One of the greatest PC games of old has been reborn, and it’s in stores today. Originally made by Microprose in the 90s, X-COM: Enemy Unknown was a turned-based strategy game where you controlled a team of specialists hunting down UFO crashes to recover technology and fight off the evil little aliens. It was followed up by a insanely-difficult sequel titled Terror from the Deep, a third game that was a poor sequel to the brilliant originals, and a couple of action-based spin-offs. All of the originals are readily available on Steam if playing ancient 90s PC games don’t bother you, and the first two are definite recommendations to experience at least once.
A couple of years ago 2K revealed a BioShock-inspired first-person-shooter titled X-COM. It looked to be set in the 50s, and the mere existence of a FPS with the X-COM name infuriated fans of the strategy classic. The game made a few public appearances, and a friend of mine was actually a producer on it for a while, but as the backlash grew we heard less and less about the game. By the time Firaxis announced their remake of X-COM: Enemy Unknown, the FPS had become vaporware everyone hopes will never be released.
Today 2K games has released a reboot of the series developed by Firaxis on the PC, Xbox 360, and PS3. While it is on the consoles, the PC version isn’t an afterthought. They made some specific PC enhancements to that version, specifically in the interface and control departments, to make sure the PC gamers won’t feel like they’re just playing a half-assed console port. It’s a remake of a classic strategy game, and it’s really meant to be played with a mouse and keyboard; and Firaxis knew that.
It’s been a long time since the original X-COM was released, and while there was a PlayStation version in the late 90s; the gaming industry is much bigger now and 2K is pushing the remake as a major release. With it on both consoles, more people can experience the scifi strategy genius of X-COM, and if you own any of the platforms; you should give it a try. You may just get hooked.
