This is the announcement you’ve been waiting for: One of the most beloved strategy titles of all time re-imagined by one of the best strategy studios in the world. Firaxis Games’ XCOM: Enemy Unknown introduces a wider console audience to what made the storied franchise great in the first place.
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.
“It’s been a dream of ours to recreate X-COM with our unique creative vision. We’re huge fans of the original game and it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to re-envision a game that is as beloved as X-COM,” said Steve Martin, president of Firaxis Games. “We were careful to keep XCOM: Enemy Unknown true to the elements that made X-COM such a revered game while delivering an entirely new story and gameplay experience for both die-hard X-COM fans and newcomers to the franchise.”
If you’re lost, you can find out what all the fuss over the original X-COM is in the in-depth Classic GI feature we printed a few months ago (now available online for the first time), which includes rare insight from series creator Julian Gollop.
The huge feature in February’s Game Informer goes into all the gory details of XCOM’s destructible tactical environments, the interaction between the real-time strategic view and the turn-based combat, how the XCOM organization improves its capabilities as the war rages on, and much more.
In addition, the February issue has our lengthy love letter to the top 50 games of 2011, an exclusive look at new Mass Effect 3 details, and the final word on Final Fantasy XIII-2 along with all the usual goodies.
Larry Akins aka 2112 – This is incredible news! With having gamed on the PC platform since the TRS-80 there are few titles which come to mind as all time classics. My favorite game of all time even in this day of Battlefield 3 graphics/physics is the original X-Com UFO Defense. The depth and feel of the game has never been touched since. Yet many in the gaming industry who design games will reflect the same passion and tell you their favorite of all time is the same. Funny how none of them have brought to market a title which feels like such.
During the 2010 E3 convention 2K Games announced a new X-Com title simply titled X-COM. Soon fans of the original game would be let down in knowing it was a first person shooter using some of the storyline from the series. This would come as another huge disaoppointment for fans. The series started in 1993 with the best and ended with the developer ruining the brand name with horrible titles like X-COM: Interceptor in 1998 and X-COM: Enforcer in 2001. There have been a few attempts to bring some of the feel of the first game with titles like UFO: Alien Invasion an open sourced game to a really great title from Chaos Concept called UFO: Extraterrestrials. The title proved to be great and did bring back some of the feel for those who continue to search for a modern version of the classic.
Another studio ALTER Interactive brough out three titles (UFO: Aftermath 2003, UFO: Aftershock 2005, and UFO: Afterlight in 2007) dealing with the genre. ALTER deserves a lot fo credit for seeing a genre which was being ignored by all the other studios and trying to bring a new ip to market. But that is where it stops in that these titles left a lot to be desired to say the least. Frankly they were part of the new wave of studios popping up in the Czech Republic and bring substandard products to market. Not one of my favorite trends in the industry.
Well now we all wait to see how things go. From very early press leaks it appears the title could release in 2012. However I have seen a few reports showing 2013 which would make some sense for marketing in that it would be the 20 year mark since the first title. At any rate I will keep all posted as we get more info. Until then watch the skies…
