X-COM UFO Defense

The intro was fun; made me nostalgia for C64 days. There was no manual to be seen, either in Steam or in game. Surprisingly, the game just seems to work. I didn't even try Windows XP emulation (in Windows 7); it ran in DOS box, and everything seemed to work fine.

The game feels like System Shock in a lot of ways, but mostly in that whole let's throw in everything but the kitchen sink kind of way. It's got a big strategic map like Civilization, its got base management micro (like the Sim games of the time), and its got tactical squad action like... itself; I think they or Jagged Alliance (same year) invented it.

I should really like this kind of game. It's got depth, planning, and no need for fast twitch muscle or fast visual processing on my part. And unlike System Shock, I can actually use the user-interface without an instant headache. But X-COM just doesn't grab me. I tried Fallout Tactics and Baldur's Gate when those came out, and it all seems like play-by-mail gaming without story or personality.

I want to like this, but I just don't feel it. I'll do a little more reading on the topic; maybe I can find something to interest me.

Reading xcomufo.com, found YouTube videos from ziocody, starting with "XCOM UFO:1 Setup". Interesting to watch an experienced player's perspective. Watching playlist:

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL17959DA725DA9756

"XCOM UFO: UFO-1 Medium Scout"

This reminds me of how I used to play Civilization and especially Civilization 2, with tons of tactics tweaking and save game management. I wonder if I would even find those sort of games fun anymore.

"XCOM UFO: UFO-6 Large Scout 1/2"

This is somewhat interesting. I think its worth learning more about this game, but I don't think I want to climb the learning curve.

"XCOM UFO: UFO-6 Large Scout 2/2"

Another thing this playthrough reminds me of, that I haven't thought of or done in a long time, is constantly re-rolling to get good starting stats. I also understand now his save game management - he's got two different tracks of save game, one for the overall, and one for just the current battle. Really good idea, have to remember that next time I'm juggling save games. I usually just save in a linear fashion, cache my saves and delete, and keep going. This might be more efficient. What to call this technique? Maybe tactical saves versus strategic saves.

"XCOM UFO: UFO-13 Terror Ship 1/2"

Nice, its in 1080 so I can watch it full screen.

"XCOM UFO: UFO-13 Terror Ship 2/2"

720 now, but its OK. The action is getting more frenetic, but also repetitive.

OK, that was a good look into advanced gameplay. Doesn't seem to be much depth of character or story. Not that I'm expecting a whole lot, but for supposedly one of the best games ever, I expect some.

Now what - looks like there's several more playthroughs. I've gotten a good look at the mechanics of the game, maybe I can find something of its personality.

"Yogscast: X-Com: UFO Defence Part 1 - They all look like Guile"

These guys are enthusiastic, but unlistenable. Next.

"Let's Play X-com: UFO Defense (Part 1)"

I guess I'll pass on this one too.

"Let's Play X-Com UFO Defense Part 1 - The start!"

OK, enough videos. I'll just read about it from here.

http://www.xcomufo.com/

This is where I found the technical videos, so far the only videos I could sit through.

Lots of interesting text, especially what seems to be the complete UFOPedia lifted from the game.

Checking mobygames.com... they got the story idea from a tv show from 1970! Reading all of the reviews, all glowing, some crazily so. I guess that's what I sound like when raving about Wasteland, or Deus Ex.

I see the appeal of X-COM, and I understand why this is a game for the ages. But so was the first Civilization, and I really don't want to play that again, especially when I have Civs 3, 4, and 5 to try. I've gotten spoiled by modern UIs - graphics and sound too, somewhat - but mostly the UIs. Soon I may not be able to play games from the 1990s at all. Back to the to-do list to see what's next.

next to-do: X-COM

Purchasing Plants vs. Zombies in Steam was good, now I can access it from wherever and whenever. But I didn't think I'd actually end up playing it through again. It really is that good of a game, and it was almost interesting to go from a dark and violent zombie game to a cute and fluffy zombie game. And the achievements, can't escape 'em.

So now I have X-COM. I'll install it, but I can't really expect it to work - like System Shock its from 1994. But it seems to be more story based and less of an action game, so who knows.

Speaking of System Shock, I made a chronological game list to see what else I missed, so now it feels like I have some sort of chronological to-do list. Next up should be Thief (1998), but maybe I'll stop to play Diablo (1997) first. I've been wanting to, especially since Diablo 3 is finally on the horizon.

Also, just thought of starting a Game Review page, with a paragraph on every game of significance. We'll see how that goes.

Steam: purchased PvZ, X-COM

Plants vs Zombies was available for $1.99 from Steam, why not. Might as well get X-COM: UFO Defense; its on the to-do list, and only $4.99