X-COM is a series of computer games, started by Mythos Games and MicroProse in 1993. The first three titles were tactical games while the fourth was an action-based space combat/strategy game. The first installment, UFO: Enemy Unknown in Europe (also known as X-COM: UFO Defense in North America) was written by a team led by Julian Gollop. MicroProse quickly had an internal team create the sequel X-COM: Terror from the Deep. Subsequently, the Gollop brothers went straight to work on X-COM: Apocalypse, which would end up being the third in the series when released in 1997. Soon after Apocalypse, MicroProse was bought by Hasbro Interactive. All titles were developed for the PC, with a few ports to the Sony PlayStation and Amiga. The first three titles were originally developed to run under DOS, and have subsequently been ported to run under Microsoft Windows using DirectX.
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Series standards
The premise for the series is fairly simple and straightforward, with variations among them: armies of hostile aliens have begun invading the Earth, killing and enslaving the human race. The mise en scène and trappings of the game closely mirror those of the classic BBC television series UFO. Despite the cliché setup, the implementation is serious and carefully detailed to give an "authentic" impression. In all the games, the player is put in command of "X-COM," the Extraterrestrial Combat Unit. By defending countries from enemy invasion, the force gains monetary support. Any nation may quit, if X-COM's service is deemed unsatisfactory or the nation's government has been infiltrated by the invaders. Through research of recovered alien artifacts, X-COM is able to develop better and more powerful weapons, armor and vehicles to combat the alien menace and eventually uncover their true nature. The game takes place within two main views: the Geoscape and the Battlescape, a dichotomy that's the hallmark of the entire series. The Geoscape consists of a global view of the earth from space. The player can view the X-COM bases (located in various locations on Earth), make changes to them, equip X-COM craft, order supplies and personnel, direct research efforts, schedule manufacturing of advanced equipment and sell alien artifacts to raise capital. The Geoscape is continuous and not turn-based. Gameplay switches to the isometric combat view of the Battlescape whenever X-COM personnel come in contact with alien units. This can result from investigating downed enemy crafts, combating alien terrorist activities or attacking alien bases discovered during play. Aliens may also be encountered if they manage to attack and infiltrate one of the X-COM bases. In the Battlescape view, X-COM combatants are pitted against the alien enemies. In addition to personnel, the player may have vehicles such as heavy weapons platforms outfitted with powerful lasers or rocket launchers. This mode is turn-based and each combatant has a number of "time units" which can be expended each turn. When all alien forces have been neutralized, the mission is scored based on number of X-COM units killed, civilians saved, aliens killed or captured and the number of alien artifacts obtained.
The series
The complete series includes these titles:
- X-COM: UFO Defense (1993) (also known as UFO: Enemy Unknown and X-Com Enemy Unknown)
- X-COM: Terror from the Deep (1995)
- X-COM: Apocalypse (1997)
- X-COM: Interceptor (1998)
- X-COM: Email games (1999)
- X-COM: Enforcer (2001)
The first two games are undeniably the most popular and most successful of the series, and the first was named Game of the Year by many gaming magazines. Apocalypse took several new directions with the series. It introduced a real-time combat system, in addition to a modified turn-based system that drew considerable criticism, and the aesthetics were shifted to a less grim and more futuristic style. After Interceptor, Hasbro Interactive purchased MicroProse and acquired the X-COM brand. Two more titles were planned for this series. All were aborted when Hasbro shut down Hasbro Interactive in 1999 and 2000.
Hasbro sold all of its Hasbro Interactive intellectual property to Infogrames (now Atari) when it shut down the studios. In 2005, Take Two Interactive acquired the rights to the X-COM series from Atari[1]. There are unconfirmed rumours that Irrational Games (who are owned by Take Two) may be developing a new X-COM title[2]. In May of 2007, a representative of 2K Games (a subsidiary of Take Two) declared on the Steam forums that they had inherited the X-Com franchise. In light of this, 2K Games re-released X-Com: Terror from the Deep on Steam. The representative mentioned that re-releases for X-Com: UFO Defense and Apocalypse may be possible, but there are no plans at this time.
Attempt at an unofficial remake
was a cancelled game by the authors of the original game (Mythos Games), claimed to having been "essentially a remake of the first X-Com with 3D graphics".[3] (In 2002 Dreamland rights were sold to Altar Interactive, who renamed game to UFO: Aftermath and restarted production.)
"Spiritual" successors
Because of the game popularity, other game developers have created games similar in theme and tone of the X-COM games. The levels in which they borrow from the original series varies.
- UFO: Aftermath is a 2003 singleplayer game heavily influenced by the X-COM series. During its development, the developers solicited comments from the X-COM fan community. It has since been followed by two sequels, UFO: Aftershock in 2005 and UFO: Afterlight in 2007.
- In 2005, developer Codo Technologies (made up of several members of the original X-COM team), and publisher Namco released Rebelstar: Tactical Command for the Game Boy Advance.
- UFO: Extraterrestrials by Chaos Concept, aiming to be an unofficial sequel to the X-COM series.
- UFO: Alien Invasion is a computer game, heavily influenced by the X-COM series, primarily X-COM: UFO Defense.
Accolades
- X-COM: UFO Defense was voted "best PC game of all time" by the staff of IGN in 2007.[4]
- X-COM appeared as #22 on Computer Gaming World's list of the best games of all time in 1996.
- X-COM: UFO Defense appeared as #21 on IGN's "Top 100 Games of All Time" list in 2007.[5]
Elerium-115
Elerium-115 is a fictitious element featured in the series. It is said to contain high amounts of energy. In the first X-Com game it is only acquirable by a limited number of methods and cannot be manufactured, thus making it one of the most valuable items in the game. In later games, it can be extracted in mines on other planets. In the first installment of the series, Elerium is first discovered when scavenging intercepted UFO:s. It is used by aliens for propulsion and for their special 'plasma' weapons. Elerium is said to be a source of great energy, more than could be acquired by means of nuclear fission. The mysterious element is in short supply all through the game, especially in the late part as the player grows more and more dependent on it for energy. Later in the game the player also develops his own elerium-powered weapons called fusion ball (following the example of the alien weapon Blaster Launcher). It is depicted in the game as an orange crystalline substance. In the second installment of the series, another element called zrbite is used by aliens in a similar way as elerium but seems to be a bit richer in supply. In X-COM: Apocalypse, the third installment of the series, Elerium is used to power all engines and most weapons and can be bought from a corporation known as solmine, which has apparently found a way to produce this element. Due to it being available quite affordably through the game, acquiring it is never an issue. In X-COM: Interceptor, the fourth installment in the series but taking place third in the timeline, a synthetic form of Elerium-115 is developed and is considered weapons grade, allowing the deployment of various new weapons systems. During the game prior to this, the use of the element for military purposes other than power generation or propulsion was prohibited due to the limited supplies.
See also
- Laser Squad: The original sci-fi strategy game by the developers of X-COM
- Laser Squad Nemesis: a multiplayer game from the original creators of X-COM
- UFO: a TV series that heavily influenced the plot of X-COM
- 1995 novel "X-COM: UFO Defense" by Diane Duane.
- 1997 Russian novelization of UFO: Enemy Unknown by Vladimir Vasilyev.
- 2001 "Commander-in-Chief" by Nikolai Gudanets is loosely based on X-COM.
References
- ^ Trademark Assignment Details for Atari from the United States Patent and Trademark Office
- ^ "Irrational Games Developing X-COM Title?" article from Shacknews
- ^ XCom UFO creators strategy game Laser Squad Nemesis (HTML). Codo Technologies. Retrieved on 2007-11-26.
- ^ Top 25 PC Games of All Time (HTML). IGN (March 16, 2007). Retrieved on April 5, 2007.
- ^ Top 100 Games of all Time (HTML). IGN (November 28, 2007). Retrieved on November 29, 2007.
External links
General
- Devisraad.com's X-Com page: The oldest X-Com website still on the web. Has been dormant for years, but still hosts unique content including new ship maps for X-Com 1 & 2, plus a bunch of game tools & utilities for the first 3 games.
- UFOPaedia: An extensive wiki containing information, analysis, strategy, and other resources for the X-COM series of games.
- The X-COM series at MobyGames
- An in-depth description of the first game of the series with numerous screenshots
- XCOMUFO.com: Another X-COM fan site with numerous resources and patches for the Windows versions of the X-COM games
- Dave Ellis Interview: A three-part interview with Dave Ellis, the game designer of X-COM: Interceptor and X-COM: Genesis
- Bob Kathman Interview: An interview with Bob Kathman, a graphic artist on the team behind the ill-fated X-COM: Alliance
- StrategyCore.co.uk: News, fan-fiction, files, forums and more (formerly X-COM.co.uk)
Newsgroups
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| Main X-COM series games | X-COM: UFO Defense (Mythos Games, 1993) • X-COM: Terror from the Deep (MicroProse, 1995) • X-COM: Apocalypse (Mythos Games, 1997) • X-COM: Genesis (Hasbro Interactive, cancelled) |
| X-COM spin-off games | X-COM: Interceptor (MicroProse, 1998) • X-COM: Email games (Hasbro Interactive, 1999) • X-COM: Alliance (Hasbro Interactive, cancelled) • X-COM: Enforcer (Infogrames, 2001) |
| Unofficial games by Julian Gollop | (Mythos Games, cancelled) • Laser Squad Nemesis (Codo Technologies, 2003) • Rebelstar: Tactical Command (Codo Technologies, 2005) |
| Games inspired by the X-COM series | UFO: Aftermath (Altar Games, 2003) • UFO: Aftershock (Altar Games, 2005) • UFO: Afterlight (Altar Games, 2007) • Pocket UFO (freeware, 2006) • UFO: Extraterrestrials (Chaos Concept, 2007) • UFO: Alien Invasion (open source, in development) • Project Xenocide (open source, in development) • UFO2000 (open source, in development)• (in development) |
