14 DAY TRIAL // 2K Games, the publisher of the coming XCOM first person shooter from 2K Marin as well as the XCOM: Enemy Unknown strategy title from Firaxis, has revealed that both games will cater to all sorts of fans and will mark a successful return for the old franchise.
XCOM delighted lots of PC gamers back in the 1990s with its strategy gameplay. As such, when 2K Marin announced that it was reimagining the series as a first person shooter, albeit a tactical one, fans got angry.
Now, as we heard last week, Firaxis, the developer of the award winning Civilization series, is working on a pure strategy title called XCOM: Enemy Unknown, which aims at respecting the origins of the series.
With these two games, 2K Games, their publisher, hopes to mark a successful return of the franchise, appealing not just to older fans, who want another strategy game, but also to those who have yet to experience it, and want a more traditional shooter experience.
“2K Marin's XCOM is a tactical squad based shooter, offering boots-on-the-ground action through the experience of an XCOM agent leading a team into combat against a dangerous, unknown enemy threat,” the publisher said about the shooter. “2K Marin's XCOM is a character driven experience and offers a look at the origin of the XCOM organization as it faces its first threat from outside our world.”
“With equal emphasis on deep strategy and intense tactical combat, XCOM: Enemy Unknown puts players in control of the entire XCOM organization, managing resources, improving technologies, and overseeing their combat strategies and individual unit tactics, while battling a terrifying alien invasion around the globe. Released in 1993, the original XCOM is widely regarded as one of the best games ever made and has now been re-imagined by the strategy masterminds at Firaxis Games."
While these two games certainly show that 2K Games is hedging its bets, trying to keep older fans happy while offering something for gamers that don’t know the series, it’s great to see that the company has listened to fan feedback and is trying to honor the legacy of the franchise.
The XCOM shooter is out on March 6, in North America, and on March 9, in Europe, while the strategy game has yet to receive a concrete release date.