14 DAY TRIAL // The XCOM re-imagined series of video games has been very successful since it was initially introduced, and now the development team at Firaxis announces that it is partnering with Fantasy Flight Games, one of the best creators of physical experiences, to develop a new XCOM: The Board Game experience.
The title is designed to use the core ideas of the virtual franchise in order to allow players to become part of a worldwide organization that’s supposed to stand against a powerful alien threat that seeks to consume Earth.
The official announcement states, “You must make strategic use of the resources available to you. You must launch Interceptors to shoot down alien UFOs, assign soldiers to key missions, research alien technology, and use that technology to defend your base, all while you try to keep the world from collapsing just long enough that you can coordinate one final mission to repel the invaders for good.”
One of the core elements of XCOM: The Board Game will be a companion app, available both on phones and online, which will be used to select from the five available invasion plans of the alien force and to make the player move fast in order to respond to its assaults.
Fantasy Flight Games says the innovative element will keep the game fresh and will deliver a unique challenge to human players who can take on one of four major roles inside XCOM: Commander, Chief Scientist, Central Officer and Squad Leader.
The overall Commander needs to manage the funds of the organization and to deploy the limited number of Interceptor craft in order to try and bring down the alien vessels that are approaching Earth.
The Chief Scientist will try to reverse engineer the tech of the invaders in order to give human forces a lot more power during combat, while the Central Officer aims to keep communication channels clean and interacts with the unique app associated with XCOM: The Board Game.
Finally, the Squad Leader needs to assemble the strike teams that actually battle alien raids and defend the official base of XCOM.
Fantasy Flight Games states, “All four player roles are vital to XCOM’s success, and you and your friends must divide them among yourselves in every game. Your soldiers won’t succeed without the upgrades your scientists can research, nor will you be able to launch successful Interceptor strikes against UFOs unless you acquire good intel from your satellite network.”
XCOM: The Board Game is expected to launch before the end of 2014.
