Ah, XCOM 1 - Fond Memories!

[jimwinsor]

I rate XCOM 1 in the top 5 greatest games I ever played...it's up there with the likes of Civilization and MOO.

My favorite moment ever was early in my first game...my first base defense in fact. I had no idea those eeevil aliens would attack my base!

So, my panicked troops grab what weapons they can find, and scramble out of bed...

Anyhoo, this competely untried rookie with only an Assault Rifle decides to go storming into the Hanger Bay. Well, he pops through the door towards the end of his move...and find himelf staring at this grey alien, a ways across the foyer to the hanger, holding a dangerous looking Plamsa thingy, pointing right at him. Fortunately, no reaction fire. However, not enough MPs to run back out the door. Barely enough for a snap shot with the AR...odds to hit ridiculously low.

He fires in desperation. And quite predicably misses; the bullet sailing over the alien's shoulder.

Well, a funny thing happened...this being the Hanger Bay after all, well...there was this big barrel marked "FUEL" standing right smack dab behind Mr. Alien. And heh...guess where the errant bullet went?

Thats right...KABLOOOYEE! Followed up with the bloodcurdling scream of a blown-up grey alien! HAR! I literally fell out of my chair, laughing! [:D]

This fully interactive enviroment they are touting here...this is not really all that new, as this hilareous FUEL BARREL example illustrates, the basic concept goes back to XCOM 1...it's one of the main things that makes this game so wonderful. I had ENDLESS fun turning shopping malls, gas stations, residential areas, and business districts into smoldering flaming ruins, in my quest to save Earth from aliens domination. Kinda reminiscent of the first scene in the Team America movie (where Paris is "saved" from the terrorists!).

Mmmm, other great moments...finally getting a good squad trained, and becoming tactically proficient...then having my first run in with a Chrysalis. Now THAT was a nasty surprise! Basically, had to take my tactics manual...and and throw it away, and rewrite it. Minus a good chuck of that once elite squad (grumble...).

Running into psionics for the first time...a similar nasty surprise! Throw away the entire tactics book, write another...

I think the only knock I can say about the game was that after you researched psionics on your own, the game became too easy. Even the final mission was a walkover when you can just mind control your way to victory.

Still...great memories! If this new XCOM can approximate the first, I'll get it for sure.

[SireChaos]

ORIGINAL: jimwinsor

I rate XCOM 1 in the top 5 greatest games I ever played...it's up there with the likes of Civilization and MOO.

I beg to differ. It is one of the top 2, Star Control 2 being the other. Your mileage may, of course, vary.

My favorite moment ever was early in my first game...my first base defense in fact. I had no idea those eeevil aliens would attack my base!

So, my panicked troops grab what weapons they can find, and scramble out of bed...

Anyhoo, this competely untried rookie with only an Assault Rifle decides to go storming into the Hanger Bay. Well, he pops through the door towards the end of his move...and find himelf staring at this grey alien, a ways across the foyer to the hanger, holding a dangerous looking Plamsa thingy, pointing right at him. Fortunately, no reaction fire. However, not enough MPs to run back out the door. Barely enough for a snap shot with the AR...odds to hit ridiculously low.

He fires in desperation. And quite predicably misses; the bullet sailing over the alien's shoulder.

Well, a funny thing happened...this being the Hanger Bay after all, well...there was this big barrel marked "FUEL" standing right smack dab behind Mr. Alien. And heh...guess where the errant bullet went?

Thats right...KABLOOOYEE! Followed up with the bloodcurdling scream of a blown-up grey alien! HAR! I literally fell out of my chair, laughing! [:D]

Oh yes... *evil grin* It is *so* good that these guys have become soldiers - as interior decorators they are a total failure

This fully interactive enviroment they are touting here...this is not really all that new, as this hilareous FUEL BARREL example illustrates, the basic concept goes back to XCOM 1...it's one of the main things that makes this game so wonderful. I had ENDLESS fun turning shopping malls, gas stations, residential areas, and business districts into smoldering flaming ruins, in my quest to save Earth from aliens domination. Kinda reminiscent of the first scene in the Team America movie (where Paris is "saved" from the terrorists!).

I think that is what is called "levelling the playing field"

Mmmm, other great moments...finally getting a good squad trained, and becoming tactically proficient...then having my first run in with a Chrysalis. Now THAT was a nasty surprise! Basically, had to take my tactics manual...and and throw it away, and rewrite it. Minus a good chuck of that once elite squad (grumble...).

Running into psionics for the first time...a similar nasty surprise! Throw away the entire tactics book, write another...

I think the only knock I can say about the game was that after you researched psionics on your own, the game became too easy. Even the final mission was a walkover when you can just mind control your way to victory.

Still...great memories! If this new XCOM can approximate the first, I'll get it for sure.

My thoughts exactly. I can´t wait...

[Arctic Blast]

That's a great story. [:D]

I think my personal favorite Xcom moment...I always got in the habit of renaming all my soldiers after friends and such. Well, later on in the game, when those Sectoids have built up their mental powers, and are messing with your guys constantly, they 'took over' one of my troopers, who promptly shot another troop, named after her husband, in the back. Another of those falling out of the chair kinda' moments, when I realized what had actually happened.

I really hope that this upcoming game can at least come close to Xcom.

[Greyhunterlp]

I rember the first time I met a crysalis.

I had just deployed my 14 men in my standard pattern around the skyhawk. when I saw this new alien next to a shop, now i'd been lagging behind in my weapons research - "lasers" I said, nice RoF and no need for ammo, they'll do. so when my next turn started I proceded to open fire with all 14 members of my sqaud, hitting this thing more times than I could count, reducing everything around it to ash, but it was still alive. Then I rushed forwards and implanted the closest member of my team.

Everything after that was like that scene in Aliens.

one man made it back to the Skyhawk alive, everyone else was now an alien. the first thing i did when i got back was start researching the large plasma rifle.

[Arctic Blast]

those Chryssalids were NASTY. I eventually just took on the strategy of lobbing a few HE Demo packs at them (those were about ten times better than frag grenades), no matter where they went. Any civilian near them was doomed, anyway, and would in fact just become a second one.

[Maliki]

I think the low tech armor piercing rounds from the starting rifles were good against them.Problem was by the time you met them you would be using the more advanced weapons.

They really came as a shock when they show up.I also lost an entire squad the first time i met them.The lone survivor managed to make it back to the ship by running up to the second story of a building,waiting for them to close in,then shooting a hole in the wall,jumping out,and heading for for the plane like a bat out of hell.

[Arctic Blast]

Aside from a few enemies that were very weak in terms of arm (I'm looking at YOU, Floaters!), and those stupid Reapers (has anyone in the history of the game EVER lost a troop to one of them???), most of the alien races were tough. The Ethereals couldn't take much damage, but they absolute friggin' SNIPERS have the time. And those Cyberdisks...not only crack shots, but they explode with a big blast radius when you kill them. I was forever losing people to those things...turn a corner...OH! right next to one! Unless you had the TU's to zap it a couple of times with a stun rod, you basically had to kamikaze the thing.

[sage]

ORIGINAL: Arctic Blast

Aside from a few enemies that were very weak in terms of arm (I'm looking at YOU, Floaters!), and those stupid Reapers (has anyone in the history of the game EVER lost a troop to one of them???), most of the alien races were tough. The Ethereals couldn't take much damage, but they absolute friggin' SNIPERS have the time. And those Cyberdisks...not only crack shots, but they explode with a big blast radius when you kill them. I was forever losing people to those things...turn a corner...OH! right next to one! Unless you had the TU's to zap it a couple of times with a stun rod, you basically had to kamikaze the thing.

Oh gawd, I loved watching floaters shoot each other in the back. It must have been at least half the kills when I fought them.

[evilferretvictim]

X-Com UFO Defense/Enemy Unknown is *still* the best game ever made IMO. Silent Storm is the closest game I could find that plays a lot like X-Com. If somebody were to make an X-Com game on the Silent Storm engine.....omg... *head explodes*

[siRkid]

And you have to wonder why it has taken 15 years to make a good (hopefully good) sequel.

[Arctic Blast]

Xcom would go down as one of the 5 best games I have ever played. I'm gonna have to look in to Silent Storm, as I'm totally not familiar with them. (I spent MANY years without a decent PC, and am playing catch-up with a LOT of PC titles).

[Maliki]

One thing i hope they have in the upcoming game is the ability to decide in which order to pack your troops on the transports.

It used to drive me crazy in the original X-com when my higher ranked troops would be the first posistioned to get off the craft if their names were at the top of the list.There was always a better than average chance that the first couple soldiers down the ramp would get zapped right off the bat.The only other option was to leave them at base,which why would you do that?.

BTW anbody else ever have the aliens shoot a blaster bomb right into a Skyranger during the first turn?

Talk about one short mission.[X(]

[sage]

ORIGINAL: Maliki


BTW anbody else ever have the aliens shoot a blaster bomb right into a Skyranger during the first turn?

Talk about one short mission.[X(]

Or better yet, take over MY guy with a blaster bomb, and shoot it into the skyranger on the first turn. They didn't even have to waste the ammo. :=\ Man, I loved it when that stuff would happen.

[Terminus]

Fun and games... Classic...[8D]

[Maliki]

Or better yet, take over MY guy with a blaster bomb, and shoot it into the skyranger on the first turn. They didn't even have to waste the ammo. :=\ Man, I loved it when that stuff would happen.

You must be a masochist.[:'(]

I loved it when an agent would survive an alien grenade going off right under them.You'd see that huge explosion..and they would still be standing at the start of your turn.Normally more holes than swiss cheese but if you had med-kits they could survive the mission instead of dying of wounds.

Though the game could be strange with its results at times.You could have an unarmored soldier take one to the face from a heavy plasma round and barely be scratched..yet at the same time a soldier in power armor right next to them would die from the same type of shot.

I actually had this happen a few times because i didn't waste armor on rookie troops.

[sage]

ORIGINAL: Maliki

Or better yet, take over MY guy with a blaster bomb, and shoot it into the skyranger on the first turn. They didn't even have to waste the ammo. :=\ Man, I loved it when that stuff would happen.

You must be a masochist.[:'(]

I loved it when an agent would survive an alien grenade going off right under them.You'd see that huge explosion..and they would still be standing at the start of your turn.Normally more holes than swiss cheese but if you had med-kits they could survive the mission instead of dying of wounds.

Though the game could be strange with its results at times.You could have an unarmored soldier take one to the face from a heavy plasma round and barely be scratched..yet at the same time a soldier in power armor right next to them would die from the same type of shot.

I actually had this happen a few times because i didn't waste armor on rookie troops.

I think that's the difference between a head shot and hand shot. :=)

[Arctic Blast]

ORIGINAL: Maliki

One thing i hope they have in the upcoming game is the ability to decide in which order to pack your troops on the transports.

It used to drive me crazy in the original X-com when my higher ranked troops would be the first posistioned to get off the craft if their names were at the top of the list.There was always a better than average chance that the first couple soldiers down the ramp would get zapped right off the bat.The only other option was to leave them at base,which why would you do that?.

BTW anbody else ever have the aliens shoot a blaster bomb right into a Skyranger during the first turn?

Talk about one short mission.[X(]

I actually WOULD leave at least a couple of my high ranking officers behind on all my missions later on in the game (except the final mission, when it didn't matter so much), because too many times, a few of them would go down, and EVERYBODY else would panic. So I'd sort of set up a little troop rotation on my transport craft.

[Hard Sarge]

I remember when the reviews first started comeing out (it had a different name) and I read the first one and I like, man, that game sucks, what a dumb idea
 
the next day, I got my next mag, read theres and it was still pretty bad, but at least didn't sound as bad was the first one, get home from work in the morning, and use the disk that came with the mag to load up some patches and what not, look at some of the features, and then see that they had a demo for the game, and they take on it, was, go ahead and try it, and see how bad this thing really is
 
I wasn't half way though the mission, when I got up and called my partner at EB (I hated when they changed there name to EB) and asked if the game had come in, he said yea, they had one copy of it, told him to lock it up, I was on the way (I loved having friends who worked at the store, I would get there discounts, get freebies, could return or trade things with no hassle)
 
remembered thinking on the way to the store, these reveiwers don't know what they are seeing, they have missed the whole point of the game, about a week or so later, the game took off, and then the reveiwers were all overthemselfs on what a great game it was
 
(lesson learned, read a review to see what the game does, not what the reveiwer thinks)

[GalacticOrigins]

My favorite memory was two:
 
1. The first time I met aliens in the early game. The music, the sights .. wow, nice and scary. My first mission was in the woods, at night, against the tall grey guys (canna remember their names). My second, in a city, and when one of my squad rounded a corner and stood face to face with those bug, orange bugs ... well, we'll just say I always looked upon my squads as personal troops under my leadership.
 
2. Taking ranged rockets and blowing large holes in a HUGE starship. We just sat back and unloaded. ...
Later, my squad goes in, and I find a few sectoids, all scared. I was kinda sorry to finish them off, since they were scared and had no guns ....
 
Nice posts, all.
 
My list of 5 greatestest games of all time includes X-Com, since it was awesome. Of course, these developers must not have been able to persuade bubble-head managers to reuse the name (HAH! take that real-time loving execs who do not know the market!). MOO, of course, was great for its simplpicity. Also, I favored Carrier Strike, most likely one old-school FRPG (Phantasie II or M&M3), and I still like Sword of Aragon. After that, a slew of wargames.
 
Thank heaven for Matrix [8D]

[Arctic Blast]

Welcome aboard, by the way, GalacticOrigins

and the grey dudes were Sectoids. I remember at first thinking they were tough...which they were, later on, when they had their insane psionic abilities.