Prez wrote on Oct 9, 2012, 17:43:
Well I've been playing the hell out of it and it really is well done. I am doing my best to beat down that voice that pipes up every so often to remind me how different this is than the original and having marginal success. I definitely love the challenge - I have been wiped out on several missions now, and (like the original) it is really hard to recover from a disastrous mission in which you lose all of your best soldiers and your global approval rating bottoms out.

What the game does, it does extremely well. But I have complaints (surprise surprise). I am not so enamored with the fact that there are no base defense missions. Those consistently were some of the most intense, nerve-wracking missions in the first game (and it was also neat to run around inside something you built yourself) and it is a crime that this feature didn't make it in. Also, I remember fondly attacking alien bases as they started popping up all over the world - those were awesomely difficult and terrifying, but their not here either. My biggest concern, the lack of action point movement, is not as jarring a change as I expected and in fact it works really well. I lamented he lack of randomized maps, and I still do; this is mitigated somewhat by a large variety and randomness of starting points, but I still wish they were in here. Squad size, another huge concern of mine, is still a sticking point with me but it is not a deal-breaker. I would have liked to see squad size upped to 6 at the start and expandable to 8 though. Despite these gripes, the game is extremely fun, challenging, and addicting - three critical trademarks of the X-COM brand so that is a relief.

I hope the game sells well enough to warrant a sequel with those crucial features added back in. Firaxis may be on the verge of doing what began to seem impossible - pleasing hardcore X-COM fans with a modern re-imagining.

Slashman wrote on Oct 9, 2012, 14:54:
That would make more sense if I was even in Europe. I'm in the freaking Caribbean and Steam doesn't even treat me as a european customer. Maybe I'm outside classification or some such nonsense.

Burrito of Peace wrote on Oct 9, 2012, 15:53:
HELP

I am going out of my mind. The in-game text says I can "hire" more scientists and engineers. Two personnel resources I am critically short of.

However, so far, the only way I seem to be able to acquire more scientists and engineers is by the end of the month payoff from "The Council" and as mission rewards.

Beamer wrote on Oct 9, 2012, 15:05:

Slashman wrote on Oct 9, 2012, 14:54:

Beamer wrote on Oct 9, 2012, 14:34:

Slashman wrote on Oct 9, 2012, 13:49:
What really pisses me off is that I have to wait a whole 2 extra days to play just because I'm not in the US. Why in the hell do I have to wait when I pre-ordered and paid the same money as everyone else???

And sometimes you'll get it first. Some games will launch on Friday in the UK and the next Tuesday in the US.

Blame your brick & mortar system. It isn't like this hasn't been discussed to death. It will be broken soon, but for the time being every country still operates on its standard delivery dates. In part because there's the belief that more people will see something online and expect it to be in stores than there are people will see it online in other regions and expect it to be available in their own.

That would make more sense if I was even in Europe. I'm in the freaking Caribbean and Steam doesn't even treat me as a european customer. Maybe I'm outside classification or some such nonsense.

Do movies/games typically come out on Thursdays for you?

I agree it's silly, but given that it's about a billions degrees below zero in the US I consider it a worthy tradeoff for the awesome weather you're likely having. No matter what unfair advantage we're getting, it's a tradeoff for crappy weather!

Bucky wrote on Oct 9, 2012, 11:11:
I don't care about the XCOM legacy, because I never played the originals. It's why I'm able to just sit down and enjoy a damn good game.

BobBob wrote on Oct 9, 2012, 15:23:
Is this turn based? If so, better off just playing chess at the coffee shop.

SpectralMeat wrote on Oct 9, 2012, 15:07:
All these different release dates in different Countries did not make much sense back in the day either but these days with 99% of sales on PC being digital distribution it is just down right stupid to have different dates set for different Countries.

You can unlock the game with a VPN from a different Country anyways but I don't understand the concept behind holding the games back several days depending on where you live. What gives?

Beamer wrote on Oct 9, 2012, 15:05:
I agree it's silly, but given that it's about a billions degrees below zero in the US I consider it a worthy tradeoff for the awesome weather you're likely having.

Slashman wrote on Oct 9, 2012, 14:54:

Beamer wrote on Oct 9, 2012, 14:34:

Slashman wrote on Oct 9, 2012, 13:49:
What really pisses me off is that I have to wait a whole 2 extra days to play just because I'm not in the US. Why in the hell do I have to wait when I pre-ordered and paid the same money as everyone else???

And sometimes you'll get it first. Some games will launch on Friday in the UK and the next Tuesday in the US.

Blame your brick & mortar system. It isn't like this hasn't been discussed to death. It will be broken soon, but for the time being every country still operates on its standard delivery dates. In part because there's the belief that more people will see something online and expect it to be in stores than there are people will see it online in other regions and expect it to be available in their own.

That would make more sense if I was even in Europe. I'm in the freaking Caribbean and Steam doesn't even treat me as a european customer. Maybe I'm outside classification or some such nonsense.

Beamer wrote on Oct 9, 2012, 14:34:

Slashman wrote on Oct 9, 2012, 13:49:
What really pisses me off is that I have to wait a whole 2 extra days to play just because I'm not in the US. Why in the hell do I have to wait when I pre-ordered and paid the same money as everyone else???

And sometimes you'll get it first. Some games will launch on Friday in the UK and the next Tuesday in the US.

Blame your brick & mortar system. It isn't like this hasn't been discussed to death. It will be broken soon, but for the time being every country still operates on its standard delivery dates. In part because there's the belief that more people will see something online and expect it to be in stores than there are people will see it online in other regions and expect it to be available in their own.

Slashman wrote on Oct 9, 2012, 13:49:
What really pisses me off is that I have to wait a whole 2 extra days to play just because I'm not in the US. Why in the hell do I have to wait when I pre-ordered and paid the same money as everyone else???

Slashman wrote on Oct 9, 2012, 13:49:
What really pisses me off is that I have to wait a whole 2 extra days to play just because I'm not in the US. Why in the hell do I have to wait when I pre-ordered and paid the same money as everyone else???

dj LiTh wrote on Oct 9, 2012, 12:40:
So, been going pretty hard at Classic / Ironman. Really loving the gameplay. There are a few things here and there that i notice different from the original but no deal breakers at all. Something i do notice is that the matches go a lot faster. This is pretty much because of the no time units and the 2 move/ability system. I actually prefer this as it makes you focus much more on the strategy aspect rather than the technical T/U management aspect.

Ok thats enough time wasted outside the game, must go back to my underground base.