[subego]

UFO: Alien Invasion

Haven't had a chance to try it, but it uses a modified Quake II engine for the graphics. They haven't implemented everything, and I guess destructible environments would be difficult to support, but it seems to be mostly complete.

For you young'uns. X-Com is one of the best games evar. It was turn-based squad-level combat against the alien menace with a separate resource management laid on top (you build bases, research tech, etc.).

One of the things that made the original so awesome is that the aliens start out vastly superior to you. Knowing that each member of your squad is one step away from hamburger rattles the nerves something fierce...

And makes it sooooo satisfying to steal their technology and start kicking some bug-eyed ass.

[eyevaan]

the ORIGINAL squad based combat - yeah man - the bestest evar is right! I tried out this 'port/redesign' it's good - real good from what I could tell. They did walk away from some of the original game in terms of the technology hierarchy and the AI but I have to admit for a free game it has me interested. Now if I could just sink some real time into it that would tell me a lot more about it gameplay.

oh and for those who don't understand Subego's and my reason's for thinking THIS is a GOOD thing... the kids at IGN post this a few years ago. how many battlescape/squad-based games have you played that didn't become a fancy game of PacMan once you'd memorized the "starting position" of the baddies? It never happens in X-Com - too LoTech - so the random engine is better.

[subego]

Originally Posted by eyevaan 

the kids at IGN post this a few years ago.

From that article...

1) The sense of attachment to your troops

Almost better than any RPG, you care about your characters in X-COM. Once stories start happening to your characters, they take on a special significance. The best computer games don't necessarily tell you a story, but they let you create your own memorable stories.

Aw, hell yeah!

Aliens, as they are wont to do, terrorize Vladivostok.

After a long, long flight, sweating whether the engagement will happen in daylight or not, we land, and follow standard operating procedure by tossing a smoke grenade out the back of the lander to cover our deployment.

First squaddie hops off the landing ramp and sees an alien floater disc. The floater shoots wide. Squaddie crouches, ready to take out the floater with his brand spankin' new laser rifle.

As excited as I am to blow it to smithereens, I know it's used up all its movement points shooting at me, so I need squaddies off the lander to cover my backside. I spill out five more and put them into position. All clear. The next six are still in the lander, ready to act as reinforcements on the next turn.

I move back to that first squaddie, and he rips into the floater disc with his laser rifle. I love it when a plan comes together...

As I said, the laser rifle was new. I had never shot at a floater disc with them before. Apparently energy weapon plus floater disc means big explosion. I mean, really big explosion. The disc is next to a gas station, which causes an even bigger explosion. The three schmoes on that side of the lander were instantaneously shredded. Everything as far as I can see is shrouded in smoke now, and a bunch of **** is on fire.

Okay. That didn't go so well. Aliens - 3, subego - 1.

I had my reinforcements ready, so they slide into position to fill the gap. I felt it would be unwise to push things further with three men already down and very few action points left... so it's the alien's turn.

The last squaddie off the ramp? Mind ****ing controlled! Two more squaddies get it in the back from their own mate.

Aliens - 5, subego - 1.

My turn again. I say "screw this" and figure my only course of action is to take this squaddie out. With such a weak mind, he's a liability. Playing the odds, I calculated I was most likely to take him out with an auto-burst.

Just because it was most likely, didn't mean that's how it happened. The squaddie who fires, misses the target all three times. In X-Com, shots that miss still go somewhere. In the wall, in the ground, into two of your squadmates you weren't aiming at...

The one guy who's off the lander and still standing finally puts the alien controlled squaddie out of his misery.

Aliens - 8, subego - 1.

I got righteously shellacked, and it was one of the best gaming moments in my life.

[eyevaan]

Awesome retelling of an all too familiar experience... man right around the 4th month when you are really getting a handle on the floaters and lizard men have been introduced in regular missions you get a terror hit and the sectoids and cyberdiscs whitewash your a** into the next month. I never knew whether the cost of characters was worth the progress.

because turnabout is fair in war, one of my uber moments with those cyberdiscs came well into the game months.

We had just developed PsiAmps, I had two candidates who had 'potential' but I did not know how it would work. I just hoped it would do something. We get the call and fly the Avenger out fully loaded, three hovertanks, 10 soldiers and now the two "brains" - this had better be worth it.

We land drop the ramp and I dump one of my cannon fodder [a rookie] onto the field. He spots a cyberdisc. I rotate back to my newly skilled soldiers. Click on the PsiAmp and it doesn't say "Aim" or "Fire" - I click on the Cyberdisc. "Mind Control Successful!"

huh?

In my eagerness, I hit "End Turn" leaving one soldier, alone, outside. The cyberdisc didn't dig my introduction and turned its laser on itself. Like you said, "A really big explosion". What follows is scary as it always is with sectoids, they scuffle around covering impossible distances and we are hit with a series of attempts at mind control and panic attacks. I think I am screwed. I have a full ship loaded with live guns and one of my own guys is going to empty that glorious feeling I had a second ago in a Frag massacre.

First to go is the rookie, he snaps, emptying his time units [TUs] by blasting empty space. Everyone else holds the stuff together. I breathe a sigh of relief. I get a second chance to make my offensive count.

A hovertank glides out spots one, two, three sectoids! damndamndamn. I turn again to my "Brains" to see what they do. It takes all their remaining TUs to capture the three. Now what? I start checking weapons from the soldier view clicking through when a sectoid is on my screen - wTf? I click back to the battlescape. I have real control over the little f***er. Yeah! I make him run just for fun. He spots another cyberdisc - oh man I am going to have to work on that problem but now with three 'loaded' sectoids and a cyberdisc I am beginning to feel like I the odds are not good.

It hits me in an evil moment.

I check the remaining TUs on my current host. I make it put down its gun and grenades. Next I make the others do the same but one primes and keeps a grenade. I make them run as close to each other as they can. With 3 TUs remaining in the 'primed sectoid' I make him put it on the ground at his feet.

I play out the rest of the turn, softening up the cyberdisc with my tanks enough that I can end turn knowing on the next round it's history and they can take anything he throws.

My squads morale was faltering at the beginning of the turn but now it's solid.

As I reach to hit "End Turn", I imagine those three sectoids were wishing they'd stayed at home...

They confirm my thoughts in a three screams and a golden glow of skulls erupting from their general position.

It is a good day to die but today we are not going to.