PhilBowles
Deity
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2011
- Messages
- 5,333
A very positive preview from RPS: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/09/13/hands-on-forty-hours-with-xcom/
I never played the original, so I can't comment on dumbing-down or any of the fun buzzwords like that, but I'm quite interested in it now.
It sounds as though mission-wise they've captured a lot of the atmosphere (although the maps shown in the preview video all seemed much smaller than in the original games - sure, hunting down that last Floater who'd taken refuge in the corner of the map could get dull, but it's a worthwhile price to pay for bigger maps).
Still not at all sold on the class/upgrade system (or the mentioned abilities-by-base-location system). I prefer characters to optimise themselves for particular roles organically rather than to be straitjacketed into particular ones because of abilities you choose at specific game stages. And revisiting the original game, I realise all over again just how fundamental having different characters with different stat bars that change over time (not just as they level up, but throughout their mission history) is to the game's essential character. At least it seems that this new version will retain something of that organic stat development, rather than going for nonrandomised starting attributes and Diablo stat selection.
Also not sure how I feel about being given pointers on research direction - finding out what to research and when was also a lot of fun in the original games, even if tech progression could have been better-implemented (for instance, in Terror from the Deep you eventually get to a stage where there is nothing further to research until you've completed 12 identical but occasional, multi-level, and very difficult story missions, while in Apocalypse I seemed to run out of research options before finding out how to research the portal to Mars needed for the final game stage).
One final thing, also bearing in mind the Civ V experience: difficulty levels. This is particularly critical in a game like X-COM where it's a big selling point that missions can be very, very tough. Most modern games seem to have eased off on difficulty - in most cases it's not as extreme as Civ V, where someone like me comfortable playing on Prince or Noble in earlier instalments routinely plays on Immortal for a challenge, but to some extent this seems universal. I have a much harder time with the Starcraft campaign than the Starcraft II one, for instance. Going back to UFO, I'm struggling with the first terror missions at Experienced (the second difficulty level). I hope the new X-COM game will be as challenging.
Last night I had a dream that I was being chased by a Cyber Disk. I had shot at a bunch of times with a laser rifle (the best weapon to damage a Cyber Disk) so I think it was on it's last proverbial legs but it just kept coming.
Replaying the original, I don't need to dream about it. I received my second terror mission before having researched any weapons technology (other than Alien Grenade), and the complete inability of rifles, autocannon and rockets alike to do substantial damage to a disc is very frustrating (in a good way) in missions where you face 3 or more. I lost the mission when my last surviving operative discovered that the last surviving alien was yet another Cyberdisc - a duel she had no chance of winning (even if she hadn't been on only 7 health following damage at the start of the mission).