In rat-gaming news, I have been playing Xenonauts for the first time, and, well, it is a good modern(ish) reimagining of the original XCOM: UFO Defense/UFO Enemy Unknown, which I used to play a ton on my Amiga way back when. The problem is that that's pretty much all it is, as a reimagining it is extremely formulaic, to a point where it feels like I am just playing U:EU once again. Both the strategy layer and the tactical layer are exactly those of XCOM/U:EU. They even call the planet view "Geoscape", eesh. The construction of base facilities, the way you intercept the UFOs and then send the ground troops to recover them via squad tactics, the way TUs work, psionics, vehicles, grenades, researching alien artifacts, manufacturing equipment, it's all pretty much exactly the same.
There are some minor differences. You are now able to send multiple interceptors to intercept the same UFO and the interception has you plotting the attack vectors of the interceptors, Infinite Space style. The aliens are a little different... but not too much, the first two alien types I have encountered are pretty much just "Sectoids with the serial number filed off" and "Snakemen - new flavor!! now, with LEGS!!". Also the tactical missions now have local defense forces in addition to unarmed civilians, who try to fight the aliens alongside you (poorly). There is now a combat shield you can give to your troopers, to be used alongside a weapon that you wield with one hand. And... there are other differences too, but they are honestly all so minor that I struggle to find anything worth mentioning.
Eh. I really wish they'd had the confidence to deviate from the original formula more. I understand that this was a project intended to cater to the diehard fans of good ol' XCOM, but the thing is all of us diehard fans of the original game all have already played XCOM a lot. And the sequels. And the sequels of the sequels. Maybe there will be more differences at lest in terms of available equipment and alien types as the alien invasion progresses? But I am not really holding my breath. The game seems determined to play things extremely, suffocatingly safe when it comes to recreating the original experience. I am seriously considering just quitting and getting my isometric turn-based squad tactics fix from a different game, just because I am still so XCOM'd out, even after all these years.
Also figuring out lines of sight/fire is just as hard at times as it used to be in XCOM, and figuring out which squares are traversable is sometimes moreso. The LoS are not as weird to understand as they were in the 2010s' XCOM: Enemy Unknown and XCOM2, in which they were at times so outright mystifying that I couldn't really get into either game. At least in Xenonauts I have not yet been left entirely scratching my head at why someone couldn't make a shot that seemed easily possible, or conversely wondering how the hell someone was able to make some magic shot that apparently ignored all laws of physics. But figuring LoS out is still an annoyance.
I guess I'll keep playing Xenonauts on and off, when I feel like it, to do a ground mission or two. But it isn't really keeping my interest, after 5 games of XCOM the formula feels well and truly played out.
If anyone wants to recreate XCOM again, they should make it so that you play as rats! I am sure everyone would love that, if there is one thing that the XCOM franchise has done wrong it's the lack of rats, as I am sure we all entirely super agree nodnod :3
There are some minor differences. You are now able to send multiple interceptors to intercept the same UFO and the interception has you plotting the attack vectors of the interceptors, Infinite Space style. The aliens are a little different... but not too much, the first two alien types I have encountered are pretty much just "Sectoids with the serial number filed off" and "Snakemen - new flavor!! now, with LEGS!!". Also the tactical missions now have local defense forces in addition to unarmed civilians, who try to fight the aliens alongside you (poorly). There is now a combat shield you can give to your troopers, to be used alongside a weapon that you wield with one hand. And... there are other differences too, but they are honestly all so minor that I struggle to find anything worth mentioning.
Eh. I really wish they'd had the confidence to deviate from the original formula more. I understand that this was a project intended to cater to the diehard fans of good ol' XCOM, but the thing is all of us diehard fans of the original game all have already played XCOM a lot. And the sequels. And the sequels of the sequels. Maybe there will be more differences at lest in terms of available equipment and alien types as the alien invasion progresses? But I am not really holding my breath. The game seems determined to play things extremely, suffocatingly safe when it comes to recreating the original experience. I am seriously considering just quitting and getting my isometric turn-based squad tactics fix from a different game, just because I am still so XCOM'd out, even after all these years.
Also figuring out lines of sight/fire is just as hard at times as it used to be in XCOM, and figuring out which squares are traversable is sometimes moreso. The LoS are not as weird to understand as they were in the 2010s' XCOM: Enemy Unknown and XCOM2, in which they were at times so outright mystifying that I couldn't really get into either game. At least in Xenonauts I have not yet been left entirely scratching my head at why someone couldn't make a shot that seemed easily possible, or conversely wondering how the hell someone was able to make some magic shot that apparently ignored all laws of physics. But figuring LoS out is still an annoyance.
I guess I'll keep playing Xenonauts on and off, when I feel like it, to do a ground mission or two. But it isn't really keeping my interest, after 5 games of XCOM the formula feels well and truly played out.
If anyone wants to recreate XCOM again, they should make it so that you play as rats! I am sure everyone would love that, if there is one thing that the XCOM franchise has done wrong it's the lack of rats, as I am sure we all entirely super agree nodnod :3
