Is actually not too bad. It's not OMG ITZ UFO!!!111 But it is a very solid and fun game. I think the biggest loss from the original is the comic bookie futuristic feel. This is now very low tech, projectile weapons, choppers, monsters instead of aliens.
The engines full 3d, and very easy to turn and tilt around to get a good view of things. The actions real time, with pauses rather than turn based, and in reality kind of plays like a baldurs gate/kotor stylee, although it has got an auto-pause when your units spot something or requires a command.
It has the world map, and bases and research and all, but it doesn't seem to have base building. It does have the squad training and experience stuff though.
It's somehow got a sort of sharewarey feel about it though, can't quite put me finger on why. I think it's the art, it's slightly amature for some reason.
Anyway, if your a UFO fan it's prolly worth a look. If you like squad based strategy/rts its also worth a look. If you want something fast paced and very slick, prolly best look elsewhere.
Monday 6 October 2003
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If you still yearn for happy hours playing the original, all is not lost! UFO: Enemy Unknown Rocketed so hard :)
ReplyDeleteI absolutely loved the original, it was a brilliant game. It ran on my lowely 486sx 2meg at the time and helped cause me some attendance issues at college :) I never finished the third installment, uh xcom: wassitsname, I'd love to have another hack at it as it had some wicked levels/weapons/vehicles, but it's a dos game only, tried running it on xp a couple of years ago to no avail.
ReplyDeleteI've found the best way to play the original is to fire the psx version up on the ps2, plays very well. This is quite close in style, and is good for a 'ufo fix'.
ReplyDeleteI have the original, runs fine on WinXP with 1/20 occasional crashes when moving from Strat-Tac part.
ReplyDeleteFinished it twice this year, probably once a year previously. Was playing UFO Aftermath half the day today, and I agree with Slim, not SEMINAL but it is a very good spiritual successor. Great fun, tactical game superb.
Which original? The very first one?
ReplyDeleteMore on Aftermath: It's pretty addictive, which is good. It's deffo not a shit game, but there are some things I really miss from the old ufo's:
- it's not got fog of war. Fuck knows why not. You can only see enemies in your squads line of sight, but you can see the whole level also, no fog- it's save anywhere. Sounds good? well it isn't, if you die from a surprise, it's not a surprise any more, just reload grenade the spot where the enemy sprang from, bleh- no base building. Does have bases, research and development, training etc, you just can't build the bases- you can't do indoors. this is a real shitter, you used to be able to use buildings to your advantage, shooting out of windows and whatnot, that's all gone :(
Some good things tho:
- the graphics are fab- the real time system works very well indeed, its sort of turn based realtime- the interface is very good, especially on the geosphere- it's got xcoms moreish gameplay and stupid affinity with your squad, you really don't want to let them die. The whole timelapse thing works as well as it did in the old games
All in all,well worth playing. You gotta wonder why they got it so close and missed out on those few essential xcom elements that would have made it a classic.
Bah, no indoors? That sucks.
ReplyDeleteOne of the finest moments in UFO was when you had your battered and injured squad surrounding a barn with one remaining alien left to take out. Who do you send in? Who can you stand to lose?
Of course, invariably you'd go in, search the entire building and find nothing, then realise that the alien was actually somewhere else and had meantime snook up on your unsuspecting squad. Pesky aliens!
Dammit Dave, you've struck the alien artefact nail on the head there. You're playing the urban scenario because a UFO has gone and landed in Rio de-bloody Janeiro and that means... the bug-like aliens that convert your own team into aliens! Nooooooooo!
ReplyDeleteAnd he's camped out in a dark warehouse!
Do you head in, saving plenty of points for overwatch or backing out? Do you move around in pairs? Do you just fire big-ass Rocketets at the building to level it? THOSE ALIEN COMMIE BASTARDS!
They don't make 'em like that any more.
ReplyDeleteBang on, it's a complete shitter that shit like that just doesn't happen in this version. You do have indoor maps, which are basically corridoorfests, but they're indoor only, you can't shoot out the windows and whatnot.
ReplyDeleteWhat do we do with the evil lurking in the warehouse? We NUKE 'EM with the Rocket Launcher! (Incendiary rounds, natch)
ReplyDelete