X-COM...available on Steam.

[twinrider1]

A friend just told me they have X-Com on Steam. Quick background, I'm in my 40's and I'm not a hardcore gamer. But my roommate had UFO Defense back in the 90's, and I would play that for hours and hours...to the point of not realizing the sun had gone down and come back up.

So I can get UFO Defense for $5 or the whole series for $15. But I don't know if I should get it. Will I be hooked again? Or will I be disappointed if it turns out to have aged really poorly.

 

[Elcs]

Buy the whole pack and don't look back. UFO: Enemy Unknown is a classic that has never had anything rivalling or besting it since, except maybe XCOM: TFTD.

Also, this post made me further disappointed that the XCOM first person shooter which looks to be very good and was due out in the next few days was pushed back to 2013.

 

[Daverino]

I preferred the pacing of the original XCOM over TFTD. Some of the missions in TFTD took too long and were too tedious. Hunting that last single alien in that massive cruise ship was a chore, especially if it was a lobsterman hiding in a one square closet.

Then throw in some things that just didn't make sense, like throwing grenades underwater, and TFTD seemed even goofier.

HOWEVER, and this is a big however, you could open doors in TFTD without going through. That there was the single biggest game mechanic problem in the original and is why, after playing TFTD, I can't bring myself to play the original again. If someone could hack the original so you could open doors like in TFTD, I would probably want to play that.

 

[DaveSimmons]

That's why you have other squaddies on overwatch behind the door opener.

And use an expendable squaddie to open the door

I played a little of the first-person shooter (Enforcer) in the complete pack and it was worth a couple of dollars. It will also run on anything now, so if you have a laptop or desktop with just integrated graphics you'll have a shooter for it.

 

[Born2bwire]

Relevant if you buy the Steam version:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2218181&highlight=

One of the mod options from the above is that you can click to open doors in UFO Defense like in TFTD.

Personally, I've got the whole pack but I only play UFO. Definitely worth the $5 though.

 

[twinrider1]

I'll have to check that out. One thing I remember hating was that you couldn't arrange the order in which your soldiers exited the craft.

The package has UFO Defense, TFTD, Interceptor, Enforcer, and Apocalypse.

 

[Dankk]

Also, this post made me further disappointed that the XCOM first person shooter which looks to be very good and was due out in the next few days was pushed back to 2013.

Wait, they're making a new XCOM first person shooter? Link to info on this?

 

[QuantumPion]

That's why you have other squaddies on overwatch behind the door opener.

And use an expendable squaddie to open the door

I played a little of the first-person shooter (Enforcer) in the complete pack and it was worth a couple of dollars. It will also run on anything now, so if you have a laptop or desktop with just integrated graphics you'll have a shooter for it.

Don't sacrifice troops to open doors...that's what blaster bombs (or explosive charges early on) are for

"Daleks don't use stairs, they level the building!"

 

[Elcs]

Wait, they're making a new XCOM first person shooter? Link to info on this?

XCOM - First Person Shooter (made by 2kGames Marin Studios)

22min Trailer with Narrative

XCOM: Enemy Unknown - Tactical type game, drawing more from UFO:EU. Think Firaxis are onto this one.

Preview

I'm most excited about the FPS. Takes the bits I loved about UFO and keeps them in there and changes the gameplay of the other part into something I can do. (Never had a talent for turn-based games where I have a squad of more than 3 or 4.)

 

[Dankk]

XCOM - First Person Shooter (made by 2kGames Marin Studios)

22min Trailer with Narrative

XCOM: Enemy Unknown - Tactical type game, drawing more from UFO:EU. Think Firaxis are onto this one.

Preview

I'm most excited about the FPS. Takes the bits I loved about UFO and keeps them in there and changes the gameplay of the other part into something I can do. (Never had a talent for turn-based games where I have a squad of more than 3 or 4.)

Ah, gotcha. I knew Fireaxis were doing a spiritual remake of the original XCOM, but I wasn't aware of the 2k Games shooter. Interesting.

 

[NTAC]

Relevant if you buy the Steam version:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2218181&highlight=

One of the mod options from the above is that you can click to open doors in UFO Defense like in TFTD.

Personally, I've got the whole pack but I only play UFO. Definitely worth the $5 though.

^^^^^^^^ This is a must have if you plan on playing UFO Defense today. That link should point you to the mod that allows you to open doors without walking through them among other useful things.

Also you can get the music from the PSX version of the game which is FAR superior to the PC version.

The graphics will be a bit of an eye sore, no way around that, BUT the game is so damn good still that you won't care much.

 

[Born2bwire]

I'll have to check that out. One thing I remember hating was that you couldn't arrange the order in which your soldiers exited the craft.

The package has UFO Defense, TFTD, Interceptor, Enforcer, and Apocalypse.

Check the link I gave to my thread earlier. In addition to various fixes, the UFO Extender mod allows you to add a few gameplay mods. These include opening doors without having to walk through them (ala TFTD) and being able to order how the soldiers are arranged in the landing craft like you wished.

 

[twinrider1]

I bought and it works. I'm glad I don't have to futz with a dosbox. The gameplay is slow compared to what we expect today. But it still rocks. I think the best part is the music. It has that John Carpenter feel to it. Basic but it builds up the suspense.

 

[Via]

nm

 

[pandemonium]

This is one reason that I like Steam. Normally any 3rd party software just for gaming really pisses me off, but spreading the word of classics like this wins my favor. I've probably spent more time on this game than any other...and I keep going back and playing it through every now and then. ^^

I wonder, can you import old saved games into the Steam UFO folder and have them work? Anyone know if the file structure is the same?

I was excited to hear about the new one until I heard it was FPS. I just want the same game remodeled with better graphics, UI, and smoother gameplay. Old classics mainly only had 1 thing wrong with them: their graphics are outdated. Why do companies insist they can make it better with a reboot and change the style/story/genre? :/

 

[JSt0rm]

I preferred the pacing of the original XCOM over TFTD. Some of the missions in TFTD took too long and were too tedious. Hunting that last single alien in that massive cruise ship was a chore, especially if it was a lobsterman hiding in a one square closet.

Then throw in some things that just didn't make sense, like throwing grenades underwater, and TFTD seemed even goofier.

HOWEVER, and this is a big however, you could open doors in TFTD without going through. That there was the single biggest game mechanic problem in the original and is why, after playing TFTD, I can't bring myself to play the original again. If someone could hack the original so you could open doors like in TFTD, I would probably want to play that.

That's why you need to be a baller and pack high explosive packs on any questionable doors :twisted:

 

[Elcs]

I was excited to hear about the new one until I heard it was FPS. I just want the same game remodeled with better graphics, UI, and smoother gameplay. Old classics mainly only had 1 thing wrong with them: their graphics are outdated. Why do companies insist they can make it better with a reboot and change the style/story/genre? :/

In this thread we have already discussed that there are TWO X-COM games coming out.

2kGames Marin Studios are making the FPS due out in 2013

Firaxis are making a tactical UFO game due out this year.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

lolwut??? I thought the FPS was supposed to be out first. Did it get pushed back? Based on their timelines the FPS will be extra lame if it comes out after the TBS.

 

[Elcs]

lolwut??? I thought the FPS was supposed to be out first. Did it get pushed back? Based on their timelines the FPS will be extra lame if it comes out after the TBS.

FPS was due to be out already (9th March) but they pushed it back to 2013 for no mentioned reason.

And agreed. The FPS is set in the 1960's ish and the Tactical game seems to be set some time in the 2000's.

The only thing I don't really like from the FPS is the alien race singular does not seem to be in any way related to the original aliens from UFO:EU or TFTD. Otherwise, I'm completely stoked.

 

[bguile]

A friend just told me they have X-Com on Steam. Quick background, I'm in my 40's and I'm not a hardcore gamer. But my roommate had UFO Defense back in the 90's, and I would play that for hours and hours...to the point of not realizing the sun had gone down and come back up.

So I can get UFO Defense for $5 or the whole series for $15. But I don't know if I should get it. Will I be hooked again? Or will I be disappointed if it turns out to have aged really poorly.

You can just wait till it goes on sale. You waited this long. But it's 15 bucks, so your not out that much.

Also on steam is ufo extraterrastrials gold which is pretty much a direct clone of the original. Same premise with a different setting.