Xcom enemy unknown or enemy within first

#Xcom enemy unknown or enemy within first Patch#

ItвЂ™s nothing more than assigning a human name to a collections of pixels and tactical options, but, admit it: naming something does something to the human mind. ThatвЂ™s Killian Lynch, Giorgio Tsoukalos and Marina Sokolova. ThatвЂ™s not just a rookie, a squaddie, or a heavy trooper with a rocket launcher. ItвЂ™s aided by a liberal dosage of minor, largely aesthetic details, that nonetheless do wonders in helping players craft their own stories about the global war of aggression against an unknown alien threat.

#Xcom enemy unknown or enemy within first Patch#

So, as you can imagine, losing any of them вЂ“ the godlike sniper with squad sight, the experienced medic who could patch up wounds вЂ“ is painful. Additionally, veteran troopers gain extremely useful abilities and stat upgrades as they rank up, ensuring theyвЂ™re likely to be your most efficient killing machines in the battles to come. Squad sizes in XCOM are limited to six at the most, so every loss вЂ“ even of the rookies вЂ“ hurts deeply, at least while youвЂ™re still in the battle.

The mechanics argument is a fairly simple one based entirely on utility, usefulness, and plain tactical worth. It does this, rather, in two major ways: purely through the gameвЂ™s mechanics, and via dashes of narrative aesthetics. Not in a вЂњsoldier playing a harmonica and speaking lovingly of homeвЂќ kind of way, or in a вЂњhe was just two weeks from retirementвЂќ sense nothing quite so blatant or crass. Blood for the blood god, and all that.Д«ut XCOM makes you care about your troopers. In any other strategy game, where your units arenвЂ™t pre-made characters (lookinвЂ™ at you, Fire Emblem), you wouldnвЂ™t give a damn about your rookies. YouвЂ™re sending units into the meatgrinder, and you know it. Think about it: youвЂ™re the commander of an elite military unit defending the Earth from overwhelming alien invasion. Perhaps the most surprising thing about XCOM вЂ“ to people who didnвЂ™t really get into the original, at least вЂ“ is how personal the whole thing can get. But, man, am I glad to see it back in action. With XCOM: Enemy Unknown shipping in the US and Europe this week, Patrick Lum explores the reboot's emergent narrative and systemic storytelling.Д«efore video games came along, where else were you going to get player-authored narratives? Pen-and-paper RPGs, maybe.