So I got XCOM

[Aerozord]

Normally I'd make a pro vs con list but this game is severely lacking in cons. Only real design con I can think of is its abit intimidating. Not to say it does a poor job explaining things and its paced well but this isn't depth from simplicity like minecraft this is straight depth. There is just simply alot of things to do and alot of advanced planning so I can understand your average person being overwhelmed.

Beyond that its very well balanced. Unlike most games you cant really twink your focus. Doesn't matter how quickly you research new tech if you dont have the engineers to build it. It also, so far atleast, steps things up at just the right times. I hate when games dont take their time and I'm skipping tech teirs because they become obsolete shortly after unlocking. There is also tons of risk/reward choices. Nothing is flat out better and usually best to make at the time judgement calls than universal policies.

It kept me right on the edge so I couldn't be froogle and horde cash nor was I constantly scraping by. It was just enough that I had to pick and choose what I wanted carefully.

Admittedly I'm still working on the game (but I have work so I dont have time to get back into it just yet) but so far its fairly flawless. I do wonder what triggers increased difficulty. Like if I refused to invade the alien base for a month what would happen?

So far I am being good about save scumming. I only load a save if I made a mistake based on misunderstanding an item or ability's function, or if all my elite troops are wiped out essentially dooming me to a game over. Losing an elite or two I just accept.

However there is one black mark on this game. I keep getting a bug where my interface freezing and it doesn't accept any new inputs except for switching my weapon which thankfully resets the interface and fixes the bug. Though if that happens with my heavy who doesn't have a side arm than the game breaks. It has happened half a dozen times, surprised it hasn't been patched yet

[Roland]

Normally I'd make a pro vs con list but this game is severely lacking in cons.

Floaters can fly through solid surfaces. On rare occasions enemies will simply pop into existence within your squad's view, even though they have no way to get there without being spotted. Most ridiculously, I had three groups of late game enemies spawn in the exact same spot once, turning a routine UFO Recovery into a massive firefight... which was actually quite tense and fun, but still. Finally, in scenarios involving large multi-tiered areas, it becomes a chore to select the location you want to move to. That's likely a mouse-only problem, though.

But that's all of my grievances, and the game is great despite them.

>the bug you mentioned

I've never experienced that. Strange.

[Aerozord]

beat it, would have liked some prolog but otherwise solid ending. Abit sad once I learned that the game progresses once certain missions are accomplished. Suppose thats better than game over because you take too long but I can now, to a degree, break the game.

On a unrelated not, why did the "special thanks" section of the credits include Notch?

[Jagos]

So is the game worth getting from Amazon?

Link (http://www.amazon.com/2K-Games-41071emy-Unknown1-XCOM/dp/B008ALU5KG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1357346295&sr=8-1&keywords=xcom)

Or should I just pay for the more expensive version on Steam?

[Karrrrrrrrrrrresche]

It lists Steam as DRM, so I'd assume you can register the CD key they give you with steam.
Even if you can't, you can run non-steam games through Steam with the steam overlay and all that good stuff by clicking the "Add a game" button in the bottom left.

So yeah get it cheaper.

[Arcanum]

Xcom uses steamworks. Pretty sure it's not a choice you're allowed to make. So yeah, grab it cheap.

[Aerozord]

I got the physical retail copy, it forced me to register it through steam.

[Gregness]

beat it, would have liked some prolog but otherwise solid ending. Abit sad once I learned that the game progresses once certain missions are accomplished. Suppose thats better than game over because you take too long but I can now, to a degree, break the game.

On a unrelated not, why did the "special thanks" section of the credits include Notch?

That doesn't really let you break the game to be honest, all aliens except Ethereals and Sectoid Commanders appear based on the in-game date not on the progress of the story missions. You may well eventually find yourself fighting end game enemies without psionics which in the case of Muton Elites, is not something I'd recommend.

On another note, the mod community found a bunch of unused code called the Second Wave not long after the game came out, and Firaxis has just put out a patch enabling the whole shebang.


Here's (http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/01/08/solomon-vows-firaxis-on-xcoms-second-wave-add-on/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rockpapershotgun%2Fsteam+%28R ock%2C+Paper%2C+Shotgun%3A+Steam+RSS%29) some (http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/01/08/xcom-second-wave-options-officially-released-by-firaxis-patching-in-tuesday/?ns_campaign=article-feed&ns_mchannel=ref&ns_source=steam&ns_linkname=0&ns_fee=0) interviews. (http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/01/08/interview-xcom-jake-solomon-pc-gamer/?ns_campaign=article-feed&ns_mchannel=ref&ns_source=steam&ns_linkname=0&ns_fee=0)

I started a new Classic ironman with random starting soldier stats, random stat gains on level up, marathon mode and a few other things turned on and while not an ENTIRELY new experience, is definitely a nice compromise between classic and impossible in terms of difficulty.

Fun Fact, I started with a soldier who had 80 aim as a rookie. This rookie became a heavy.

I had colonel heavies on my last few runs who couldn't shoot that well.

The drawback is she only had 27 will to start.

[Roland]

On another note, the mod community found a bunch of unused code called the Second Wave not long after the game came out, and Firaxis has just put out a patch enabling the whole shebang.

I was wondering what that mysterious patch was all about. This sounds like it's gonna be a lot of fun, or at least interesting.

I really hope the rest of the DLC is finished and released soon. I wanna have the whole experience so badly...

[Gregness]

Okay, so I had some weird-ass bug that crashed the game during my campaign with the superheavy, and it somehow the whole save file is gone (I'm assuming it's something to do with Ironman mode) so I started another one since I wasn't that far in yet. It would seem that among the stats to be randomized are your soldiers movement rating. I now have an assault who, as a captain has 96 base aim, but lower mobility than some of my rookies. The low mobility thing really kills me, but it's less of an issue do to run 'n gun than it would be on another trooper. Also, with that aim, he doesn't miss even when rapid firing.