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Scandalous posted:I’ve now got Enemy Within on my phone lmao It's actually a really good port. It does miss out on a handful of maps because of space concerns with phones when they made it back in the day, but it's great to xcom on the go and the touch controls are pretty good. The WOTC port is pretty solid as well and has a bunch of little quality of life changes inspired by pc mods(or hell they might just be the actual mods).
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May 31, 2022 00:01
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What's this thread's verdict on Chimera Squad? I can't quite get into it and whenever I try to play it, I end up just spinning a WoTC game instead. It doesn't feel like a bad game, I think it just triggers me into wanting to play WoTC.
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May 31, 2022 00:08
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I found it pretty enjoyable and worth well more than they charge for it, but it doesn't have the replayability ew and wotc have. (Disclaimer: it's still got a fair bit more than most games because of the way the order you tackle the gangs changes things and the way you can't try out all the dudes in a single run. It's just it's good for 2-3 runs instead of being something I can binge gimmick runs on)
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May 31, 2022 00:16
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FoolyCharged posted:I found it pretty enjoyable and worth well more than they charge for it, but it doesn't have the replayability ew and wotc have. (Disclaimer: it's still got a fair bit more than most games because of the way the order you tackle the gangs changes things and the way you can't try out all the dudes in a single run. It's just it's good for 2-3 runs instead of being something I can binge gimmick runs on) I think for someone who isn't prone to replaying games a lot or who is iffier about the massive lethality of standard X-COM, Chimera Squad is a great way to give them a taste. It's more linear and focused which can be a negative but makes it easier for a newbie to slip in.
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May 31, 2022 01:55
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Dorkopotamis posted:What's this thread's verdict on Chimera Squad? I can't quite get into it and whenever I try to play it, I end up just spinning a WoTC game instead. I think it’s amazingly fun, personally . I replayed it until I got 100% and I still occasionally do a run through. A thing I really love is how each mission is maybe 20 min. It makes it perfect to play here and there. Easily my favorite police death squad simulator. It’s pretty easy compared to xcom 1 or 2 though, but one can find challenge by picking sub optimal powers and combinations, or going for flawless missions (though I’ve tended away from that as consistent flawless incentivized a pretty specific set of power and companion choices to rip open the action economy) Edit: come to think of it, it would be the perfect mobile game due to its pacing. Each mission plus downtime adds up to a bus ride worth of time. Best Friends fucked around with this message at 02:16 on May 31, 2022 |
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May 31, 2022 02:14
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Yeah as a game it's quite well designed. There's a variety of interesting changes to explore, and the package comes across well. It isn't a replacement for XCOM, but it's not meant to be.
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May 31, 2022 03:11
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Chimera Squad seems like a tech demo more than anything. It’s fun but seems unpolished.
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May 31, 2022 05:02
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It was released around April 2020 right as the entire planet entered lockdown; with zero fanfare, only a week's notice, discount pricing, and a more than a few (quickly patched) bugs. It was clearly pushed out the door asap while they still could, and I give it a lot of leeway for a motherfucking $10 title.
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May 31, 2022 06:36
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Serephina posted:It was released around April 2020 right as the entire planet entered lockdown; with zero fanfare, only a week's notice, discount pricing, and a more than a few (quickly patched) bugs. It was clearly pushed out the door asap while they still could, and I give it a lot of leeway for a motherfucking $10 title. I heard they didn't even have time to tell the lady she was a snake!!!
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May 31, 2022 06:39
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TK-42-1 posted:Chimera Squad seems like a tech demo more than anything. It’s fun but seems unpolished. It definitely feels like a test to see how if the interleaved turns would work in a potential xcom3. It was a lot of fun though.
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May 31, 2022 07:02
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The worst part of Chimera Squad is that you have to play as the cops
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May 31, 2022 13:06
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Speaking of XCOM-likes, anybody played Mutant Year Zero? I understand it's kind of halfway between XCOM and isometric RPGs, so it might be a good option for me to transition towards my backlog of long story-based games 
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May 31, 2022 15:58
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NihilCredo posted:Speaking of XCOM-likes, anybody played Mutant Year Zero? I understand it's kind of halfway between XCOM and isometric RPGs, so it might be a good option for me to transition towards my backlog of long story-based games
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May 31, 2022 16:22
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Moola posted:The worst part of Chimera Squad is that you have to play as the cops Ding ding ding
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May 31, 2022 16:54
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I had never played the tutorial since 2016, so had no idea who this Jane Kelly character that Chimera Squad kept banging on about even was. There was also a very ‘Saturday morning cartoon’ vibe to the whole thing that bugged me for reasons I can’t quite put my finger on.
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May 31, 2022 17:16
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NihilCredo posted:Speaking of XCOM-likes, anybody played Mutant Year Zero? I understand it's kind of halfway between XCOM and isometric RPGs, so it might be a good option for me to transition towards my backlog of long story-based games I didn’t like it at all
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May 31, 2022 17:26
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Moola posted:The worst part of Chimera Squad is that you have to play as the cops Same reason Phantom Doctrine kind of sucked playing as the CIA but at least that had all the bugfuck insane conspiracy poo poo along with it.
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May 31, 2022 19:41
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TK-42-1 posted:Same reason Phantom Doctrine kind of sucked playing as the CIA but at least that had all the bugfuck insane conspiracy poo poo along with it. Well in Phantom Doctrine there is at least a bit of a "you aren't exactly the good guys" element to it. Like it's very much playing up the "hosed up spy poo poo" angle what with brainwashing captured enemies into being sleeper agents and dosing up your own agents with crazy experimental drug cocktails to enhance their performance.
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May 31, 2022 21:03
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oh no I started a new game on Commander and I dithered and dallied with my research and now I’m fighting Mutons and MECs with four schmucks who don’t know which end their of their cruddy rifles the bullets come out of
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May 31, 2022 21:30
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Moola posted:The worst part of Chimera Squad is that you have to play as the cops Though to be fair you're playing cops who only respond to actively violent and dangerous situations and not say traffic stops or mental health episodes. Which is basically the goal behind the defund the police movement, have the people with guns respond only to situations that require them, leave everything else to people with more appropriate expertise.
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Jun 1, 2022 03:33
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Wasn't Chimera Squad pointedly not cops? They're an XCOM unit sent into handle multiple terrorist organizations that were tearing the city apart and the police couldn't handle it.
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Jun 1, 2022 03:46
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Its complicated? They're an extra-judicial crisis team beholden to XCOM which is explicitly not part of the city government. They're like if a multinational corporation was SWAT for your city.
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Jun 1, 2022 03:54
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"Technically not cops" is still "cops" for all intents and purposes in certain circumstances. US Border Patrol is technically not "cops" but they'll show up wherever the cops show up and do cop poo poo right alongside the cops.
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Jun 1, 2022 04:39
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I *do* enjoy hearing second-hand trauma from people hosed up by the 'states. Shall we also go bashing XCOM about how it desensitizes/glorifies guns and its normalization of violence? ...No? Cool, let's talk about video games then. Anyone here got the early access to Phantom Brigade? My initial glee on its trailer was tapered when I realized it was less Armoured Core and more Laser Squad Nemesis, but LSN was a great game so I'm cautiously optimistic. Seems like it'd have good crossover with fans in this thread. Does it have mech customization? Please tell me it has like 50 numbers to balance, I'm craving that sort of stuff.
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Jun 1, 2022 05:08
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Serephina posted:I *do* enjoy hearing second-hand trauma from people hosed up by the 'states. Shall we also go bashing XCOM about how it desensitizes/glorifies guns and its normalization of violence? ...No? Cool, let's talk about video games then. shut the gently caress up
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Jun 1, 2022 05:17
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Chimera Squad's weird (and I can sympathize, I haven't touched SWAT 4 in ages despite liking that game for similar reasons) because they were definitely meant to be more a straight international police take at some point but got changed in direction at some stage of production: there's a bunch of lines the agents still have that obviously, but notably there's also the Gray Phoenix investigation that has like, actual level stuff that would fit in with it (the first tier starting mission even starting off with what's now a very over the top response to a robbery of a convenience store that leads you to the actual elerium thing they got going on). Like they're just a bit weird and more...down to earth in a sense? compared to how Sacred Coil and the Progeny are way more direct about them being extraordinary XCOM-specific problems (Sacred Coil is essentially a full blown insurgency while the Progeny are a psionic cult led by someone who's off the charts in terms of power), fitting way better with the rework direction of them basically being XCOM's investigative arm for weird alien poo poo in general and people having alien poo poo that they shouldn't have. So I guess you could always go the route of "These aren't normal cops, I am in control of the gun control death squad conservatives are paranoid about"? 
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Jun 1, 2022 08:02
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I honestly feel bad for Chimera Squad, because circumstances outside of its own control rendered it something of a pariah. When the game was initially announced, the Steam forum for it was absolutely LITTERED with ultra-right wing loonies screaming absolute betrayal at the very idea that you could play as the aliens and saying XCOM should have just genocided the entire bunch. It was actually incredibly disturbing to witness. Then not long after it was released, the George Floyd protests happened, and suddenly it was not cool to be playing cops in any game because ACAB. So in the end the game was ostracized by the Ultra Right because of the interspecies nature of the crew you play as, and by the Ultra Left because of Anti-cop sentiments. There was nothing wrong with the game itself, and the devs were clearly trying to use it as an XCOM 2.5 testbed for various new ideas they had. Likewise I felt that the story was fine and not offensive. It's just that the game had the unfortunate timing to come out right before a political firestorm swept through the US, with idiots on both sides condemning it for reasons that were both entirely outside of its control and that it couldn't predict would happen.
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Jun 1, 2022 12:54
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Finished my very first play through of XCOM2 vanilla last night on rookie. Had a lot of fun and basically instantly fired up a WOTC campaign. The vanilla rookie campaign felt a bit too easy and overpowered towards the second half (I don’t think I had a single soldier die, and I did minimal save scumming)… is now the time to make the jump to veteran?
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Jun 2, 2022 15:27
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Gin_Rummy posted:Finished my very first play through of XCOM2 vanilla last night on rookie. Had a lot of fun and basically instantly fired up a WOTC campaign. The vanilla rookie campaign felt a bit too easy and overpowered towards the second half (I don’t think I had a single soldier die, and I did minimal save scumming)… is now the time to make the jump to veteran?
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Jun 2, 2022 16:22
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Gin_Rummy posted:Finished my very first play through of XCOM2 vanilla last night on rookie. Had a lot of fun and basically instantly fired up a WOTC campaign. The vanilla rookie campaign felt a bit too easy and overpowered towards the second half (I don’t think I had a single soldier die, and I did minimal save scumming)… is now the time to make the jump to veteran? XCOM difficulty is by its nature balanced on a knife's edge. If you lose a soldier, every mission from then on becomes more difficult, whereas if you do better than expected on a mission (say no wounded, or collecting some extra resources through hacking or similar) every mission gets slightly easier. Hence the phenomenon you noticed where the second half of the game felt too easy - you probably did better than the difficulty curve expected, and there's no built in rubber banding. This doesn't really answer your question so I'd say you're probably ready for Veteran, just noting how finding the right difficulty can be tricky. For that reason it's also worth noting you can change difficulty during the campaign if things feel too easy/too hard. You might even want to start on veteran and then move it up to Commander if you seem to be getting ahead of the difficulty curve again. Bremen fucked around with this message at 18:52 on Jun 2, 2022 |
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Jun 2, 2022 18:43
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I started these games on Veteran and it was NBD you should be fine to move up.
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Jun 2, 2022 19:37
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I think that one of the big aspects of XCOM's difficulty comes from the degree of familiarity with the enemies, so having played through the game on Rookie you should be fine to play on Veteran (and you'll likely enjoy the added challenge). Commander is probably doable for you as well, but the additional casualties might be frustrating.
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Jun 2, 2022 20:47
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I still sometimes wish new-xcom was more like old-xcom with how it deals with deaths - instead of having a small elite team of badasses abusing pack mechanics you'd instead have new, barely trained death fodder being the first through the death-elevator and getting vaporized before the core team bursts in Of course said death fodder could still be very useful lugging around explosives so death was also much less punishing.
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Jun 2, 2022 20:54
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Rynoto posted:I still sometimes wish new-xcom was more like old-xcom with how it deals with deaths - instead of having a small elite team of badasses abusing pack mechanics you'd instead have new, barely trained death fodder being the first through the death-elevator and getting vaporized before the core team bursts in Even in old-xcom I feel like the rookie death fodder is wildly overstated. I lost like 7 soldiers total in my last playthrough of it, alien lethality is so wildly variable with weapons having such ridiculous damage variance and once you get power armor you probably aren't losing anyone. And endgame your psi bullshit was even more OP than in new-XCOM.
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Jun 2, 2022 21:11
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Zore posted:Even in old-xcom I feel like the rookie death fodder is wildly overstated. I lost like 7 soldiers total in my last playthrough of it, alien lethality is so wildly variable with weapons having such ridiculous damage variance and once you get power armor you probably aren't losing anyone. Yeah OG XCOM has a high fatality rate in the early game that quickly falls off when you get your hands on the alien tech and can use psi BS and blaster bombs to completely wipe out the aliens without even stepping out of the skyranger. I do feel like one thing with new XCOM is that losing soldiers is a little bit too punishing. Because of the much lower squad size, having someone die can lead to the mission spiraling out of control very quickly as the action economy turns against you. In the original game, you'd still prefer not to lose soldiers but a couple of people dying in a mission didn't make that mission a lost cause. It leads to a thing where the philosophy of the new games is  but in practice if you actually finish the game you'll probably do it with basically no deaths over the entire campaign.
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Jun 2, 2022 21:17
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Kaal posted:I think that one of the big aspects of XCOM's difficulty comes from the degree of familiarity with the enemies, so having played through the game on Rookie you should be fine to play on Veteran (and you'll likely enjoy the added challenge). Commander is probably doable for you as well, but the additional casualties might be frustrating. Yeah this was primarily my issue and what induced many rage-save reverts. I now pretty much know every enemy and their move sets.
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Jun 2, 2022 21:31
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Zore posted:Even in old-xcom I feel like the rookie death fodder is wildly overstated. I lost like 7 soldiers total in my last playthrough of it, alien lethality is so wildly variable with weapons having such ridiculous damage variance and once you get power armor you probably aren't losing anyone. Depends on your playstyle, even in the mid game I'd average a good 2 rookie deaths a mission, just because they served as very effective ablative armour for my veterans and I'm not a huge fan of the tanks so I always just send in a lot of guys.
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Jun 2, 2022 21:34
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Zore posted:Even in old-xcom I feel like the rookie death fodder is wildly overstated. I lost like 7 soldiers total in my last playthrough of it, alien lethality is so wildly variable with weapons having such ridiculous damage variance and once you get power armor you probably aren't losing anyone. Eh, on hard difficulties it isn't that unheard of to lose half your squad in a mission until you hit that sweet spot in mid-late game and overrun the aliens. Of course I'm now realizing that FMP has almost completely overtaken original's balance in my memory and they're pretty different beasts, balance wise.
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Jun 2, 2022 21:36
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Yeah, I always made fairly heavy use of tanks and by month like 3 I think I only had one or two more deaths in the entire campaign. And one of those was a bullshit mind-control one where my guy gunned down his buddy.
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Jun 2, 2022 21:38
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The Cheshire Cat posted:Yeah OG XCOM has a high fatality rate in the early game that quickly falls off when you get your hands on the alien tech and can use psi BS and blaster bombs to completely wipe out the aliens without even stepping out of the skyranger. I do feel like one thing with new XCOM is that losing soldiers is a little bit too punishing. Because of the much lower squad size, having someone die can lead to the mission spiraling out of control very quickly as the action economy turns against you. In the original game, you'd still prefer not to lose soldiers but a couple of people dying in a mission didn't make that mission a lost cause. It leads to a thing where the philosophy of the new games is I see people say this all the time and I feel like it's more that new xcom makes people give up on campaigns a lot earlier. I want to say the first time I beat EW Ironman I had something like over 50 deaths in the run, but I was never in danger of losing the campaign.
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Jun 2, 2022 22:22
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