tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62809926842537931772024-02-20T01:58:27.615-08:00Gaming the SystemDentharialhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06366667141460608851noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6280992684253793177.post-71278122195985291302012-10-23T11:16:00.000-07:002012-10-23T11:16:22.269-07:00Omega Company Pt.6: Close EncountersJumping straight into spoilers for those that haven't read the previous entries.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>XCOM is not meant to be a global army, but only a specialised commando force. The brunt of the conflict is still resting on the shoulders of the various government's armies, but they're really only fighting a delaying action, while XCOM tries to surgically find the magic bullet to disrupting the invaders.<br />
<br />
However, in light of the abrupt change in tactics, the Omega Company is being called in to try and help out where the fighting is fiercest. Today, that is Moscow, Russia.<br />
<br />
I'm able to field a decent squad to go there:<br />
<br />
Brad Mason, All American Hero and Shotgun-wielding Assault<br />
Emily Wallace, Florence Nightingale with a Machine Gun, my Support<br />
Emeka Dambuza, Terror of the Rooftops with his Sniper Rifle<br />
Rookie Watanbe, an up-and-coming hopeful looking to fill Gonzalez's empty boots<br />
And lastly, <i>but by no means least</i>,<br />
Rookie Redshirt.<br />
<br />
Spoiler alert, that last entry might not be his real name.<br />
<br />
As the squad hits the ground, it's instantly clear that this is no normal mission. Intelligence is reporting 18 civilians in the area, and the Council would like as many of those evacuated as possible. Evacuating a civilian is a relatively simple matter of getting a soldier to any square beside them, at which point the soldier in question will tap them on the back and push them in the direction of our Skyranger to get them out. Of course, the civilians aren't always willing to stay still when there's shots fired anywhere near them, and tend to run for the hills at the sight of aliens too. And as I see the new breed of aliens scuttle into my view, I don't blame them.<br />
<br />
These newest aliens have four-legs, and an insect-like exoskeleton. They still have arms, and those seem to end in some pretty vicious claws, but don't appear to be wielding any kind of weapon. That's precious little comfort though, as I see one move <i>fast</i> to sidle up to a civilian on the edge of my sight range. The creature just picks the civilian up, snaps their neck and then drops the body to the floor before...leaning down and...kissing the corpse???? This is no ritualistic honouring of an enemy, that's a full-on saliva exchange. I rapidly backpeddle my troops, retreating and firing on the hostiles and trying to make sure I have enough distance that they can't close to do any more neck-snapping on my soldiers. It's successful, as I manage to kill the nearer one, and severely injure the one that's further away.<br />
<br />
Their turn and, as expected, it scuttles towards me but can't close the distance. Out of the corner of my vision, I see another one scuttle behind some containers, and there's the scream of another civilian being killed. There's another sound from outside of my vision...<br />
<br />
Slowly, something shambles in... It's...the corpse of the civilian that was killed before?<br />
<br />
Ohgodtheymakezombies.<br />
<br />
Shootit!Shootitwitheverything!<br />
<br />
Both the alien and the zombie go down, but my Overwatching soldiers manage to unanimously miss when that third alien, plus his zombie friend, come into view on their next turn. I start unloading bullets into the alien, but after four soldiers have fired, I'm left with a difficult choice. The alien is left at a sliver of health, and my rookie can make an easy shot from where he is. However, doing so will leave him in easy range of the zombie. On the other hand, retreating also means trying to make a harder shot, risking missing, and almost certainly taking a casualty from that creature's apparently insta-kill ability (not to mention -another- zombie rising the next turn). I take the shot, hoping that the zombie's power lies in its psychological impact rather than its fists.<br />
<br />
The zombie takes a swing and does a massive 9 damage. My -highest- health soldiers, with extra armour plating taking up their inventory slot, have 9 health. Shoot it with everything! Farewell Rookie Redshirt, I wish I could be more respectful for your sacrifice, but I never wrote your name down in my notes.<br />
<br />
The others of the squad advance to find a simple pack of Floaters terrorizing the populace. They're taken out relatively quickly, and I end up securing the area with 15 of the original 18 civilians still alive. It's not perfect, but it's better than I expected, and the Council is more than happy with the result. It seems that the Europeans are also pleased, as every European country (which includes Russia for some reason) is at an all-time low of 1 panic. The Council gives me my end-of-April report, and is very happy once again. Watanbe gets his promotion to Heavy, meaning I once again have 1 of every class, plus an extra Sniper (Delgado) and Assault (Wahid).<br />
<br />
There's a UFO attack over China, and I can't help but be a little pleased. Historically, UFO attacks have been some of my most successful missions, and they always fill up my vaults with goodies for my scientists. I take the four survivors of the Moscow mission, add Delgado, and swoop them in for the kill.<br />
<br />
True to form, the mission goes swimmingly as I approach the UFO. Delgado takes a light hit, but Emily Wallace is close to hand and makes sure he's in no real danger. The squad enters the UFO, finds the 'Outsider' energy creature at its core, and settles into a lovely siege position to take advantage of the first mistake it makes.<br />
<br />
And then...<br />
<br />
The Outsider makes a deadly shot on Brad Mason, taking him down to very nearly dead. Mason panics, and runs into the next room to hide...where he finds 4 Floaters. The Floaters immediately zip into the heart of the room where I am, and the mission is suddenly terrifying. Taking out all the Floaters will require a little bit of luck, and it'll require every one of my non-panicking soldiers to make their shot, leaving no time for Emily to run over and patch Brad up, in case of a follow-up shot the next turn. Moreover, the Floaters are in a terrific flanking position, so any one that is left alive could administer a fatal shot on any soldier it chose.<br />
<br />
I weight my options, and decide it's time for Watanbe to really earn his Heavy status. He unslings his rocket launcher, and takes aim...<br />
<br />
I have two choices. If I aim the explosion a touch too far to the south, then I'll catch the UFO's Power Core in the blast. Sad as I would be to lose the tech, the more pressing concern is that I have <i>no idea</i> what it might do when it blows up. Dr. Shen, my head of engineering, has already warned me in the past to be careful with firing bullets around these things, so I don't want to think what a rocket might do. However, if I edge the explosion further away from the Power Core, it'll mean catching Brad in the blast.<br />
<br />
I take my time to make the decision...and eventually realise that I can't, in good conscience, order a shot on my own man. I'll take the unknown risk of losing more over the guaranteed friendly fire.<br />
<br />
The rocket fires off, the Power Core detonates, the two joint explosions take out a good chunk of the wall, and all four Floaters, without hurting even a single one of my squad. Wallace dashes over to crouch beside Brad, and mutters comforting words as she bandages him before giving him a slap and telling him to suck it up to cure his panic. Dambuza, Delgado and Wahid rally to annhilate the Outsider and the barely alive Thin Man in the next room, and the mission is accomplished.<br />
<br />
Back at base, there's good news waiting for me. Although I've never had a disastrous mission, I've had a steady stream of casualties over the 2 months of warfare, without receiving any replacements yet. As such, I spent a little bit of credits on calling in a couple of new rookies, to make sure that I always have the warm bodies to field a full squad of 5 even when some soldiers are resting in the infirmary.<br />
<br />
On top of that, my Workshop is finally finished. What does a Workshop do? It instantly recruits 5 Engineers.<br />
<br />
Suddenly all those blueprints that have been piling up are potential real things that I can manufacture and deploy. I immediately spend a large chunk of my cash on building a new Satellite Uplink, and a Satellite, so that I can get some more coverage over the world. As soon as I get a few more credits in the bank, I can seriously invest in some laser weaponry and upgraded armour. Great, right?<br />
<br />
And now, here's a sneak preview for the next entry. This is exactly as it is written in my notes:<br />
<br />
New Soldiers<br />
New Workshop<br />
Engineers!!! Satellite Uplink!<br />
...Too late.Dentharialhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06366667141460608851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6280992684253793177.post-19161422819147807492012-10-22T11:20:00.000-07:002012-10-23T11:16:38.036-07:00Omega Company Pt.5: You need a MontageIt's Part 5 of the adventures of Omega Company in XCOM.<br />
<br />
We've had ups, we've had downs, and my magic 8-ball is currently predicting a lot more 'down' in the future. But I've been neglecting where we are in 'game time'. We started on 1st March 2015, so after everything we've done, we must be a fair way further on, right?<br />
<br />
It's 30 days later, and tomorrow, on 1st April, I'm going to have my first monthly report with the Council. Understandably, I'm nervous.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>It turns out that the Council thinks I'm doing just great. Sure there's a fair bit of panic globally, but nobody has gone critical and <i>left</i> yet, so I'm keeping it together. They hand me my monthly funding, give me an 'A' ranking, and leave me to my business.<br />
<br />
Another mission comes in, my Skyranger swoops off with my prime squad, and I <i>dismantle</i> the alien strike team. I'm in shock, as between this one and the previous 'Very difficult' mission, I'm suddenly doing well. I'm going to be arrogant enough to say that it's not just luck either. As I've actually been ranking up my soldiers and getting some special abilities, I've been able to really use them interestingly on the battlefield to get the better of the aliens.<br />
<br />
There's a UFO over Germany, which I manage to shoot down. It's yet another smooth mission. A new alien species appears; the 'Floater'. It's a Frankenstein monster where the legs of the alien seem to have been removed in favour of welding a jetpack onto its back. Very maneuverable, and capable of just swooping away from one spot to appear literally anywhere else, but they're fairly fragile, and so careful Overwatch usage means I'm always able to shoot down any that try to get into a flanking position. Another energy creature is lurking at the heart of this UFO, and my team names it an 'Outsider'. It goes down much easier than previously, and I'm able to gobble up all the lovely tech that is left behind.<br />
<br />
South Africa makes a request for a handful of Laser Shotguns to help out the domestic forces. I'd really be happy to give them some since I have plenty of resources in the bank, but I still can't even make any, due to lack of Engineers.<br />
<br />
My research is surging on, but the really important base addition is the Officer Training School. Mason, Dambuza, and Williams (my prime Assault, Sniper, and Support respectively) all ranked up to Sergeant a couple of missions ago, which opened up the school for building. With it built, I immediately purchase the upgrade to let me take 5 soldiers on each mission.<br />
<br />
I've not spoken much about how my soldiers have been ranking up. I don't want to spend too much time going into the details, but I will highlight some of the fun abilities. My Support, Williams, has picked up an ability that lets her use her Overwatch shot when she sees an enemy attack. She can also now use an equipped Medkit 3 times per mission, rather than the usual once. My Assault, Mason, gains defence based on the number of enemies that the squad can see, and also has an ability called 'Lightning Reflexes' that means that the first Overwatch shot against him each turn is guaranteed to miss. These 2 abilities together mean that he's pretty capable of charging forward and being surprisingly safe while doing so.<br />
<br />
Gonzalez the Heavy had a fun choice between 'Bullet Swarm' or 'Holo-targeting'. Bullet Swarm means that the Heavy can fire as their first action, and it <i>doesn't end their turn</i>, allowing them to spend the second action on a move or even on a second fire (or Overwatch, Rocket, Reload...anything you like). You might recall that me trying to do this (and discovering it wasn't possible) was the reason for Gonzalez's major injury right in the first mission. As such, it's sorely tempting to pick it up, but I go for the alternative instead. Holo-targeting simply means that whenever the Heavy fires on an enemy (regardless of if it hits), every ally gets +10% chance to hit that same enemy until your next turn (so firing in <i>this turn</i>, or Overwatch shots during the <i>enemy's turn</i> both get the bonus).<br />
<br />
This ability syncs up nicely with my sniper, Dambuza. Snipers have the option to pick up a wonderful, wonderful ability called Squadsight. This passive ability means that the Sniper 'sees' anything that any other squad member does, allowing them to fire on enemies from truly ridiculous ranges. Note that there does still need to be a clear line of fire for the Sniper, but it only requires a little bit of clever positioning to let them dominate the battlefield in any urban or countryside environment. They do struggle a little more inside UFOs and other interior locations, but snipers always suffer in those places, regardless of Squadsight.<br />
<br />
Speaking of UFOs, there's a larger one being detected over China. I've not been able to build any upgraded weapons for my Interceptors (guess why? Yup, not enough Engineers), so I'm hesitant about throwing a conventional human fighter against it, but I can't just let it run amok as it likes. I order the Interceptors up, and cross my fingers. It's a close run thing, and the plane will need several days of repair, but it does succeed in bringing the UFO down.<br />
<br />
In goes the squad, and now I get to see it up close, I can see that it's <i>much </i>larger than the previous UFOs I've encountered, with an actual maze of corridors to carefully penetrate and sweep for hostiles. Still, the squad, along with a new Rookie Delgado, preforms admirably, taking on Sectoids, Thin Men, Floaters, and the by-now expected Outsider at the core, to secure the UFO and return victorious. Delgado secures a promotion to Sniper, although he takes an injury along with Wallace to put them both in the Infirmary for a few days. There are a ton of resources from the mission, and I positively feel like some sort of futuristic Scrooge McDuck, swimming in my vault of alien tech in my secret underground base.<br />
<br />
Abduction missions roll in, and I elect to head to Germany in an attempt to stop Europe's panic from spiralling out of control.<br />
<br />
This diary's been going a bit well, right?<br />
<br />
Right.<br />
<br />
Remember Wallace is in the infirmary? So I don't have my handy 3-use Medkit, and I decide to equip both Gonzalez and a new Rookie with Medkits, so that I have 2 uses. In the opening handful of turns, Thin Men manage to first make that Rookie collapse into bleeding out, and then efficiently murder Gonzalez.<br />
<br />
Adieu, brave Argentinian. You were the only person with me right from the start, and also have the dubious honour of being the first non-rookie casualty.<br />
<br />
With both Medkits 'gone', I'm forced to let the Rookie bleed to death, and am left with the decision to evacuate my remaining squad, or push on with only Mason, Dambuza, and Wahid, a rookie. Although the last few missions have gone fantastically well, the fact is that the general panic of the world is still pretty high, and for every fire I put out, another springs up. Choosing Germany necessarily means that I had to turn down two other locations whose panic will sharply rise; if this mission is also a failure, then I'm going to be in serious trouble. I grit my teeth, and push on.<br />
<br />
I quickly make a beeline for one of the rooftops, and then proceed to pick off aliens from there with Dambuza and Wahid, while Mason administers shotgun shells to any X-rays that try to get up there. After I secure the general area, I find there's only one building left that can possibly hold more hostiles, so Dambuza is positioned on a nearby building, while Mason and Wahid open the large garage door and head on in. Sure enough, there's two Sectoids inside that immediately start trying to hide. The two humans ruthlessly hunt them down, but there's a moment of worry when I kill the second and <i>the mission doesn't end</i>.<br />
<br />
There's 3 more Sectoids upstairs that run in and leap down into very nasty positions for Mason and Wahid. Fortunately, Wahid is on Overwatch and earns a medal from me for immediately picking one off. Despite the huge door into the building, Dambuza hasn't quite been able to get a bead on <i>any </i>of these Sectoids, leading to a handful of turns where he runs back and forth along the rooftop, trying to get a shot. It would have been quite comic if it hadn't been so tense.<br />
<br />
Finally, I give up on the rooftop shenanigans and run Dambuza down and right up to the side of the building, but it turns out to be unnecessary as Mason and Wahid fearlessly stride forwards and eliminate the final two. Wahid was clearly inspired by working alongside Mason, as he puts in an application to become an Assault when he gets back to base. Gonzalez is grieved for, but there's celebratory back-slapping for the three survivors for pulling off such a difficult mission.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, the congratulations are cut short by news reports that are being broadcast over the world's television networks. The aliens are changing up their tactics. They've started all-out assaults on some of the major cities of the world, shelling buildings and brutalizing civilians.<br />
<br />
It's mid-April, and it feels like we've been fighting for longer already. But clearly the invaders are just beginning.Dentharialhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06366667141460608851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6280992684253793177.post-43217509066655986502012-10-21T11:21:00.000-07:002012-10-23T11:16:51.773-07:00Omega Company Pt.4: The TripI don't think it's arrogant to say that, with respect to video games, I'm often the knowledgeable person in my circles of friends. That's not to say that I'm particularly good, just that I'm always careful to hang out with people that are worse than me. As such, there have been many circumstances where I'm called on to explain various things to one person or another. Sometimes, there will be a particular game that another friend is also passionate about. At this point, I can sit down with them and have a chat on a more equal level, discussing how one thing or another works, often with other beginner players in the room, listening in.<br />
<br />
In either of these cases, whether it's an explanation or a discussion, there will always come a moment when I or another 'expert' says the following line:<br />
<br />
"Oh, and of course whatever you do, don't do <i>X</i>."<br />
<br />
I don't know why we feel the need to say it. Not doing X (whatever X might be for this particular game) is a pretty obviously good thing to be not doing. We've spent minutes discussing subtler points of strategy, obscure once-in-a-game situations, cunning tricks that we've discovered...and then we top it off with some banal. obvious point that you could probably avoid by just hammering on the keyboard at random.<br />
<br />
Why do we do this? Do I not trust my intelligent friends to catch on to this obvious point? Do I just like the feeling of being all superior and patronising? Is it for the cruel fun of that split second, where the beginner player looks blank, perhaps because they don't get it, or perhaps because it's such a <i>blindingly obvious point</i> that there must be a deeper reason for you saying it. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter. What matters is that I do it when I'm explaining things, and I know other people do too.<br />
<br />
It's pointless, and unhelpful to anyone intelligent.<br />
<br />
...<br />
<br />
...I really wish I'd had someone to explain XCOM to me.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>It's a few days after the last mission.<br />
<br />
I have a ton of scientists beavering away on research ultra-quickly, my vault is full of all kinds of alien tech to both investigate and then use as raw materials in constructing my own devices. I've got the cash to spare to excavate in order to expand my lovely, secret, underground base. I'm feeling pretty good about myself.<br />
<br />
There's a buzz from the Situation Room; the Council wants to talk.<br />
<br />
There's some Australian politician that's made themselves a bit of a target for the aliens. He's a VIP killtarget for them to try and demoralize the population, so they're asking us to swoop in and pull him out to a secure location. Fair enough, I handled a mission like this before, I should be good for it.<br />
<br />
Thing is...hmm... Emily Wallace, my support, is my only non-Rookie outside of the infirmary. Both my Assault and my Heavy are due to come out <i>tomorrow</i>. Also, that research that's ticking along? The current project is <i>laser weaponry</i>. Lasers! That's also due to finish in 2 days.<br />
<br />
It's at this moment that I need to admit that I'm not playing 100% blind. I will say I have no idea what the alien species are that are going to appear. I have no idea what the tech tree looks like, so I don't know what I should be researching. I did read some advice saying to upgrade weapons first and armour later (since you can compensate for poor armour by clever positioning and mercilessly hurling rookies into the firing line, while if you still have low-tech weaponry when tougher aliens show up, you're pretty much screwed). I also read the advice that 'story' missions don't go away, or timeout. You should make sure that you're prepared for them, and feel comfortable taking them on.<br />
<br />
Great, I think. Let me ignore this Council mission for now, I'll re-evaluate once I've got my squad back and my tech up, and maybe I'll go for it.<br />
<br />
Turns out that story missions are the missions that have an <b>enormous objective</b> on your screen whenever you're anywhere in the base. Currently my objective is 'Build the Arc Thrower', and has been for a while so far. It is not 'Do the Council Mission'.<br />
<br />
I am stupidly surprised when the Council mission vanishes, presumably because the politician is dead. I am then doubly surprised when I head to Engineering to build my shiny new laser weapons, and discover that I need more engineers before I can build that.<br />
<br />
Panic in Australia is up to 4, I need to build another satellite. But to do that, I need to build a new Satellite Uplink in my base. No worries, I've been excavating for exactly that purpose.<br />
<br />
...I need more engineers to build the Uplink. In fact, I need more engineers to do just about anything. I've really not realised just how important engineers are, and so I've been focussed on just about everything else. My research is zipping along at a fantastic pace, but I <i>can't build anything that the scientists design</i>.<br />
<br />
"Whatever you do, don't do X."?<br />
<br />
In XCOM, X1 is 'Skip missions', especially early on. Missions are your lifeblood, the main source of many of your resources, and the heartbeat of keeping panic down. While you can certainly fail missions eventually, especially on Classic and Impossible, this early on you should be able to handle anything that comes at you with Rookies, Medkits and Grenades. Anything else you can throw at the aliens is just a bonus.<br />
<br />
X2 is<i> </i>'Skimp on Engineers'. Having more Scientists lets you research faster, and that's great. But you need more Engineers to build more advanced projects, it's no good having the knowledge to do stuff if you can't then put it into practice. Fun fact: Since the playthrough that this diary is written about, I've tried 3 more games. In all of them I've had less scientists than I did in this one, but I got tech deployed into the field <i>faster</i>, because I had the engineers and resources to do it.<br />
<br />
So there I am, with a nice full squad of 4 ranked up soldiers, for the first time ever, and in come some Abduction distress calls. One of them is in Egypt, one of them is in Russia, and the last...the last, thank god, is in Australia. I can go there, save the day, and bring the panic level right down. There's one...teeny fly in the ointment. The Russian mission is 'Easy'. The Egypt mission is 'Moderate'. The Australian mission? 'Very Difficult'. But do I have a choice?<br />
<br />
(Fun fact! Again! On reflection, the correct answer to this is question is yes. If I were to go back here, I might well select one of the other missions. I don't remember what the rewards were and my notes don't mention them, but it might have been better to try and repair the long-term health of my base, even if it meant losing Australia from the Council.)<br />
<br />
I try to ironically equip my soldiers with the <i>blueprints</i> for lasers, thinking I can try swatting some aliens on the nose with them, but sadly that's not an option. Conventional weapons it is. I wish I could hype up this mission some more, but that's it.<br />
<br />
I <i>nail</i> it. Sure, Gonzalez the Heavy takes a nasty wound and will be back in the infirmary again immediately after he just made it out after his injury on my first mission. But the operation is a resounding success. It was a beautiful showcase of synergy, as my Assault charged forward shotgunning X-rays in the face, my Support and Heavy carefully pinned down and flanked any attackers coming at me, and my Sniper just picked off one after another that dared show their sorry excuse for a face.<br />
<br />
My squad strides back into base with their heads held high. Australia's panic level is back down to <b>1</b>, and they have successfully reversed their commander's idiotic mistake.<br />
<br />
Except things are never that easy in XCOM.<br />
<br />
Egypt, Nigeria, and South Africa are all up to 3 panic.<br />
<br />
Russia is on 4.<br />
<br />
Have you ever had that sensation where you trip, but to stop yourself falling you sort of run forward a few steps before you regain your balance? Now imagine that you tripped right at the top of a staircase, and had to desperately get your balance back before you just tumbled and crashed your way down.<br />
<br />
This is kind of what it feels like.<br />
<br />
My Labs finish researching Laser Sniper Rifles and Shotguns.<br />
<br />
Not enough Engineers.Dentharialhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06366667141460608851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6280992684253793177.post-124837851279921062012-10-19T03:07:00.000-07:002012-10-23T11:17:02.374-07:00Omega Company Pt.3: You Win Some...Mistakes have been made, and casualties taken. But so far we've given a little better than we've gotten, and the only question now is whether this next mission will prove as profitable as everyone seems to hope it will be...<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>Let's take a moment to re-introduce the squad.<br />
<br />
Squaddie Alejandro Gonzalez, Heavy from Argentina.<br />
Squaddie Brad Mason, Assault from the USA, equipped with a S.C.O.P.E. to improve aiming<br />
Squaddie Emily Wallace. Support from the USA, equipped with a Medkit to heal an ally<br />
Squaddie Emeko Dambuza, Sniper from South Africa, also equipped with a S.C.O.P.E.<br />
<br />
Gonzalez is still resting in the infirmary for a few more days, so Rookie Ronen Malach, an Israeli, joins the team for this mission.<br />
<br />
The mission in question? We've just managed to shoot down a UFO over Germany, and we're going to see what we can find in the wreckage.<br />
<br />
It's immediately interesting from a tactical point of view. Every other mission so far has been in an urban environment, offering plenty of hidey-holes and elevated areas. This UFO came down in a forest, and although the approach is littered with destroyed trees, bushes and debris, it feels a lot more open. The squad immediately starts to gel pretty well. As a Sniper, SQ.Dambuza cannot move and fire in the same turn, and so the group quickly falls into a very natural movement of 'leapfrogging', with a couple of them on Overwatch, and a couple advancing each turn. Contact is made with three Sectoids, with two more joining the fray as Mason advances forward with his shotgun.<br />
<br />
It's a relatively smooth operation. Mason takes a nasty hit, but Wallace is on hand to patch him up with the Medkit, and RK.Malach and SQ.Dambuza efficiently and cleanly pick off one X-Ray after another (X-Ray has caught on as the 'soldier lingo' for the hostiles).<br />
<br />
One Sectoid had retreated back into the cover of the UFO wreckage, pulling into the left-hand side (as we viewed it from our approach). Fearing a trap, I ordered Malach to check out the right-hand side. He, of course, didn't enter the vehicle, but just came close enough to be sure that there was no secondary alien unit sneaking around to flank us. Meanwhile, the remaining three advanced forward, trying to panic the last alien into making an unwise decision, or just cornering him.<br />
<br />
A quick word here about Overwatch. I already explained previously, Overwatch allows a soldier to 'save' his firing, and to fire on the enemy's turn if an enemy moves within this soldier's range. I want to emphasize that this literally means a 'move' in the mechanical sense. A unit can stay in cover and fire, and even though the animation usually involves popping out from cover and firing before hiding again, this won't trigger Overwatch. As such, despite keeping Wallace on Overwatch every turn to prevent the Sectoid from running out and shooting Mason right in the face, it was still able to fire from its position without triggering any counter-attack. Another quick tactical word about ammunition. Your soldiers have infinite ammo for their main weapons (explosive weapons, like grenades and rocket launchers, do have limited ammo per mission), however the weapons do not have infinite <i>clips</i>. As such, they do have to take an action to reload every so often, which counts as their 'fire' action for the turn (so they can't then fire or go into overwatch afterwards). A good commander needs to keep an eye on this, and make sure that the squad is staggering their reloads.<br />
<br />
Dambuza was taking shots at the Sectoid with his Sniper rifle, and also took a nasty wound himself, while Mason advanced forward to bring his shotgun to bear. And then...then Mason ducked behind a fallen tree right on the UFO's doorstep. All of a sudden, this triggers some sort of bizarre energy creature to materialize, seemingly out of the UFO's power source. This creature immediately dashes to the right-hand hole in the UFO, undoubtedly preparing to attack or flank me on the next turn.<br />
<br />
I'm still in control, but this understandably makes me a little nervous. Advancing Mason into the UFO to shoot the Sectoid at close range is no longer an option, as it would expose his back to an easy shot from the energy creature. Similarly, there's precious little cover on the right side of the ship, and all of it that shields me from the energy creature would leave my back open to a shot from the Sectoid. I <i>need </i>to eliminate one of them from their semi-entrenched positions.<br />
<br />
First things first, Malach is now in a spot that is threatened by the new attacker, and so I order him to pull right back. If the energy creature decides to come out into the open, it could easily threaten Wallace and Dambuza's position, but they should be safe for this turn. I compromise by moving Wallace to a safer spot, and putting her in Overwatch. She should be able to hit the energy creature if it tries to advance on Dambuza, and she can also still see the Sectoid's hidey-hole too. Dambuza and Mason both unload into the Sectoid, but it ducks out of sight once again to avoid being hit.<br />
<br />
The energy creature is apparently a pretty damn good shot, and gets a solid wound scored on Malach without moving from its position. Next turn, and I have Malach pull further away, both in distance and trying to get more obstructions in the way to block line of sight.<br />
<br />
It's all for naught, as the energy creature gets in a second good hit, and Malach goes down. He was a promising rookie that could easily have carved out a permanent spot on the squad...but that's just the way things go here.<br />
<br />
Mason, Dambuza and the Sectoid have all continued to trade shots back and forth with zero effective gain in either direction. But the other creature has something to say about that, and leans around the corner to deliver a killing shot on Dambuza... and almost makes it. Dambuza is <i>down</i>, but he's not <i>dead</i>. He's bleeding out, and in a few turns, he'll be gone for good. I can stabilize him by using a medkit on him (this won't get him back on his feet, but it will at least mean he survives the mission). Unfortunately, I only brought a single medkit with me, and Wallace already used it earlier on Mason. Perhaps driven over the edge by her impotence to save him, Emily Wallace begins panicking, firing off a frantic burst of ineffective bullets in the killer's direction, before collapsing behind her cover and wimpering.<br />
<br />
It's time for All-American Hero Brad Mason to save the day.<br />
<br />
<b>BAM!</b> Shotgun to the Sectoid and it goes down. The energy creature tries a shot on Wallace, to no effect.<br />
<br />
Mason wheels around the UFO and ducks into cover, reloading his shotgun as he does so. Two turns left so save Dambuza.<br />
<br />
The creature leans out to try and and take down this impudent human that's charging at it, but it just can't get a clear shot.<br />
<br />
Mason leaps over the debris, blasts the creature in the chest and ducks down behind a log. It's still standing, and although it has no face, there's definitely something like fear in its movements as it tries another shot and Brad Mason just <i>swats the lasers aside with his hand</i>.<br />
<br />
It's all on this. If we can secure the area <i>this turn</i>, then we can save Dambuza. If we can't, then Dambuza gasps his last.<br />
<br />
Brad Mason saunters out of cover. He's nonchalant as he strides forward, lifts his shotgun and <i>blasts that X-ray in the head</i>.<br />
<br />
<i>Mission fucking accomplished</i>.<br />
<br />
There's grieving for Malach, of course. But casualties are expected, and it's almost overridden by the sheer elation that Dambuza was saved. The Council and Vahlen are ecstatic too. I secured the UFO wreckage with no use of explosives, and also no stray bullets hitting delicate equipment, so we've recovered a lot of alien tech and materials.<br />
<br />
For a brief moment, things seem to be going well.<br />
<br />
It's too bad that the commander is about to screw it up.Dentharialhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06366667141460608851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6280992684253793177.post-24257766732780573692012-10-17T11:33:00.003-07:002012-10-23T11:17:15.058-07:00Omega Company Pt.2: Field TrainingWhen last we left the XCOM Omega Company, the squad was engaged on their first true combat mission. The eyes of the world were watching to judge whether this project was really going to be the saviour they were hoping for but frankly, the soldiers on the ground, and the commander giving the orders, weren't doing so well...<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>With one woman down, and the Heavy severely wounded, it was up to the two remaining rookies to creep forward step by step in search of the remaining aliens. Our Heavy brought up the rear, staying well down in cover at every step, since any stray bullet would be enough to finish him off.<br />
<br />
Contact! Two more Sectoids, who immediately turn tail and flee inside a building. One of them is out of sight, but the one that I can see goes into Overwatch. The soldiers edge their way carefully forward, needing to get close enough to engage, but not wanting to step in sight and get shot at themselves. I'm pretty nervous at this point, since if I take another casualty, it feels like the mission would be pretty much failed. I have no idea what's still waiting beyond these two Sectoids, so I decide to do something I probably should have done earlier, and start using up some of my limited resources. The Heavy can't see the aliens themselves from his position (I was keeping him <i>well</i> back), but he can see the ground just in front of the building they're in. He unslings his rocket launcher, takes aim, and lets loose a missile that causes a huge explosion, blowing up the wall of the building, and both aliens along with it.<br />
<br />
Using explosive weapons is always a trade-off. For a start, they're a limited resource per mission, so you have to be careful they're not wasted. But secondly, inflicting such devastation has a number of negative consequences. One, it destroys cover, so if your soldiers are going to have to move through that area, it will be more open and thus more dangerous. Two, it obliterates the aliens and their technology, leaving nothing behind for you to study or sell to the Council governments. In this case, it's a price I'm more than willing to pay; Bradford calls the mission as a success, and the three surviving soldiers swing on home.<br />
<br />
My Heavy, whose name I finally notice is Alejandro Gonzalez, needs to rest up for 2 full weeks before he'll be fit for active duty again. Fortunately, remember that rookie who avenged RK. Andersen? He's Brad Mason, and has earned himself a promotion for that action,being equipped as an Assault. Assault-class soldiers get a little extra health, a shotgun as their primary weapon, and begin with an ability called 'Run and Gun'. This ability is a wonderful little gem. You can activate it any time before you use your second action, and it basically gives you a third action that you can use on firing. This allows you to move>move>fire, move>move>overwatch, OR (I <i>think</i>, but I haven't confirmed yet) move>fire>move. After you use it, it spends two turns on cooldown before you can use it again.<br />
<br />
A few days run past with no action, and a lot of paperwork. Our improved weapons are ready, we can now build small targeting computers called S.C.O.P.E.s (I didn't ask them what it stood for, they seemed so pleased with the pun that I didn't have the heart to force them to reveal what awkward words they had chosen to force it). Now that the tutorial has opened up Engineering to me, I also build a couple of Medkits. While these wouldn't have saved Andersen, a medkit could have healed up Gonzalez and made the latter half of the mission much less tense. Either of these items can be equipped by any of the soldiers, although doing so replaces the default grenade that they carry into battle. Vahlen (and the tutorial) are insistent that we spend our scientists' time on dissecting the four Sectoid corpses that we now have. She's a little scarily enthusiastic about it, but I figure now is not the time to be berating people for wanting to inflict violence on aliens. Have at it, scary german lady.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile the Council wants to talk to me, and so I go to our lovely new Situation Room to speak to them, as well as monitor the status of the planet as a whole. The first thing I see are ratings depicting the panic levels of all major Council countries. Most of the world is sitting at a fairly stable 1 or 2, but panic levels across Asia rose sharply because I chose to save the USA over China. As such, both China and India have their populace sitting at 3 panic points. Urk. The Council are nonetheless supportive of my efforts, agreeing that they trust the choice I made. They also have information for me; they believe that an alien abductee has managed to break out from one of their bases. If I can find her and rescue her, she may be a jackpot of valuable information. The mission is India, which as an extra bonus gives me an opportunity to reduce the panic there, so I bundle up my new Squaddie Assault and 3 Rookies, equip them with a couple of SCOPEs and a medkit, and pack them off.<br />
<br />
In the interests of catching up a little, I'm not going to keep going with an exact play-by-play of every mission, not to mention that it will get boring to describe the same motions sooner rather than later. However, there were still a couple of touch-and-go moments here.<br />
<br />
Firstly, the squad encounters a new breed of alien. These ones look <i>almost</i> human in their apperance, albeit very tall and with spindly, spider-like arms and legs. Dressed up in dark blue suits and black sunglasses, there's no scientific classification for them; they're immediately nicknamed 'Thin Men'. The Thin Man in question quickly shows his non-human side by breathing out a cloud of poison onto one of the rookies, and follows up with a headshot to finish him off a couple of turns later. It's a tragic casualty, but not one that I feel quite so stupid for this time.<br />
<br />
The medkit-wielding rookie panics on seeing his comrade die, screaming and firing off a burst of bullets in the Thin Man's direction. It's left to the remaining two squad members to work together and take the alien out, at which point the makeshift medic calms down, and the squad manages to find and secure the VIP without further incident. Oh, they kill quite a lot of aliens, and Emily Wallace, the non-medic rookie, does herself proud in particular, but nothing <i>bad</i> happens.<br />
<br />
It's promotions all around back at base, as Emily decides she likes being in the thick of things and becomes a Support. She gains the ability to throw a smoke grenade once per mission, with a promise of more 'utility' type things to come. Our panicky friend? He's the South African Emeka Dambuza, and he decides he's going to stay as far away from the front line as possible by becoming a Sniper.<br />
<br />
The Council offers a hearty congratulations, and donates a satellite to the cause. Satellites are vital to the long term health of the planet. Although countries will send distress signals, and the Council makes requests for special missions, the fact of the matter is that the aliens can be attacking all over the place, and I wouldn't even know about it. Good satellite coverage gives me a better chance of uncovering alien activity when I 'fast forward' days and scan for missions. When I place it over a country, it also means that this country feels a little more protected by me. Their panic will immediately reduce by 2, they will start donating a monthly amount of credits to the cause, and there's usually a scientist or engineer given once a month as well. In addition to all that, there's bonuses for completely covering a 'region' of the world, identical to the bonus that you can earn for situating your HQ in that area. So if I get satellites in the skies above the USA, Canada, and Mexico, this will give the North American bonus of cheaper Interceptors.<br />
<br />
My successful mission in India has reduced its panic level back down to 1, but China is still sitting up on 3. Since it's the only country on 3, and it's one of the larger countries (donating 100 credits a month), it's an easy choice to place the satellite there. The computer does warn me, however, that I don't have any Interceptors in the region, and so I won't be able to respond if the satellite comes under attack.<br />
<br />
Ah-ha. Apparently I do have 2 Interceptors, but both of them are currently stationed here in Europe. I transfer one across to Asia; it, along with all its maintenance staff and equipment, should arrive and be up and running in a few days.<br />
<br />
As if on cue (<i>ahem, tutorial</i>) there's alien activity right by my first satellite, in Germany.<br />
<br />
...It's not on the ground. It's a UFO, up in the air. Scramble Interceptor! There's a tense moment with nothing to do but watch the radar and the wireframe models play out the interceptor's attack... It takes a light hit from the UFO, but then <i>nails</i> it with a solid barrage of missiles. It's going down, crash landing in a lush European forest.<br />
<br />
There's a celebration in Mission Control. For the first time, we've turned the tables on the attackers and forced them to dance to our tune. But it's all too quickly back to business. We need to secure whatever tech we can salvage from that downed flyer...and the scans are picking up movement at the crash site...Dentharialhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06366667141460608851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6280992684253793177.post-65984312281515192492012-10-16T11:15:00.001-07:002012-10-23T11:17:23.639-07:00Omega Company Pt.1: First ContactLet's start with some ground rules.<br />
<br />
I won't be discussing the plot in detail, but there will doubtlessly be some spoilers here. As far as I understand it, even the 'story' missions are randomized on each playthrough, but I'll still be discussing the types of enemies I come across and their various abilities, and probably even the locations I visit.<br />
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The four difficulty levels of the game are Easy, Normal, Classic, and the helpfully titled 'Impossible'. The communal wisdom of the Internets has informed me that Normal starts out a bit easy, although it does get challenging later, while Classic will kick you right in the balls from the word go. For the purposes of making this diary more entertaining for the readers, I've decided to go with Classic.<br />
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I hesitated on activating Ironman mode. Ironman means that you're only allowed to save the game when you exit, and reloading also deletes the save (I believe there is some sort of autosave for if the game crashes). Essentially, it removes any ability to redo mistakes, or change your mind about decisions, by reloading. I was more or less planning on doing a 'soft' Ironman, where I could still reload if I did something really stupid, but at the last second my testosterone got the better of me and I checked the box. For better or worse, the only way is forward.<br />
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Despite the above choices, I've still got the Tutorial switched on. This means that many of my early decisions with regards to research and base management are locked out until the tutorial sees fit to teach me about them. It also, I believe, means that the first handful of missions will be somewhat less random than normal, so that the game can gradually introduce new concepts to me.<br />
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Lastly, expect this diary to slip fluidly and unashamedly between an 'in-character' view of the events, and a much more gamery discussion of the tactics, strategy, and development I'm using.<br />
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Enough.<br />
<br />
The date is the 1st March, 2015. This is the day the world changes.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>First contact is made in Germany. The less said about that mission, the better (<i>if only because it is a 100% scripted tutorial, where you are given 0 effective control and it will play out identically every time</i>) but it marks the first official action after the greenlight of the XCOM project. The species as thus far encountered appears to be small, grey men, with inverted egg heads, much like the old Roswell and Area 51 stories. The science team has classified them as 'Sectoids', and are currently debating the best way to approach the two corpses that we brought back with us and stuck into refrigeration.<br />
<br />
When the XCOM project was activated, the first key decision that had to be made was where to place its HQ. As the tutorial was on, I could only choose between placing it in North America, or Europe. With the tutorial off, you also get to choose South America, Asia, or Africa. Location determines two things; first of all, you get a satellite above your HQ (I'll get to what those do later). Secondly, you get a special bonus depending on the location. The North America bonus is a lowered cost on all Interceptors (again, I'll get to those later), while the European one is lowered cost for all Laboratories and Engineering Workshops. I decide to go with Europe, and then meet the rest of my team.<br />
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My second-in-command is Central Officer Bradford. He's my liason to the Council of Earth governments, as well as being a repository of tactical knowledge and advice. The head of research is Dr. Vahlen, a middle-aged woman with an emphatically un-german German accent. Lastly, but by no means least, Dr. Shen heads up the Engineer Corps.<br />
<br />
Vahlen immediately wants to know what she should get to work on. The alien weapons self-destruct when the owners die, but we were still able to salvage the pieces and studying them could be valuable. Vahlen can direct the research towards either adapting the weapons to improve our own, or assessing their capabilities to improve our armour. I authorize the improvement of our weapons before I'm called back to Mission Control.<br />
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I have two separate distress calls coming in from the Council; one in China, and one in the USA. The Chinese government is offering a healthy bonus of 200 credits if I can help them, while the USA promises to donate 4 scientists to my laboratories. But more importantly, to me, China is rated at a mere 1 out of 5 'panic', while the USA is sitting at 2. If a country reaches 5 panic, the people have lost faith in your ability to protect them, and the government pulls out of the Council, taking all their funding and military resources with them. USA, it is!<br />
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There's not much in the way to choose when it comes to the squad to send. New recruits are 'Rookies' and all have the ability to run, shoot, and use whatever special item you give them (a grenade, by default). Once they earn a higher rank, they are assigned a class which can be Heavy, Assault, Sniper, or Support. Currently, my barracks contains a single Squaddie Heavy, and a whole lot of Rookies. I pack up my sorry excuse for a veteran, bundle 3 more Rookies in with him and pack them off to the New World.<br />
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When they hit the landing zone, it's at a sort of dock. There's large shipping containers all over the place, which could hide seemingly any number of hostiles, but immediately to my right is a small building. As my final tutorial-mandated instruction, my Heavy climbs up a drainpipe and onto the roof of the building, ducking into cover behind some rooftop machinery. Contact! Two Sectoids on the ground see his approaching movement, and immediately dash into cover of their own.<br />
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I desperately want to check behind the shipping container to my left as well, but decide that splitting the group up is a stupid decision. A rookie joins the heavy on the rooftop, while the other two make their way inside the building, to check it for hostiles, and also try to get to the windows where they can take a shot at the Sectoids I already found.<br />
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A quick word on how the actions work. On your turn, each soldier can make 2 actions, for example, move>fire, move>move, move>use item and so on. I wasn't able to open fire on the Sectoids in that first turn, because every soldier took 2 moves to get into position. The Sectoids thus get the opening volley; they miss my soldiers, but do manage to destroy the cover that the Heavy and rooftop rookie are hiding behind. My turn now, and I begin by ordering the Heavy to open fire on the less-covered Sectoid. It's a direct hit, and there's one alien less on the battlefield. I then order him to retreat and...oh shit.<br />
<br />
So apparently the 2 action system isn't as simple as I thought, and the first action is only allowed to be a 'move', and you're not allowed to fire twice on the same turn. If you take an action without moving, that soldier is stuck there until the next turn. The second Sectoid is very well tucked behind cover, so the chances of any of my Rookies getting a good hit in are pretty much nil. Moreover, my Rookies have only 4hp, which a good hit from an alien weapon will wipe out in a single turn, while my Heavy is living well on 7hp. I give the nerve-wracking order for my rooftop rookie to abandon the Heavy, and pull back into cover further back along the roof. My two soldiers inside the building go into 'Overwatch'. Overwatch ends that soldier's turn, but they will fire on any hostile that they see moving within their range on the alien turn. My one hope is that the Sectoid attempts to move to a better position <i>before </i>it tries to mow my Heavy down.<br />
<br />
It doesn't.<br />
<br />
He's not dead yet! But sitting at a scarily close 2hp means that my first order of the turn is to pull him right back and out of harm's way. I could have used my rocket launcher or any of my squad's grenades to blow that alien right out of its little hidey-hole, but I'm pretty confident in my ability to outwit a single alien, and I don't want to start burning my resources so quickly into the mission.<br />
<br />
My one female rookie leaps through the window, and dashes around to a flanking position on the side. It uses up both her moves, so she can't open fire on the Sectoid this turn, but next turn he's dead meat. I can't see any way of safely moving my rooftop rookie forward, so he stays where he is for now. And my last action is to get my remaining indoor rookie to try a shot at the Sectoid. It's a very low chance of success, and misses as per expectation, but I figure making the attempt can't do any harm.<br />
<br />
Oh how very stupid I am.<br />
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You see, I moved the woman quite far forward. I also didn't leave even a single member of my squad on Overwatch. The indoor rookie could quite well have been on Overwatch instead of taking that stupid, worthless shot. But he did take the shot.<br />
<br />
And so the Sectoid merrily scuttled out of his hiding cover to a position very close to my 'flanking' rookie, a spot so close that he would have to be blind to miss.<br />
<br />
He's not blind.<br />
<br />
Rest in peace, Rookie Andersen from Sweden. At the rate your commander is going, it seems likely you'll be the first of many.<br />
<br />
The bittersweet silver lining is that the Sectoid abandoned his secure spot for a one providing only 'half-cover', and my remaining indoor rookie takes it out. I'm left to gather my breath, my thoughts, and try to move forward.<br />
<br />
<br />
This entry has gone on way longer than I planned, but it did include a lot of introductory talk. Hopefully tomorrow's entry will go a little smoother, and we'll cover some more ground.Dentharialhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06366667141460608851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6280992684253793177.post-86832398178322863502012-10-15T11:54:00.004-07:002012-10-15T11:54:56.556-07:00XCOM: Revenge of the HyphenI bought XCOM: Enemy Unknown, and I'm going to be writing a diary of at least my first playthrough as I go. So let me try and summarise why I think it's a cool game, and why I think it'll be fun to read about.<br />
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XCOM is a game about defending Earth from aliens. Ok, wait...let me try again.<br />
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XCOM is a turn-based strategy game, with both a global and a battlefield level, which emphasizes careful planning and development over both long and short periods of time. ...Better, but a bit dry.<br />
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XCOM is a game about being outgunned and outnumbered. It is a game where the ultimate game over is an ever-present threat, but smaller losses are an inevitable part of progress rather than a reload screen. It is a game whose overarching plot takes second place to the personal stories that most players mentally write about their soldiers, and the unscripted global drama as you desperately hold together an alliance of governments that still doesn't entirely trust you with the final defence of the planet. It is a game where winning and losing does not matter nearly so much as how you get there... and how you choose to try again on your next go around.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>X-COM (the hyphen is important) was a series of strategy games released in the mid-late 90s. The first game was actually variously called UFO: Enemy Unknown, X-COM: UFO Defense, or X-COM: Enemy Unknown, depending on exactly which version you picked up. The entire series revolved around the player commanding the eXtraterrestrial COMbat unit, a special united forces group dedicated to...well, you get it.<br />
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Although the various games had different themes, engines and twists, the ultimate shape of the games (minus the spinoff) was similar: turn-based strategy against a vastly superior force of aliens, or alien-like creatures. They were fairly niche games (but let's face facts: almost all games from 1994 are niche games), but nonetheless had a vocal and enthusiastic fanbase. So much so, that I even got my hands on a copy of the original about 7 years ago and gave it a try myself.<br />
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It was...curious. I've certainly played games since that clearly drew on some X-COM tricks for the turn-based battles, but I don't think I've ever seen a game that so beautifully married the intimate tactical action of shooting-based combat, with the broader challenges of trying to frantically play catch-up in technology and keep the population of Earth relatively calm. On the other hand, it was really, really hard, and not just in the fun, challenging sense. The interface was archaic and clumsy, and combined with occasional technical issues of getting an old game running well on a modern computer, I just didn't have the patience or the time to really invest in it. Satisfied that I had at least glimpsed the brilliance hiding away there, I mentally filed it away and moved on.<br />
<br />
A few years ago, there was a sudden and surprising announcement that XCOM was coming back, now terribly hyphen-less. For a couple of brief days, fan speculation ran rampant on the many forums of the internet...before their hope was horribly ripped to shreds by the reveal of the game as a First-Person-Shooter. This was no modern dressing up of the old, elegant beauty, but rather a pig dressed up in an approximately similar frock. Personally, I've got to admit that the game actually looked pretty interesting to me, but I certainly understood the fans' disappointment.<br />
<br />
And so it was wary trepidation that greeted another surprising announcement a year or so later, that there would in fact be a <i>second</i> XCOM remake, this one from the Civilization team, and this one a full, faithful modern adaptation of the classic. Since that announcement, the FPS remake has quietly faded away, and the fans' anticipation for this game has grown and grown.<br />
<br />
Did it meet their expectations? The answer seems to be...sometimes. They certainly streamlined and tweaked a lot of mechanics, so being good at one game does not necessarily confer ability in the other. There's changes like how you can only ever deploy a single squad at a time, so you have to make arbitrary choices about where you defend, whereas in the original you had to make the tough choice to consolidate your resources in a single danger zone, or try to split them up and save both. There's a host of little changes like how alien weapons self-destruct when their owner dies (so you have to capture them alive to study their tech), or how you get exact breakdowns on the consequences or rewards of refusing/accepting a particular mission all of which add up to make XCOM feel a little less immersive and more like a boardgame.<br />
<br />
BUT. They nailed the feeling and the atmosphere. The slow creeping forward into the unknown and wondering when something is going to jump out at you. The hesitation as you hover the mouse cursor over the 'Fire' order, wondering whether you really want to risk this shot on a 65% chance, or try to move to a better position. The bizarre exhilaration as a bundle of pixels representing a soldier makes the shot you don't expect them to, single-handedly saving the mission...and the crushing feeling of defeat when that same soldier doesn't make it home a couple of missions later.<br />
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It's a story I can't wait to write. Hopefully starting tomorrow.Dentharialhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06366667141460608851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6280992684253793177.post-75847450343240018412012-10-14T10:30:00.000-07:002012-10-14T10:31:16.965-07:00Da Blu Moonz: Season 5, Week 2Firstly, no you haven't missed secret posts. I decided to title the Blood Bowl entries based on the actual season of the team. This is the first post about them, but since they're already several seasons old, and I'm starting to write midway through a season, we're joining the action in progress.<br />
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Secondly, it's the fashion to write up a match report after you play a match in this league, and post it on the forums there. Sometimes people write very mechanical descriptions of what happened, but surprisingly often people use the opportunity to flex their creative muscles. One particular poster, who is somewhat famous for his match reports, spent around 20 matches adapting various pop songs and then singing along to karaoke tunes for his reports. I spent a few seasons writing all my reports in limericks (that got hard, especially when you need yet another rhyme for 'pitch').<br />
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Today's report, though, simply comes in the form of a short story. There will be a few mechanical terms in there that you won't get, but I think it's still entertaining. The one detail that you need to know, however, is that Nuffle is the God of Blood Bowl. That will become relevant.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><b>Da Blu Moonz</b> (Me, Orcs) VS <b>The Rakish Rodents</b> (<Edited Out Other Player>, Skaven)<br />
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This is the inspirational story of how people can stand up and make a difference.<br />
<br />
Da Blu Moonz had been having a tough time lately, culminating in last week's defeat where they got out-injured by skaven. With 2 of their Blitzers down for the count, they tromped sadly onto the pitch with their mere 1350 TeamValue to face a full 16 players of 2140 TeamValue skaven.<br />
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When the opening attack of the Rat Ogre managed to kill a poor orc lineman, whose nickname was simply 'Cudant Fink Uf One', all the green shoulders on the pitch seemed to slump a little lower.<br />
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<b>"No."</b> said the halfling chef. "Have 2 rerolls from them. Hell, have them at the start of the second half too."<br />
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The orcs rallied with the support of the little halfling, securing the ball in a cage and slowly rumbling forward to score in their turn 8. But most of the skaven that had been removed from the pitch were only knocked out, and they shook themselves awake to return to the field. With the entire skaven team lining up to try and punch some orcs and deal some damage before the whistle, the greenskins braced themselves to lose more players from their skimpy, substitute-less roster.<br />
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<b>"No."</b> said the fans. They charged onto the pitch in what appeared to be total chaos, but was actually a careful, surgical strike to take out most of the skaven line of scrimmage, and prevented many of the attacks that should have happened.<br />
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Still, as the second half began, the skaven were easily able to secure the ball, and start advancing forward. Despite leaving a hole open for the orcs to put some pressure on the ball carrier, the thrower was able to hurl it forward where it should easily be retrieved and passed to a skaven Gutter Runner to score.<br />
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<b>"No."</b> said an errant wizard apprentice from the crowd. "Lightning bolt!" he shouted, apparently hurling a crayon at the aggressive gutter runner and successfully knocking him down, although with no other effect.<br />
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Nonetheless, it was enough to throw a wrench into the skaven plans, who were forced to bring rats up from further back and take a couple of extra turns to score. Turns that the orcs used to try and even the scales by stomping rats into the ground, while waving bribe money at the referee.<br />
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<b>"No."</b> said the referee. "Keep your money. Just get your mojo back, and win this one for me."<br />
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But how could they? With the score at 1-1, a mere 3 turns on the clock, and a full 11 ratmen lined up against only 9 of them... Wasn't it better to avoid risks? Wasn't it better to just play for the draw?<br />
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<b>"NO!"</b> roared the crowd. And as the ball sailed down from the kick into the orcs thrower's waiting hands, the crowd returned to the field, knocking over an orc and the troll in their zealousness to stun a full 7 of the skaven players.<br />
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And so did the hand of Nuffle himself descend onto the shoulder of the orc thrower, and lo, a voice boomed out. "LONG HAVE YOU TAUNTED ME, ORC THAT IS NAMED BLACK KAT UNNA A LADDA. KNOW TODAY THAT I AM EQUALLY AS BITCHY TO THINE FOES AS I AM TO YOU. GO NOW, THE WAY IS CLEAR."<br />
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And so it was.<br />
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So it was.<br />
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Final Score: Da Blu Moonz 2 - 1 The Rakish RodentsDentharialhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06366667141460608851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6280992684253793177.post-78674254873061502322012-10-11T15:40:00.000-07:002012-10-11T15:40:07.082-07:00Blood Bowl Diary: Da Blu Moonz IntroductionAs I mentioned in my first post, I play a Blood Bowl match in a persistent league every week and a bit. The next match is scheduled for tonight, which means it is quite possible I'll want to talk about that <i>tomorrow</i>. Which in turn means I should probably introduce you guys to some of the setup today.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>The league in question is called the <a href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/forums/showthread.php?54-RPS-Blood-Bowl-League-The-many-many-Divisions-of-Death!" target="_blank">Divisions of Death</a>, and it is operated by the denizens of the <a href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/" target="_blank">Rock, Paper, Shotgun</a> forums. The league currently consists of 60 teams, divided up into divisions of 4 teams each. This means that each season is very short, consisting of a mere 3 matches before the scores are totalled up and promotions and relegations are made. While this certainly means there is very little climax or drama to each season, it has a number of advantages as well.<br />
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For a start, every match is important. It takes a rare set of circumstances and scores to get into a situation where your final match (and the final match of the other 2 teams in the group) doesn't matter at all. It also means that you quickly get shuffled around, getting a little thrill of being shuffled into a new group every month and seeing if you're meeting new people, or bumping into old rivals. And lastly, of course, it also means that newcomers can rapidly join up and get involved relatively quickly, or a coach can choose to abandon their team and start over again without having to wait ages for a new season.<br />
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The divisions themselves are also arranged into Tiers that denote skill/development/luckiness. Right at the top of the ladder is the Champions division. At the end of each season, only the top 2 teams get to cling to their spots here. At the next rung down, Tier 1 consists of 2 divisions. The winner of each of these divisions will get promoted up into the Champs to replace the relegated players. Tier 1 is just as punishing as Champs, as the bottom 2 players of each of these divisions will also get relegated downwards into Tier 2. Tier 2 and below each consist of 4 divisions, where the top player gets promoted into the Tier above, and the bottom player gets relegated into the Tier below. Right at the bottom it gets a little messy, as there obviously is no guarantee to have exactly the right number of players to fit neatly into the scheme, but there's generally enough dropouts or people restarting with new teams to make sure that everyone gets shuffled in and upwards as they need it.<br />
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Currently I'm playing an Orc team, called Da Blu Moonz. At their best, last season, they reached the lofty heights of Tier 2, where they proceeded to suffer a fairly brutal series of 3 losses in a row to be relegated to the much more comfortable Tier 3 for this season. Or at least, it would be more comfortable, but... let me get to that later.<br />
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Orcs are a pretty solid beginner team. They have high armour across the team which makes them very difficult to injure or remove from play. They also have decently above average strength and ability to attack, while also maintaining a barely below average speed and agility. All of this adds up to make the team generally pretty good at stomping their opponents into the ground, while still also being able to pick the ball up and even throw it around in an emergency. However, although they have the potential to evolve into some real killers on the pitch, Da Blu Moonz still lack the development and skills. Additionally, I've been careful to spread the experience out across all of my players. In the long run, this will be excellent as I gradually build up an awesome team capable of dismantling my opponent. But in the immediate here-and-now I don't have any exceptional star players that can really take control of a match, so my opponents tend to dictate the flow of play.<br />
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And now for the reason that my Tier this month isn't as comfortable as I might like.<br />
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<i>Skaven</i>.<br />
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For those of you unfamiliar with the Warhammer universe, Skaven are ratmen. On the Blood Bowl pitch, the Skaven are incredibly fast. They're not as agile as the various elf teams, so they're not so good at throwing the ball around, but they can <i>run</i>. Playing against a Skaven team feels like trying to keep 10 plates spinning on sticks. Since nearly every player on the pitch is a scoring threat, you need to keep track of all of them, and make sure to lock down every possible avenue of attack. The moment a hole forms anywhere, you can be sure that 3 or 4 rats will stream on through and your attention is suddenly divided between trying to lock down where the ball currently is, or trying to mark where it might end up. The flip side of the Skaven team is that their armour is made of paper, and their key players also have below average strength that makes knocking them down super-easy. <i>If</i> you can secure a numbers advantage, then suddenly the game becomes much easier.<br />
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Last week I had a match against a Skaven team where the exact opposite happened. The first half was a drawn-out slog where we both managed to remove a single enemy player from the pitch. The 2nd half, suddenly the dice all went in his favour, and my players were going down left and right while his stayed steadfastly upright (or at least conscious). Playing against a speedy team while also being outnumbered? That's an exercise in frustration, and the match rapidly devolved into a pretty easy win for my opponent.<br />
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This week? <i>Skaven again</i>. Even worse, this team is even more developed than the one I faced last week. Fortunately, Blood Bowl incorporates a balancing mechanism where the less developed team gets 'Inducement' money to spend on mercenaries or other special tactics. I already know my plan: I'm going to be spending every coin on referee bribes, so I can merrily stomp those rat snouts into the dirt without risking my own players being sent off.<br />
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Edit: I'm now returning to this post about 4 hours after I originally wrote it (but before it's been published). In a classic example of how the best laid plans never survive contact with the enemy, apparently my actual strategy for tonight was to have a powercut, and get the game delayed until tomorrow. Tune in tomorrow to find out if I continue with the same strategy, or decide to change my game up a little.Dentharialhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06366667141460608851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6280992684253793177.post-33792049019448114482012-10-10T11:55:00.002-07:002012-10-10T12:03:30.516-07:00Standing OutFighting games are probably the easiest genre for a casual onlooker to accuse of looking all the same as one another.<br />
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At least with other games, things like setting or even simple interface tweaks can make two games look radically different (even if, ironically, they play very similarly), but with a fighting game? There's generally only so much you can do with two characters, a generally side-on camera, and a couple of health bars. So today I'm going to take a bit of time to try and sell you on Dead or Alive 5, and why I think it stands out from its cousins.<br />
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A big part of what is cool about DoA5 is the visual aspect. I'm a firm believer in the gameplay over graphics mantra. <i>But</i>, I'm also shallow, so I like pretty things and explosions. <i>Double but</i>, despite the fact DoA5 more than delivers in this aspect, I don't even want to really talk about the graphics.<br />
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You see, what excites me about DoA5's visuals is the flow of the fighting, and the drama that they've tried to embed into the battles. Most fighting games have a certain natural rhythm to them that develops out of the mechanics. Although the specifics depend on the exact mechanics, it can generally be summarised into one player taking the offensive and trying to put pressure on the 2nd player. The 2nd player is either hit (in which case there's a flurry of hits until they fall to the ground and the fight 'resets') or they successfully defend themselves by dodging or blocking and then have an opportunity to counter-attack. This is a vast oversimplification, but roll with it for now.<br />
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The DoA series immediately tries to throw a wrench in the works by giving every single character the ability to 'hold' an attack. Holding means catching your opponent's fist or foot as it flies towards you and reversing the attack on them. While other games include such 'parrying' mechanics, it's rare for it to be made such a central part of the game. As such, DoA5 always has a much greater back-and-forth flow to its fighting, and additionally the ability to assess your opponent and get inside their head can violently turn a losing fight into a winning one.<br />
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Another wonderful visual aspect is the increased influence of stages. In most games, a stage is nothing more than a background to fight on, and that's the way the competitive community likes it. Some 3d games do allow for stages to affect the possibility of winning a round by knocking your opponent out of the ring; Soul Calibur notably does this, with its stages being different sizes, shapes, or having walls on some sides.<br />
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DoA5 throws that entire notion out of the window. Literally, in many cases. First of all, walls are seriously important. If you can back your opponent up into a wall and smash them against it, that counts for a large chunk of extra damage. That alone means that the different sized and shaped arenas begin to have a serious effect (and yes, some other games have done similar things, or allowed for extra damage by 'bouncing' your opponent off a wall, but it never felt as dramatically game-shifting to me [if you're not at a pro level]). On top of that, many stages have special 'danger zones' which generally blow up, electrify, or otherwise injure characters that are knocked into them. Edges are no longer a way of winning a round by ring out, but instead shift the action to a different level. Ice or water on the ground can affect your characters' footing, changing what would normally be a simple hit into a stumbling critical hit that leaves them vulnerable for longer. Hell, the stages aren't even always flat, and being on a slope suddenly makes some sequences of moves no longer connect in the same way, closing off some avenues of attack while simultaneously opening others.<br />
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Fighting games can be impenetrable to a spectator, with the beauty and the ballet only really being decipherable once you intimately understand the system behind what's going on. DoA5 is the first game I've played where the simple spectacle is enjoyable, and it only becomes moreso once you grasp what's really going on.<br />
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And with all that...I should probably show you what I'm talking about.<br />
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Note that this video is a trailer, and so a) is deliberately edited to include all of the cool stuff in quick succession and b) isn't exactly how the game turned out. In particular, here the camera zooms in closer on critical hits than it does in the final game, but nonetheless all the angles and the general style are genuine in-game stuff.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/06H9DOeOJ2I?rel=0&http://youtu.be/06H9DOeOJ2I?t=30s" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />Dentharialhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06366667141460608851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6280992684253793177.post-33405144965285604242012-10-09T11:27:00.000-07:002012-10-10T12:02:58.743-07:00Reboot!<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So, a long time ago I had a blog. As is the fashion, it was mostly full of whining, but there were a few posts here and there that were both fun to write and provoked a fair bit of discussion from the people that read them. Unsurprisingly (to those of you that know me well), these posts were all about games, either computer or more tabletop-based, and the mechanics and systems of how they worked.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Since I have about an hour a day to burn, and I always want to talk more about the games I'm playing, I figured it might be fun to give it another go. So here it is.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So this first entry has a little more than just a "Hello, World", let me talk a little about the games that are demanding more of my attention right now, and will likely feature again in this blog. This is in no particular order.</span></div>
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<u style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1. Blood Bowl</u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Blood Bowl is a fantasy game of American football. And by fantasy, I mean it has orcs, elves and undead in it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The game actually plays out as a turn-based strategy game. One 'coach' (the human player) is allowed to move each one of his or her players (the pieces on the pitch), until either the coach elects to end their turn, all their players have moved, or a player screws something up, like falling over or dropping the ball. The success or failure of every action is determined by the virtual roll of a die, and so the coach knows the exact probability of every action before they choose to take it. This means that the game effectively ends up as a series of decisions on risk management. Do you want to make <i>sure</i> that something gets done, but risk ending your turn pretty early? Or do you get those less important, but easier, actions out of the way, knowing that 'easy' never means infallible and you might never reach the more important stuff? On top of the in-match gameplay, your team's players accumulate experience and injuries, and so a major part of the game is the development and continual story of your team over a long period of time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is on my list of stuff because I'm in a persistent league where I play a match about once a week.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>2. Borderlands</u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is a first-person-kill-people-and-take-their-stuff game. Yes, that's really the genre.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It earns special note for being a shooter game in which the shooting is not exactly the satisfying bit, but rather the constant drive to find better equipment and upgrade yourself. It's an RPG with none of the roleplaying and all of the rocket-propelled.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It earns its spot here because I'm meant to be playing it with a friend, and not making nearly the time for it that I should be.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>3. Dead or Alive 5</u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It constantly amazes me that the Dead or Alive series has survived for as long as it has. For those that have never heard of it, it's a 3D fighting game.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">From my (admittedly casual) knowledge of the scene, I feel like fighting games generally fit into 3 categories. There's the popular competitive games; the Street Fighters and Tekkens. There's the super-niche ones that nobody sane has heard of, but are very popular in the fighting game community; things like Melty Blood, or the ever-so-slightly more mainstream King of Fighters or Blazblue. And there's the ones that aren't taken so seriously, but maintain a competitive scene and series because they're popular with more mainstream audiences; this is stuff like Marvel vs Capcom, or Soul Calibur.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If DoA can be fit into anywhere, it's probably that last one, but it risks that badly by inviting critical controversy. For example, the first game of the series had 'bouncing breasts' as a major back-of-the-box selling point. And when a series has had not one, but two spinoff games involving the female cast playing beach volleyball, you've got to ask where their priorities lie.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So I was hugely surprised when, among the usual controversy over the latest entry, articles and reviews starting popping up that were throwing on some major praise for the game. I did my research into the competitive side of things and found that even among more serious players, this entry was getting a lot of attention for fixing issues with previous games in the series while still maintaining its own style different to the Tekkens of the world.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Since I was looking for a new game to study and learn, I picked it up, and so far it's proving to be an excellent hobby.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Honorable Mentions: Guild Wars 2 & World of Warcraft</u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm trying to play a fair bit of both of these games (admittedly more WoW than GW2 right now), but neither of them really make me think when they're not right in front of me, so I'll probably not talk about them until I have some specific opinion I want to blab about.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>On the Horizon: Crusader Kings 2 & XCOM: Enemy Unknown</u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One of my favourite blogs to <i>read</i> are the stories that talk about playing through a game with a sort of diary. I very much plan to write that for these 2 games at some point.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And...that's my hour for today. Future entries will likely be shorter on account of being more focussed and less rambly.</span></div>
Dentharialhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06366667141460608851noreply@blogger.com0