XCOM is back and it's a FPS from Bioshock 2 Devs.

[Queasy]

XCOM: UFO Defense was an instant hit when it came out on the PCs in the mid 90s. The turn-based tactical original is recognized as one of the greatest video games of all time and spawned three sequels. 2K Games acquired the XCOM license in 2007 and have now announced a new game that reboots the series with a new style of play.

Development of the new XCOM title for the PC and Xbox 360 is being handled by 2K Marin, the same development house that was responsible for Bioshock 2. 2K Markin plans to take the original strategic core of the XCOM franchise and add in a "suspense-filled narrative" that "distills it into a tense and unique first-person shooter experience."

“With BioShock 2, the team at 2K Marin proved themselves as masters of first-person, suspenseful storytelling, and with XCOM they will re-imagine and expand the rich lore of this revered franchise,” said Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K. “Players will explore the world of XCOM from an immersive new perspective and experience firsthand the fear and tension of this gripping narrative ride.”

Fans of the isometric, tactical nature of the original XCOM game may be wondering about the move to a first-person perspective but 2K Games promises that moving to a first-person view "players will be able to feel the tension and fear that comes with combating a faceless enemy that is violently probing and plotting its way into our world."

So what character will gamers be playing as in the first-person persepective? A FBI agent put in charge of identifying and confronting the unknown alien threat. Gamers will be tasked with making strategic decisions as well as going into combat with the FBI agent. Judging by the first screenshot above, combat promises to be intense with alien weapons that can literally rip away the flesh and disintegrate humans.

No release date has been mentioned yet but keep an eye out on the official website. XCOM will also be featured in the upcoming issue of the Official Xbox Magazine (OXM).

 

[Qbah]

FBI? Are you fcking kidding me 2k ? FBI ?!?!?! Power armors !! Flying suits !! Plasma Rifles !! Blaster Launchers !! PSI Amps !! - and that's only the first X-COM... How the hell does FBI fit into the X-COM organization? I was skeptic at first, but this just killed it for me...

(...)but 2K Games promises that moving to a first-person view "players will be able to feel the tension and fear that comes with combating a faceless enemy that is violently probing and plotting its way into our world."(...)

Like that never happened before? Devs promising something and in the end, us gamers getting shit into our hands?

*sigh* This really ruined the day for me... 🙁

 

[BoberFett]

Take away the turn based strategy from Xcom and you end up with yet another FPS to save the world from generic aliens.

What really needed to happen was to add a system like VATS from Fallout 3 to just bring the same game forward and use the newest technology and graphics.

I'm not sure what this has in common with Xcom at all. In fact, as an FPS it will have nothing to do with a squad based strategy game where the positioning and actions of each member are carefully thought out. AI will simply not work for this game.

I predict failure.

 

[Fox5]

Why bother acquiring old licenses if you're not even going to use them properly? This has Shadowrun written all over it.

 

[Queasy]

Take away the turn based strategy from Xcom and you end up with yet another FPS to save the world from generic aliens.

I'm interested to hear more about the "strategic decisions" that 2K mentions in regards to the game. Is it going to be like the in-between mission action from the original XCOM where you have to hold on to allegiances, acquire equipment, etc? Or is it just a bunch of smoke.

 

[smackababy]

I'm interested to hear more about the "strategic decisions" that 2K mentions in regards to the game. Is it going to be like the in-between mission action from the original XCOM where you have to hold on to allegiances, acquire equipment, etc? Or is it just a bunch of smoke.

I am pretty sure it will be "strategically aim for the head because it does more damage". Taking a good game and making it a generic FPS is exactly what this series needed... Oh wait.

 

[AstroManLuca]

That brown circle firing the laser beam in that screenshot looks like it has about 40 total polygons.

Also, I never played X-COM (never even heard of it until a couple months ago) but even from what tiny amount I do know about it, this seems dumb. Will it have anything in common with the old games other than the name and the fact that there are aliens?