Regarding the ufo games... They're not X-Com thats for sure, but thats not to say they aren't good.
They're just a different kind of tactical management games, they're in semi realtime like how X-Com: Apocalypse is and I do believe if the Gollop brothers had been able to complete their last X-Com game it would've also been semi-realtime just like the predecessor.
With that out of the way, the UFO games are great fun, but can be quite daunting at first if you expect them to play like an X-Com game, especially Aftershock and Afterlight don't resemble X-Com apart from the fact you're fighting aliens and you're managing a base with research, weapons and soldiers and have to weigh the economical costs versus the potential benefits. So yes that part is like X-Com, but in Afterlight you don't shoot down spacecrafts, you're protecting territory and invading territory and investigating marsian ruins.
Unlike the early X-Com games, but like the later Apocalypse, you don't have to search the whole maps for that last enemy, as they're as interested in killing you as you're in killing them, so they'll try and hunt you down as well - although the ai isn't particularly good especially in the first one.
So I would recommend getting the mods from Shadowarrior on the official forums and at www.strategycore.co.uk download section as they greatly expand on the games and try to fix some of the ai problems in exotic ways. Also checkout the ACM total conversion for Aftershock as it features some fantastic new models and weapons.
If you like tactical management games that is reminiscent of X-Com definitely checkout the UFO games.
Post edited June 09, 2009 by Epsilon
