aren't anywhere near X-Com thank god, and X-Com is already dead as a franchise due to the crap like Enforcer and Interceptor.
Interplay sadly have Fallout to screw up, ironically, in almost the exact same way that Microprose screwed the X-Com series.
And... I know they can't access it... but, its a tendancy anymore... even Westwood's C&C series isn't immune... look at generals. Or the pile of crap that was RA2's Allied ending and it's building graphics...
And... I know they can't access it... but, its a tendancy anymore... even Westwood's C&C series isn't immune... look at generals. Or the pile of crap that was RA2's Allied ending and it's building graphics... <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
RA2 was very flawed and Generals just changed the game entirely. The difference between them and the butchering that occured with X-Com is the RTS games remained coming out. After the disaster that was Apocalypse the franchise turned to FPS or 3rd person action games. When this bombed (and I mean bombed) they stopped making X-Com games and cancelled Alliance (which would have sucked anyway, but I digress).
Renegade also wasn't completely god awful and most people pretend sole survivor doesn't exist.
Neither game generated the sheer hatred that say, Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel has either.
All I'm saying is that alienating the fans of a series to "attract" a different crowd is a common thing...
Ugh. It is now my life's goal to buy the X-COM license and make a real sequel.
X-COM = Dead as Dead Can Be
Fact Interplat are going to/have already lost most of the Fallout fans with Fallout : Brotherhood Of Steel.
Fact Aliance dindt look to bad as did genasus, and may well have brought life back, guess they felt the risk was too high.
I'm not even going to ask, but if you havent played the 1st one then your missing out.
X-COM Apoc just doesnt seem right, as with all series that are hard turn based when you get the option of real time it spells doom for the series.