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Gaming XCOM: Enemy Unknown review

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by brumgrunt, 16 Oct 2012.

  1. brumgrunt

    brumgrunt What's a Dremel?

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  2. Griffter

    Griffter What's a Dremel?

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    Im playing right now, and enjoying the game.. but what upsets me with every review so far is that they either speak very little about the glitchy graphics on the pc version most of all. lets be honest, this is a PC title adapted for console, but the graphic glitches are driving me crazy!

    usually when in multi story building, almost impossible to view the 2nd floor where ur man is in for for than a milli-second.

    apparently using a gampad fixes this but why must u play with a gampad when u a PC user? as well as the bug with the aliens disappearing while in sight and not always showing if they when in overwatch or where they are until its their turn to move. they game struggle to know what level the mouse wants it to be in. that i think is a major flaw. it should be given mention and a slight score drop no matter how much i love the game. other games get lesser scores if the bugs affect the game, and thos two bugs affect gameplay like no other bug.
     
  3. triprunner

    triprunner What's a Dremel?

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    @ griffter

    when the game gets glitchy when youre in elevated position, turn the camera, should fix it, it does for me
     
  4. Griffter

    Griffter What's a Dremel?

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    hey, im sure i've tried that... but maybe im just forcing a memory. will try tonight... and the enemies that showup, and disappear bug, do u get that triprunner? of cos im not talking about when they go further in the fog, out of sight...

    they could have made the fog a little bit easier on the eyes for me as well, but thats a tiny issue.
     
  5. Tyrmot

    Tyrmot Minimodder

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    This is great. I can't start dishonoured now until I have finished this, it is that addictive.

    The camera is a bit annoying, but not game-breaking. I've only had difficulty on one level (landed ufo) and I found that rotating the camera normally fixed the inability to send my soldiers where I wanted.
     
  6. TheChugnut

    TheChugnut What's a Dremel?

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    I love the single player. It can be very rewarding when taking tactical gambles and such. Much of the bugs can be overlooked as they are minor.

    The MP however is borked. I've played about eight matches with a friend and it's riddled with issues. Not being able to move a character to the desired location, even though the GUI implies it's a suitable location. The camera doesn't centre on some squad members upon their turn. No way to end a character's turn - only the whole squad (granted, you just skip to the next character, and end the turn once you're done). Worst of all, the delayed and poor quality VOIP is forced on - no way to turn it off. Very, very annoying,

    But, single player. Oh, single player. How I love thee.
     
  7. Baz

    Baz I work for Corsair

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    I love this game. Lots. Will be playing for ages.

    Can't figure out how to change the colour of my guy's armour though.

    Pre -order only apparently. Lame.
     
    Last edited: 16 Oct 2012
  8. Panos

    Panos Minimodder

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    I play it since it open on Friday morning. (EU).

    Addictive as sin. Lost first Classic Ironman playthrough at around November time (after 25 hours), because aliens are resilient even to plasma weapons.

    On Ironman mode, because there is no reload, you are getting very emotional with every single member of your team. Especially when you lose a good one. Was really sad when the sniper after 22 battles, having killed 72 aliens, died. Because Elite Heavy Floaters surrounded him, and couldn't kill them with the team fast enough.

    After his fall, the next battles were an up hill struggle, until I lost completely one battle, and world tipped over to red, losing the campaing.


    I have 300 hours on CIV 5 in 2 years. This one is going to be even higher!

    No other game since first XCOM (playing it back in 1994 on 386/40) was so addictive. To the extend after 18 years, had a sleepless weekend. And I guarantee you. At 18 was easy to do. At 36 is hard.
     
  9. johnnyboy700

    johnnyboy700 Minimodder

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    So if we all buy this and it does well sales-wise does it mean that we can look forward to a Terror from the Deep reboot in the future?

    I was able to do quite well on the original UFO Enemy Unknown at the lower difficulty levels but when I tried TFTD on easy I got a kicking everytime - bloody Lobstermen. Boy oh boy did they ramp up the difficulty level on that one.
     
  10. Baz

    Baz I work for Corsair

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    I wish Aliens: Colonial marines was just a licensed version of Xcom. Deploying from the APC, moving through wrecks and abandoned colonies, taking out nests, levelling up your marines and researching new alien splatting kit. Instead we get Call of Duty: LV426.
     
  11. Griffter

    Griffter What's a Dremel?

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    @ BAZ

    click on barracks, then click the first option... units/army/guys or whatever it is... then click on one of ur guys names, when u see him like when u about to go to a mission (full 3d model of him) click customize... in that list of first name, last name etc... at the bottom is armor deco, change the look and tint, changes the colour.

    https://images.nonexiste.net/popula...e-XCOM-unit-is-going-to-be-the-end-of-me.jpeg
     
  12. sotu1

    sotu1 Ex-Modder

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    IRONMAN MODE!!!!
     
  13. Nictron

    Nictron Minimodder

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    All I can say is that I agree with the review and loving the game to bits.

    Started with Iron-man and have not regretted the decision at all.

    Camera can be irritating at times, but a game this good would need a small glitch and I am sure they will fix it soon.
     
  14. S1W1

    S1W1 Minimodder

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    Nice review.

    Any chance you could review another recently released remake of a classic, Carrier Command: Gaea Mission (made by BIS, the wonderful people who produce the Arma series)?
     
  15. dolphie

    dolphie What's a Dremel?

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    I love it too. And seeing as I usually hate everything, it's quite an achievement.
     
  16. cthulhu

    cthulhu What's a Dremel?

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    If you've played the original XCOMs then the new version is pretty much an Arcade Mode of the original with better graphics.

    1) Shots are no longer free projectiles like they were in XCOM. If your soldier misses a target now it shows a miss animation, there's no consequence of the miss shot hitting a different unit than intended (although it will damage terrain). This unfortunately removes an element of unpredictable world interaction.

    2) No battlefield inventory. Remember the original XCOM you just selected armor at the start of the mission and couldn't see it in the inventory, remove it, drop it or place it on the map? Well now everything is like that. Grenades, weapons, med packs, none of this stuff can be dropped or given to squadmates. Neither can you pick up alien drops or even the drops of your dead teamates. A lot of strategic element is lost this way.

    3) Ammo is infinite. Your units just can't run out of ammo. Strategic element lost again.

    4) Smaller maps.

    5) Smaller squad size. You quickly get 6 but you start off with 4. There's no longer the tactic of throwing a dozen rookies at a few aliens.

    6) Fixed move/fire cycles instead of turn units. There's less you can do now, but it's fa

    7) No concept of facing direction for units anymore. Units can see full 360. There's no bonus for shooting something in the side or back.

    8) Campaign mode geoscape is simplified to one UFO at a time (as far as I saw).

    9) You only have one base in the world and generate greater vision of UFOs by creating satellites over countries.

    It all sounds like a criticism but I think overall these simplifications are good. They've removed 90% of the stuff I found tedious. They've lost a bunch of stuff but Id say only about 20% of cool stuff is lost and they've perhaps added more. The base view and cut scenes are very immerse to make you feel like it's an actual base. If you enjoy the strategic level of research and improving your squad then you'll prefer this game because (tedious?) hours-long battles no longer occur.

    It reminds me of the difference between the original Shogun Total War and Medieval Total War. I always preferred Shogun because it was simpler. Medieval went too far adding too much complexity and micro-management. But if you prefer your games like Dwarf Fortress you'll prefer the original.

    One more thing: Don't play Normal difficulty. Play Classic. Even though it's impossible at first you rapidly improve on the battle map. I made the mistake on giving up on classic after being beat a few times and playing normal. Halfway through the game I realized it had got too easy. The difference in difficulty between Normal and Classic is bizarrely vast. Normal is just too easy, it might seem challenging at first but once you start improving in battle it'll become far too easy. On the other-hand once you start improving at Classic it becomes challenging rather than impossible.
     
  17. Whindog

    Whindog What's a Dremel?

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    IRONMAN CLASSIC!.

    Awesome game, the tension when you know one wrong move will lose your most valuabel vet forever and.

    The agony of deciding where to move when a chryilid shows up. And the please miss please miss please miss moments are so much fun, exilerating and painful.

    Every decision matters, every move can cause you to die. Balance this with that and this country with that one.

    Love it.
     
  18. Panos

    Panos Minimodder

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    @cthulhu

    Man you forgot, that now troops aren't just numbers. They vary classes & abilities.
    Money are harder to get. There is a setting in .ini file to allow to intercept UFOs going to do terror.
    You get bonuses to hit & crit by flanking the opponents, and at Classic the AI is really tough nut to crack.


    POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT!




    Also as you advance technologically the aliens to do. Harder, better & more members per unit appear. When you encounter 4 Elite Heavy floaters on a single, with 6 colonels armed with plasmas and still you going to lose HP if not any member. And they come in 2 grps like these. + adds.

    More tactical, less engineer/scientist hoarding, then sack them. You either capture live aliens and get weapons, or you build them. No middle ground. Fragments are usefull, alloys also. Even corpses are needed to craft items.

    And countless times left Zombies to turn to Crysalids, because I need their carapace. Most valuable and second rare item in game. After the fusion reactor stuff to make Blaster Launcher.
     
  19. Hovis

    Hovis What's a Dremel?

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    Worth noting that a lot of features that are in the game are disabled for some reason, for example the Second Wave game mutators and having all alien missions tied to a UFO which can be intercepted (to stop abductions and terror missions before they happen). You can get mods to fix this though.
     
  20. Roskoken

    Roskoken What's a Dremel?

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    the new movement system is gay
     
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