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The following text was published accompanying this video on the XCOM blog:
Hey folks,
So we’ve been flying under the radar with XCOM, for about a year – and felt that it was about time to put together a little video update in order to lift the curtain on the reasons why.
2K Marin have been taking a bit of flack for XCOM, before anyone got closer to the game other than the brief recent trailer. For those unfamiliar with the ancient X-COM franchise, it appeared in 1994 as UFO: Enemy Unknown, which many sources consider to be one of the greatest strategical and tactical games of all time.
Gamers have reason to be concerned, since it has been well over a decade since an X-COM game worthy of the original has appeared. The 2001 ill-advised action-game entitled X-COM: Enforcer failed to bring new gamers into the franchise, as well as completely alienating their core cult audience.
2K is already encountering these criticisms before the game has even been played, purely due to the first-person perspective. To partially alleviate these concerns, 2K focused on the deep story and mood framing the piece, as well as the huge tactical element to the game. Our developer hosts made note that the 1962 setting is to make the backdrop of the game the death of the 1950s baby boomer American Dream. Similarly, the X-COM organization is made up those who would be considered outsiders of idealized 1950s America.
The original X-Com was released in 1993. It was based on themes of fear and uncertainty, all propped within a strategy framework.
Today, 2K Marin, the developers of the BioShock series, demonstrated XCom for us. Like its predecessor, XCom is a game about fear and strategic decision-making, but the reboot has shuffled over to the first-person shooter camp.
Set against the backdrop of idyllic 1950s America, XCom tells the story of Special Agent William Carter, who has discovered an alien artefact. Carter has been charged with command of the newly-formed XCom, a shadowy organisation that “exists to fight the unknown,” says 2K.
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XCOM is the re-imagining of the classic tale of humanity’s struggle against an unknown enemy that puts players directly into the shoes of an FBI agent tasked with identifying and eliminating the growing threat. True to the roots of the franchise, players will be placed in charge of overcoming high-stake odds through risky strategic gambits coupled with heart-stopping combat experiences that pit human ingenuity - and frailty - against a foe beyond comprehension. By setting the game in a first-person perspective, players will be able to feel the tension and fear that comes with combating a faceless enemy that is violently probing and plotting its way into our world.
