14 DAY TRIAL // A lot of fans of the original XCOM franchise were surprised when 2K Games announced that it would work with Firaxis to remake the strategy title and one leading developer working on the project believes that the publisher should be applauded for its courage.
Jake Solomon, who is the leading designer working on XCOM: Enemy Unknown at Firaxis, told Rock, Paper, Shotgun that, “A lot of times I work with them from a creative standpoint, it’s never a question of like ‘Well, what’s the numbers, what’s this and that’.
“I’ve had a lot of other publishers over the years but with 2K, the conversation is almost always creative, like ‘How are you going to make this work, how is this unique to players, and how are we going to do this and that’. I guess what I’d say is I have absolutely loved working with them.”
The CEO of 2K once stated that the strategy games genre was no longer relevant for contemporary gamers, but Solomon believes that the publisher is not actually taking this position.
He added, “I’m positive it was simply just an out of context thing because obviously I work with him a lot, and I would say that he has proven with what matters, which is, you know, money where your mouth is.”
The developer says that 2K was very supportive of Firaxis during the creative process, giving them the resources they needed and the time to create a solid game.
The new XCOM seems to be pretty close to the original experience delivered by the series, allowing gamers to enjoy a strategic layer, which includes research recruitment, diplomacy and production, and then move to tactical battles with the alien invaders, which take place using a turn based system.
XCOM: Enemy Unknown is planned for launch this year and will be offered on the PlayStation 3, the Xbox 360 and the PC.