Current Events > Which of the original XCOMs do I play first?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I have 5 of them in my library and I have no idea which one to play first

xcom 2

maybe enemy unknown/within

Freddie_Mercury posted...

xcom 2

maybe enemy unknown/within

I said ORIGINALS

UFO Defense is the original game

Terror From the Deep is the 2nd game

Apocalypse is the 3rd one

I don't know much about the others

Why bother playing anything but the newer two games?

ok i definitely need a tutorial on this lmao

If you want to play the original XCOM (and you should, it's an amazing game), the OpenXcom mod is a *MUST*.

At the bare minimum, you will appreciate mouse wheel support and the bug fixes from the original game. It also has dozens of QoL improvements to the interface and battles. One of my favorites is that it remembers your equipment loadout for each squad member, and automatically equips them for the next battle.

https://www.ufopaedia.org/index.php/Differences_to_X-COM_(OpenXcom)

If you've only played the newer games, you need to know that it was fully intended in UFO Defense for you get your ass kicked at the start. New recruits are cheap and you WILL lose squad members. The aliens have an advantage in technology and weapons from the start. Also, when you leave the Skyranger on a mission the aliens have full reaction fire on your turn the moment you leave the bay door. Might want to throw a smoke grenade out or send out some hapless rookies to draw enemy fire.

EDIT: That link should work but for some reason GameFAQs is taking off the closing parentheses when you click it. Not sure how to fix it.

The original for sure. Also yeah as said use OpenXcom it's freeware. I heard Terror from the Deep was lame af and sorta rushed, but I dunno I am always intrigued by underwater and the sea. Never played that, but if you want to muck around with the original idea UNDERWATER why not give it a look. Apocalypse which was the last real X-com designed by the original studio I think. Mixed real time with turn based and had some 3d elements, I really don't know what to think about that don't remember. But was probably sloppy and ugly in ways.....

These sorta games and strategy games in general that show you % to hit I do sometimes feel like plan for the worse case scenario before you shoot (more so the newer ones which I never played) but yeah of course 80 percent should hit more often oh yeah this reminds me in the old games auto shot is lesser percentage but is better than a supposed preise aim hit because you might hit still two or three times. Snap shot is good for when you are close and think just one hit will do it.

Kamil posted...

The original for sure. Also yeah as said use OpenXcom it's freeware. I heard Terror from the Deep was lame af and sorta rushed, but I dunno I am always intrigued by underwater and the sea. Never played that, but if you want to muck around with the original idea UNDERWATER why not give it a look. Apocalypse which was the last real X-com designed by the original studio I think. Mixed real time with turn based and had some 3d elements, I really don't know what to think about that don't remember. But was probably sloppy and ugly in ways.....

These sorta games and strategy games in general that show you % to hit I do sometimes feel like plan for the worse case scenario before you shoot (more so the newer ones which I never played) but yeah of course 80 percent should hit more often oh yeah this reminds me in the old games auto shot is lesser percentage but is better than a supposed preise aim hit because you might hit still two or three times. Snap shot is good for when you are close and think just one hit will do it.

From what I remember as a teenager, Terror From the Deep is basically the same game engine as UFO Defense but underwater. It was actually my first XCOM experience. The biggest complaint people had was that the Terror missions are two part affairs that can last over an hour before you finally get back to the Geoscape. Otherwise, it's the same game but the weapons and equipment are different since you fight underwater.

So I would just recommend it for the XCOM fanatic who's played and beat the first game and wants more.

Oh yeah gosh those terror missions were horrible in X-com, kelemvor. I am not as smart with numbers and things but I almost feel like just landing in the mission and then leaving immediately may be better than outright ignoring it but it feels like such a scummy thing to do. Hi I am here, whoah this situation is screwed. Bye!!!!!!! Sorry.

My only experience with the game is watching a couple of the Yogscast guys play. Their first mission was an immediate base invasion with tier two aliens like floaters and reapers. As you might expect, they lost. Their only guess was that because they chose to put their base on top of one of the cities, the game coincidentally generated a terror mission in that city which turned into a base invasion.

So I guess my advice is to not do that?

kelemvor posted...

The biggest complaint people had was that the Terror missions are two part affairs that can last over an hour before you finally get back to the Geoscape

It's something about there being cruise ships with like a hundred tiny rooms that have to be individually opened, right?

ok genuinely there are like 50 things to do and i have no idea what any of them do or what i'm doing is good

I played UFO Defense and Enemy Unknown

Garioshi posted...

ok genuinely there are like 50 things to do and i have no idea what any of them do or what i'm doing is good

Research laser weapons as soon as possible and then plasma weapons eventually. I kinda think I suck at original x-com but I pretend I still think I know what I am doing still last I played it. I remember strategies but whether I implement them properly and the way the game goes. Get power armor eventually and give it to your best soldier and hope he doesn't eventually get mind controlled or some crap.

Kamil posted...

Research laser weapons as soon as possible and then plasma weapons eventually. I kinda think I suck at original x-com but I pretend I still think I know what I am doing still last I played it. I remember strategies but whether I implement them properly and the way the game goes. Get power armor eventually and give it to your best soldier and hope he doesn't eventually get mind controlled or some crap.

ok yeah but what about the 20 buildings i can make in the base i currently have or do i make a base somewhere else and build THAT up and how do i get money and what are the rules for the ground and what determines whether i can track UFOs and how the hell do i find out where the aliens are on the ground and is saving civilians good and what's the range of my soldiers and and and and and

Oh yea!!!! Make sure your hangars/landing sites are close together b/c in case you get invaded you know where the entry point is. Otherwise it's even more difficult.

i can get invaded???????

Definitely make a second base sooner than later but I think having one in the US and then Europe do cover a good scope. Make sure the places that give you great funding don't sign pacts with the aliens.

Garioshi posted...

i can get invaded???????

Later in the game. Sorry for minor spoilers.

Bump

This thread made me think about playing again, it's been years. The original XCOM UFO Defense is definitely the better of the original 3.

So I fired up a game, and made my 1st base in the Poland area. Ahh, there is another QoL enhancement from OpenXCom I forgot about. When you place a new base, it shows concentric rings that indicate the maximum range of your radar systems, including the future long range ones you haven't researched yet. Poland covers most of Europe so I started here. I did OK until my 3rd UFO mission, which was only a few weeks into the game. I had a HWP tank and 8 crew, most of them sucked, but a few leveled up from the first few battles. I made the mistake of assaulting the UFO at night, which is a horrible idea when you are starting out. I thought I could use my tank as a spotter to try to draw out the aliens, and this worked to an extent... until I got closer to the UFO (which was a large scout, btw). I actually might of survived this mission but I had several clean hits on the Sectoids that didn't kill them when I was in close range, resulting in a few deaths. Then I tried to rush the bridge of the UFO and made some bad tactical decisions.

Anyway, this game is one of the greatest DOS games of all time. I rank it up there with Warcraft 2, Doom, Master of Orion 2, and Tie Fighter. I think it holds up well but people have to get used to the Battlescape and the time unit system. Unfortunately, The "doll house" aesthetics aren't that great, even for 1994 I think. However, the trade off is you have unlimited destructable terrain... you can even blow a hole in the side of a landed UFO if you have a blaster bomb. You can start fires in corn fields, make aliens pass out from smoke, and do all kinds of interesting things.

The original (UFO Defense/Enemy Unknown) is an amazing game, but it's also probably the only really needed one. Terror From the Deep is a weird reskin that is brutally hard and not really as fun. Apocalypse is... Interesting, but it never really clicked with me.

UFO Defense is the first one, Terror of the Deep is basically an old-school expansion/DLC

Check out Xenonauts if youre trying to get a feel for the originals but more modernized

Final bump for CE... maybe I'll make a new topic on Classic Gaming if this playthough gets exciting. I've played this game off and on for maybe 20+ years but I've never beat it.

I started a new game but I used some of the "built in" mods with OpenXcom. I'm playing on "Experienced" difficulty level, but I selected a few mods that speed up the opening game. I selected the mod that makes the beginning base easier to defend, and I start with Alien Containment, Long Range Radar, and an extra Living Quaters. You also get extra Scientists and Engineers.

I also selected the mod that makes Heavy Lasers balanced and somewhat useful compared to Heavy Plasma.

A few minutes ago I encounted my first Terror Mission in the first month and somehow came out with a good rating even though I got mind controlled and lost two of my units. I only encountered one Cyberdisc and around 10 Sectoids. Of course my HWP Tank got destroyed by the Cyberdisc as soon as it left the Skyranger but everything went smoothly after that.

Great series. Definitely play in release order and Xenonauts is excellent too but their sky missions were unbearable for me around mid game.

deoxxys posted...

Why bother playing anything but the newer two games?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lF7toqRkAJg

ellis123 posted...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lF7toqRkAJg

didnt know there was a mobile game and I honestly forgot Chimera Squad existed.

deoxxys posted...

didnt know there was a mobile game and I honestly forgot Chimera Squad existed.

Figured as much. Chimera Squad is at least worth playing, but the mobile trash is everything wrong with mobile nonsense. XCOM still doing okay with 3/4 modern games being worth it.

It doesn't surprise me that there is a mobile XCOM game.

I can already imagine how it would play, too.

Your last unit on your turn moves around a building and a Sectoid is standing right there. You have one shot. "99% chance to hit!" *MISS*

"Need an extra shot? Spend 100 units of Elerium for an extra round! Need more Elerium? Click here for payment options!"

Kamil posted...

Later in the game. Sorry for minor spoilers.

Last night I got invaded in the second month. I've never had that happen. I saw the "very large" UFO on radar making a beeline towards my main base. At first I thought it was heading towards a nearby city to kick off a terror mission... The battle didn't go well either. Almost a quarter of my squad was already injured from a recent crash site mission.

I had 5 surviving guys... could of been worse.

I did the originals ufo defense & terror from the deep. OpenXcom is a great recommendation in a previous post. After that, i went the more recent xcom games. I still miss ufo defense after all this time.