UFO: Extraterrestrials is Here!

[Knan]

Grumble. June 29th, says the local borg EBGames.

 

Ah well, someone will probably have figured out how to run it in wine by then.

[Mikal]

Can't find any UK supplier for this yet. Suppose I'll just have to wait and see what creeps out of the woodwork.

[baby arm]

Can't find any UK supplier for this yet.

You can download it through Gamer's Gate right now or wait for the end of June for it to hit Euro stores.

[hatfarm]

I just wish you could rent computer games... I was so let down by the last UFO game I bought (whatever it was in 2k3).

 

Aftermath, that's the one.

[Jh316]

Regardless of the similar name, people need to realize UFO: ET isn't associated in any way with UFO: Aftermath.

[Slaughter]

I just wish you could rent computer games... I was so let down by the last UFO game I bought (whatever it was in 2k3).

 

Aftermath, that's the one.

If I were you, I'd take a look at the UFO: Afterlight (third game in the series) demo. The series has evolved a little since Aftermath

[hatfarm]

No, I knew it was not the same company. I checked that out when I read this. I simply wanted to know if it was worth putting money into when I was as disappointed with that game as I was with this. I was honestly hoping that some of the ones being worked on by the x-com community would be done by now because those people know what made the game great and could probably do a good job with an homage to it.

 

Which would you say is better UFO:ET or Afterlight?

[Slaughter]

...

 

Which would you say is better UFO:ET or Afterlight?

I haven't played either game long enough to give final judgement, but my general impression is this.

 

UFO: Afterlight isn't turn-based, so if that's a requirement you can just forget about it. I think the hybrid system (real-time with pause I guess they call it) the UFO: After games use is fine, even if I prefer turn-based. So if you can stomach the game mechanic, Afterlight is a quality game.Check the voting at GameSpot for instance. A game doesn't get 8.8 average from 313 user votes if it isn't good!

 

Anyway, being the 3rd game in the series, Afterlight does a lot of things right. There are all the small things like customizing weapons, relationships between the staff affecting their performance/actions in tactical settings, diplomacy between factions and so on. There are so many layers to Afterlight! The demo will give you some idea, but playing it gives you too little time with the game to appreciate it's depth.

 

UFO: Extraterrestrials is turn-based. To me so far (from a little play and reading user opinions), it feels like a less polished copy of UFO: ET. I think it's well worth playing, but I think I'll wait for a patch or some mods. There are some limitations (like having to click 3 TIMES to fire, no shortcut key) that really annoys me, but with a patch this could be solved. GameSpot's review wasn't pretty, but I put more faith in user input.

 

So to conclude, I'd say that Afterlight has the higher quality, but that Extraterrestrials is a decent clone and the closest to X-COM. I haven't played long enough to make final decision however, so read other's response as well.

[flark]

Which would you say is better UFO:ET or Afterlight?

They are completely different games therefore it is impossible to say which is better. There is no doubt that Afterlight is the far superior game in reflection to graphics, sound, animation and variety in gameplay - but if you don't like the SAS style of playing and are specifically looking for something very similar to the original XCOM - then you may be disappointed.

 

Have you considered UFO: Aftershock? Believe me it is MUCH better than Aftermath and you could probably pick it up very cheaply by now, plus it is more of a go between than the two vastly different games you are asking about. Aftershock (with ShadoWarrior's weapon rebalance mod) is my personal pick of the bunch.

[Azrael Strife]

I strongly disagree, if you're looking with an eerie atmosphere similar to X-Com, you'll be disappointed with Aftershock, and the game is endlessly filled with meaningless and excruciatingly repetitive missions with a very low variety of mission terrains, Aftermath is way superior in most aspects with the notable exception of base management.

[flark]

I strongly disagree, if you're looking with an eerie atmosphere similar to X-Com, you'll be disappointed with Aftershock, and the game is endlessly filled with meaningless and excruciatingly repetitive missions with a very low variety of mission terrains, Aftermath is way superior in most aspects with the notable exception of base management.

 

It always amazes just how much people's opinions can vary on these games. It really does go to show that you never truly please absolutely everyone.

 

For me, the tactical missions on Aftershock were the most exciting of any of the fore mentioned games. I think the eerie atmosphere is at least equal to XCOM, if not more so. The graphics, the sound, the variety in gameplay and options were all FAR superior to Aftermath in my opinion. Yes, frequently you end up playing in a terrain you have already seen before, but at least ALL of the terrain is fully interactive, ie. multi-floors, entering buildings, climbing roofs, watchtowers, caves etc. etc. Aftermath is far more boring because NONE of the terrain is interactive. Even when you end up replaying a terrain in Aftershock, no two missions are quite the same.

 

I honestly can't understand how you could find Aftershock's tactical missions "excruciatingly repetitive" as you put it. The only thing I can think of is that you must have been playing it on a far too easy difficulty setting. Try playing a couple of missions on the hardest setting, or try using ShadoWarrior's Heroic Assault mod, surely there is no way on earth you can find that boring??

[Space Voyager]

Finally ordered the game. 29