Xenonauts

1. Sghignifiss

   Jun 16, 2014

   10

   Here we are, finally writing the proper review for this game. I've decided to wait for the final version before writing anything about itHere we are, finally writing the proper review for this game. I've decided to wait for the final version before writing anything about it because despite the long time it took to be finished, it really deserves to be evaluated in its final shape.
   
   First thing first, I must say there are lots of x-com remakes out there. Since I'm one of the few lucky players that have played (and loved, despite I was just a kid) the original series the time it was released, it is well-known that all later remakes never really succeed to reach the quality (or even the game type) of the original. X-Com: Enemy Unknown and its successors were a very complex but still very engaging type of game. None of the later versions was as deep as the old ones, and this is plain truth.
   
   Xenonauts is just another remake, but this time it is the right one. It is clear that the developers have vastly played the old series and have absorbed the real nature of it. Everything here is in place and working, something (aka aerial fights, just to tell one) is even better than the original, if it could be possible!
   
   Now that I'm grown up and I understand what tactics mean, playing this game make me desire to come back in time and play the old series the way I'm playing Xenonauts now. It's really a lot of fun. My love to the old series is even bigger now, thanks to Xenonauts and its incredible fidelity to the original game.
   
   The game itself is really well done, in mostly every aspect. It does give you the right sensation of alien invasion, it is really hard to manage every ufo in sight and succeed. Aerial fights are often quite difficult but entertaining (only con: waiting time during retreat). Ground combat is simply great, the AI is sufficiently smart to even surprise you, sometimes, and that's really appreciated for a game like this. Base management is quite intricate due to a menu system I really do not love that much, but it is still playable without great difficulty.
   
   For me is a plain 10/10 also considering it is and indie game. Absolute try for every fan of the old series.… Expand

   • 11 of 17 users found this helpful
2. BooBoo71

   Jun 30, 2014

   10

   Amazing old school style game definitely the second coming of Xcom , very challenging, frustrating and exciting game with an amazing modAmazing old school style game definitely the second coming of Xcom , very challenging, frustrating and exciting game with an amazing mod community that is making a great game even better. 10 out of 10 for me!!… Expand

   • 2 of 5 users found this helpful
4. br54

   Jul 13, 2014

   9

   This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Xenonauts is the spiritual successor to UFO: Enemy Unknown, also known as X-Com: UFO Defense. Sadly I've never experienced UFO Defense. But after playing Xenonauts I get a pretty good sense on what kind of game UFO Defense was.
   
   When I first went into Xenonauts I was skeptical about what I was in for. Something like turned base strategic combat was very different to the traditional RTS play style. It took some time to get use to but in the end I found that it was easy to comprehend and easy to learn for newcomers such as myself.
   
   The game's graphics might drive people away because they're "dated" or "unpolished". But I feel like the art style works great. The style looks retro and it fits with the game. It's not overwhelming my computer with triple A 3d graphics and its a nice throwback to the older era of games.
   
   The game's soundtrack is fantastic! It makes me feel very immersive. It gets me pumped to take down a UFO during the Air combat minigame and gives me a sense of hoplessness during night missions. And the SFX being done by Tapio Liukkonen, the guy who did the SFX in Amnesia the dark decent, is a plus in my book.
   
   One of my favorite things of the game is the setting. The game is set during cold war 1979. Everything is very low tech and at the beginning you feel overwhelmed by the Alien invaders using Plasma weaponry while you're still running around with simple ballistic rifles. But as time goes on and you gather Alien technology you get to see the world advance from people using things like old Apple Macintosh to fully functional Holographic computers! From your simple Ballistic weapons to Laser, Plasma, and soon MAG. And even robotic arms for the handicap! And even the creation of the Internet! (Or the Internetwork as the game calls it) You get to see the world unfold around you as your technology moves fast and you create better and better equipment.
   
   As you research things the game will give you an explanation on what the item you just researched is. All this is set in the little archive known as the Xenopedia. It's where all the documented alien life forms UFO's technology weapons etc. go. I spent hours in the Xenopedia reading as much as I could, learning about the Alien's and why they came to Earth.
   
   With all the positives aside there are still some downsides on the game. It's obvious the game isn't complete even though it's officially released. There are many bugs and glitches that need to be ironed out but Goldhawk interactive is working hard to fix them all. The game has no in-game tutorial. It took me awhile to learn the games controls that could have been summed up in a small tutorial. (There is a game manual but it's something I didn't look for.) There is a lot of cool unused content in the game that would have been very fun to use in the game. Another problem is the Alien powers. Some aliens get things like mind control and can make your teammates start killing each other. This is a thing I desperately hate. There's no way to defend against it. It's based on the bravery of the soldier and I have no idea how it works. Hopefully they add something to counter Alien Mind control. But for now I go into the game files and simply disable Mind control.
   
   Probably my biggest letdown was the final mission.
   
   (Spoiler below!) Skip the next paragraph to avoid any spoilers about the game!
   
   The final mission is hard and makes you rush but it's not that satisfying. I would have loved to see a long ass mission that would take a long time to complete. In the last mission you're infiltrating the alien Dreadnaught and you're suppose to kill the leader of the alien invasion. But it's just one big hallway guarded by tons of aliens. It doesn't seem like a dreadnaught and feels very rushed for a last mission. I expected something large and intimidating like the alien bases you have to infiltrate and destroy around the world. Though this can probably be fixed by the lovely map editor. :)
   
   (Spoiler ends)
   
   Xenonauts is a fantastic game. It gives me the experience I missed out on with UFO defense. It's very in depth and makes me work for the things I need. I love the micromanaging and constant tension that your best soldier might die around the next corner. It's a game that I couldn't recommend enough to anyone who loved the original X-com.… Expand

   • 3 of 5 users found this helpful
5. Knightpt

   Jul 14, 2014

   8

   It's definately the best classic x-com game remake. I don't realy consider FIraxis X-com as a true classical x-COM remake, that one is more ofIt's definately the best classic x-com game remake. I don't realy consider FIraxis X-com as a true classical x-COM remake, that one is more of a completely new game with just the story of the classic. Xenonauts on the other hand tries to update classical old x-com UFO unknown to better graphics, always stay faithfull to the feeling and vibe of it's roots and even tries to add something of its own to grow on the classical game.
   
   The developers realy had a lot of attention to keep the old vibe and never get too radical in changes, i understand that and i realy apreciate people realy respecting one of the best strategies game ever made, that many many companies tried to reproduce but always failed to recreate the feeling.
   
   Xenonauts can capture some of the initial x-com vibe, i'm very please with that. I don't give more of a score because the balance doesn't feel right sometimes. People keep losing countries to the aliens in times you can't even build a radar detection there, i believe the developers wanted to give us a feeling of urgency, but it feels realy fake like if a country will go dark in 2 months if you just don't go there and kill stuff... feels unnatural. The game does a good job of keeping random stuff happening in the world you can't control or do anything but losing a country very fast like they are sitting ducks just doesn't feel right.
   
   Other than that, the random maps are repetitive. There is a comunity mod you can download to add more variety but feels... cheap from the developers not doing that aswell.
   
   So basicaly two strong negative points, but realy gets you the feeling of nostalgia from x-com and a bunch of other good stuff in the strategy genre, totaly worth the price and feel the love (and respect / admiration) the devs had with x-com - A true homage.
   
   Recomended.… Expand

   • 7 of 9 users found this helpful
6. iseeall

   Nov 22, 2014

   7

   This remake of XCom is the closest one to the original, yet it still changes some things, and the changes are a mix of good and bad.
   
   TheThis remake of XCom is the closest one to the original, yet it still changes some things, and the changes are a mix of good and bad.
   
   The good:
   
   - music is excellent
   - excellent writing! Also, the descriptions are very logical (e.g. why invasion starts with small UFOs, why laser weapons have similar types like the ballistic ones and many other).
   - controls are much easier (especially compared to "instant scrolling" you get when playing XCom: UFO Defense, which was a DOS game, on fast modern computers - where you'd have to exit to battlefield map overview to move camera)
   - 2D air combat where you can sometimes win by manually controlling the planes even if the enemy ships were stronger and would win on autoresolve)
   - you can airstrike crash sites for smaller cash reward if your chopper is too far away
   - can see the line your shot will fly along and percentages about what things may block it!
   - shield which is a must for earlier missions.
   - graphics of the xenopedia
   - more types of terrain objects which provide partial cover (which works like it should, e.g. if you are right behind a tree, you will shoot thru it easily while it will block shots of the enemy).
   - can open/close doors without walking thru them
   
   The so-so things:
   
   - many small details where streamlined, e.g. inventory management, selling of loot, equipping interceptors, upgrades of weapons. Storage room has unlimited capacity, basic ballistic weapons cost nothing etc. They wanted to free the player from the "tedious micromanagement". Apparently, micromanaging was part of the fun.
   - the Earth is flat. It's maybe easier this way, but the 3D globe of the original with more realistic radar coverage felt better.
   - graphics of the battlefield, of the GUI, the soldiers. It feels like graphics in the 2D client of Ultima Online or something. It's still an improvement over the original, but after 23 years?!
   - almost all tactical maps are mazes, overfilled with things, which looks unrealistic and also makes sniper rifles almost useless - but well, it also helps to make more useful the weapons with shorter range
   - the game keeps the system of time units (action point) and "reflexes"/return shots just like in the original. I know some people like the old XCom system a lot but I much more prefer the JA2 system, for example, where turn-based mode only starts when solders of opposing teams see each other. This makes for much more fluent gameplay, and also a fairer one (cuz in XCom you are punished for moving forward because you always have fewer action points left than camping enemies). Besides, in JA 2 you could do anything during a turn interrupt (e.g. move away) while in XCom your solders would usually do 1 or 2 useless snap shots.
   - just like in the original, randomness of hits/misses in battle, combined with overpowered enemy shots in the beginning of the game results in a feeling that it's too much a game of luck than tactics and at some point you notice that you reload every time your soldier is killed, especially if it's your first playthru and the death was due to a rule/glich/feature you didn't know/expect.
   
   The bad:
   
   - most terrain objects now have a lot more hitpoints, so it takes much longer to destroy them, which results in very static battlefields. No more shooting wild with laser rifles or throwing grenades just to clear the view (even Alien grenades don't destroy walls, wtf!). The fact that terrain is now almost indestructible takes away a whole (interesting) piece of gameplay.
   - some interesting weapons missing (grenades with motion sensor? fire grenades/rockets? do you recall that fire actually was a light source in night missions in the original?)
   - night missions are now dull. Aliens can see in the dark, and at the same time you have an endless supply of light flares. Which means now you move even slower and throw endless light flares on every step. This doesn't make the game more interesting. In the original at least it was fun when you ran out or light flares and had to pick up those you had thrown already and throw them again.
   - throwing range of grenades is significantly shorter now, making grenades of very limited use. Oh and now grenades destroy ALL loot and the corpse itself! In the original the grenades would leave the corpse and the loot first, but more grenade explosions would wipe out the corpse first, then the loot.
   - smoke system is a joke, as well as fire system. In the original, smoke would slowly make soldiers unconscious, also there was a lot more smoke from every grenade and every fire. Fire used to spread.
   - aliens don't attack your base (haven't seen it?)
   - AI seems to always know where your soldiers are (so flanking or coming from behind is useless)
   - all soldiers have the same models which makes them feel anonymous
   - no frontal/rear/side armor, just armor
   - ufos always the same (in the original the hull could have holes, even in the roof, depending on the type of rockets you downed it with).… Expand

   • 8 of 8 users found this helpful
7. Klewer

   Dec 28, 2018

   6

   Average remaketribute to XCOM. Combat is overly tough, even on Normal. Base building is solid but overall you're better off spending yourAverage remaketribute to XCOM. Combat is overly tough, even on Normal. Base building is solid but overall you're better off spending your money on new XCOM games.… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
8. LucasMdP

   Jul 24, 2020

   0

   This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Bienvenidos fanáticos de X-Com. No esperen la amabilidad de los Enemy Unknown. Este es un juego la vieja usanza. La mejor experiencia, XCom, en la actualidad, la van a encontrar en Phoenix Point. Tanto gráficamente como a nivel jugabilidad.
   Xenonauts, el juego que estoy puntuando. Es un juego que no le interesa que sea un juego. Me explico. No va a facilitar ninguna tarea y muchísimo menos, perdonarte la vida. Se encuentran todos los elementos reconocibles de la saga X-Com.
   Se está desarrollando un Xenonauts 2, el cual, se mantiene con cierto hermetismo, lamentablemente.… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful

See all 56 User Reviews