| Platform | OVERALL |
|---|---|
| Xbox 360 | 9.30 |
| Overall | 9.30 |
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XCOM is a spiritual remake of the original masterpiece of the same name. This review is not going to be spent explaining what Xcom is, I will focus on what makes this game better and worse than the original. This remake is one of the best ones I have ever played, remaking such a classic and doing it this well is nothing short of amazing. The first thing players will notice is of course the graphics and the slick user interface that works perfectly on a console. Don't expect award winning graphics as these are pretty basic but very stylized. The game has loads of cinematic views during the combat missions which adds a level of immersion not present during the original. You will notice that the base is far easier to manage as all the options are neatly laid out. The game has an excellent tutorial that goes over the many options available to you the player in a clear easy to understand manner. The tutorial fits perfectly into the story which is told with some voice work and small cutscenes making the base feel more alive than ever. The turned based combat is where this game differs from the original the most. To me this version feels more strategic because of the focus on cover and squad based tactics. Firaxis only allows 6 members onto any mission and each player has only two moves during each turn. This simplification works extremely well as the maps themselves are smaller and more focused. It feels to me like the goal of this remake was to make the combat flow better and feel more like a combat strategy game rather than a game of hide and seek where randomness plays a huge aspect. Enemies always show up in squads, a far cry from the original where you would find single enemies scattered all over. Because of this you need to be working together at all times, in the original I would send soldiers alone all the time, not so here. There is no need to worry about small things like ammo clips or picking up weapons from dead bodies. Honestly I think this remake is a clear winner in the battles. While I do miss some of the larger maps and that thrill of finding a lone alien in a house, these missions feel more like a true combat scenario. All the soldier classes are well defined with skills that make immediate impacts. It is all so much more user friendly that I don't mind the elements they cutout. The bases are another matter entirely and while this game once again does an excellent job in making it user friendly, I miss the plethora of options the original had. This game only gives you one base to run and there are no base invasions. No longer do you have to worry about managing multiple bases, no threat of invasion, instead it is all about satellite coverage. This is done by building satellites and satellite uplinks then choosing the country you want to cover. Clicking on a country to add a satellite does not have the same feeling of starting a new base there and having to build it from scratch, ship equipment to the new base, or hire new personal. Managing personnel is much easier as you simply hire soldiers and that is all you need to worry about, no living quarters to worry about. Engineering and labs get more simplified but some of the changes work very well. Engineering is not just for building new weapons, they also can build major bonuses for weapons and armor. Now you need to decide should you build more facilities or maybe invest on an upgrade which will allow me to reload much quicker for instance, a much more complex role for engineering. Research got simplified to where you may only have one project at a time, other than that it is pretty much identical. Shooting down UFOs was a major part of the original, I would say that would account for 70% of all missions. In this version I would rarely have to shoot down an alien craft, instead terror attacks, bomb disposal or abduction missions would appear. Some missions have new objectives but in the end killing all aliens is pretty much the main object of every mission. I didn't like the auto missions, it didn't feel like my air defense was doing its job. The flow of the game feels very much like the original to the point where it was almost too much like it. I used all the same strategies I used in the original and it worked here as well. It has all the enemies from the original with some new upgraded additions. The way you upgrade weapons and armor is again pretty much identical. There was a time where I was wondering why not just play the original, but as the combat kept ramping up I appreciated how much better the battles felt. I encountered strange small glitches all over the game, mainly during missions. I had soldiers get stuck in a spot. I have had enemies magically teleport to surround my team. One time I could not heal a teammate who was critically injured. A quick reload would fix all these issues but if I had played on ironman mode where you could not go back to an old save it would have ruined my game. Hopefully a patch fixes these issues, its a shame cause the game is such high quality for the most part. When it comes down to the ultimate question, which is better this Xcom or the original Xcom I still have to give the edge to the original. I loved the battles of this new Xcom but miss all the responsibilities of managing the bases around the world of the original. For new players this Xcom is FAR more accessible and just as addicting. I went this entire review without talking about what makes XCOM so special, you will become so involved in the safety of your soldiers, in trying to develop that brand new mission. You will keep saying "just one more mission". It is the type of game that consumes you from start to finish, you will not want to put the controller down. That is the major success of this new XCOM, it retains the core elements that made the original such an addictive masterpiece. |
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Posted by Dvader Tue, 23 Oct 2012 05:41:03
Tue, 23 Oct 2012 15:07:17
My Super Mind says this is a winner.
Wed, 24 Oct 2012 19:24:33
This game is Edge Approved.
Thu, 25 Oct 2012 03:02:23
You would approve RE6 too if you would play it.
Thu, 25 Oct 2012 10:41:47
My Super Mind says NO.
Thu, 25 Oct 2012 12:10:12
LOL.....I will play it when they fix the problems.
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