Games that stole my life #1

Some day I'll compile a list of all the #1 starts of series I've started.



Games that stole my life is not a negative thing, instead it refers to a game that you played a hell of a lot and took days of your life in playing. Its a good thing, honest.

First up is the X-Com series, now available on Steam. My good buddy Reilly2040 blogged about them here http://reilly2040.co.uk/blog/2009/01/20/x-com-on-steam/ I thought I would add my own take.

UFO Enemy Unknown/X-Com UFO Defence

The first in the series, and only one with two titles. The plot is simple, you are in charge of X-Com, a secret organisation fighting alien invaders. Gameplay switches between the Geoscape, where you manage your base, from personnel to building new facilities and buying equipment. You also intercept UFOs, and the Battlescape, where you control your squad of agents in an isometric turn-based battle against the aliens.

Its hard to express why this game is so good, I think it is the combination of Geoscape and battlescape, where you micro manage resources in one to the nerve racking battles with aliens on the ground. It really pulled you in, and you became invested in events. You feel frustration and loss when an entire squad of agents is lost, frustration of a mission being fouled by psychic attack and glorious relief when a Snakeman terror mission is finished. I think it was also the nature of geoscape and management/Battlescape combat that seems to make time slip away. You will while away many hours of "Just one more mission"

X-Com - Terror from the Deep

The much maligned sequel, rumour is that it was actually made by a different team using the UFO engine, and it shows. Yes it is more of the same, only with the difficulty increased substantially. There were some decent fixes, such as a way to lock on the reserve time units option, and a decent tactical choice with some weapons only working under water meaning that you had to consider your teams equipment before you sent them out on a mission. It was pretty atmospheric, with the oppressive rumble of underwater or the gentle sea washing sound of a surface terror mission. And it was hard, did I mention that. Your starting weapons are not only weak as heel, but hold very little ammo so you do find yourself frequently reloading. It also lacked the "Master Weapon" so to speak. See in UFO once you researched the Heavy Plasma, that was your go-to weapon, rapid fire, light enough for anyone to carry, plenty of ammo lying around. Great stuff. TFD actually made the choice between the Aliens Sonic weapons and the researched Gauss weapons a tougher choice. Gauss packed less of a punch, but you got an Auto shot that the sonic guns lacked. Also the Heavy sonic (Sonic Cannon) was really heavy, so you would often pack a few rifles for weaker agents. The tech tree was a mad monkey puzzle and the enemies were just harder (Tasoths and Lobster men still give me Nightmares) Maligned as it is there is a lot of entertainment to be taken from this sequel.

X-Com Apocalypse

Again, a sequel that often gets a bad press, this time for the opposite reason of TFD. Apocalypse was a drastic departure, although the meat and veg of the game stayed the same, with one screen being related to base building, procuring resources etc and the other controlling a squad, there were many differences. The Geoscape was replaced with a cityscape and world governments by organisations. There were completely new aliens and new situations. so there was a real change in look and feel. The Battlescape was now playable in real time as well. However in my opinion most of these complaints are due to Apocalypse being different.

The Cityscape is used to brilliant effect in the game. Its far more a living breathing entity than the old geoscape. The different organisations will battle each other in normal competition (Such as police and gang vehicles getting into fights) while you're waiting for aliens to show up and these same police will help you fight aliens when they arrive. n fact one of the best moments I had was when the aliens foolishly attacked a MarSec (The main weapons manufacturer) plant. Suddenly all these extra vehicles launched and joined the battle. That sort of thing happens frequently. Similarly you could raid and be raided by hostile organisations or gangs looking for a quick buck. One of my favorite touches was, unlike in the original games, supplies were finite. f you'd been careless with your machine gun ammo, there was a good chance that there wouldn't be any more on sale until the end of that week. Similarly you may want to hire 50 scientists, but only 10 may be available. When you hire personnel, they have to travel to yoru base through tubes. Indeed at one point the tube network had been damaged and so I ran out an APC to pick up the new personnel. The game also replaced the monthly review with a weekly one, each usually having a corresponding hike in difficulty. This really gave the invasion a greater sense of pace than before. Overall this one is a forgotten gem, but again, it can be bloody hard.

Overall these games have probably eaten up a good few years of my life. And you know what, If I get my copy working, or just download off of steam, I'd loose a few more in a heartbeat.