X-COM
Encyclopedia
X-COM is a series of strategy game
s created by Julian Gollop
. In 2010 2K Marin
announced the official reboot of the series, entitled simply XCOM
. The original game has a cult following
.
invasion; the player charged by a coalition of nations with their removal. The player must: capture and research alien technology, manage personnel, maintain military installations, combat hostile aliens on the ground and manage relations with the member nations. Inspiration taken from the TV series UFO
, and Timothy Good's book Alien Liaison.
The X-COM main series included the following games:
The first game is the most popular and the most successful. It was often voted as a best video game of all time, such as first on IGN
's list of "Top 25 PC Games of All Time" twice in 2007 and 2009, second in "Best Video Games Since 1992" by Pelit
in 2007, third and 11th in "Top 50 Games of All Time" by PC Gamer
in 2001 and 2010, and third in "Best Games of All Time" by CGW
in 2001. Apocalypse took several new directions with the series: it introduced a real-time
combat system, in addition to a modified turn-based system, and the aesthetics were shifted to a less grim and more futuristic style. Despite being developed by the original creators of the first X-COM (Terror from the Deep was developed by MicroProse's internal team), it failed to repeat its success.
After Interceptor, Hasbro Interactive
purchased MicroProse and acquired the X-COM brand. In 2001, Hasbro Interactive released a poorly-received action game
named X-COM: Enforcer
, loosely based on the events of Enemy Unknown. There was also a budget range
multiplayer game em@il games: X-COM, released in 1999.
Two more titles were planned for this series: X-COM: Genesis
, a strategy game, and X-COM: Alliance
, a tactical first-person shooter
. Both projects were aborted when Hasbro
shut down Hasbro Interactive studios in 2001.
There were also four compilation releases: X-COM (Collector's Edition) (1998), X-COM Collection (1999), X-COM: Complete Pack (2008) and 2K Huge Games Pack (2009).
announced a PC and console re-imagining of X-COM (relabeled as XCOM). Though it will be a first-person shooter, they said they will try to keep some main concepts from the original game, such as the fictional energy source called Elerium, but not playstyle or setting. XCOM will be released for Microsoft Windows
, Xbox 360
and PlayStation 3
with a planned release date of March 6, 2012.
2K Games
now expects to release XCOM during fiscal 2013.
s: Diane Duane
's X-COM: UFO Defense - A Novel in 1995 and Vladimir Vasilyev
's Enemy Unknown in 1997. Both of them are based on the first game in the series.
was also transferred to Hasbro Interactive on August 19, 1998. Due to financial difficulties, 100% of Hasbro Interactive was sold to the French
concern Infogrames
Entertainment SA on January 29, 2001; as part of this transfer, the X-COM IP was legally transferred to Infogrames on December 21, 2001 (shortly thereafter, Infogrames was renamed Atari
Inc., able to do this since acquiring several Atari IPs from Hasbro Interactive). In 2005 Atari transferred several IPs to Take-Two Interactive
Software, Inc. and X-COM was transferred with them on June 12, 2005. The X-COM IP is currently owned by Take-Two and its subsidiaries; in 2007 there were unconfirmed rumors that Irrational Games
(who are owned by Take-Two) were developing a new X-COM title.
In May 2007, a representative of 2K Games
(a subsidiary of Take-Two) declared on the Steam forums that they had inherited the X-COM franchise. In light of this, 2K Games re-released Terror from the Deep on Steam with support for Windows XP
only (in October 2008, an update was released through Steam, which enabled Windows Vista
support for Terror from the Deep). In September 2008, UFO Defense, Apocalypse, Interceptor, and Enforcer were re-released with support for Windows XP and Windows Vista
available on Steam and Gamersgate
among others. As of September 2011, 2K Games subsidiary 2K Marin is developing XCOM.
Because of the series' popularity, other game developers have created games similar in theme and tone of the X-COM games. The level to which they borrow from the original series varies.
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...
s created by Julian Gollop
Julian Gollop
Julian Gollop is a British designer of strategy video games and founder of the defunct game studios Mythos Games and Codo Technologies.Gollop's career spans over 25 years, during which he has designed games for numerous systems over the years, from the early 8-bit home computers to 32-bit PCs...
. In 2010 2K Marin
2K Marin
2K Marin is an American and Australian video game developer based in Novato, California and Canberra, Australia. The studio's main focus according to press releases is to develop new intellectual property and co-develop products with other 2K studios....
announced the official reboot of the series, entitled simply XCOM
XCOM
XCOM is an upcoming first-person shooter video game in development by 2K Marin for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The game is a reboot of the X-COM video game series originally created by Microprose.-Story:...
. The original game has a cult following
Cult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...
.
Original series
The premise is a hostile extraterrestrialExtraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
invasion; the player charged by a coalition of nations with their removal. The player must: capture and research alien technology, manage personnel, maintain military installations, combat hostile aliens on the ground and manage relations with the member nations. Inspiration taken from the TV series UFO
UFO (TV series)
UFO is a 1970-1971 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth, created by Gerry Anderson and Sylvia Anderson with Reg Hill, and produced by the Andersons and Lew Grade's Century 21 Productions for Grade's ITC Entertainment company.UFO first aired in the UK and Canada...
, and Timothy Good's book Alien Liaison.
The X-COM main series included the following games:
- UFO: Enemy Unknown (1993, developed by Culture BrainCulture Brain, formally known as , is a small Japanese video game developer and publisher founded on October 5, 1980.Culture Brain's first arcade video game was Monster Zero, released in . In North America, Culture Brain is mostly known for its six video games for the Nintendo Entertainment System and its three...
and MicroProseMicroProseMicroProse was a video game publisher and developer, founded by Wild Bill Stealey and Sid Meier in 1982 as Microprose Software. In 1993, the company became a subsidiary of Spectrum HoloByte and has remained a subsidiary or brand name under several other corporations since...
) - X-COM: Terror from the DeepX-COM: Terror from the DeepX-COM: Terror from the Deep is a strategy video game released in 1995 for the PC. It is the sequel to UFO: Enemy Unknown, and the second part of the X-COM series.-Gameplay:...
(1995, developed by Culture Brain and MicroProse) - X-COM: ApocalypseX-COM: Apocalypse- Story :Half a century after the end of the second X-COM campaign, the last battle of T'leth has severely damaged Earth's biosphere. As a result, several self-contained Megalopolis-type cities were proposed to provide habitation for humanity. The game follows Mega-Primus, the first of these...
(1997, developed by Culture Brain) - X-COM: InterceptorX-COM: Interceptor-External links:*: An extensive wiki containing information, analysis, strategy, and other resources for the X-COM series...
(1998, developed by AtariAtariAtari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
) - X-COM: EnforcerX-COM: EnforcerX-COM: Enforcer is the fifth game in the X-COM series, but takes place in a time line separate to that established by the first four games of the series. This game was presented as an action shoot'em up game instead of tactical turn-based strategy as in previous games.-Plot:The game is set during...
(2001, developed by MicroProse)
The first game is the most popular and the most successful. It was often voted as a best video game of all time, such as first on IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
's list of "Top 25 PC Games of All Time" twice in 2007 and 2009, second in "Best Video Games Since 1992" by Pelit
Pelit
Pelit is a Finnish video games magazine published 11 times a year by Sanoma Magazines, a division of the Sanoma Group. Being by far the largest of its kind in Finland and covering both PCs and consoles, it has for a long time lacked serious competition and is thought by many to be the magazine of...
in 2007, third and 11th in "Top 50 Games of All Time" by PC Gamer
PC Gamer
PC Gamer is a magazine founded in Britain in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future Publishing. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games magazines in their respective countries...
in 2001 and 2010, and third in "Best Games of All Time" by CGW
Computer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World was a computer game magazine founded in 1981 by Russell Sipe as a bimonthly publication. Early issues were typically 40-50 pages in length, written in a newsletter style, including submissions by game designers such as Joel Billings , Dan Bunten , and Chris Crawford...
in 2001. Apocalypse took several new directions with the series: it introduced a real-time
Real-time strategy
Real-time strategy is a sub-genre of strategy video game which does not progress incrementally in turns. Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
combat system, in addition to a modified turn-based system, and the aesthetics were shifted to a less grim and more futuristic style. Despite being developed by the original creators of the first X-COM (Terror from the Deep was developed by MicroProse's internal team), it failed to repeat its success.
After Interceptor, Hasbro Interactive
Hasbro Interactive
Hasbro Interactive was an American video game production and publishing subsidiary of Hasbro, the large game and toy company.Hasbro Interactive was formed late in 1995 in order to compete in the computer and video game arena. Several Hasbro properties, such as Monopoly and Scrabble, had already...
purchased MicroProse and acquired the X-COM brand. In 2001, Hasbro Interactive released a poorly-received action game
Action game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
named X-COM: Enforcer
X-COM: Enforcer
X-COM: Enforcer is the fifth game in the X-COM series, but takes place in a time line separate to that established by the first four games of the series. This game was presented as an action shoot'em up game instead of tactical turn-based strategy as in previous games.-Plot:The game is set during...
, loosely based on the events of Enemy Unknown. There was also a budget range
Budget range
Budget range is the name given to software that are sold for a fraction of a regular product price...
multiplayer game em@il games: X-COM, released in 1999.
Two more titles were planned for this series: X-COM: Genesis
X-COM: Genesis
X-COM: Genesis was a computer game in development in the X-COM series. It was being produced by original MicroProse employees, then working for Hasbro Interactive who bought out the game developer. Production took place in the original MicroProse offices in Chapel Hill, North Carolina...
, a strategy game, and X-COM: Alliance
X-COM: Alliance
X-COM: Alliance was a cancelled video game in the science fiction series X-COM, being developed by first MicroProse, then Hasbro Interactive and eventually Atari from 1995 until 2002...
, a tactical first-person shooter
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
. Both projects were aborted when Hasbro
Hasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
shut down Hasbro Interactive studios in 2001.
There were also four compilation releases: X-COM (Collector's Edition) (1998), X-COM Collection (1999), X-COM: Complete Pack (2008) and 2K Huge Games Pack (2009).
Series reboot
On April 14, 2010, 2K Marin2K Marin
2K Marin is an American and Australian video game developer based in Novato, California and Canberra, Australia. The studio's main focus according to press releases is to develop new intellectual property and co-develop products with other 2K studios....
announced a PC and console re-imagining of X-COM (relabeled as XCOM). Though it will be a first-person shooter, they said they will try to keep some main concepts from the original game, such as the fictional energy source called Elerium, but not playstyle or setting. XCOM will be released for Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
with a planned release date of March 6, 2012.
2K Games
2K Games
2K is a global developer, marketer, distributor and publisher of interactive entertainment software games. 2K Games is a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive, which also owns Rockstar Games notable for the Grand Theft Auto series...
now expects to release XCOM during fiscal 2013.
Novels
There are two X-COM novelNovel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s: Diane Duane
Diane Duane
Diane Duane is an American science fiction and fantasy author. Her works include the Young Wizards young adult fantasy series and the Rihannsu Star Trek novels.-Biography :...
's X-COM: UFO Defense - A Novel in 1995 and Vladimir Vasilyev
Vladimir Vasilyev (writer)
Vladimir Nikolaevich Vasilyev is a Russian science fiction writer and musician. His first book was published in 1991. Professional writer since 1997...
's Enemy Unknown in 1997. Both of them are based on the first game in the series.
Intellectual property rights
The trademark for the X-COM name was filed on May 25, 1995, by MicroProse Software. Following the acquisition and subsequent merger of MicroProse with Hasbro Interactive, the X-COM intellectual propertyIntellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
was also transferred to Hasbro Interactive on August 19, 1998. Due to financial difficulties, 100% of Hasbro Interactive was sold to the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
concern Infogrames
Infogrames
Infogrames Entertainment SA was an international French holding company headquartered in Paris, France. It was the owner of Atari, Inc., headquartered in New York City, U.S. and Atari Europe. It was founded in 1983 by Bruno Bonnell and Christophe Sapet using the proceeds from an introductory...
Entertainment SA on January 29, 2001; as part of this transfer, the X-COM IP was legally transferred to Infogrames on December 21, 2001 (shortly thereafter, Infogrames was renamed Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
Inc., able to do this since acquiring several Atari IPs from Hasbro Interactive). In 2005 Atari transferred several IPs to Take-Two Interactive
Take-Two Interactive
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. is a major American publisher, developer, and distributor of video games and video game peripherals. Take-Two wholly owns 2K Games and Rockstar Games. The company's headquarters are in New York City, with international headquarters in Windsor, United Kingdom...
Software, Inc. and X-COM was transferred with them on June 12, 2005. The X-COM IP is currently owned by Take-Two and its subsidiaries; in 2007 there were unconfirmed rumors that Irrational Games
Irrational Games
Irrational Games is a video game developer founded in 1997 by three former employees of Looking Glass Studios: Ken Levine, Jonathan Chey, and Robert Fermier as Irrational Games...
(who are owned by Take-Two) were developing a new X-COM title.
In May 2007, a representative of 2K Games
2K Games
2K is a global developer, marketer, distributor and publisher of interactive entertainment software games. 2K Games is a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive, which also owns Rockstar Games notable for the Grand Theft Auto series...
(a subsidiary of Take-Two) declared on the Steam forums that they had inherited the X-COM franchise. In light of this, 2K Games re-released Terror from the Deep on Steam with support for Windows XP
Windows XP
Windows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base...
only (in October 2008, an update was released through Steam, which enabled Windows Vista
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
support for Terror from the Deep). In September 2008, UFO Defense, Apocalypse, Interceptor, and Enforcer were re-released with support for Windows XP and Windows Vista
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
available on Steam and Gamersgate
GamersGate
GamersGate AB is a Sweden-based online video game store offering PC games, Mac games and electronic guides via direct download. It is a competitor to online video game services such as Valve's Steam, Direct2Drive and Impulse....
among others. As of September 2011, 2K Games subsidiary 2K Marin is developing XCOM.
Spiritual successors
Because of the series' popularity, other game developers have created games similar in theme and tone of the X-COM games. The level to which they borrow from the original series varies.
- The 1997 tactical PC game Incubation: Time Is Running Out was considered a spiritual successor to X-COM and "what X-Com Apocalypse should have been".
- The Dreamland Chronicles: Freedom RidgeThe Dreamland Chronicles: Freedom RidgeThe Dreamland Chronicles: Freedom Ridge was a canceled video game for PC and PlayStation 2 by Mythos Games, the authors of the original X-COM game, claimed to having been "essentially a remake of the first X-COM with 3D graphics".-Story:...
was a canceled game for PC and PlayStation 2PlayStation 2The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
by Mythos Games (the authors of the original game), claimed to having been "essentially a remakeRemakeA remake is a piece of media based primarily on an earlier work of the same medium.-Film:The term "remake" is generally used in reference to a movie which uses an earlier movie as the main source material, rather than in reference to a second, later movie based on the same source...
of the first X-Com with 3D graphics". It was however canceled in 2001 and Mythos Games ceased to exist. - UFO: AftermathUFO: AftermathUFO: 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...
is a 2003 singleplayer PC game which was heavily influenced by the X-COM series and used elements of Freedom Ridge project; during its development, the developers solicited comments from the X-COM fan community. It has since been followed by two sequels: UFO: AftershockUFO: AftershockUFO: 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 , though a smaller one than that of its predecessor, UFO:...
in 2005 and UFO: AfterlightUFO: AfterlightUFO: 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...
in 2007. - In 2005, developer Codo TechnologiesCodo TechnologiesCodo Technologies is a video game developer that was founded by Julian Gollop and others, including brother Nick Gollop, continuing the line of sophisticated strategy war games started at their previous company Mythos Games. Julian is especially known for his role in the creation of the X-COM...
(key former members of Mythos Games) and publisher NamcoNamcois a Japanese corporation best known as a former video game developer and publisher. Following a merger with Bandai in September 2005, the two companies' game production assets were spun off into Namco Bandai Games on March 31, 2006. Namco Ltd. was re-established to continue domestic operation of...
released Rebelstar: Tactical CommandRebelstar: Tactical CommandRebelstar: Tactical Command is a Game Boy Advance turn-based tactical video game developed by Codo Technologies in 2005.The game was created by Julian Gollop, who designed the X-COM games...
, very similar to the X-COMs battle system, for the Game Boy AdvanceGame Boy AdvanceThe is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
. - UFO: ExtraterrestrialsUFO: ExtraterrestrialsUFO: Extraterrestrials is a Microsoft Windows game aimed to be a spiritual sequel to the highly acclaimed UFO: Enemy Unknown . Developed by Chaos Concept, the game incorporates a twist of the aliens defeating the humans on Earth...
, released in 2007 for PC, aimed to be an unofficial sequel to the X-COM series. - UFO: Alien InvasionUFO: Alien InvasionUFO: Alien Invasion is an open source strategy video game in which the player fights aliens that are trying to take control of the Earth. The game is heavily influenced by the X-COM series . It is based on a modified id Tech 2 engine, and runs on Linux, Microsoft Windows, AmigaOS 4, and Mac OS X...
is a free open sourceOpen sourceThe term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
PC strategy game heavily influenced by the X-COM series. - XenonautsXenonautsXenonauts is an upcoming turn-based tactics science fiction video game in development for Microsoft Windows. It is the maiden title of Goldhawk Interactive, a London-based independent game studio, in development since 2009...
is a PC strategy game presently in development by Goldhawk Interactive, again heavily influenced by the X-COM series. It is marketed as a Cold WarCold WarThe Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
-era (1979 instead of 1999) re-imagining of the original UFO: Enemy Unknown and an answer to 2K's XCOM which has already alienated many fans due to its FPS-based gameplay.
Reception
See also
- Laser SquadLaser SquadLaser Squad is a turn-based tactics computer game, originally released for the ZX Spectrum and later for the Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, MSX, Amiga and Atari ST computers, as well as PC computers. It was designed by Julian Gollop and his team at Target Games and published by Blade Software...
: a science fiction tactical game by the developers of X-COM; immediate predecessor of X-COM. - Laser Squad NemesisLaser Squad NemesisLaser Squad Nemesis was a 2002 multiplayer turn-based tactics computer game developed by Codo Technologies. The lead designer, Julian Gollop, previously designed the X-COM series and the original Laser Squad.-Gameplay:...
: a multiplayer game from the original creators of X-COM. - Rebelstar series: precursor games to the Laser Squad and X-COM series, created by the same developers.
External links
- UFOPaedia: an extensive wikiWikiA wiki is a website that allows the creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor. Wikis are typically powered by wiki software and are often used collaboratively by multiple users. Examples include...
containing information, analysis, strategy, and other resources for the X-COM series of games - X-Com: the oldest X-COM website still on the web (has been dormant for years, but still hosts unique content for the original three games)
- XCOM: UFO Defense: another X-COM fan site with numerous resources and patches for the Windows versions of the X-COM games
- StrategyCore.co.uk (formerly X-COM.co.uk): news, fan-fiction, files and forums
- X-COM Trilogy UFOpedia: the original in-game encyclopedias of the first three X-COM games
- OpenXcom: an open-source reimplementation
- Xenowar: an Android and Windows open sourceOpen sourceThe term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
game, focusing on simplicity, and playability. - Linux/Windows port of X-Com: Apocalypse