XCOM: Chimera Squad

[Thorondor]

There's no denying the fact that the original X-COM game was quite successful at creating a palpable sense of dread - the fog of war, the disturbing sounds heard during the aliens' turn and the immersive music created by Mr. John Broomhall all combined to truly deliver that fear of the unknown, regardless of actual graphical or audio fidelity (or lackthereof); your brain filled in the blanks just fine.

 

But let's not forget, n0x, that part of the lesser impact of games on us, as gamers, now also stems from our journey in life and how much we've experienced since, which sort of dulls that edge somewhat. We know what to expect and so it takes more to impress us.

 

Who knows what the near future holds though - the day may yet come for an XCOM experience in VR!

[NoXTheRoXStaR]

Now you might be on to something, Thor. An XCOM movie? What about an XCOM game in the same vein as a Resident Evil, or a Dead Space. I can see that, a VR XCOM would be great if done correctly.

 

It's mostly my fault, call it a guilty pleasure; around the Halloween season. I take a week off from work for vacation time, or holiday in Europe. Draw the shades at night and watch horror movies and play scary video games with my wife.

 

Something I've often wondered about is videogames and movies. Over the years there have been so many video game movies that are completely disappointing. IMO the game BioShock would be fantastic on paper. Yet, it's already been fantastic as a game, never mind. Hollywood would just ruin it.....

 

-n0x

[NoXTheRoXStaR]

Bugs & Glitches.

 

Internet Outages, Power Outages and the site being wonky recently has permitted me from submitting this topic. How appropriate for the title of this entry.

 

I have only experienced a handful of bugs with my time playing this game, none of them being system crashing until today..... So let's jump right in!

 

(Audio)

 

Your squad mates/team members will often banter back forth with each other in combat. Sometimes they'll retort if you missed a shot, killed an enemy or even complaining about medical assistance (which they clearly need).

 

Yet on multiple occasions I've had Squad mates/team members who either weren't on the current mission or even recruited make remarks, slightly bizarre.

I can only assume it's a script issue where your allies converse, most likely a coding bug.

 

(Visual)

 

Many times when breaching into the next area the animations for the entry, be it rappelling down and breaking through glass, jumping through glass, jumping through glass from the ceiling (maybe a glass issue?) will stall and you don't actually see your team making the breach.

 

Normally when the animation shows your actions of the said breach the camera will then pan to the next phase where you will target an enemy. When done correctly the target (depending on your choice) will highlight the name of the enemy and the percentage of actually hitting them. When done incorrectly the target will show up but nothing else, leaving you wondering just who in the hell you should kill first. (Hint - The closest target is usually the one that will connect.)

 

The enemies known as the Acolytes have the annoying skill of a "Psionic Supplex". It sucks, if the enemy pulls it off and more annoyingly if it happens multiple times, you'll be heading to "Supplex City". It only happened once but an animation of Patchwork, who was lifted into the air via supplex stayed frozen in that form for the rest of the mission. This was despite that the Acolyte who used his skill on her was killed immediately. It was a "get in get out" mission, so it was hilarious to her floating through the air to the green exit grid.

 

Ok. So that's my last entry into this game not based on the 4 part series. The final part will include several screenshots, an attempt at my only 2 remaining Steam accomplishments with my last play through. (I hope, please God I don't want to do this anymore!) My overall review and score.

 

See you soon.

 

-n0x

[Thorondor]

Phantom voices of absent or non-existent team members? Sounds like the aliens are messing with your head, n0x.

 

Of course, that's nothing compared to the consequences that the visual issues reported can have on the outcome of your intended actions. Such bugs, if frequently occurring, really should have been addressed by now (and likely never will at this stage).

 

I guess you have your work cut out for you if you're looking to be an achiever.

 

Staying tuned for next episode.

[NoXTheRoXStaR]

After many weeks of being away. I will give you my final and 40th attempt on trying to piece together a sentence, or ever even multiple paragraphs.

 

I played this game way longer than anyone should play it.

9 times unlocked all the achievements. Hours I will never get back, was it worth it it?

 

Eh,

 

The Good

 

The music was nice. Loved the throw back in the nightclub (remix of the original)

Graphics, nothing great, used the same engine as XCOM 2, but was nice to see new maps.

Unlike others, I liked the banter between squad mates.

Mixing and matching 4 unique characters was frustrating at first and a breeze later. Teaming can be almost dominating.

 

The Bad

 

Repetitive maps

Asinine enemies

 

The Ugly

 

Numerous bugs

Storyline in general

 

Overall, this was game is 7/10.

 

:: Spoiler ::

 

The game hints at sequel. No fucking thank you.

 

-Nox

[Thorondor]

Given that you were motivated enough to stick with it and the game sufficiently occupied your headspace to lead you to making this sequence of braindumps, n0x, I'd say the developers are justified in considering a follow-up.

 

And thanks for bringing things to a close - score and everything.