Total War Or Change For Diplomacy

[Miltopaeus]

Compare Star Ship Troopers to Matrix. Star Ship Troopers emphasised the approach of kill or be killed. It was acceptable as far as the enemy was according to the characters knowledge just hordes of mindless bugs. It became questionable when the "brain bug" was discovered. Besides the fact that the bugs where capable of sending asteroids from a system to another still kept the point of view little off from correct.

 

Matrix had the same approach against the machines. It was always clear that the machines had become sentient. But there never was a notion of the machine's capability of understanding other sentient entities until the very end. Matrix plot (if you still want to see the Matrix: Revolutions, stop reading now) got solved at the point of the human race at it's "last stand" before the horde of unbeatable machine army so that the machines made peace and cancelled their attack! This was the cherry on top of a beatiful cake. It was the most excellent and intelligent ending to the Matrix trilogy.

 

Think also of The Independence Day. That movie represents the third example of an approach towards hostile aliens. It was a fun fight against the aliens, but it actually had it's share of diplomacy as an aspect of considerance. The president of the United States asked the alien at the Area 51: "What do you want from us. Can it be peace?" to which the alien said: "No piece. Die, die!" and started to mess with the presidents brain. A short negotiation, but it still did the task of listening to the sentient enemy.

 

So is Ufo: Xenocide going to be just an inconsiderate alien gunning game, or is it going to try to see the truth about the aliens and develop some kind of a plot of understanding?

 

The aliens are sentient and therefore also capable of considering others. This is the only logical alternative. :wink:

 

Miltopaeus, Finland

Edited March 29, 2004 by Miltopaeus

[Extralucas]

Aliens are brain washed and mind controlled machine-likes. They are mass produced by cloning, created to cold hearted conquerors. Mutons have surgically removed reproductive organs, and creatures like Chryssalids doesn't seem like empathic beings. Infact, all the aliens are kind of slaves to the Brain.

 

I guess Xenocide will be like:

(alien): I come in peace!

(X-Com): You'll be back in pieces!