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[kilakan]

I mean for the time period... global information sharing didn't really exist in any form.  Provided you seized and destroyed cameras and the like of areas that the aliens attacked in, all you'd have is a few people who 'claimed' to have seen/been attacked by aliens and then probably abducted by the government to cover up everything else.

It's sorta like all the pictures of 'big foot'  are totally discredited because most of em are proven hoaxs.  Any sort of alien documentation save an actual specimen would be pretty easily discredited from that time period.

So yeah, I think the Bureau is cannon but I also believe that even in the Bureau everyone involved was discharged and told to never speak of it on pain of death.  So probably does rule out that any sort of preparation was really made for the start of newCom

[scrdest]

It might be that Bureau is canon, but it's broad-strokes canon. Aliens attacked in the Sixties, an agency to become proto-XCOM responded, some polite gentlemen with a rather monochromatic taste in suits discussed with the witness a string of fatal accidents happening to people whose memory was persistent in believing in some alien invasion, the whole affair was covered up, but the details are off.

[Neonivek]

It might be that Bureau is canon, but it's broad-strokes canon. Aliens attacked in the Sixties, an agency to become proto-XCOM responded, some polite gentlemen with a rather monochromatic taste in suits discussed with the witness a string of fatal accidents happening to people whose memory was persistent in believing in some alien invasion, the whole affair was covered up, but the details are off.

I think so too. There is just too much to cover up in the game for it to have possibly been covered up as neatly as it was.

Especially since the information needed to leak to every major nation in the world and every world leader.

But if you ignore ALL the side stuff and focus on only the main story... it works to an extent. SURE you have an entire city destroyed by aliens though, but I'd believe that over the mass destruction and panic that was created through the entire campaign.

I mean for the time period... global information sharing didn't really exist in any form.

Well ignoring that for Xcom to exist that information needed to be given to them anyhow. I understand, it allows me to believe that maybe an entire town was killed and that could be covered up.

Though if you add up the side story it starts to seem less like a secret invasion and more like an all out war.

[Rolan7]

So I just gave The Bureau a shot, 50 minutes worth apparently.  Still in the intro, but I think about at the end.

It seems interesting.  It plays very much like Mass Effect 1 (I didn't play 2 or 3).  You go into a tactical mode and issue orders, and your squad members have various unique abilities.  Also, the dialogue is literally a circular selector.  Though so far (intro) the options have been just optional questions, plus a clearly demarked way-to-progress.

Shooting sectoids in the head is incredibly satisfying.  Like, wow, all these years of oldCOM and newCOM paid off just a little when I got to line up a shot and freakin hit.  (Enforcer didn't have that at all, it was super arcadey).

The 50's aesthetic is pretty cool, too.  I think I watched two seasons of Mad Men before I finally accepted that it had nothing at all to do with private detective stories.  In this, areas of interest are marked "Investigate".  Well done devs, you hit the mark.

It's pretty crazy.  Like, the first soldier you randomly meet, can turn fucking invisible because he's an "infiltrator" or whatever.  Then you recruit an engineer, who can summon a LASER turret from the ether.  I don't even know what this third character can do yet.  Based on her intro, probably snipe (through cover or something).
Main character smokes gravel, but what else is new.  And it works better in the 50's setting.

In summary, I'm really not far in it, but it seems pretty decent.  I'm excited at the chance to shoot aliens from cover, and so far this is a decent medium for doing so.

[Neonivek]

What is funny is that the game probably would have been WAY better received had it been announced after Firaxis' version.

[IronyOwl]

Sadly yeah. It's interesting, but I think it would have turned out better if they'd just let it be a Bioshock clone.

That said, I believe it was plagued with problems in general, not just shrieking hordes of XCOM fans demanding the blood of the false prophet.

[EnigmaticHat]

Yeah, the fact that it wasn't working is why it ended up with the Xcom label in the first place.

[YaW]

So, can I play XCOM 2 without having played Enemy Unknown? I mean storywise. I read that it's kind of a fresh start in new circumstances.

I left EU 10 hours in because my computer broke and couldn't get back to it immediately, so I felt kind of lazy to replay it from start after a month.

Yeah, it's alt universe.
Play it without issue.

Or more accurately, it's the sequel to getting a game over three missions in or so. Not much actual story happened.

Awesome, thanks. That's one of the best starting points for a sequel I've seen in a long time.

[Sensei]

So, can I play XCOM 2 without having played Enemy Unknown? I mean storywise. I read that it's kind of a fresh start in new circumstances.

I left EU 10 hours in because my computer broke and couldn't get back to it immediately, so I felt kind of lazy to replay it from start after a month.

Yeah, it's alt universe.
Play it without issue.

Or more accurately, it's the sequel to getting a game over three missions in or so. Not much actual story happened.

Awesome, thanks. That's one of the best starting points for a sequel I've seen in a long time.

That said, you may as well get Enemy Unknown for a dollar in the current Humble Bundle.

[sluissa]

Yeah, EU, while not my favorite X-Com game, is still fun, and compared to the oldcom games, fairly quick to play through. And even if you don't mind losing out story-wise, a lot of the mechanics in XCOM2 seem to be pumped up from XCOM 1... You might be able to jump in fine, but without some experience, you might struggle for a while until you figure the basics out. Definitely a trial by fire. OTOH, they may include a decent tutorial which will handhold you through a mission or two. I dunno.

[kilakan]

Sadly yeah. It's interesting, but I think it would have turned out better if they'd just let it be a Bioshock clone.

That said, I believe it was plagued with problems in general, not just shrieking hordes of XCOM fans demanding the blood of the false prophet.

yeah the first time I played the game I think maybe...  5ish levels barely loaded?  And the last never loaded at all.

I mean for the time period... global information sharing didn't really exist in any form.

Well ignoring that for Xcom to exist that information needed to be given to them anyhow. I understand, it allows me to believe that maybe an entire town was killed and that could be covered up.

Though if you add up the side story it starts to seem less like a secret invasion and more like an all out war.

Rephrase-Permanent global information sharing didn't exist.   Radios did, but unless you're listening in right now you aren't gonna catch it a few hours from now.  For example The War of the Worlds was originally broadcast over live radio and a very large number of people thought it was really happening and not just a radio story,  though trying to prove it's real is the same as me walking up to someone and saying. 'hey dude, I saw a zombie the other day.'

Yeah, EU, while not my favorite X-Com game, is still fun, and compared to the oldcom games, fairly quick to play through. And even if you don't mind losing out story-wise, a lot of the mechanics in XCOM2 seem to be pumped up from XCOM 1... You might be able to jump in fine, but without some experience, you might struggle for a while until you figure the basics out. Definitely a trial by fire. OTOH, they may include a decent tutorial which will handhold you through a mission or two. I dunno.

it also looks a lot more player friendly now, since you can see what enemies you have vision on from a given tile before you move.   One of the harder things in newCom is really trying to figure out 'Do I see him, and do I flank him?'

[Aklyon]

I see the New hours have updated.

[10ebbor10]

Yeah, EU, while not my favorite X-Com game, is still fun, and compared to the oldcom games, fairly quick to play through. And even if you don't mind losing out story-wise, a lot of the mechanics in XCOM2 seem to be pumped up from XCOM 1... You might be able to jump in fine, but without some experience, you might struggle for a while until you figure the basics out. Definitely a trial by fire. OTOH, they may include a decent tutorial which will handhold you through a mission or two. I dunno.

Pretty sure they're gonna include a decent tutorial. Or at least a tutorial no worse than what we have now.

[Rince Wind]

Maybe one where you don't sacrifice your troops to stupid decisions?

[Culise]

Maybe one where you don't sacrifice your troops to stupid decisions?

I hope.  It might be nifty if your tutorial mission happened to be actually stealing the Avenger - infiltration, hacking, and so forth - but I think that happened concurrently with or before the Commander came back.