Posted November 26, 2009
This game takes several notes from X-COM. Turn-based fans, however, should consider carefully based on the gameplay, rather than just the setting.
First, some things that were done very well:
The graphics are well done. It's not the prettiest game in the world, but everything is pretty clear, well presented, and fits well with the games themes of conspiracies and alien mysteries.
There's plenty of equipment to use, though many of the "standard" human weapons (assault rifles and such) are a bit the same. Some are clearly better, but there's also many that don't stand out from each other. The alien weapons are more distinctive, though.
The setting is rather intriguing: you start as a lone soldier amidst a ruined world, teaming up with others and eventually forming a force to fight back the alien encroachment that seems to be in the works. Nobody really knows what happened exactly, and its your job to figure out. There are several set-piece missions that will come up gradually, allowing you to find details of what went wrong and what's going on.
The game is also split up into a strategic and a tactical portion (sound familiar?), with you controlling a number of bases and resources, trying to get a handle on the world while also having the opportunity to lead your squads in action.
But then there's the things that I, personally, didn't like. Be your own judge:
First, the game is not turn-based in the tactical portion like X-COM and Jagged Alliance. I knew this going in, but still found it a bit distasteful. You have the option (and you'll need it) of pausing the action at any time and changing your soldiers' orders. Otherwise, there's no grid-based, turn-based action to be found. Hope you got this far into the review if you were counting on it.
Secondly, I found the game's AI extremely disappointing. Your soldiers do not have ANY. Anything they do has to be ordered by you. Movement, firing, using equipment, the whole thing. Now, I wouldn't mind this except the game is in real-time. Which means I'm pausing quite a bit since your soldiers can't even so much as switch to a second, in-range target after a first one goes down. And your enemies don't have very impressive AI. The game has a fairly dumb approach, basically rushing your men as soon as they are spotted, constantly moving forward and shooting. If an alien happens to run out of ammo, it will just continue moving forward, with no change to its pattern. The game compensates by making the aliens extremely cheap in their attacks. Expect a constant rain of grenades, mortar fire, and rockets as the game compensates for bad AI with sheer firepower.
Finally, the base management in this game was simplified a bit from what an X-COM fan might expect. Rather than being able to build your own bases anywhere, with certain layouts, facilities, etc, you occasionally come across bases that you can seize control of and use. As for controlling them, you can choose which kind of base you want it to be (for example, research or military deployment), and that is the extent of your choices there.
While I did beat the game, and I found it interesting at first, enough so to go to the end, I wouldn't try it again. Realize that this review is being written from a fairly big X-COM and TBS fan, so take it with a grain of salt as necessary. But if you can live without the TBS in your X-COM-like action, then this game might be a good match for you. Also, if your really not into turn-based action, this might be the alien-fighting game just for you.
First, some things that were done very well:
The graphics are well done. It's not the prettiest game in the world, but everything is pretty clear, well presented, and fits well with the games themes of conspiracies and alien mysteries.
There's plenty of equipment to use, though many of the "standard" human weapons (assault rifles and such) are a bit the same. Some are clearly better, but there's also many that don't stand out from each other. The alien weapons are more distinctive, though.
The setting is rather intriguing: you start as a lone soldier amidst a ruined world, teaming up with others and eventually forming a force to fight back the alien encroachment that seems to be in the works. Nobody really knows what happened exactly, and its your job to figure out. There are several set-piece missions that will come up gradually, allowing you to find details of what went wrong and what's going on.
The game is also split up into a strategic and a tactical portion (sound familiar?), with you controlling a number of bases and resources, trying to get a handle on the world while also having the opportunity to lead your squads in action.
But then there's the things that I, personally, didn't like. Be your own judge:
First, the game is not turn-based in the tactical portion like X-COM and Jagged Alliance. I knew this going in, but still found it a bit distasteful. You have the option (and you'll need it) of pausing the action at any time and changing your soldiers' orders. Otherwise, there's no grid-based, turn-based action to be found. Hope you got this far into the review if you were counting on it.
Secondly, I found the game's AI extremely disappointing. Your soldiers do not have ANY. Anything they do has to be ordered by you. Movement, firing, using equipment, the whole thing. Now, I wouldn't mind this except the game is in real-time. Which means I'm pausing quite a bit since your soldiers can't even so much as switch to a second, in-range target after a first one goes down. And your enemies don't have very impressive AI. The game has a fairly dumb approach, basically rushing your men as soon as they are spotted, constantly moving forward and shooting. If an alien happens to run out of ammo, it will just continue moving forward, with no change to its pattern. The game compensates by making the aliens extremely cheap in their attacks. Expect a constant rain of grenades, mortar fire, and rockets as the game compensates for bad AI with sheer firepower.
Finally, the base management in this game was simplified a bit from what an X-COM fan might expect. Rather than being able to build your own bases anywhere, with certain layouts, facilities, etc, you occasionally come across bases that you can seize control of and use. As for controlling them, you can choose which kind of base you want it to be (for example, research or military deployment), and that is the extent of your choices there.
While I did beat the game, and I found it interesting at first, enough so to go to the end, I wouldn't try it again. Realize that this review is being written from a fairly big X-COM and TBS fan, so take it with a grain of salt as necessary. But if you can live without the TBS in your X-COM-like action, then this game might be a good match for you. Also, if your really not into turn-based action, this might be the alien-fighting game just for you.