Where are the NEW games?

[Felon]

I'd pay serious money for a decent - reasonably FAITHFUL - remake of Xcom.

Strategy games have a real problem. Every developer today wants to appeal to some hypothetical "mainstream" gamer. They figure they should try to get all of the guys playing Modern Warfare or Halo. So they try to "streamline" their games by stripping away intricacy. After years of hype Spore wound up going from offering the most meticulous level of detail of any game in the universe to being purely kiddie fare. And instead of a real Civ game, we got Civilization Revolutions.

X-Com was probably the most fun I've ever had on a PC. But I shudder to think what would be made of it today.

Well, at least I can stop shuddering. The awful reality has come to pass:

Rumors that 2K was working on a fresh take on the classic X-Com games have been bubbling since the publisher acquired the license from Atari in 2005. That speculation came back with a vengeance last year after a resume was unearthed from a 3D artist who formerly was with 2K Australia, with the document listing X-Com as one of the titles he had worked on.

All the gossip has now proved to be true, with 2K today confirming that it is indeed working on a new game in the alien-focused franchise, simply titled "XCOM." The publisher is billing the new Xbox 360 and PC game as a "re-imagining" of the franchise. Unlike the turn-based strategy and resource management core of the original X-Com: UFO Defense, the new title will be a first-person shooter. Players will take the role of an FBI agent whose job is to identify and eliminate an unknown extraterrestrial threat.

Gimme a second to clear my throat here...Ahem...Mi mi mi.....

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooo!

 

[Man in the Funny Hat]

Well, at least I can stop shuddering. The awful reality has come to pass:

Q.E.D.

They just don't get it. They have no clue whatsoever what it was about that game that made it so great. Rather than understanding that there are elements about that 14-year-old game that make it STILL fun to play and worthy of faithful, respectful improvement they (apparantly) just want to be able to slap the name with what associated good reputation it's managed to retain (after some already abysmal sequels) onto any old thing they care to shovel out. We could, and should, have been playing XCom:V or :VI by now - enjoyable sequels in an ongoing franchise of turn-based strategy. We should be seeing it provide fully destructable 3D environments with player-controlled camera positioning, a continuing story line, online gameplay, community mods, and all the rest.

Instead, we get this. Sigh. I'm gonna go play some more of that game of Pirates! I started last weekend now. At least that game is only 6 years old.

 

[renau1g]

*Blech* FPS? WTF!

Sigh...Civ still use turn-based gaming and it does ok right? They're on Civ V now?

 

[guedo79]

Huh, sounds just like him.

Oy, you two cut that out.




I've unwrapped some today....

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

games of 2010 « reasons why it’s worth to be a pcgamer

Just to bring some names and numbers to the party.

Some of the game screenshots look odd and dated.

But: Jagged Alliance 3?! Awesome!

C&C 4 and Starcraft 2 are also interesting to me.
Startrek: Supremacy might be interesting, as might be Lego Universe.
I am already playing Startrek Online.

Interesting titles:
- Infinity
- Naumachia
- A Stargate game?
- Wing Commander Saga
- Supreme Commander
- Max Payne

 

[TheYeti1775]

Going to have to break out my XCOM copy and play it again tonight in compatibility mode.
Wonder how long it will take me to get to Mars and back this time.

 

[Welverin]

Oy, you two cut that out.




I've unwrapped some today....

Because you were shamed into it?

Look on the bright side, Steam games don't come wrapped in plastic.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Clearly I shop at the wrong retailers then because I can guarantee that 90% or more of those titles will never see shelf space, or will only be one or two copies buried behind 20 different 'The Sims' (1, 2, AND 3!) expansion packs or other obscure and unsold titles that have been there for a year.

Actually, thinking about THAT I've concluded that my problem is I'm in those useless brick&mortar stores at ALL anymore. I was HIGHLY dependent upon Computer Gaming World as my primary source of reliable game news and reviews. When it folded I never found a replacement. I now no longer have anyplace to turn to and say, "I feel like playing a new game but I don't want to have to RESEARCH for a week to find something - just tell me what YOU think is good that all the cool kids will be playing."

Yeah, stop going to brick and mortar stores for software, especially if you want something in the "long tail" of gaming, rather than Sims 5.

And kotaku.com is a good gaming blog that covers a wide variety of gaming preferences and it consolidates reviews from multiple sources.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

People are more likely to have a TV than a computer monitor.

If you're under 40, it's only by a very narrow (and decreasing) margin.

 

[Elephant]

People are more likely to have a TV than a computer monitor.

Says the guy arguing in an internet forum. You already have a monitor. Now, maybe you're bored with your current one, so you buy a new one when you buy your new gaming rig, but that's no different than buying a new HDTV to go with that XBox 360 now that you're bored with the PS3.

Seriously. It's 2010. Even my grandmother has multiple computers now.