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XCOMUFO & Xenocide

Worth A Try?


Cmdr. Luke

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I've only played X-COM UFO, and I love the game to death. Almost ten years later and I'm.... we're still playing the game. But are any of the other X-COM's worth playing? I'm willing to do whatever you say!! But please, explain your reasoning. Thanks! :D
I too love X-Com! :wub:
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xcom1 is ofcourse the classic, simply the best :) .
xcom2 is basically xcom1, but underwater and with annoying ship terror sites :cussing: (and also harder, although some say it isn't :sly: )
xcom3, unlike xcom2, incorporates some real changes, some failed, some were really cool (IMHO).
xcom4 well, never really liked it that much, but still fun for a short time :)
xcom5 : never played it :)
xcom6 : never played it, but it's no good :wink:

anyway, I recommend to play xcom1-3. If after that you still can't get enough of xcom, try xcom4, if you want MP, get ufo2000 instead of xcom5, and xcom6, well, so you can say you played them all? :)

edit : moved to ON TOPIC Edited by j'ordos
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like me :P
true, some stuff like lobstermans are much harder than in xcom1, but i always end up losing in xcom1 and not in xcom2 :whatwhat:

xcom3 - ditto.
xcom4 - good for ppl that like aereal battles (it's with spaceships instead of soldiers and in deep space instead of earth). i find it fun, since it still uses the original x-com concept.
xcom5 - imo, a sucky multiplayer x-com.
xcom6 - x-com fps. ruins the whole x-com concept. Edited by SupSuper
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I suggest #2 for a slight change of pace while still keeping true to the original. #3 was not interesting to me, did not enjoy all the different changes made to the game.
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1-4 = :D

5/6 never played but I get the feeling they are :blink: :cussing:


1-4 I think are fantastic in their own ways.

I would be glad to know if anyone has Intercptor working as multiplayer yet......I would LOVE a game...
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I liked enforcer! Sure it was incredibly easy, but when you just need to blow off a little steam (with those horrible voices turned off) I play enforcer.

Sorry Dippy, my interceptor copy is at my grandmother's.
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Wow! Great feedback guys, thanks! :D I guess I'll have to try out 2-4 now! Is anyone up for a SOCOM: Navy Seals version of X-COM? Huh?! Where you can choose between being an alien or a human!?! Man that would sell like hotcakes! :rolleyes:
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I tried 2, bleah!
I tried 3 for like 5 minutes, I can't comment, it seemed complicated.
I tried 4 for like 5 minutes, I'd did not dislike it.
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[quote name='stewart' date='Oct 8 2003, 09:14 PM']I tried 2, bleah!
I tried 3 for like 5 minutes, I can't comment, it seemed complicated.
I tried 4 for like 5 minutes, I'd did not dislike it.[/quote]
:blink:

i'm starting to hate 3. how can you go around and kill aliens in peace when you've got other organizations after you because you hit some of their buildings? <_<
still worth a try, for ppl with lots of patience and that like the improved battlescape (with real-time/turn-based option).
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Well, killing the clut solves your monetary woes, so you can bribe people to be your friends. Just keep raiding the clut (make sure you don't destroy something of value, such as psiclones.) and selling your spoils.

Here is another tip, let a org get taken over by aliens (psyke/osirion work best, due to agressiveness) and attack them (raid, blow up their building, whatever) so that they attack your base. Now, load up all your men with stungrenades, and stun all the enemies you see (They will probably have shields earlier than normal aliens, and stungas isn't stopped by shields). Once you get shields, it is a lot easier to slaughter aliens. Plus, you don't have to worry so much about the dreaded entropy launcher.
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  • 2 weeks later...
I liked x-com 1 the most, of course.. But x-com 2 isn't much worse than that. I've played it almost as much as 1. You have to give x-com 2 some time, in beginning it's a little bit like "raped" x-com 1 but after a while it turns out to be an excellent sequal, not too much changed :)

I liked x-com 3 a bit too, never got into the "real time" though and I had to play those HUGE battlescape maps with turn based. That sux 'cause sometimes you have to walk like 20 turns before you see first alien. Somehow I managed to play it through as turn based and I liked it. Not even close as much as 1 and 2 but liked anyway, thanks to that very good cityscape change. Loved to raid organizations and force them to like me after (with money of course)

What comes to the others. They are totally different concept. And none of them aren't good IMO.
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  • 1 month later...
1 and 2 are legends. Still paly them every once in a while!
3 also good but not as appealing as 1 and 2 (a quick tip for the third one here: at the beginning of the game raid Marsec and Megapol several times but only use Stun graples. That way you get a shuckeroonies load of Elerium and the flying armor early in the game and since you're not killing anyone your relationship with companyes doesn't drop).
4 was great for me too since I played and liked X-Wing and Tie fighter games however it so sux in multyplayer.
Which one is 5 again?
6 too easy and too childish like! Somewhat good story though.
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  • 1 month later...
X-Com I- The best

X-Com II- I feel that they cheated us on this one. All they did was change the names and graphics. There really are no "new" weapons. Just the same ones w/ different names and graphics. Same thing with everything else. So I hate this game.

X-Com III- If your expecting original hang on every shot X-Com. You wont like it. But if your more of a geoscape fan, managing resources, research, dowing UFOs, then you will like this one. I love the game, but I dont think it should be called X-com. It would make a good multiplayer crime syndicate game. And I think the real time battles were the best real time squad battles ive played.

X-com Iv- Thats interceptor right? I couldnt get that game to work. My jet just kept flying and spinning. weird.

X-Com V- This was fun until they asked for money.

X-Com VI-havent played it. whats it like?
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[quote name='NickJones' date='Jan 14 2004, 03:16 AM']X-Com II- I feel that they cheated us on this one. All they did was change the names and graphics. There really are no "new" weapons. Just the same ones w/ different names and graphics. Same thing with everything else. So I hate this game.

X-Com VI-havent played it. whats it like?[/quote]
You are forgetting TFTD's Drills! Those were incredibly fun to use!

Xcom 6: Enforcer: It wasn't very good. No way is it worth anything more than 4 dollars. Of course, when you can get a copy for only .50 cents in some places, it isn't really that bad.

It would have been done much better if it didn't have the Xcom name attached to it. I mean, it had very very little relevance to the rest of the series. It would do better for the arcade than the pc.
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TFTD: IMO a great improvement on the original. Harder, spookier and has that alien feel that the first game lacks.

Apocalypse: Best game in the series, a whole bunch of improvements, it's just great!
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note about x-com iv (interceptor): why is pilot DANIEL "SUPER" ALBANO always the one that doesn't eject and gets blowed up with the ship?!?!?!? If all the others survive when their crafts blow up, why doesn't my pilot survive too!?!?!?

edit by J'ordos : I hate all-caps <_< Edited by j'ordos
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Because the game designers didn't like the name "Daniel 'Super" Albano, so they implemented a sort of kill-switch that prevents characters of that name from ejecting. :P

Really? I don't know. I think it has something to do with the fact that you have to manually eject.
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[quote name='Cpl. Facehugger' date='Jan 15 2004, 09:35 PM']Because the game designers didn't like the name "Daniel 'Super" Albano, so they implemented a sort of kill-switch that prevents characters of that name from ejecting. :P

Really? I don't know. I think it has something to do with the fact that you have to manually eject.[/quote]
no u don't, it's automatic. i know that because if i don't rename the pilot i control he/she (sometimes) survives :blink:

still, i'm not gonna rant about my luck with x-com3, or i would post an animation of my craft 99% damaged (no shield, no armor, all but vital systems damaged/destroyed) heading towards the biggest meteor you could ever see :P
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  • 3 weeks later...
Actually, in XCOM4, people can get killed BEFORE their ship explodes - I had it myself and almost had my people killed that way. Most of the time they manage to escape though - better have a Medical module for that occasion.

Anyway, back on topic:

XCOM2- wonderful concept, although a bit "recycled". I still like the underwater setting more. The game's hard as heck, however. Saying that it's "still UFO" is rather silly - so are XCOM3 and 4 :).

XCOM3- wonderful game, although the organic aliens might not appeal to everyone. Wonderful customization options for ships, tons of equipment and excellent level design. Can get a little slow in the turn-based mode, but still great. It's "still UFO" :P

XCOM4- despite the numerous criticisms this game received, it's actually..."still UFO". UFO in deep space, so to say. Everything is practically identical to XCOM1 - this game is even closer to the original than XCOM3, since you're fighting the "original" Aliens. Geoscape (or Spacescape?) is almost identical in functionality to XCOM1, although manufacturing is subcontracted (your base is in deep space...) and research is done on Earth (you choose what to download). The only departure is the Battlescape - it's more action than tactics but still extremely fun. Most of the tactics occur in the hangars - right equipment for the right mission :) I recommend it very much, although I risk being stoned by Interceptor-haters out there ;)

Enforcer/Aftermath - haven't played...but then, these games aren't XCOM games!
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Terror from The Deep: you prolly can get it cheap/free so I'd say play it...

X-Com 3: good enough IMO, tries much, accopmlishes some, not a bad game, but a drop from the original...

X-Com Interceptor: well, if your into spacefighter games...

"X-Com" Enforcer: :cussing:

Aftermath: A ok game, but not a X-Com, grab Silent Storm instead, its pretty good even though it's a horrid resource hog, has some cheesy scifi stuff in it tho... Edited by Aosar
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[quote name='Alexander Seil' date='Feb 2 2004, 06:16 AM']Actually, in XCOM4, people can get killed BEFORE their ship explodes - I had it myself and almost had my people killed that way.[/quote]
yes, but usually aliens like to put a poor pilotless craft out of his misery ;)
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X-Com 2 and 3 are definitely worth trying!

X-Com 2:
Basically same as X-com 1 with different names for stuff, different environment and few new missions. People say it's harder than X-com 1 but I disagree. It's so damn easy to get MC Disruptor in this game (e.g. Psi-Amp) This game needs a bit accustoming but when you have patiently played it a while. You can't get rid off it! Just like with X-com 1.

X-com 3:
A lot of new ideas, a lot of old ideas heavily changed and modified. If you want to have a turn based combat sim, don't play this. Turn based combat is carryed out like shuckeroonies. Real time is nice when you get used to it. The same goes here as goes with X-com 2, this game needs accustoming, A LOT! This game isn't as addictive as Xcom1 and 2 but it's a good game. Definitely worth trying.
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I have to disagree slightly with Nyyperoid: in TFTD, it's not easier to get MC disruptor at all, and it is rebalanced in a way (no free ammo for lasers, no autoshot from the sonic stuff, the ammo load actually decreases with power, h2h weapons are great in bringing down enemies and preventing your accuracy from going up). As to 3, well, it has a very nice idea behind it and it manages to shine through even with the hurried implementation.
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There are no lasers in TFTD ;) Gauss weapons are identical to plasma in their stats, just like their description says.

Anyway, on XCOM3...turn-based combat is quite playable, actually. Realtime is too quick for my taste, really. Granted, it takes longer to actually come into contact with the enemy force, but after that it's usually quite dynamic. The whole Battlescape part of the game is identical to UFO, although there are some nice additions like jumping, crawling and reaction movement. Cityscape's a bit different, obviously, but base functionality is identical. Quite frankly, the functional changes in the Cityscape occured not because they were innovative, but because they had to occur. The main change here is the setting itself and functionality changes are secondary. In the end, it's still the same game.

On its hurried implementation...well, if they did implement ALL the corporate diplomacy they wanted, it would make it a futuristic city simulator, not a game of xenowarfare. We don't want that, do we? :huh?: Edited by Alexander Seil
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[quote name='Alexander Seil' date='Feb 3 2004, 12:29 PM']On its hurried implementation...well, if they did implement ALL the corporate diplomacy they wanted, it would make it a futuristic city simulator, not a game of xenowarfare. We don't want that, do we?  :huh?:[/quote]
One of the things I liked most about apocalypse was the advanced politics system. I would have liked to have even more of that.
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  • 6 months later...
My only problems with Apocolypse were:

1) It takes a miracle to get it to work on anything other than an ancient relic of a computer.

2) The menus were overly complicated, the game losing that great sense of "I don't need to comb every page of a 200-some page manual to figure out how to get soldiers into a battle" accessiblity the original had.

3) Purple, acid-spitting what-the-heck-are-theys? For a moment, I thought I was playing the Teletubbies Halloween Special game or something. Uck.

4) Sound effects were weak. Everybody was incredibly damage-resistant, making the tension and fear of the battlescape become practically nonexistant.

5) DOS? I mean, come on. Seriously.

Other than that, blowing stuff up was tons of fun, the diplomatic-relations concept was golden, and floating hovercars are cool, no matter how strangely retro they are. Worth a try. If you can get it to work right, that is.
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Guest Azrael
X-com 1 and 2 are hard as heck, or maybe I just suck at them :D , X-com 3 on the other had, I was very successful, and had a lot of fun, more than in the previous ones, I especially love real time, I hope Xenocide has it ^_^ , X-com 4 and 6 are the worst, x-com 4 is playable, but Enforcer is an arcade that is not even worth being a part of the x-com series.
Trust me, play Apocalypse.
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Well my freind in PA has all the X-COM's!!! So FINALLY I'll get a chance to see what everyone has been talking about, but in no way do I believe that any of the newer X-COM's will give me more joy than the 1st has... but I'll give them a shot none the less! ^_^
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The original is the best,
Wasnt so keen on 2 being a new game, shoulda been an expansion,
3 was a really good game imo, some bits were underdeveloped and realtime was a waste of space.
Interceptor was a substandard game, there are better space shooters.
Enforcer was more of a waste then paying to see cats
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[quote name='kchickenlord' date='Aug 10 2004, 08:19 PM']Interceptor was a substandard game, there are better space shooters.
[right][post="90124"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post][/right][/quote]yeah but it blended the space shooter style with x-com nicely :)
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The truth is: There is no X-COM beyond the so-called X-COM 4 (technically, X-COM is non-numerical, but no one pays attention to the technicality).

Anything that claims to be X-COM is low-end beyond Interceptor (and Interceptor just sort of reminded me of an X-COMified version of Wing Commander Armada, which was a rather sucky game itself).


Here is the manner of these things...

X-COM: UFO Defense (aka UFO: Enemy Unknown) The original and, according to most, the best.

X-COM: Terror from the Deep; rushed sequel to X-COM. Why was it rushed? Microprose wanted to squeeze the most money possible out of the franchise, so they cranked out this, which isn't much more than an underwater revamped version of the first game.

X-COM: Apocalypse; This was intended to be the real sequel to UFO Defense, but since they already made Terror from the Deep, they found some way to fit it in. Completely different game engine, and a few elements that are counter-intuitive (still using auto-cannons in the 2080s are we?)

X-COM: Interceptor; The first game that breaks the chronology. Apocalypse takes place in the 2080s, Interceptor takes place in the 2060s. Essentially, this is the era of X-COM referred to in the Apocalypse manual when it referrs to a conflict over mining colonies in deep space that largely left the earth unscathed. (albeit barely, for those of us who have played Interceptor. heh heh)

The next 'canon' advancement in the X-COM saga was to be X-COM Alliance, but alas that was cancelled. IMO, at this time, all games beyond those 4 are not X-COM canon.

There is also a game considered to be in the spirit of X-COM called "UFO: Aftermath" this is a modern game (some might say a modern version of X-COM).

For an idea of storyline, consider it the sequel to UFO Defense if you fail that game.

That is to say, you are fighting the alien menace, but you are without government funding (because all the governments have collapsed, for all practical purposes you ARE the only government left standing).

Some like it, some hate it, I played a demo of it and think it could be good.
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well, Interceptor does have info on all the x-com storylines (in the Ufopedia > Technologies section) and reminds the player on how they all connect. Interceptor does take place in the same timeframe that Apocalypse, but outside of Earth.
you've got AW-I (UFO), AW-2 (TFTD) and Mega-Primus (Apoc). here's the correspondent Ufopedia entries:
[quote][b]The First Alien War (1999-2002)[/b]
AW-I was a war fought between X-COM forces and a number of invading alien races. Starting with animal mutilations and intermittent human abductions, alien activity steadily escalated, eventually threatening the continued existence of humanity. Striking from hidden bases throughout the world, X-COM soldiers managed to maintain some semblance of order, keeping the alien menace in check until the invaders' base of operations could be located. In a final, cataclysmic battle, a squadron of X-COM soldiers invaded the aliens' base at Cydonia on Mars, killing all the inhabitants and neutralizing the central Brain that controlled the alien invasion force.[/quote]
[quote][b]The Second Alien War (2041-2046)[/b]
AW-II was a war fought between X-COM forces and a number of aquatic alien races beneath the surface of Earth's oceans. These aliens, apparently in cryo-stasis for thousands of years, were awakened by an automated signal sent from the alien base at Cydonia at the end of the First Alien War in 2002. The signal activated the alien city of T'leth, hidden in the Sigsbee Deep in the Gulf of Mexico, unleashing the horde of aquatic aliens therein. Fighting a long and arduous battle, X-COM finally located and destroyed T'leth. The eradication of the alien city ended the invasion, but with grave results. The resulting cataclysmic explosion heavily contaminated Earth's atmosphere, wreaking ecological havoc that continues to plague Earth to this day.[/quote]
[quote][b]Mega-Primus[/b]
A social and ecological restoration project conceived and backed by the major corporations of Earth. Mega-Primus is the prototype for the ultimate human habitat -- self-sustaining, pollution-free, and safe. The construction of this virtual utopia is years behind schedule due to the lack of sufficient raw materials on Earth and at her near-space colonies. If all goes according to plan, the corporate mining Outposts in the Frontier should supply the raw materials needed to complete the Mega-Primus project.[/quote]
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Guest Azrael
Ufo aftermath?, it's interesting, and fun for a short period of time, similar to x-com but I wouldn't consider it nearly as good as any of the first three x-coms.
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XCOM 2 = I enjoy pain and I'm the kind of crazy guy who thinks that excruciating 2-part and 3-part missions are fun. Not only that, but in order to like XCOM 2, I must be the kind of guy who likes an art style that looks "washed" compared to XCOM 1. (that was all sarcasm)

XCOM 3 = UFO Defense Tycoon. Or you could say that it's SimUfoDefense. I enjoyed XCOM 3 a lot. I just wish that the city was a lot bigger, and that the alien dimension was as interesting as the city. You gotta admit, having to do a full invasion campaign in the alien dimension was at least a nice concept. The problems came from the fact that all the alien buildings were in a nice circle, all the alien buildings were done the same way, and the final mission was just not all that interesting.

I guess it depends on what aspects of the original you liked.

EDIT: I think I have a better name for XCOM 3... Theme UFO Defense! It's more similar to a Theme game than to a Tycoon or Sim game, I think. What do you all think? Edited by SSFSX17
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I have not actually finished the alien dimension in Apoc because I got bored with it. When I was reading the bio transport ufopedia (after researching the first time) I had these thoughts of going into the alien dimension and plucking hapless aliens of the 'street' and researching them or something - that would have made it better, if you had done the same to the aliens as they frequently do to megaprimus. Apart from that, its a great game.
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