Posted November 26, 2009
...Not quite so. Even thou this game WAS developed as a spirtual succerssor to UFO games, it has ended up as a very different game. World was attacked by aliens (again!?), and the whole humanity was annihilated by spores. Now, aliens are taking the planet over, with their own agenda, which is, of course, unknown to us. But let's split this thing up a bit, shall we?
First of all, I'll talk a bit about gameplay, after all that IS the most important thing about a game, isn't it? Well... I'd say 'medicore' at best.
The game, as well as X-Coms, is divided into two parts - world map and tactical missions. Since there's almost no base management, except possibility to change what said base does (research, military, ingeneering or ... Well, I'd be spoiling the story if I said the last thing :D ). No, you don't build buildings, however you DO research and manufacture stuff - how fast you do so is dependant on how many bases of said type you have. Oh, and what do military bases do? Their purpose is to station interceptor jets and a helicopter with your team, so it basically gives you a military coverage over the map. And, of course the last thing - your team! I'll say more about these guys in the next paragraph. It's same ol' otherwise - you shoot down alien ships, you search wreckages, you research dead or living alien beings and their equipement and if alien ship manages to land, you're infiltrating alien base. Fun, eh?
Well, not so much. 'Tactical' gameplay of this game consists of running with a bunch of soldiers around the map, shooting whatever moves until objectives are complete. Yes, sometimes you get into challenging situations, mostly in shot-down alien ships, which WILL force you to plan ahead and think about what are you doing a bit, but mostly ... you'll just run around and click. More interesting part of this is that you CAN capture live aliens, or just bring bodies back home. Objectives of missions ARE diverse enough to keep you entertained. And your soldiers level-up and you can upgrade their statistics - that adds a bit to 'fun' value as well. But, overall, in-mission gameplay is pretty monotoneus and you'll get into memorable situation just on a few occassions.
Now let's look at the obvious. Graphics. Yes, as far as I know they were outdated even when the game was released, but they fit the whole thing perfectly and I really like their diversity - based on a place of planet on which mission is taking place, design of cities/villages/plains changes and... Well, it's actually pretty atmospheric that way. But that's the only good thing I can say about them, really. They're nothing memorable, nothing unique, aliens may sometimes be gross (especially after you find out something about them), but that's about it.
Doesn't look like a game that would deserve 70%, does it? It'll get better from now on, I promise. That's because I'm about to talk about story and atmosphere. Both are simply... Fantastic. Story is well-written post-apocalyptic scenario about people who are trying to survive and eventually counter alien attack. How comes survivors of human race can kick assess of hi-tech alien force? Don't worry, it doesn't go unexplained. Game goes really deep as far as it's own lore goes, with everything alien explained by the believable sci-fi blabbering and you WILL be craving for more. Actually, I think story is good enough to keep anyone who likes alien invasions, post-apo or sci-fi in general going, and eventually force them to finish the damn game.
There you have it. Game itself is average and I'd give it 50%. But very good story, setting and atmosphere won't let me give it less than 70%. Yes, it's not exactly objective, game may deserve just 60%, but fact is: I've finished it 2 times and it keeps luring me back. There has to be reason for that, right? So, if you like things that are good about this game, you'll like it and it WILL be your money's worth. If you are looking for tactical gameplay... You'll be better off waiting for second and third part of the series, which are focused on it.
First of all, I'll talk a bit about gameplay, after all that IS the most important thing about a game, isn't it? Well... I'd say 'medicore' at best.
The game, as well as X-Coms, is divided into two parts - world map and tactical missions. Since there's almost no base management, except possibility to change what said base does (research, military, ingeneering or ... Well, I'd be spoiling the story if I said the last thing :D ). No, you don't build buildings, however you DO research and manufacture stuff - how fast you do so is dependant on how many bases of said type you have. Oh, and what do military bases do? Their purpose is to station interceptor jets and a helicopter with your team, so it basically gives you a military coverage over the map. And, of course the last thing - your team! I'll say more about these guys in the next paragraph. It's same ol' otherwise - you shoot down alien ships, you search wreckages, you research dead or living alien beings and their equipement and if alien ship manages to land, you're infiltrating alien base. Fun, eh?
Well, not so much. 'Tactical' gameplay of this game consists of running with a bunch of soldiers around the map, shooting whatever moves until objectives are complete. Yes, sometimes you get into challenging situations, mostly in shot-down alien ships, which WILL force you to plan ahead and think about what are you doing a bit, but mostly ... you'll just run around and click. More interesting part of this is that you CAN capture live aliens, or just bring bodies back home. Objectives of missions ARE diverse enough to keep you entertained. And your soldiers level-up and you can upgrade their statistics - that adds a bit to 'fun' value as well. But, overall, in-mission gameplay is pretty monotoneus and you'll get into memorable situation just on a few occassions.
Now let's look at the obvious. Graphics. Yes, as far as I know they were outdated even when the game was released, but they fit the whole thing perfectly and I really like their diversity - based on a place of planet on which mission is taking place, design of cities/villages/plains changes and... Well, it's actually pretty atmospheric that way. But that's the only good thing I can say about them, really. They're nothing memorable, nothing unique, aliens may sometimes be gross (especially after you find out something about them), but that's about it.
Doesn't look like a game that would deserve 70%, does it? It'll get better from now on, I promise. That's because I'm about to talk about story and atmosphere. Both are simply... Fantastic. Story is well-written post-apocalyptic scenario about people who are trying to survive and eventually counter alien attack. How comes survivors of human race can kick assess of hi-tech alien force? Don't worry, it doesn't go unexplained. Game goes really deep as far as it's own lore goes, with everything alien explained by the believable sci-fi blabbering and you WILL be craving for more. Actually, I think story is good enough to keep anyone who likes alien invasions, post-apo or sci-fi in general going, and eventually force them to finish the damn game.
There you have it. Game itself is average and I'd give it 50%. But very good story, setting and atmosphere won't let me give it less than 70%. Yes, it's not exactly objective, game may deserve just 60%, but fact is: I've finished it 2 times and it keeps luring me back. There has to be reason for that, right? So, if you like things that are good about this game, you'll like it and it WILL be your money's worth. If you are looking for tactical gameplay... You'll be better off waiting for second and third part of the series, which are focused on it.