Why X-COM Is the Greatest Game Ever

[Wolfram23]

Jagged Alliance!!! YES! I never played XCOM but whenever I saw or heard of it I kept thinking of that shooter game I played that sounded very similar. It was Jagged Alliance!

I loved that game. It kicked my ass, but it was awesome. I also had fun with the level creator lol.

You, of course, know that JA 3 is in preorder on Steam?

I did not! Like I said, I couldn't remember the game. I shall investigate promptly! Thank you, kind sir.

 

[ogrebushi]

I try my best to make people play this. I remember sitting in the buddies basement around the glow of a shitty monitor on a 486 running win 3.1 with both of us yelling out ideas at each other and reloading when our "fav guy" died in a fight. I just never understand when people who call themselves "gamers" never have even heard of this gem

 

[Weaver]

Steve Butts: the last sane man in an insane world.

 

[CD-R]

I bought this game on Steam about two years ago at the recommendation of a friend, but was always too intimidated by it. Looks like I'll have to make the investment.

If your looking to get into X-Com I reccomend checking the strategy guide out on this site.

http://www.xcomufo.com/

There's no shame in consulting FAQ's for the X-Com franchise. Also if you want an idea of how the gmae is played you can watch a couple lets play's. I highly reccomend Kikosikia's LP of X Com.

http://www.youtube.com/user/Kikoskia#g/c/D91BACF0E36EE427

He's not the best X-Com player but he is the most entertaining.

Even with all that the game is still pretty hard so your first few tries are still probably going to end in spectacular failure. Best advice I can give is to not get discouraged and abuse the hell out of the save game function.

 

[Darth Sea Bass]

It's no good i think i'm gonna have to install it again! x-com and frontier i'd say are the two best games ever made!

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

I was always more of a Syndicate fan myself, but X-Com was still a lot of fun. True, the difficulty curve could be brutal at times, but I'm honest enough with myself to admit that was probably down to my play style. Back then I used to try and play it like I played Syndicate, but X-Com was far more tactical than Bullfrog's offering. I tried to get back into the series with 'Terror from the Deep', but that was a mistake 'cause it was even harder than it's predecessor! Even though I couldn't get as far into the games as I would have liked, I did enjoy what I was able to play and look forward to seeing what Firaxis can do.

On a side note I see from another article that the FPS 're-imagining' of X-Com has been delayed, and I couldn't care less.

 

[GaltarDude1138]

2010 it was Shadow of the Colossus, 2011 it was Deus Ex, this year it seems to be X-Com. Wonder what it'll be in 2013...

 

[yayforgiveaway]

Ahh I remember my 10 year old mind working like that of a wh40k commissar.
Entry into Intact UFO was so fun.
"YOU! Expendable 40.000$, with weak stats compared to other troops, armed with a grenade; prime it (0), end turn, run inside.
They missed?! You threw the grenade?! Congratulations! Welcome to X-COM"

If they hit poor bastard the grenade might take some out and/or make some smoke.
;D

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

Hey Steve, have a go at Front Mission 3. Judging by what I've read here, I think you'll like it.

 

[Kanatatsu]

I can absolutely see where the writer is coming from here.

Personally, I think Civilization is the best video game ever made and it's not really close, but I get the X-Com love for sure.

 

[Bostur]

Hell Steve Butts, way to hit my hot buttons, X-Com, Jagged Alliance, Silent Storm, Pirates! Do you want me to stalk you? Because I will! X-Com was my first "Holy shit is that dawn?" game, I still have my original floppies somewhere.

In the situation shown in the attached picture:
Do you: A: autofire the alien in front of you
B: autofire the alien further away (hoping to clip the one in front)
C: prime and drop a grenade
D: RUN LIKE THE WIND

C: detonation time 0 turns, then try shooting the furthest Sectoid. That rookie is dead anyway without armor.

A grenade would ruin the shiny pristine reactor behind the first alien. Why would he charge in there where his buddies can't support him at all, silly rookie.

Always open the door and check inside with your flashlight before you rush in.

SOP when an undamaged UFO is spotted:

1. Get yourself and your buddy to a defensible position overlooking the entrance.
2. Call for backup.
3. When the team has arrived one man opens the door, empties his clip inside and steps away.
4. During the inevitable counter attack the rest of the squad provides cover fire, and hopefully will be able to kill them.
5. In case of failure plasma-bomb the landing site from orbit, only way to be sure.


It was a damn hard game, I don't think I ever managed to do anything remotely useful at a difficulty level higher than normal. Terror from the Deep was even harder though, the horror of going in with a team of rookies and encountering lobster men. If one dude got away with a few alien trinkets that would be considered a complete success.

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

I just re-bought X-Com on Steam, thanks to them for making it available on that platform. X-Com was the absolute best turn based strategy, resource management... I don't even know how to categorize the game. Before its time, revolutionary? ONE OF A KIND. Thats my view. I played all the other TBS games, and they were ok. But none of them had the hook of X-Com. From the first time I picked up an enemy on radar, to the invasion of the alien homeworld... I could not get enough of this game. I still can't. I think I might play it again tonight cuz I can't sleep...
X-Com, get it if you never played it. Do it now, and push yourself through the beginning. Its worth every moment.

 

[uzo]

It's no good i think i'm gonna have to install it again! x-com and frontier i'd say are the two best games ever made!

Frontier? As in ELITE ??
<--- AVATAR OF AWESOMENESS

*ahem* Sorry .. someone mentions something vaguely to do with Elite and I squeal like a girl.

And btw ... I've seen a lot of mentions of X-Com recently .... and no one seems to be talking about the X-Com remake that was made in the Quake engine .... or is that against the rules?

 

[Yureina]

I've been playing this game recently since the all the X-Com games went on a Steam sale about 1-2 weeks ago. It is really fun, challenging, and genuinely interesting despite its age. Also, I too have had those little "story experiences" with my teams, which actually gives me a surprising amount of emotional investment in characters that are otherwise indistinguishable.

For example, a soldier I got at the beginning of the game (some guy with a German name ) ended up being my best non-officer veteran. He had the highest kill count of all of my other guys, and he was always the first one out of the transport ship. I took him on every mission pretty much, even if I rotated out others routinely to get experience and ranks for others. At one mission though that I think was in Outer Mongolia (China), he got shot the moment he walked out of the ship. He survived the shot, but was really badly wounded and I had no medi-kits or anything at this point in the game. I got freaked out because he was bleeding out fast and I didn't want my best guy to get killed. Thankfully, I managed to complete the mission before he died, so he managed to get back to base and stay in recovery for like 3 weeks. Now he's back in action, promoted to Captain while he was resting, and leading a new crop of recruits and veterans into the fray. And he still has the highest kill count. :3

For my soldiers, I recruit large numbers of spare soldiers, then throw the new recruits with a team of veterans and a few officers. The recruits end up leading my forces in while my veterans and sergeants slowly follow, with the leader (usually a captain) hanging in the back. It pretty much means that recruits have a terrible life expectancy, but if they manage to survive and even gets some kills, they get a suit of armor (having "proved their worth") and I try to take care of their lives more. The result is that my team is a mixed of fresh-faces recruits and alot of kick-ass survivors, most of whom seem to have Japanese or German names strangely enough.

It is taking me forever to finish it though. Really big UFO's like battleships are starting to land all over North America at the moment, and the battles are getting really intense. I am wondering how my game will turn out, and who of my team will end up surviving. Also I think i'm only like... 4 months in so far, and those wankers in India have betrayed me. Things are only going to get worse...

So umm... yeah. I'm loving this game. ^^

 

[cathou]

It was a damn hard game, I don't think I ever managed to do anything remotely useful at a difficulty level higher than normal. Terror from the Deep was even harder though, the horror of going in with a team of rookies and encountering lobster men. If one dude got away with a few alien trinkets that would be considered a complete success.

lobster men wasnt that hard to kill with the right weapon. the real horror of those games for me was the damn chrysalid/Tentaculat that had an insane amount of TU and that could kill your soldier every time they get a hit on them

 

[The3rdEye]

In the situation shown in the attached picture:
Do you: A: autofire the alien in front of you
B: autofire the alien further away (hoping to clip the one in front)
C: prime and drop a grenade
D: RUN LIKE THE WIND

Depends on the difficulty.

On lower settings snapshot the alien in front, minimizing the chance of losing the ufo power source. Assuming the 2nd sectoid doesn't turn, autofire at him then run out of the UFO and create a crossfire situation with agents 1 and 2, with the door in the middle. Any sectoid left in the craft will eventually panic and either drop arms and freeze or run straight out the door.

On higher settings, autofire the front alien. If he goes down, auto fire the 2nd (since it should be 14 TU's per autofire if my math is right) or give a 2nd volley into the first assuming he hasn't opportunity fired your agent down. Then run out the door and again either wait for the remaining sectoid to bleed to death or panic.

 

[Falseprophet]

SOP when an undamaged UFO is spotted:

1. Get yourself and your buddy to a defensible position overlooking the entrance.
2. Call for backup.
3. When the team has arrived one man opens the door, empties his clip inside and steps away.
4. During the inevitable counter attack the rest of the squad provides cover fire, and hopefully will be able to kill them.
5. In case of failure plasma-bomb the landing site from orbit, only way to be sure.

I sure loved those missions where the aliens pre-empted Step 1 by mentally dominating the guy in your crew at the back of the troop carrier with the rocket launcher, who then proceeded to blow up your entire team, including himself. Good times.

As soon as my engineers were able to build those guided missiles, I'd always blow a hole in the roof of the UFO and send missile after missile into the hole, Gulf War 1-style. Such sweet revenge!

 

[Bostur]

For my soldiers, I recruit large numbers of spare soldiers, then throw the new recruits with a team of veterans and a few officers. The recruits end up leading my forces in while my veterans and sergeants slowly follow, with the leader (usually a captain) hanging in the back. It pretty much means that recruits have a terrible life expectancy, but if they manage to survive and even gets some kills, they get a suit of armor (having "proved their worth") and I try to take care of their lives more. The result is that my team is a mixed of fresh-faces recruits and alot of kick-ass survivors, most of whom seem to have Japanese or German names strangely enough.

At one point I gave up trying to figure out what mix of stats would be good, and used a 'Darwin' approach similar to what you describe. Rookies that survived turned out to be quite good in the long run, there was some interesting simulation aspects to that part of the game.

lobster men wasnt that hard to kill with the right weapon. the real horror of those games for me was the damn chrysalid/Tentaculat that had an insane amount of TU and that could kill your soldier every time they get a hit on them

The thing is lobster men could be encountered right at the start. They are insanely hard to kill with the stock assault rifle/harpoon. I found that the best way to deal with them was to ignore the rifle and simply use grenade spam. As soon as stun rods, stun grenades and the drill becomes available the lobster men are much easier.

Chrysalids were real horrors, but at least they could bleed like the rest of us. ;-)

 

[Rad Party God]

I own both UFO Defense and Terror From The Deep in Steam, but I just can't get into them!, I need a freaking tutorial or something, I don't know what the heck am I supposed to do

EDIT: Okay, this got out of hand a bit more than I predicted... or maybe I didn't. Already got lots of suggestions and I think they're enough, thanks.