X-COM: Enforcer Preview
How does X-COM make the transition from a strategy game to a shooter?
Microprose's X-COM franchise has had a strange and rather shaky history, as even its biggest fans will attest. Mythos Games developed the original X-COM: UFO Defense (released in Europe as UFO: Enemy Unknown), which was an innovative turn-based sci-fi strategy game that put you in control of a global defense system, fighting off alien invaders. Shortly after UFO Defense's release came X-COM: Terror from the Deep, which took the same "invaders from space" storyline and replaced it with "aquatic enemies," but the overall gameplay remained virtually the same. Mythos was not involved in this game's development, though, as it was working on what would be the third game in the series: X-COM: Apocalypse. In this game, Mythos added real-time combat, and it was the company's final X-COM product. (The company is now working on Dreamland Chronicles: Freedom Ridge, which is a full 3D game in the style of the original X-COM). Microprose also released X-COM: Interceptor, which threw X-Wing-style space action into the mix. Most recently, Hasbro Interactive (which purchased Microprose in late '98) released X-COM: First Alien Invasion. This game was basically a remake of the first X-COM, but was limited to play-by-e-mail multiplayer mode. X-COM fans have been anxiously awaiting the first completely new X-COM game since Interceptor, and it looks as though X-COM: Enforcer is going to be the first one out of the gate as the other planned titles in the series have been plagued by delays. X-COM: Alliance, a first-person tactical shooter, has been delayed until later in the year, and X-COM: Genesis, which was planned as a completely new 3D game that would return the series to its roots, has been placed on indefinite hiatus. But let there be no doubt about it: X-COM: Enforcer is very different from the other games in the series. Whereas all of the other games had a strategic core (although some had real-time combat elements) X-COM: Enforcer is a completely unapologetic action game.
X-COM: Enforcer is played from a third-person perspective, and like the other games of this nature (such as the Tomb Raider titles and Heretic II), the mouse is used to control the camera and to aim your weapon, while keyboard commands are used to move your character about. While the Unreal Tournament engine powers it, no real changes of note have been made to the underlying technology, so Enforcer looks good, but not spectacular or outstanding. The game makes good use of the Unreal engine's ability to render large, detailed environments, and many levels have remarkably detailed backgrounds, including one that takes place in a fully rendered trailer park and another in which you're battling aliens in a shopping mall. It is also worth pointing out that the game showed no major slowdown problems (on a mid-level test system), no matter how many aliens showed up at one time. Considering that enormous numbers of enemies come at you, this is a nice accomplishment.
X-COM: Enforcer Quick Links
Summary | Reviews | News | Previews & Features | Images | Videos | Downloads | Answers | Hints & Cheats | Forum
- GameSpot Score6.4fair
Content you might like…
-
X-Com commandeers Steam
MicroProse's five-game collection of classic RTS franchise heads to Valve's online distribution platform, $5 apiece or $15 for the lot.
- Sep 4, 2008
Users who looked at this article also looked at these content items.
Images
Games you may like…
-
I Was an Atomic Mutant!
(PC) -
X-Com: Interceptor
(PC) -
DSN: The Fallen
(PC) -
Armed and Dangerous
(PC) -
MDK2
(PC)
Users who looked at content for this game also looked at these games.
See More Similar Games
0 Comments