Skewed and Reviewed got some time with the developers of the latest X-COM game which is currently in development by 2K Marin. While they liked what they saw, they clearly noted that it was not the X-COM that spawned the series but rather a re-imagined version.
Dying or losing in video games is part and parcel of the experience and accepted as an occupational hazard. But some games take it way too far.
Lizard Lounge's Trevor Coelho writes:
"You’d be hard pressed to find an X-COM soldier more badass than Frida ‘Nitro’ Weber. On Day 1, after her first mission against Advent, she decided she wanted to be a grenadier. She thought of herself as a creator of sorts.
Yep, she really liked to make things. Like holes in walls – she loved to make those. Dead Advent? She enjoyed making them, too. She liked making dust and pulp, essentially, from things that were once solid and properly formed. It was her calling, she said."
Gamerant
Permadeath gaming has seen a huge resurgence over recent years. Giving players a single life or character with which to complete the game, games with permanent death as a mechanic are notoriously difficult, tasking players with keeping upmost concentration throughout their playthrough. More often than not, attempts may end in tears – but that won’t stop players from trying their hand once more.
After BioShock 2, I trust 2K Marin. But I know little to nothing about X-COM. *headed to wikipedia.
Edit: Ok so its a X-filesey type of tactical game series that was successful in the 90's on PC. But 2k's re-imagining will be a FPS with the lore and core elements of the series in place.
Could be good, must see more of it.
I would suggest that you go to You Tube and look at some gameplay from the original. yes the graphics are dated but it was so much fun.
Basic overview was you set up a base to start and picked up more later.
You had a budget that was funded by the nations. What you do or do not do to protect them affected your funding. you also had to manage the politics.
When a threat arose you had to decide which ones to intercept and then pick a squad, equip them and send them to the crash site.
You had pistols rifles, and stock grenades at first. You would go to a zone and deploy and fight via turn based missions. When you got all of them or they all of you the mission ended. you could retreat as well.
If you won, you could take their tech and bodies back to the base for study and in time would be able to learn to use their weapons and create their own plus sell them to get funds.
As you grew in tech they would as well until a somewhat balance was reached but they were always stronger.
They would attack your base and you would counter if you found theirs.
when funds were tight you could send a squad member in unarmed to pickup whatever they could to use in a fight, or my favorite give unarmed players a heavy explosive set at 1 turn detination. They would walk in first get zapped and boom. Unarmed player two would walk in, and get a weapon from the dead aliens. It was also fun to send the bomb strapped guys down a hall into a dark area where you knew they were lurking or to a group of bad guys.
I agree. Fans have wanted an updated version with modern graphics and multiplayer for ages. They had a third game that was Real Time and some turn based but it was a real mess of micromanagement and was awful. The so called multiplayer did not work. Then they did a flight sim one called Interceptor and one where you were a big robot blasting Aliens. The two that were pending were a shooter and a strategy game. I saw a game in PC Gamer recently that was a new take on the X -COm style turn based etc but like Laser Squad it was not being done by a big studio if I remember correctly.