For reasons I never quite understood, I really liked X-Com: UFO Defense.
My confusion stemmed from the fact that I rarely enjoy games that kick my ass from here to Sunday. I know this is a character flaw that I can probably clear up with a thousand hours of therapy, but the fact still remains that I usually don't spend a lot of time playing games that I can't get a handle on within a relatively short period of time.
X-Com beat me senseless the first ten times or so that I played it, but I kept coming back. I eventually got to the point where I could visit an alien landing site and return with most of my forces intact. Of course, the better I got, the harder the game got, leaving me with the feeling that I was about a month behind the rest of the class in an honors course.
Eventually, duty called, and I had to give up my sacred quest to master X-Com to move onto other things. Still, I paid the game the ultimate tribute by putting it on my hard drive at home. Every once in a while I return to play, and marvel at its detailed design. I also suppress the desire to reach out and swat my two pre-teen children, both of whom have gotten much further along in the game than I have.
I'm certain that I'm not the only person who had this reaction, since X-Com was one of the surprise gaming hits of 1994. I think this happened for two reasons: it was a lot more than a plain strategy game, and it provided a stiff challenge.
To be honest, I think part of the reason why X-Com snuck up on people was due to the fact that MicroProse didn't think the game was going to sell a remarkable amount in this country. We never previewed the game in IE (our review appeared in Episode 2). As a matter of fact, the copy we ended up reviewing was actually the European release of the game.
Apparently, the demos that MicroProse sent out concentrated on the squad-level tactical warfare that you must engage in when you confront the aliens. This part of the game is well-done, but it isn't anything that you haven't seen before. in games such as Breach 2 from Impressions. I'm sure most reviewers looked at that element of the game, were mildly impressed, and quickly forgot about X-Com.
Once the full game hit the shelves, we all got to see that there's a lot more than issuing commands to your platoon. Management is extremely important, both in the research which moves you up the technology tree, and in the use of the money available to you as you build additional bases and purchase additional equipment to battle the alien menace.
I'm not at all interested in using this space to start a "What constitutes role-playing" debate, but I think X-Com has RPG elements in the sense that your troops gain experience whenever they manage to survive a battle. And, like a lot of adventure titles, there's a storyline of sorts which leads to a definite ending.
Of course, the best news for X-Com fanatics is that MicroProse isn't screwing around with the franchise in X-Com: Terror From The Deep (you were wondering when I was going to get around to mentioning the game I'm previewing, weren't you?). The storyline for the sequel builds nicely off its predecessor: as you closed in on the alien base on Mars at the end of X-Com: Enemy Unknown, they send signals back to Earth, awakening long-dormant troops located under the oceans. These fishy characters want to flood the Earth and get rid of the human race in the process.
Since most of Terror From The Deep will be fought underwater, there's a different look to the game. The new version gives the designers an excuse to update the game, so you can expect more (and better-looking) graphics and animations, along with additional terrain types and maps. The game should sound better since it will come with a new audio driver system. The CD version will provide CD-standard quality on regular sound cards.
The look and location are different, but the game engine and gameplay won't change. You'll still be responsible for turning green rookies into seasoned veterans. You'll still need to put your scientists on the right track in their research, and you'll still be dealing with all of the various governments around the world that are ready to abandon ship at a moment's notice.
X-Com is back, and this time, MicroProse knows that it has a solid hit on its hands. I'd say the odds are good that it won't take nearly as long to develop the third entry in the X-Com series.
