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[Kaje]

I played it on Classic, it just didn't feel enjoyable to me. It's not the losing - I love rogue-likes and so dying in games is almost second nature - I just felt it was yet another AAA title that had a lot of looks but no heart or soul.

To me, it feels like many "modern remakes and sequels" - the game is good, but does not compare to the original. But the comparison is not necessarily fair; I try to enjoy the game for what is, and look for something different scratch that old itch.
(Ever try the UFO series? They are cheap, work in Windows 7, and are a lot of fun)

Yeah, that's pretty much how I feel.

I think the current generation of games seem to be developed for people who love games like COD. Instant action bursts with very little thinking and an awful lot of rapid clicking.

Don't get me wrong, I love FPS games (mainly online-only ones like Battlefield though) but I'm an old school strategy and simulation fan at heart too. Yet there has been almost nothing to sate my hunger for such games in recent years. Even Civilization V - the next instalment of a famously deep series - seems to action focused and streamlined (or, dare I say, simplified).

And that's the word.

Simplified. Modern games just feel simplified. It's as if developers no longer trust the gamer to be able to think beyond 'pew pew'.

[CognitiveDissonance]

As above really, being a long-time fan of the original series and the spin-offs prior to XCOM: EU it makes me sad that the bigger strategy depth (i.e. base building, researching etc.) seems to have been simplified for the COD generation of players. The smaller scale strategy, i.e. the squad battles, seems like it's turn based tactical lite.

...Oh and not to mention the accents are ALL Yankee regardless of the country the unit comes from

For what it's worth, I followed the original development closely and almost EVERYTHING to do with base development was removed out as it didn't make the cut for release date. I know of a few other areas hit similarly, and I imagine research is included in that.

And once more, do check out the UFO Aftermath, UFO Aftershock and UFO Afterlight. They are NOT sequels, but their own games. And the units do have accents based on where they are from

Spoiler: shameless self plug (click to show/hide)

I have started a Let's Play video on youtube, as seen in my sig. The quality is only now increasing, as I'm very new to this video recording thing, but it can give you an idea for what the game is like

Even Civilization V - the next instalment of a famously deep series - seems to action focused and streamlined (or, dare I say, simplified).

For Civ V specifically, the expansion has REALLY helped, and the upcoming one is going to help even further. Seriously, look into it.
(Also, Cavemen2Cosmos mod for CIV4:BTS has eaten all of my free time lately)

[MetalSlimeHunt]

As above really, being a long-time fan of the original series and the spin-offs prior to XCOM: EU it makes me sad that the bigger strategy depth (i.e. base building, researching etc.) seems to have been simplified for the COD generation of players. The smaller scale strategy, i.e. the squad battles, seems like it's turn based tactical lite.

While I'd certainly like there to be things like Base Assaults, building a bunch of bases all over the planet just to shore up your radar coverage was kind of a terrible system. Maybe you're different, but I don't know of any X-Com players that put meaningful investment into the ability to make multiple bases. The base system as it stands now definitely requires planning on high difficulty. You have to have the caverns cleared out for when you need them, but you also have to be careful not to break the chain of bonuses for building similar rooms adjacent to one another. At the same time, the bonus system applies equally in all directions but building deeper down requires exponentially more resources. All of this with trying to reserve enough resources to actually do any base building when it is very tempting to outfit your squad as much as possible. Sounds like strategy to me.

I think research is better now than it was, personally. In the original you could inflate your scientist pool whenever you had the money to brute-force research, here you only get scientists as mission rewards and monthly allotments, forcing you to chose what research is most likely to benefit you.

I totally disagree with the criticism of the squad size. Being able to bring dozens of guys on a mission and just swarm the alien menace kind of degrades their threat level.

I don't know, it just seems like somebody wanted to make a turn-based strategy title that would pull in the action crowd instead of really sate the hunger of the true strategy fans out there.

I've met the action crowd, they'd cry if they had to play this game.

Oh and not to mention the accents are ALL Yankee regardless of the country the unit comes from

Eh, voice acting is expensive.

[GlyphGryph]

To be honest, I consider XCom to be an improvement on and refinement of the same Genre as Valkerie Chronicles more than anything else.

I think the upper-level management and world layer could have used some work - workshops and labs are especially wonky - and would have loved base assault missions or missions where you could attack enemy bases, loot stuff, and then get out without having to kill everything, but I certainly don't think it was /terrible/. The strategic layer is probably the most important aspect of the game, success-wise.

[Mephansteras]

While I'd certainly like there to be things like Base Assaults, building a bunch of bases all over the planet just to shore up your radar coverage was kind of a terrible system. Maybe you're different, but I don't know of any X-Com players that put meaningful investment into the ability to make multiple bases.

I did. I usually had at least one base dedicated to research, one to Manufacturing, and one that ended up being mass storage for all the overflow. Those were all separate from the two or three Action bases that were actually manned with soldiers and interceptors to do the fighting (and be targets for base attacks).

Not necessary, of course, but it felt better to do things that way.

[Leafsnail]

I really have to disagree with criticisms of the changes to the battle system.  As MSH said, the large squad sizes in the original allowed you to beat most missions with ease as long as you had the patience to use a full team of well equipped soldiers.  The fact you could take tonnes of grenades also made item conservation a non-issue almost all the time.

The new game's system retains a good strategic feel without being remotely as tedious, and you have to be more careful of losing one soldier or using one item (losing 1 out of 6 soldiers/ grenades is a Big Deal while losing 1/18 just isn't).

That said, I think it's hurt by the loss of variety in the missions (particularly the Base Assault removal and the fact that the latter half of the game is all about fighting very similar missions on very similar UFO maps), as well as the fact that the game gets too easy after you're over the initial hump.

I think research is better now than it was, personally. In the original you could inflate your scientist pool whenever you had the money to brute-force research, here you only get scientists as mission rewards and monthly allotments, forcing you to chose what research is most likely to benefit you.

Has everyone seen the 9 minutes 20 seconds speedrun of the original game?  I think everyone should.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RxcCY6MCZY

If you know what you're doing the original is extremely breakable.

[Kaje]

As above really, being a long-time fan of the original series and the spin-offs prior to XCOM: EU it makes me sad that the bigger strategy depth (i.e. base building, researching etc.) seems to have been simplified for the COD generation of players. The smaller scale strategy, i.e. the squad battles, seems like it's turn based tactical lite.

...Oh and not to mention the accents are ALL Yankee regardless of the country the unit comes from

For what it's worth, I followed the original development closely and almost EVERYTHING to do with base development was removed out as it didn't make the cut for release date. I know of a few other areas hit similarly, and I imagine research is included in that.

And once more, do check out the UFO Aftermath, UFO Aftershock and UFO Afterlight. They are NOT sequels, but their own games. And the units do have accents based on where they are from

Spoiler: shameless self plug (click to show/hide)

I have started a Let's Play video on youtube, as seen in my sig. The quality is only now increasing, as I'm very new to this video recording thing, but it can give you an idea for what the game is like

Even Civilization V - the next instalment of a famously deep series - seems to action focused and streamlined (or, dare I say, simplified).

For Civ V specifically, the expansion has REALLY helped, and the upcoming one is going to help even further. Seriously, look into it.
(Also, Cavemen2Cosmos mod for CIV4:BTS has eaten all of my free time lately)

I've played many of the UFO games and really like them, they feel - to me anyway - like the only true successors to the original XCOM series! I'll check out your Let's Play, though - it might entice me to re-install!

And I'll also check out Cavemen2Cosmos for Civ4 - any chance of a quick PM summary of what it's about?

[WillowLuman]

I tried the original because I found out about it after trying the new one. And honestly, it was fun. I wasn't big on the campy 90's comic/anime thing it had going, but it was fun.

I will say that I was eventually able to give the entire squad blaster launchers, and the only part I had trouble with after that was capturing the commanders alive so I could beat the game. Soldiers would blow each other up sometimes, I didn't like it, but it seemed the new (cheap) recruits could fire the blaster launchers as well as anyone else.

[USEC_OFFICER]

but it seemed the new (cheap) recruits could fire the blaster launchers as well as anyone else.

The Blaster-Launcher ignores accuracy completely, probably because it fires guided munitions. So a rookie with a blaster launcher can operate it just as well as an experienced veteran (though would probably have difficulties lugging it and its ammo around).

[Lightningfalcon]

but it seemed the new (cheap) recruits could fire the blaster launchers as well as anyone else.

The Blaster-Launcher ignores accuracy completely, probably because it fires guided munitions. So a rookie with a blaster launcher can operate it just as well as an experienced veteran (though would probably have difficulties lugging it and its ammo around).

Why'd they need to lug it around?  That's what the skyranger/avenger is for. 

[Sharp]

Has everyone seen the 9 minutes 20 seconds speedrun of the original game?  I think everyone should.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RxcCY6MCZY

If you know what you're doing the original is extremely breakable.

Meh, save-scumming isn't really a speed run. Shortest possible way to win the game for game days but not really an achievement as anyone can do it with save scumming.

Also I was dissapointed with the lack of detail in XCOM: EU, soldier accents, same maps, I can't say it's worse then the original in that regard but coming from Firaxis you would expect a bit more effort on the fluffy details, they easily have access to the voices which they put in the civ games and could have done a bit more then just having a london bus skin, would have been nice to maybe even have some landmark maps.

[USEC_OFFICER]

Why'd they need to lug it around?  That's what the skyranger/avenger is for.

No clue. Never got that far in the original game.

[Ibid Straydrink]

Oh and not to mention the accents are ALL Yankee regardless of the country the unit comes from

Eh, voice acting is expensive.

Then could we pretty please just dispense with it altogether..? 

[forsaken1111]

Yeah, its not really feasible to source and hire enough actors from every represented country in the game. You'd need 2-3 minimum. Probably 4, 2 men and 2 women. If the voices bother you, just turn them off. I think you can anyway.

[Leafsnail]

They could've tried crowdsourcing it.  That certainly would not have led to hilariously terrible accents.