The original X-Com was one of the greatest turn-based strategy squad tactics games of all time, so when Bioshock creators Irrational Games said they had snatched up the franchise, there was a lot of reason to be excited… and, for series fans, a lot of reason to be nervous. Now the new E3 trailer for XCom has hit the net, and it looks like the series fan may well have a reason to have been nervous.
Let me just be blunt here: I love everything Irrational has ever done, and I’m pretty sure this will be a similarly excellent title, but as a life-long X-Com fan… what the heck is this?
X-Com is about building a base, researching alien technology and leveling up your squaddies so they have the skills to take down swarms of increasingly difficult gray and reptilian extraterrestrials. You’d never guess it from this trailer, though: as far as the gameplay being demonstrated is concerned, you’d be excused for thinking X-Com was some sort of Eisenhower-era black goo shooting simulator, or an FPS metaphor for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
If this is what you’re going to turn X-Com into, Irrational, why did you even pick up the license in the first place? Expect a lot of backlash over this trailer on the net over the next few days.
