Why no hype for Xcom?

[gideonkain]

I think it's because this new game is untested, all that's been released is a few screenshots. Once it's more fleshed out and has some footage I'm sure the 'Gamersphere' will begin to take notice.

We really don't want to raise our hopes too high, like we did when we allowed ourselves to believe Dungeons was going to be some sort of spiritual successor to Dungeon Master II.

 

[Saviordd1]

No, not the shooter.

I mean the new strategy game. The original X-Com is held up as one of the pinnacles of turn based strategy and PC gaming in general, yet no one seems excited for the new Xcom strategy game, made by Fraxis no less.

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TL;DR
Why no interest in the new Xcom strategy game?

Ok, I played the original X-com, and I didn't get very far because it was horrible. The controls were ridiculously clunky, and it really wasn't all that interesting to me.

For something that was "one of the pinnacles of turn based strategy...." was it really that popular? If so, what made it great? I have noticed that it usually tends to be a love-it or hate-it game.

The fans of the series are of course going to look forward to going back to something they really like. But was X-com a widely acclaimed game or just a big hit with a small crowd?

I have it on Steam, and maybe it just has aged horribly, but when I tried to play it the controls were terrible and even with that aside it just didn't seem all that great to me. Maybe that's where the lack of hype/excitement comes from, or perhaps the developer/publisher don't want to go into over-hype.

Who knows? maybe they are waiting until closer to release to try to snatch everyone's attention.

Well for one remember this is a DOS game, as in Pre-Windows...
It was the most advanced game for its time.

That said it hasn't aged gracefully, I've beat it twice and I don't even use some of the buttons.

Its hard to explain the allure, for some its the strategy (The enemy AI is really smart believe it or not) maybe its atmosphere, or maybe its just how unforgiving the game is (Soldiers die by the truckload, a single soldier dying isn't a real tragedy, in fact its a miracle if you get through a mission without losing at least one person.)

I'm sorry you didn't like it.

 

[thejackyl]

Abilities with cooldowns

So we have more tactics then just sending a mass of troops into the fray? That's a problem? Seems like this might make multiple plays fun when you start using different abilities.

no inventory

Inventory management was NEVER fun in any game EVER (for me). From the looks of things, you equip the troops outside of combat and their inventory is locked once you enter the battlefield. (speculation)

unlimited ammo except for the rocket launcher

I never ran out of ammo in XCOM, and only had a problem in TftD in the multi-part missions. I think the only reason they singled the rocket launcher out is because it would be incredibly imbalanced if you had unlimited explosives.

armor and items giving special abilities

No different than any upgrade system in other games. It could just be similar to the flying suits giving you the ability to fly, or certain weapons having better accuracy.

no Time Units

New system for movement and attacking. Looks like it could be just as interesting. Plus it's easier to figure out "I have 6 moves, I can do..." than it is to figure out "Okay I have 60 TUs, and I need 35% to fire once, so i can..."

scripted plot-critical missions

Randomized missions are fun, but sometimes a well made level can be even better. Sure it can kill the tactical approach when you find out how to outsmart the AI, but this isn't always a bad thing.

cinematic kill camera

It can be turned off, and it can show you some interesting kills up close.

single base only

Yeah, this one I wish they didn't change. But I usually don't build a second base until I research the Hyper-wave Decoder(Best radar in-game) anyways.

"reimagined aliens"

Depends how reimagined they are. The sectoids in all honesty were pretty bland, as were the mutons and ethereals. Hopefully they keep the Chrysalids. Those were a proper "Terror unit"

4-8 man Squad limit

I can't be the only person who preferred to use multiple small squads instead of one huge one. I remember I only trained enough soldiers for the trip to Cydonia, and sacked (or sacrificed) the ones with less than amazing stats. And most missions I left half the squad in the ship. And even than I usually had 1-4 MC troops and the rest where on scout/cleanup duty.

Change isn't always a bad thing, and it looks like Firaxis knows what it's doing, for now.

 

[Weaver]

There were lots of posts about it back when it was announced a few months ago. For me, I'm not keeping the hype train alive because Fall 2012 is awhile away still.

I'm looking forward to the game and hoping it will be good. However, I feel 2K and Firaxis still haven't released enough content for me to judge it even preliminary. The fact that it's also a console release worries me.

 

[thiosk]

oh my god its the only title im interested in this year. i want it so bad and I drool over every photograph.

I played me the shit out of some xcom back in the 90s.

 

[thejackyl]

There were lots of posts about it back when it was announced a few months ago. For me, I'm not keeping the hype train alive because Fall 2012 is awhile away still.

I'm looking forward to the game and hoping it will be good. However, I feel 2K and Firaxis still haven't released enough content for me to judge it even preliminary. The fact that it's also a console release worries me.

Well, from the gameplay portion of the video, it looks like it would flow decently on a console, much like Fire Emblem does, and that is by no means a bad game just because it was on a console.

 

[Syzygy23]

This generation adhd kiddys cannot into turn based combat.

I take exception to that, me (and my friends) are REALLY into X-Com, especially the original. None of us are out of High School. The interest is there, companies rarely look into it though.

I'm looking forward to getting into it. Haven't played the old ones though.

They're like 5 bucks on steam, worth the buy and will work on ANY common day system.

Yeah, I was born in '89 myself. I'd only ever heard snippets about XCOM up until last year, when a bunch of people started raging over that Mass Effect rip off version of XCOM. I was all "Say WHAAAAAAAAT? This old game for old people can't be better than this!"

Then I played it on steam and lost 5 times in a row on the lowest difficulty.

AND I NEVER LOOKED BACK. Suddenly I can totally see the rage at the new Mass Xcomffect. Those guys in the demo video weren't even wearing BASIC armor and they were taking plasma blasts to face like no tomorrow!

 

[Frankster]

Am cautiously optimistic.

Have heard certain disturbing changes such as squad sizes being cut down to 8 (down from 24), which is part of the streamlining for modern audiences (nevermind that it's your choice to use 24 guys, modern audiences can't handle long turn based battles anymore) and a removal of a pure turn based combat system in favor of pausable real time.

It's not a modern update of old xcom that's for sure. But it's as close as we are gonna get and am willing to give the new xcom a chance.

 

[juraigamer]

Because it's not a new copy paste of MW or COD. That's why. People lost sight of what made games good and instead grind for advantages.

 

[Amaror]

Well i am pretty hyped about it, as is everybody i know, who know the original ufo game.
I would have preordered it but i just preorder games from the uk (cheaper) and there store don't offer it yet.

 

[Atmos Duality]

No, not the shooter.

I mean the new strategy game. The original X-Com is held up as one of the pinnacles of turn based strategy and PC gaming in general, yet no one seems excited for the new Xcom strategy game, made by Fraxis no less.

Is there that little interest in the game? Or is it still under the radar?

Show me some screenshots then I'll get hyped for it. Not gonna get hyped for something if it won't be out for a year yet or whatnot

Uh, perhaps I'm misunderstanding your intent, but several people in the topic have posted the initial preview video for the game. You can derive all the screenshots you want from it.

 

[Fayathon]

I've only seen a bit of gameplay from the old Xcom games, I've never had the pleasure of playing them. Shame really they seem to be right up my alley, but I can't afford them right now.

As for the new game, I'm optimistic about it, it looks like a proper sequel, update the graphics, overhaul the interface, add new shit to do and keep it all with the same style of gameplay. I hope they pull this off, I'd love to see it do well.

 

[Weaver]

There were lots of posts about it back when it was announced a few months ago. For me, I'm not keeping the hype train alive because Fall 2012 is awhile away still.

I'm looking forward to the game and hoping it will be good. However, I feel 2K and Firaxis still haven't released enough content for me to judge it even preliminary. The fact that it's also a console release worries me.

Well, from the gameplay portion of the video, it looks like it would flow decently on a console, much like Fire Emblem does, and that is by no means a bad game just because it was on a console.

For me it's more stuff like "Now there is no inventory management because that's hard to do well with a controller." I LIKED managing my inventory for each squaddie.

 

[Therumancer]

I haven't been hearing much about it, virtally or otherwise. It's hard to really get excited for something that's almost a non-entity. I've heard it mentioned, but I know next to nothing about it's development, or status.

If it wants hype it doesn't need a AAA advertising campaign, but it does need to get information out there on a reasonable large scale. Truthfully I was thinking that if this game didn't turn to vapourware, it was intentionally going for an "under the radar" release for whatever reason.

 

[Casey Bowen]

I'd say there is a growing hype. Certainly there hasn't been much until the last few months because they've kept it under wraps for 3 years. Then the Game Informer cover story started the ball rolling.

It still struggles I think from a lack of stories and news. Sure, it is coming and can be found if you dig for it (or happen to be a regular on the sites where people talk about it)... but it is starting to spread. Every time they release a new video or interview I see more and varied people talking about it.

I'm really excited and mention it to my gamer friends all the time hoping a couple of them who aren't old enough to be fans of the original (well, not at release anyway) are going to pick it up.

Sp spread the word, the hype is building.

 

[ThePenguinKnight]

I nearly squealed like a school girl when I first saw it, ok, I did squeal. I don't think it's getting much hype because most people don't even know it exists, there's little to no attempt at putting its name out there.

 

[Ragsnstitches]

No, not the shooter.

I mean the new strategy game. The original X-Com is held up as one of the pinnacles of turn based strategy and PC gaming in general, yet no one seems excited for the new Xcom strategy game, made by Fraxis no less.

Is there that little interest in the game? Or is it still under the radar?





Oh,a bit of a divergence, a friend was/is at PAX and quoted a wonderful part from the Xcom gameplay demo Q/A with a developer.

Press:"So in the original, the game had the tendency to kill off your seasoned veterans as a feature, are you continuing with that?"

Developer: No...We're making it worse"

Made me laugh and cry at the same time.





TL;DR
Why no interest in the new Xcom strategy game?

A "reboot" of a cult classic from a niche genre by a relatively small developer, isn't exactly going to reel in the hits. How is this surprising? That being said, I've been following the news since it was announced on Gameinformer, which seems more willing to update on its progress.

Bought the 3 major X-com games (Enemy Unknown, Terror from the deep and Apocalypse) on steam for a steal (like 4 euro total) in anticipation. Massively hyped for this game now, especially since I can get it for my PS3 (my PC has failed me one too many times of late).

I'm actually looking forward to the FPS too. The aesthetics and concept of it seem interesting. Here's to hoping they can retain some of the personality this series is loved for.