Methane

For those who think I am in a minority when complaining about bugs - I can understand it. Your game works fine so you don't check out the official or unofficial support or faq boards - which are packed so full they are heaving. When the support website is set up to automatically reply that the next patch should be awaited, then there has to be something worng with the pre-release game and code checking!

My game crashes every time at the same place - after a mission as its returning to a strategic view. I went through the error-corecting and th reply was - wait for the next patch. I have reinstalled with both patches a dozen tmes, fiddled with resolution, setups, even got into my Nvidia settings and fiddled with them. I'm exhausted with fiddling! I want to play - not fiddle about! I'm using XP with a 2200 athlon, plenty of ram etc. I have about 35 bases on tough setting and the mission strategy is always the same - 2 sniper, 2 Steyrs, a grenade launcher and a couple of advanced laser rifles. I also use bio armour for most of my squad. The strategy that always works for me is high speed stats. That way as soon as they spot an alien they hit him with everything then sprint away before any rockets get close. Sometimes I end up spritning towards another one, but the same thing - heavy firepower and sprint fast. Took me a while to get it down pat, but now... In the bases, 1 guy with a steyr, bio armour and a plenty of warp medical packs. Again - fairly basic. I'm hoping it gets harder - as I'm already researching the queen.

I loved the two previous games, and when I heard UFO:AM was out - I rushed to buy it. My son, who first started using the computer at age 8 by playing UFO couldn't wait either. We both bought a copy. I think we should have waited a little longer. After all this time, it feels like the game has been rushed out in the same way that Windows 98 was - full of bugs and with little regard for the user - as if a quick injection of cash was needed and fixes could come later. Having worked our way through the myriad bugs in installing, setting up and then playing, we like the game - to an extent. The game play is a little static and doesn't have the excitement that the earlier games did. Tactically it seems that the best way to get through any situation is simply to maintain a tight group, blow any vehicles up before you move, then move around slowly in a bunch, shooting anything that appears. Not really that exciting after 40 or 50 times. We've got to the stage now where we send in one soldier to try and clear a base, just to see if we can. And most times we can. But with the game now terminally jammed up once again as we wait for yet another patch - this time to fix the 'stackwalk 126' error, I'm not sure if we're going to be bothered to get back to it after the wait. Personally I think a 7x% score by PC Magazine was very generous for what is the buggiest game I have ever come across since Sierra's Mars sim-type game. The question is not whether I am paranoid. The question is whether I am paranoid enough!