E3 2011: XCOM's Back from the Drawing Board

Last year's XCOM wasn't "XCOM-y enough," according to the developers. It had lost its turn-based, gridded action, and became a standard first-person shooter. After enough of an outcry, 2K Marin dug in and changed the formula. They've returned with an XCOM that remains a first-person shooter, but it now has tactical, team-based gameplay that more closely honors its roots.

XCOM's coolest feature is the setting. This element from last year's demo remains the same. The fifties are in full swing, the United States in the middle of the Cold War. But there are bigger problems than the Russians; alien forces have invaded strategic areas throughout the country. The style of the decade is woven throughout the art style, characters, and story. For instance, agents strapped-up for combat still have their ties tied, their shirts tucked in, and don't forget their hats.

XCOM's E3 Trailer

This fresh build of XCOM attempts twisting its FPS gameplay. There's a cool Tactical menu that allows control of the three-man XCOM squad where teammates can be sent to cover, ordered to attack in specific ways, or decoys setup to confuse the cube-faced aliens. While it does initially feel like a callback to the original XCOM, with "time points" allocated to different commands, the entire menu system feels like an ancillary addition to the straight gameplay.

Despite the Tactical route, the entire game still feels as though you can run into any situation guns-blazing and come out alive on the other side. The system's controlled like the squad-wheel from Mass Effect. This is a cool idea that I can't quite pin down if it works well or not - especially because it feels like you might not need it.


The demo worked through some cool set pieces, from black monoliths in the sky to the alien homeworld, but the short level wasn't enough to settle how far XCOM has come. There are some cool ideas at play, and the developers do understand what longtime fans are looking for, but at this juncture it isn't visible in the gameplay demonstration. I'm simply not sold yet.

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