Author Topic: XCOM: Enemy Unknown  (Read 11806 times)

Offline idolminds

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XCOM: Enemy Unknown
« on: Thursday, January 05, 2012, 09:29:43 AM »
No, not that FPS. The strategy game from Firaxis!

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Unlike 2K Marin's previously announced XCOM shooter, which sparked tempers among longtime fans for turning its back on the series' cerebral roots, this title is a full-on strategy game that puts players in command of a global anti-alien defense force. XCOM's leader needs a worldwide perspective where threats are identified, populations reassured, and national leaders mollified – but a tactical mind is just as critical considering every shot XCOM's soldiers fire on the battlefield is under the player's turn-based control.

Offline beo

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Re: XCOM: Enemy Unknown
« Reply #1 on: Thursday, January 05, 2012, 11:14:14 AM »
YAY!

Offline Quemaqua

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Re: XCOM: Enemy Unknown
« Reply #2 on: Thursday, January 05, 2012, 07:57:17 PM »
I will reserve judgment until more is seen, but... YAY!

天才的な閃きと平均以下のテクニックやな。 課長有野

Offline scottws

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Re: XCOM: Enemy Unknown
« Reply #3 on: Thursday, January 05, 2012, 09:13:45 PM »
Weird that they are calling it the same as the original game.

Offline Pugnate

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Re: XCOM: Enemy Unknown
« Reply #4 on: Thursday, January 05, 2012, 11:27:51 PM »
The only thing that doesn't seem so bad about this is that it is coming from Firaxis.

Offline MysterD

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Offline idolminds

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Re: XCOM: Enemy Unknown
« Reply #6 on: Tuesday, May 22, 2012, 10:17:20 AM »
RPS hands on. Release date was also announced: Oct 9th

Offline MysterD

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Re: XCOM: Enemy Unknown
« Reply #7 on: Saturday, September 08, 2012, 09:25:00 AM »
XCOM: Enemy Unknown -> PC System Requirements revealed - which requires Steam (client program) & Win Vista and above (for OS's).

Quote
Minimum Requirements:
OS: Windows Vista
Software: Steam Client
Processor: 2 GHz Dual Core
Memory: 2 GB RAM
Hard Drive: 20 GB free
Video Memory: 256 MB
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT / ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT or greater
Sound Card: DirectX Compatible

Recommended Requirements:
OS: Windows 7
Processor: 2 GHz Dual Core (Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz or Athlon X2 2.7 GHz)
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Hard Drive: 20 GB free
Video Memory: 512+ MB
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 9000 series / ATI Radeon HD 3000 series or greater
Sound Card: DirectX Compatible

Offline idolminds

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Re: XCOM: Enemy Unknown
« Reply #8 on: Monday, September 24, 2012, 09:08:53 AM »

Offline Xessive

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Re: XCOM: Enemy Unknown
« Reply #9 on: Thursday, September 27, 2012, 07:44:35 AM »
Checked out the demo and I was impressed. Not only is it great to have XCOM make a comeback but a solid title added to the tactical genre too! I haven't played a tactical turn-based sttrategy game in a while and this is definitely the one to lure back in ;)

The demo gives you a taste of the tactical game and brief glimpse at the base management segment.

Offline MysterD

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Re: XCOM: Enemy Unknown
« Reply #10 on: Sunday, September 30, 2012, 08:39:09 AM »

Offline scottws

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Re: XCOM: Enemy Unknown
« Reply #11 on: Monday, October 01, 2012, 03:26:28 PM »
If you pre-order this game on Steam, you get a free copy of Civilization V plus a few other small perks.

Offline Xessive

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Re: XCOM: Enemy Unknown
« Reply #12 on: Wednesday, October 03, 2012, 11:18:30 AM »

Offline Xessive

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Re: XCOM: Enemy Unknown
« Reply #13 on: Saturday, October 06, 2012, 03:02:13 AM »
Game Informer's review 9.50!

Looking good so far. The demo was a pretty good indication of the level of quality you can expect from the final game. I'm glad this first review reflects that as well.

Offline MysterD

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Re: XCOM: Enemy Unknown
« Reply #14 on: Saturday, October 06, 2012, 08:32:21 AM »
Game Informer's review 9.50!

Looking good so far. The demo was a pretty good indication of the level of quality you can expect from the final game. I'm glad this first review reflects that as well.


Wow @ this statement for a strategy game on the consoles, regardless of how true (or not) that it is...
Quote
Playability:
The occasional line-of-sight problem is a price worth paying for this otherwise excellent minimalist interface, which works equally well on gamepad or mouse/keyboard

EDIT:
Quote
The Edge
The PC version is slightly superior thanks to improved textures and resolution and drastically lower load times, but those are minor differences. XCOM plays equally well with mouse/keyboard and gamepad, and features identical content across all three platforms, so grab it for whichever system you prefer.
I doubt the mouse/KB controls are EQUAL w/ a gamepad for a strategy-game - i.e. PC version probably and likely has tons of more hot-keys at your disposal - but if they can make a strategy game work at least good w/ a gamepad, that's sweet for console gamers! :D

Damn, I should check the PC Demo out when I get a chance, eh...?

Offline Xessive

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Re: XCOM: Enemy Unknown
« Reply #15 on: Saturday, October 06, 2012, 11:01:12 AM »
Oh yeah man, give it a shot.

I've played through it twice, once with M+KB and the second time with the gamepad. They are notably different but honestly, I am hard pressed to choose which of the two is the better option. If anything it'll come down to how I feel like sitting: up in my desk or slouched back in the couch.

It's a testament to how well they've optimized the UI and the interaction in this game.

Offline Quemaqua

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Re: XCOM: Enemy Unknown
« Reply #16 on: Saturday, October 06, 2012, 11:03:09 AM »
God damn it. I shouldn't have watched/read any of that. I seriously want this now. It looks so amazingly good, and I haven't seriously played a straight-up tactical combat game since... shit... uh... I can't even remember. Incubation maybe? Crap, that can't be right. That was like 97.

天才的な閃きと平均以下のテクニックやな。 課長有野

Offline Xessive

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Re: XCOM: Enemy Unknown
« Reply #17 on: Saturday, October 06, 2012, 11:07:25 AM »
God damn it. I shouldn't have watched/read any of that. I seriously want this now. It looks so amazingly good, and I haven't seriously played a straight-up tactical combat game since... shit... uh... I can't even remember. Incubation maybe? Crap, that can't be right. That was like 97.
Haha thanks for the nostalgia!

Check out the demo. Although I'm not sure if that will help or detriment your disposition :D

Offline Quemaqua

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Re: XCOM: Enemy Unknown
« Reply #18 on: Saturday, October 06, 2012, 01:08:40 PM »
I watched enough to know I definitely want it. My game cravings have been drastically reduced of late, and even when I bite on something at a discount I rarely end up being as into it as I want to be, but this is an itch that hasn't been scratched for me in years. And it looks so well done. I may make some personal sacrifices to put this into the budget on Tuesday... though I don't know where. My PS3 is full install-wise, but I hate and loathe Steam. Hmm.

天才的な閃きと平均以下のテクニックやな。 課長有野

Offline Xessive

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Re: XCOM: Enemy Unknown
« Reply #19 on: Saturday, October 06, 2012, 01:29:31 PM »
If it helps, you can grab the Steam version from Green Man Gaming and use the 25% off coupon. Assuming the price drop would balance out having to deal with Steam for you.

Offline Quemaqua

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Re: XCOM: Enemy Unknown
« Reply #20 on: Saturday, October 06, 2012, 06:46:08 PM »
Nah. I don't do digital distribution unless it's a last resort.

I played the demo... totally sold. They don't even really let you do too much on your own, but man, it looks great, plays great... ugh. I wasn't thrilled with the performance on my PC, but this is really the fault of my PC. Things are kind of fucked up and have been for a while. I don't know what the issues are, but this thing really needs a reformat. I might go with the PS3 version just because of that. I don't have time even remotely to deal with a reformat. The game worked fine and all, but it stuttered a bit during the camera changes, and honestly, I'm not at all thrilled with the PC controls. Very much feels like it was built for a console, unfortunately. Not awful, but just a touch wonkier than it should be to do anything even when at the base menus. You could get used to it, I imagine, but meh.

天才的な閃きと平均以下のテクニックやな。 課長有野

Offline scottws

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Re: Re: XCOM: Enemy Unknown
« Reply #21 on: Saturday, October 06, 2012, 08:29:05 PM »
I pre ordered it today. The Civ5 deal sold me.

Offline MysterD

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« Last Edit: Monday, October 08, 2012, 07:48:41 PM by MysterD »

Offline Xessive

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Re: XCOM: Enemy Unknown
« Reply #23 on: Monday, October 08, 2012, 07:44:53 AM »
The Verge's Polygon review too: 8.5/10

Quote
XCOM: Enemy Unknown brings the memorable turn-based alien invasion classic gracefully into to the modern age, but comes just short of fully reinventing the genre. While tactical, squad-based combat has never felt so effortless and rewarding, the strategy component takes just enough away to make the game as a whole feel like two slightly disjointed halves. One of those halves just so happens to be one of the best and most artfully-designed strategy games in recent memory.

Offline MysterD

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Re: XCOM: Enemy Unknown
« Reply #24 on: Monday, October 08, 2012, 07:51:11 AM »
Thanks, X!
Added to my compiled review list.
Keep 'em coming w/ some sweet quotes like you just did, if and when you can find 'em! :D

Seems these XCOM: EU reviews are much harder to find than Dishonored reviews...

Offline nickclone

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Re: XCOM: Enemy Unknown
« Reply #25 on: Tuesday, October 09, 2012, 09:53:16 AM »
I've had my eye on this game for a few months and it looked like fun, even though these really aren't my type of games. I got the demo last night, played it and really liked it. I suck at these games so I didn't do too well, but I can get better. However, I can't see this game keeping my interest for too long unless they do some drastic gameplay changes as the game progresses.

Offline Quemaqua

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Re: XCOM: Enemy Unknown
« Reply #26 on: Tuesday, October 09, 2012, 02:05:25 PM »
If it's anything like the original, yeah, there could be some pretty drastic changes. Though I know this doesn't have some of the relentlessly punishing stuff the original did, like getting a grenade thrown right into your shuttle before your crew has the chance to get out. My my, such memories.

Picked it up. Can't wait to dig in. I'm even sacrificing some homework time for this.

EDIT - GAME SO GOOD. OH GOD. Two rookies dead so far, poor sods. Game is pretty tough, doesn't seem un-X-com-ish. This is everything I'd hoped it would be. I'm giddy with joy.
« Last Edit: Tuesday, October 09, 2012, 06:17:22 PM by Quemaqua »

天才的な閃きと平均以下のテクニックやな。 課長有野

Offline Xessive

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Re: XCOM: Enemy Unknown
« Reply #27 on: Tuesday, October 09, 2012, 09:17:44 PM »
Sweet :D I can't wait to delve in as well!

I worry I might develop emotional attachments to my squad members and really hate losing any!

Offline Quemaqua

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Re: XCOM: Enemy Unknown
« Reply #28 on: Tuesday, October 09, 2012, 10:24:56 PM »
Lost a corporal. Fucking Thin Men are awful if you aren't prepared. I tried a mission 4 times and the last one I had like 2 guys left to kill and one got a point blank shot on dude and killed him. So fucking pissed, but I couldn't stand to try it again (still sort of learning the ropes of this one). Even just regular difficulty is no slouch. You fuck up, you get punished. Aliens all seem to be way better shots than my guys, too.

Game is amazing. Buy it. Love it. Yell at it.

天才的な閃きと平均以下のテクニックやな。 課長有野

Offline scottws

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Re: XCOM: Enemy Unknown
« Reply #29 on: Wednesday, October 10, 2012, 05:53:27 AM »
Steam sucks.  My pre-load was stuck at 40% last night when I went to play it.  I just paused and unpaused the download and it started working again. WTF?

Now I have to decide if I want to get into this or get and play ME3, since I just beat ME2 last night with an ending I was satisfied with.

Offline Xessive

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Re: XCOM: Enemy Unknown
« Reply #30 on: Wednesday, October 10, 2012, 07:05:23 AM »
Steam sucks.  My pre-load was stuck at 40% last night when I went to play it.  I just paused and unpaused the download and it started working again. WTF?

Now I have to decide if I want to get into this or get and play ME3, since I just beat ME2 last night with an ending I was satisfied with.
Yeah, Steam has issues like especially with connectivity. Usually when I notice a download (especially the Steam updates) stuck at a certain percentage I use a tool like TCPView to forcibly close Steam's connection to the internet causing it to automatically reconnect and instantly resume the download.

Offline Quemaqua

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Re: XCOM: Enemy Unknown
« Reply #31 on: Wednesday, October 10, 2012, 10:39:56 AM »
Steam is a pile of shit. Been playing Fallout 3 occasionally here and there with no problems, but anything I try to play with Steam just eats resources like fucking mad. I wasn't satisfied with the performance of the demo so I got this for PS3. I really do prefer controlling the battlefield game with a controller. It was built for this, clearly, and works better. Which is sort of a shame. The PC interface was a bit unintuitive, and there was no way to remap controls.

Game is tough. I'm getting my ass thoroughly beaten. At one point I had like 17 soldiers all in the hospital recovering from wounds, and last battle, I had 2 chicks lose their shit, and one shot a ranking officer in the back in a panic. Came through in the end, thankfully, but that meant that only one guy actually recovered by the time there was a full-on assault of Moscow. I could do nothing because I had nobody but a single rookie to send. The world is getting in a bad state pretty quick, and a bunch of nations have bailed from the council already. Just made some research strides, and May has so far treated me kindly... no events yet 8 days in, so getting a chance to catch up. At least I was until I totally ran out of money.

This game is so awesome.

天才的な閃きと平均以下のテクニックやな。 課長有野

Offline MysterD

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Re: XCOM: Enemy Unknown
« Reply #32 on: Wednesday, October 10, 2012, 02:52:35 PM »
Am I the ONLY one around here who doesn't have many problems w/ Steam these days and age?  :o

Offline nickclone

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Re: XCOM: Enemy Unknown
« Reply #33 on: Wednesday, October 10, 2012, 09:18:12 PM »
I'm glad I'm not the only person who is getting their ass kicked, makes me feel that the game is hard and I don't suck...that bad.
« Last Edit: Thursday, October 11, 2012, 01:22:13 AM by nickclone »

Offline Quemaqua

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Re: XCOM: Enemy Unknown
« Reply #34 on: Wednesday, October 10, 2012, 09:37:18 PM »
It's been so long since I've played the original game I honestly can't remember the exact ebb and flow of things, and I played a lot more of Apocalypse a lot more recently... but this one definitely seems to come in waves. I'll get my ass kicked pretty bad, struggle a lot, then all of a sudden get some research and equipment happening that gives me an advantage, and I'll own everything for 2 or 3 maps, then they throw new stuff at me again that's like... what the fuck, OH GOD WHY. That's where I'm at now. Last map was 3 mutons right up front in an area where it was nearly impossible to avoid grouping guys together, so they went grenade-happy, and behind them were like 6 floaters that would all wake up at the same time plus a cyberdisc that at this point can still one-shot a captain with carapace armor and a nano-fiber vest most of the time. Took me forever to get through it. Then I shot down a small scout and thought I'd try to rank up a couple rookies... but fuck, at the lowest level they literally just can't hit anything even when they're standing on top of it. A group of muties and a cyberdisc just raped us all, even with a major assault, captain support, and lieutenant heavy, and everyone with laser rifles. I finally had to quit because I'm just too tired. Will try again tomorrow. I need to get the upgrade that lets your new hires start as sergeants.

So yeah, how are we the only people playing this? It's so good.

天才的な閃きと平均以下のテクニックやな。 課長有野

Offline idolminds

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Re: XCOM: Enemy Unknown
« Reply #35 on: Wednesday, October 10, 2012, 10:05:31 PM »
Listened to the latest bombcast. Yeah, game sounds awesome. But I have to wait for a sale or something.

Offline Cools!

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Re: XCOM: Enemy Unknown
« Reply #36 on: Wednesday, October 10, 2012, 11:43:34 PM »
Yup, sale.

Offline Quemaqua

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Re: XCOM: Enemy Unknown
« Reply #37 on: Saturday, October 13, 2012, 11:01:54 PM »
Continues to be amazing. So many great and horrible things have happened. I'm running right at the edge. I can only lose one more country from the council, but I have everybody reasonably happy and stocked with fighters/satellites. Tech is growing rapidly, and I managed to get ONE plasma rifle before deciding it was time to assault an alien base. It's been rough, but man that thing kicks ass. Only had enough money for 3 suits of titan armor also, which is putting a lot of strain on my main dudes.

I really can't seem to figure out how to effectively use heavies. I tend to bring one and he never quite works out right. Support and assault are my bread and butter, and I finally got a sniper up with enough gear and rank to really do some good shit.

天才的な閃きと平均以下のテクニックやな。 課長有野

Offline MysterD

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Re: XCOM: Enemy Unknown
« Reply #38 on: Sunday, October 14, 2012, 07:56:10 AM »
Edge Online -> "Could XCOM: Enemy Unknown be one of the finest translations of a game from PC to console?"

Rhetorical question, basically - looks like their answer is "Yes."

They go on and talk about classic-style of PC gameplay (TB strategy); the UI; how it actually plays w/ controller; and level of detail on the graphics for a console game.

Offline Quemaqua

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Re: XCOM: Enemy Unknown
« Reply #39 on: Sunday, October 14, 2012, 11:17:04 AM »
I'd argue he's a touch wrong. There is a little stuttering here and there, at least on PS3. And the Unreal Engine 3 texture pop is about the worst I've ever seen it. That said, the level of detail is stunning, the controls are fantastic (again, I think the mouse/kb controls are actually inferior, which makes me sad), and it definitely feels like a PC game. Obviously the gameplay itself, since you don't see a ton of turn-based strategy on consoles, but other stuff too, like how you can bring up the main menu and save/load virtually anywhere.

天才的な閃きと平均以下のテクニックやな。 課長有野