UFO: Aftershock
Encyclopedia
UFO: Aftershock is a computer real-time tactical
strategy game
created by Altar and released in 2005. It is a squad combat game at its core with overlying strategic elements and a clear debt to the lauded classic X-COM: UFO Defense
(1994), though a smaller one than that of its predecessor, UFO: Aftermath
.
Aftershock is set in a post-apocalyptic 2050 and comes after the events of UFO: Aftermath. The game assumes that the player took up the Reticulans offer of resettling the most able of humanity in a space station, while allowing the rest to die, consumed by the Biomass that the Reticulans could not control (However, in the first game the player could reject their offer, and save the Earth while defending against both the Reticulans and the Biomass). Having lost contact with the Earth, the player must find out what happened.
The combat section is a real-time system with adjustable speed along with a pause option, and it has been improved to feature such things as multilevel battlefields and accessible buildings, but lacks some features from the previous installment such as destructible terrain. The strategic section holds resource and squad management, research, development, some limited diplomacy and planning of attacks. As a departure from the X-COMs and the prequel, there is no air-to-air interception.
, to execute the same concept on Mars
. UFO: Aftershock is protected by the controversial StarForce
copy protection software on all store sold copies of the game. The game was re-released by Good Old Games, a digital distribution
video game retailer, without any copy protection.
The publisher granted a license to the Czech
company Redboss Games, a subsidiary of Redboss
, which they used to create a mobile version of UFO: Aftershock.
Real-time tactics
Real-time tactics or RTT is a subgenre of tactical wargames played in real-time simulating the considerations and circumstances of operational warfare and military tactics...
strategy game
Strategy game
A strategy game or strategic game is a game in which the players' uncoerced, and often autonomous decision-making skills have a high significance in determining the outcome...
created by Altar and released in 2005. It is a squad combat game at its core with overlying strategic elements and a clear debt to the lauded classic X-COM: UFO Defense
X-COM: UFO Defense
UFO: Enemy Unknown is a critically acclaimed strategy video game created by Julian Gollop and published by MicroProse Software in 1993...
(1994), though a smaller one than that of its predecessor, UFO: Aftermath
UFO: Aftermath
UFO: Aftermath, is a 2003 real-time strategy game with real-time tactical battles from ALTAR Interactive, being a homage to the X-COM series of games. It started as The Dreamland Chronicles: Freedom Ridge, an abortive project by the Mythos Games, original developers of the X-COM series...
.
Aftershock is set in a post-apocalyptic 2050 and comes after the events of UFO: Aftermath. The game assumes that the player took up the Reticulans offer of resettling the most able of humanity in a space station, while allowing the rest to die, consumed by the Biomass that the Reticulans could not control (However, in the first game the player could reject their offer, and save the Earth while defending against both the Reticulans and the Biomass). Having lost contact with the Earth, the player must find out what happened.
The combat section is a real-time system with adjustable speed along with a pause option, and it has been improved to feature such things as multilevel battlefields and accessible buildings, but lacks some features from the previous installment such as destructible terrain. The strategic section holds resource and squad management, research, development, some limited diplomacy and planning of attacks. As a departure from the X-COMs and the prequel, there is no air-to-air interception.
Release and reception
Aftershock was released to PAL regions on 21 October 2005 and to North America on 23 November 2005. The game received mixed critical reviews upon release and is notoriously buggy even after several released patches. A sequel and third game in the series was released two years after Aftershock titled, UFO: AfterlightUFO: Afterlight
UFO: Afterlight is a 2007 strategy computer game and the third in Altar's UFO series. Like its predecessors UFO: Aftermath and UFO: Aftershock, it combines squad-level tactical combat with overlying strategic elements in a manner that's deliberately very much like the major 1994 classic X-COM: UFO...
, to execute the same concept on Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
. UFO: Aftershock is protected by the controversial StarForce
StarForce
StarForce is a software copy protection mechanism developed by Protection Technology, which claims that products protected with StarForce are difficult to reverse engineer.- Product families :Currently known official versions of StarForce include:...
copy protection software on all store sold copies of the game. The game was re-released by Good Old Games, a digital distribution
Digital distribution
Online distribution, digital distribution, or electronic software distribution is the practice of delivering content without the use of physical media, typically by downloading via the internet directly to a consumer's device. Online distribution bypasses conventional physical distribution media,...
video game retailer, without any copy protection.
The publisher granted a license to the Czech
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
company Redboss Games, a subsidiary of Redboss
Redboss
Redboss is one of the main distributors and developers of mobile phone games in the Czech Republic. It is currently developing about 15 mobile games. Redboss is a brand of MLiven, a company from Czech Republic.- Business deals :...
, which they used to create a mobile version of UFO: Aftershock.