So, X-Com UFO Defense and X-Com Terror From The Deep are both incredibly complex strategy games that are all about multiple levels of micro-management, very methodical playing, and gaming the system as much as possible (i.e. firing all the soldiers who aren't immune to mind control, which IMHO is meta-gaming).

I got a bunch of the X-Com games off Steam and decided to play a bit of X-Com: Enforcer.

What the hell? It was a medicore arcade-style third-person shooter featuring one big robot who runs around and wastes endless steams of Aliens. It's like Alien Shooter or something.

It is completely different from the first 2 X-Com games. Why the hell did the developer bother to call it X-Com? Who thought it would be a good idea to take a hardcore OCD strategy game and make it into a mediocre shooter?

It was absolutely bizarre to be playing it.

Welcome to the world? All companies abuse their IP as much as possible: Ninja Turtles lunchboxes, Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, 'Windows 7 Phone', etc.

You know there's an X-Com FPS coming out, right?

Ninja Turtles lunchboxes aren't so bad. A stoner who dreams of ninja turtles living in the sewer could fill it with snacks.

I think I'd prefer an X-Com FPS to X-Com: Enforcer. The control on that style of third-person shooter is bad, at least you'd have an easier time aiming with a FPS.

Well there was suppose to be a tactical squad based X-Com FPS type game called X-Com:Alliance but that got caned.

It could be hard to take a tactical FPS seriously if you're fighting outlandish aliens who can mind control your squad.

That's when you need tactics the most!

The same could have been said about the original turn based game as well but it still turned out to be one of the all time best PC games ever made. But Alliance probably would have ended up being "OK" at best so it's a bit of a moot point.

By FAR the most promising thing I've heard about the new X-Com game is their alien designs. They decided to go a strange route for the designs: they figured that people had become inured to "aliens" of a traditional sort, since we're used to seeing strange monsters all over video games, movies, and books. So the aliens are more abstract in their appearances: floating balls of oil and lightning, slimes upon the ground, and - most impressively - the more potent aliens appear as *abstract 3-dimensional shapes, such as rings or obelisks*. They wanted to ensure *players* would feel the same confusion and lack of familiarity that the characters should be feeling.

That's a massively ballsy decision, I think. Here's an example, though obviously design is still ongoing:

http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/image.../500x_xcom1.jpg

I just hope the FPS style game play doesn't dumb the game down too much. Right now the idea of going to a site and gathering evidence of alien activity while trying to decide how long to stay before you get overwhelmed by a increasing alien presence sounds pretty good. But I can see the developers deciding to caterer to the "console kiddy" crowd and making the game a simple as possible shooter with health that recharges to full every few seconds and a award system where you get a nuclear strike ability for killing three enemies in a row.

theres also x-com: apocalypse (paused real time or turn based room to room squad combat) and x-com: interceptor (deep space fighter pilot).

I dunno, if they wanted to do that then probably they wouldn't have you fighting abstract geometric shapes. I mean, the easy thing for them to do would have been to make a gorefest like the latest Alien vs. Predator. But it would be weird if they went out on a limb re the shapes but then just made it into a fps where you blow apart Cubist art.

Hey, some people really hate Cubist art. There could be a market in that, you never know.

What tactics? "Hey, Gamertag4, shoot me, they... crap, not on vent."

Swap to vent. "Yeah, game took my guy over, shoot him around the corner... no, one more corner... yeah that one. Shoot him." *screen goes red* "Yeah, thanks."

Most important elements of X-Com to me...

- Base Building
- Research
- Veterancy
- Global Stategery
- Scripting tactics (I'd like to see something like what Dragon Age did)
- Customizable Names (because who doesn't love naming their crew after friends, family and co-workers?)

If it gets those, I really don't care what the action elements are comprised of.

Heh, don't forget mind controlled squad disaster that must be mitigated by meta gaming.