171 replies to this topic

[Gimli]

2K Games has just released a new trailer for XCOM as part of its E3 2011 program. The trailer shows off some new enemies and other material.

Here's a few more details! from the 2K Games community manager:

Quote

I'll also be posting and streaming live during E3 - check http://www.2kgames.com/blog for all the details now and throughout the show and follow us on http://www.twitter.com/xcom and http://www.facebook.com/xcom to make sure you get all the new updates as they happen!

The game is slated for release on March 6, 2012.

[Gimli]

Sorry, I can't get embedding to work.

[Lysear]

Pretty much XCom: Bioshock      think ill still pass    lol

[The Veteran]

Oh wow, they've actually included an aspect of the original games after all this time. Using the aliens own weapons to beat them...

Still I think this discussion has gone far enough and I think it's time to make an official statement (on behalf of me lol)
I hereby decree that 2K's 2012 release titled 'XCOM' is not only noncanonical within the X-Com franchise of games but it is completely unrelated in every way. The XCOM unit portrayed is not in any way affiliated with the X-Com unit in the original franchise and there is not a single link between any of the histories in either case. This is therefore a completely seperate timeline where there is no X-Com, no Ethereal race and the Earth was NOT seeded by a higher form of alien intelligence. From this point forth there shall be no comparisons either direct or indirect between XCOM and the X-Com franchise. The two are completely seperate entities to such a deep extent that even the name of the organisation is different.

You've been told The hyphen is important and without that this game is nothing. So I'd urge people to stop saying 'it's not X-Com' because we always knew it wasn't. Now all we can do is try to make sure everyone else playing it knows, so consider that our mission from this point forth!

Additionally, buying, owning, playing and enjoying this game is completely without penalty. As a game completely unrelated to the X-Com universe, playing this new title is no different than playing any other new game on the market. Try it, love it, hate it, whatever you want, just don't compare it...

[Azrael Strife]

I think it looks nice and could be a really good re-imagining of the X-Com universe, hyphen or not The trailer is exciting, I can't wait for release

[The Veteran]

Wow anyone hear someone not being funny? lol

[lollersis]

While I understand that people is pissed at this game, please! Remember, it´s a re-imagining. It´s not suppose to be canon with the original X-COM storyline. If it was suppose to be, then the developers must have not played the game. But they know what X-COM is and thats why they call it a RE-IMAGINING, and not THE X-COM.

[Jman4117]

I find it hilarious that there are way more dislikes than likes on the youtube vid

[The Veteran]

lollersis, on 3rd June 2011, 8:12pm, said:

While I understand that people is pissed at this game, please! Remember, it´s a re-imagining.

This is NOT a re-imagining. It's a different game with a different organisation, a different genre, a different timeline, different enemies, different weapons, different everything! You can call Aftermath or Extraterrestrials 're-imaginings' but they're not. They're still far closer to the original games though, the only difference here is that for some reason 2k has decided to use the XCOM name (which they've got wrong on two counts of punctuation and capitalisation...) All this has really resulted in is constant comparison to a game that it bears no resemblance to so they've done themselves no favours. As Jman points out, it has more dislikes than likes!

The fact is, the generation of gamers who form the majority of the market demographic that this game will attract have probably never heard of X-Com so the name won't mean a thing to them. In addition to this, everyone who DOES know the old franchise will take an immediate dislike to it due to it's complete disloyalty to the originals. We've already seen that that's true after all...

I'm kind of starting to feel sorry for 2k at this point as they've no doubt spent a fortune acquiring the XCOM name and yet it's going to have no positive effect on their product whatsoever, quite possibly the contrary in fact... Idiots...

[Thorondor]

There's certainly no doubt this is a trailer for a first-person shooter.

Though there's some hand signaling going on, supposedly for directing the team, the 'gameplay' (cinematics?) on display doesn't stray from FPS fare. It's a short showing as trailers usually are, and that naturally asks for action - nothing strange about that.

My first impressions upon viewing the clip were that it reminded me most of the original Medal of Honor actually - the soldiers, the guns, the rooms (remember that game's main menu?) on the human side.

And it appears to be a cross between a conspiracy theory's 50's with foes that seem like a mix of Crysis (1, 2) and Tron in styling.

Here are some stills I've taken for perusal:

::

Anyway, thanks for posting the news Gimli.

[NKF]

From what I can understand, X-Com doesn't even exist in this game (at least, I suspect, not until the ending or after the credits). It's just the FBI (who are the heroes this time) fighting space aliens.

Hmm. They could've also slapped the X-Files title on it and call it "X-Files With Guns" or something and we'd not be the wiser.

- NKF

[Space Voyager]

Jman4117, on 3rd June 2011, 7:38pm, said:

I find it hilarious that there are way more dislikes than likes on the youtube vid

It is even more hilarious that even all the dislikes will buy the game!  

I love the trailer and can't wait for the game!

EDIT: The fingerpointing and shouts smell suspiciously like some sort of squad commands!

[The Veteran]

NKF, on 3rd June 2011, 11:27pm, said:

From what I can understand, X-Com doesn't even exist in this game (at least, I suspect, not until the ending or after the credits).

The trailer does say many times 'deploy XCOM immediately' though so I think they must exist at the beginning You're right though, in this scenario XCOM seems to just be a bunch of guys with guns and silly hats... They aren't a special or secret organisation at all.My guess is they operate out of a city block next to the Daily Planet

[lollersis]

The Veteran, on 3rd June 2011, 8:56pm, said:

This is NOT a re-imagining. It's a different game with a different organisation, a different genre, a different timeline, different enemies, different weapons, different everything! You can call Aftermath or Extraterrestrials 're-imaginings' but they're not.

Oh yes, this is indeed a re-imagining. Aftermath & Extraterrestrials is also re-imaginings of X-COM. A re-imagining doesn´t have to look or feel like the original game it´s based on. A re-imagining is simply a game loaning the concepts of the other game. Aftermath is a re-imagining because it has some more basic concepts from X-COM. The researching, the soldier managment, the strategy, the alien threath. All is there and was supposedly influenced by X-COM and can be counted as a "re-imagining". Extraterrestrials is more of a re-make as it is almost EXACTLY like X-COM.

The new X-COM has:

*An alien threath
*Reseaching of new equipment
*Soldier managment
*A secret organisation whos goal is to fight extraterrestrial threaths

It might be in the 50´s, it might be a FPS, it might not be the aliens we want, yes, but it IS influenced by the original X-COM.
It IS a re-imagining, not a sequal nor a remake. It wasn´t meant to be exactly like X-COM. I know it is pissy it has XCOM as it´s name, I also think it was a bad move of them to do, but it complaining that it isn´t X-COM is like complaining that a knife is not like an axe.

[Sunflash]

While I have some choice words about their handling of this, and even more choice words for the fanbase's reaction, I will throw this opnion out before I go back to ignoring everything but news articles:

I /will/ be buying this game just as soon as I can get my hands on it. I think 2K knew from day one that they could  NEVER, /EVER/ live up to the expectations of the fanbase if they tried a tactical/stragety game.

So instead, they used the XCOM universe as a jumping off point to write a different story, with different stuff, and to tell it in a different way(FPS instead of Tactical-squad).

Honestly I think it's a good thing. It means it's going to have a much better chance of getting the attention of any "If it's not an FPS it sucks" gamer, and if they do well with the game, they can then excuse a few 'spinoff-in-name-only' silly tactical games.


Either way I am done listening to the fanbase myself, since the golden rule of anything is "Don't knock it till you've tried it." And unless 90% of the fanbase are secretly alpha testers, then the entire fanbase is talking crap about a game they haven't ever played.

And that's silly.

[NKF]

There is this automatic 'it's going to suck' reaction right from the start. But then again, many who think that are still leaving the door open to try it anyway in the hopes it doesn't.  

I would definitely like to try it however it I might have to pass it up since I'm not inclined to buy a new expensive game console just for one game! Hope they reconsider and decide to release it on a few more platforms. The other option is to just buy the game and hold on to it until the consoles are cheap as chips many years down the line.

I do like the idea of a 50's retro styled X-Com. Stuff like that tickles my fancy. Gameplay will be the deciding factor though. I was quite surprised many years ago with the Battlezone series and how they managed to pull off a quasi Starcraft styled resource gathering, base building, peon pumping style game from a first person view. The same old stuff can certainly be done in new and exciting ways.

- NKF

[The Veteran]

I'm exhausted, and really want to be asleep right now but I'll leave a parting gift for the last few posters because I think it needs to be done

lollersis, on 4th June 2011, 11:05am, said:

Oh yes, this is indeed a re-imagining. Aftermath & Extraterrestrials is also re-imaginings of X-COM. A re-imagining doesn´t have to look or feel like the original game it´s based on. A re-imagining is simply a game loaning the concepts of the other game.

No, no, no... That does NOT make it a re-imagining. By tat rule, ANY FPS is a re-imagining af ANY OTHER FPS which is just not true. Is an RTS a re-imagining of another RTS just because it shares certain aspects of gameplay? No of course not, it's a different franchise by a different developer, in a different world with a different story. NOTHING is even similar except the fact that an RTS is pretty much an RTS and even then there are differences to take into account which is what makes us decide whether or not we'll buy a game. After all, if they were all the same we'd only need to play one right?

Anyway, let's not forget that XCOM is NOT loaning a single concept from the original games, so how can it be a re=imagining? Even by your own rules there is no logic in this argument...

lollersis, on 4th June 2011, 11:05am, said:

The new X-COM has:
*An alien threath
*Reseaching of new equipment
*Soldier managment
*A secret organisation whos goal is to fight extraterrestrial threaths

Name a FPS that doesn't include an alien threat. I bet for each one you come up with I can match it with another 2 that do... Aliens have been done to death in every genre of game there is, FPS are no exception. From what we've seen so far there is NO secret organisation, XCOM are just guys in suits who drive around shooting up bad guys. They use SMGs in this trailer for crying out loud, how much less subtle can you get? I guess they forgot to pack the tactical nukes when they filmed that scene... Soldier management? Really? That's one of the most incredibly vague terms I've ever heard. What does it mean? How is it implemented in XCOM? How was it implemented in X-Com? It's like saying Lemonade Tycoon and Civilisation both feature empire building... As for researching, yes that's a given but so what? You're taking the fact that this game allows research and making it into a fundamental link between the old franchise and this new title? I don't think so... I just finished playing Dead Space and that has research in it AND is a FPS with ALIENS in it... Hmm maybe XCOM is a re-imagining of that. They just couldn't get the rigths to the name...

Sunflash, on 4th June 2011, 3:35pm, said:

Honestly I think it's a good thing. It means it's going to have a much better chance of getting the attention of any "If it's not an FPS it sucks" gamer, and if they do well with the game, they can then excuse a few 'spinoff-in-name-only' silly tactical games.

Either way I am done listening to the fanbase myself, since the golden rule of anything is "Don't knock it till you've tried it." And unless 90% of the fanbase are secretly alpha testers, then the entire fanbase is talking crap about a game they haven't ever played.

And that's silly.

Agreed, hence my previous comments that we need to stop looking at this like an 80year old taking a golden-shower on our boyhood hero and start taking it seriously as a completely separate FPS that has absolutely no connections whatsoever with X-Com.

As far as getting attention from more people by what they've done with the whole name vs. gameplay thing... Well sadly that's where my concurrence ends Besides the fact that this pretty much IS a FPS anyway then why does it matter what they call it? I think the choice of name is absolutely ludicrous and they haven't recieved a single positive comment from anyone who has ever played an X-Com game as far as I'm aware. Honestly, they're lucky some of us are willing to overlook the fact they screwed up with the name and address it purely on it's actual qualities of gameplay and the like.


I'm all for discussing how this game may be good or it may not be but I'm pretty much sick to death of people trying in vain to explain why it's some kind of spiritual successor to X-Com. The two games have clearly never met and based on what I've seen so far I wouldn't be surprised if they chose the name by mistake! If it has been some sort of attempt to attract fans of the old franchise they've done the worst possible job I could ever imagine and I hope they have their fingers in a few more pies or we can wave goodbye to 2k this year...

[ShadowBlade]

lollersis, on 4th June 2011, 7:05am, said:

Oh yes, this is indeed a re-imagining. Aftermath & Extraterrestrials is also re-imaginings of X-COM. A re-imagining doesn´t have to look or feel like the original game it´s based on. A re-imagining is simply a game loaning the concepts of the other game. Aftermath is a re-imagining because it has some more basic concepts from X-COM. The researching, the soldier managment, the strategy, the alien threath. All is there and was supposedly influenced by X-COM and can be counted as a "re-imagining". Extraterrestrials is more of a re-make as it is almost EXACTLY like X-COM.

No, no, no. That's not what re-imagining is. Specific gameplay concepts alone don't make a game: otherwise you could say all RTS games are "re-imaginings" of Dune II and the first WarCraft. Or that Crysis is a re-imagining of Quake or whatever. A re-imagining involves taking not only game mechanics but also plot details.

The new X-COM takes mostly the game, mechanics in a very vaguely (probably watered down) fashion* and zero plot details. Alien invasions aren't unique to X-COM.

The spiritual successors you mentioned take mechanics and certain concepts, but dramatically? They remain completely separate from the X-COM universe. Therefore they're not re-imaginings.

lollersis, on 4th June 2011, 7:05am, said:

I also think it was a bad move of them to do, but it complaining that it isn´t X-COM is like complaining that a knife is not like an axe.

No, the complaints, at least mine, are more related to a knife claiming it's an axe despite working pretty much like a knife.


*The trailers so far have advertised near-zilch about the non-FPS parts of the game, so that gives me a strong feeling they'll most likely be an afterthought, a gimmick.

[Bomb Bloke]

1:32 - MORPHBALL UPGRADE ACQUIRED!

... Ahem.

I'll add my definition of "re-imagining" to the list:

Quote

This is what you're getting, and we're never going back to the original canon again!

Heeheehee...

Slightly more seriously, it means "we don't think we can sell the original, let's try and repackage it for a modern audience". How closely it matches the source material only matters in terms of sales. Note that this applies to just about any company and just about any game; the exceptions are those developers who have so much cash they really can just do it "for the art".

Actually seriously, I think whether or not the game will be any "good" has little to do with how closely it sticks to the original game. Yes, there are elements of X-COM which, if correctly applied to XCOM, would make it "game of the year" material easily - I'm kinda doubting they'll all be correctly applied, but with this new trailer I reckon we might get some of them. Expendable soldiers, for example.

I reckon the main thing to watch for will be multiplayer support. Could be really, really good if entire campaigns could be played in co-op over the internet.

Devolving back into sub-sillyness, these field agents really need to review their dress code. THEY WEAR TIES. Seriously?! Ties?! I reckon that's the whole reason the video got all those dis-likes. Show them in some sort of full body armour/camo, stick an X-COM/XCOM badge on it, and hey presto! I'm sure all the hate would go away!