Hands-On: XCOM: Enemy Unknown

[News Portal]

James Cottee recently got the chance to go hands-on with Firaxis' highly-anticipated reboot of the XCOM RTS games in Sydney, and now returns to us with his impressions. Is it the faithful remake we all wanted?

Read full story →



Read full article by James Cottee

[caitsith01]

Ok, I officially don't like how much they're messing with the aliens now that I've seen the chryssalid.

IIRC many of the aliens in the original were carefully put together from the prevailing myths about alien encounters. These ones look like rejects from Quake II or a PS3 cover shooter. They're too hardcore looking, too tough and pointy, not creepy enough.

I also don't understand why they would streamline base management - that was a fun part of the original.

Can I ask how far you were able to zoom out?

[Cyrinno]

aye it's not just the tactical or strategic view or base building that makes XCOM it's also the lore, the game is a mash up of every alien thing you can think of which is what made it so spooky at least to me.

[James Cottee]

Can I ask how far you were able to zoom out?

A fair way -- far enough to get a better look at the lay of the land. The maps weren't that large overall; they felt about the same scale as the original.

Holding the left trigger would zoom out by a fixed amount. Presumably you'll be able to fine-tune zoom with the mouse wheel, but again, they didn't let us try out the PC interface.

[caitsith01]

Interesting - thanks.

Another question which you may be able to answer - how "natural" was the destructible terrain. I.e., did you get a sense of whether buildings are destructible in a free-form way, or are there just pre-programmed holes in the walls/roof that you can open up?

[spawneh]

Do you have to use a stun stick to capture a live alien? I loved having to do that in the original

[James Cottee]

How "natural" was the destructible terrain. I.e., did you get a sense of whether buildings are destructible in a free-form way, or are there just pre-programmed holes in the walls/roof that you can open up?

The destructibility seemed to be fairly natural/free form – again, in this regard, it felt a lot like the original. Waist-high cover like cars and rooftop air conditioning units degrades/gets destroyed by enemy fire; rockets can take out wall segments.

Do you have to use a stun stick to capture a live alien?

Capturing/interrogating aliens seems to be a big part of the game. If you put your home base in South America, you get the 'We Have Ways' bonus, which gives you the results of interrogations and autopsies instantly.

[Gnavin]

Capturing/interrogating aliens seems to be a big part of the game. If you put your home base in South America, you get the 'We Have Ways' bonus, which gives you the results of interrogations and autopsies instantly.

Morbid, yet exciting. I like it.

[Polarice]

Nice wrap up!!
Hope it doesnt get dumbed down too much. Simple is nice, unless its xcom!

[obi_one_kaboozi]

One question. I notice in the screen shots where the target is selected and there is a button for "more info". Did you have a chance to review what information was available and if it possibly changes with advancements in research (such as if it would indicate any kind of known weakness against weapon types like laser, kinetic, plasma etc.).

[spawneh]

So I think I remember reading from one of the previous articles, that squad size is limited to something like 6 or 8? In the original the squad size was limited by your drop ship size, which could be upgraded. Also is there no hover tanks?

[Marius]

Are all the soldiers bald males?

[Cyrinno]

Can I delete my characters so I can get ones with high psi scores

[caitsith01]

Also is there no hover tanks?

There are definitely tankish things, which are in addition to your squad IIRC.

The squad size thing is lame - rules out "sacrifice" strategies where you send a bunch of newbies out as bait.

[Trickster001]

Also is there no hover tanks?

There are definitely tankish things, which are in addition to your squad IIRC.

The squad size thing is lame - rules out "sacrifice" strategies where you send a bunch of newbies out as bait.

Agreed this was a great strat. Hated losing one of my best men id nurtured only to lose straight away by some hidden alien grenade attack at the start of a mission :S