XCOM: Enemy Unknown (Thoughts)

"Like a first-class bowel movement, it's solid, it's lasting, and above all it's organic." ~ Yahtzee (x)

Got back into playing more XCOM again. I love this game, but I also hate it. It does somethings really well, and does other things REALLY poorly. It's never anything gamebreaking but I kind of wish there were more meticulous micro managing. I want to have more control over what happens whilst constructing or researching new technology for my troops or aerial units. Like, the Laboratory has a ton of scientists working around the clock and the more the player gets, the faster research will move along. The problem is...why can't I subsidize research and work on several different upgrades? It would take longer sure, but I feel like it would keep things moving much more consistently. Same with the Foundry there are plenty of engineers that work on projects and the more engineers that are there the more resources I get on refunds. But why doesn't that also speed up the process?

The fun doesn't stop there either! Oftentimes when doing missons for countries, there are 3 missions to chosse from. You can only pick one and the other countries will get the shaft. But why can't I order more dropships to send multiple squads out into the field to tackle the GLOBAL threat much more efficiently? I don't think a single squad can overcome an entire threat like an alien invasion no matter how good they're gear is. 

See, my problem is that XCOM seems to cut corners to have feel a lot more open to new players. I get why they do it, I do. BUT, I feel like the gameplay suffers because of it. I hate seeing that in games, seeing corners being cut when they shouldn't really need to. It ruins the true vision of what someone was hoping to create. Don't get me wrong this game is beyond fantastic, but it could've been better. I hope that Firaxis, doesn't try to undersell themselves again, having a much more involved experience for the player would help make the game play better and run much more smoothly. Hell, it could even inspire an entire genre for developers to finally explore and expand upon. Imagine a Halo themed XCOM game with the Spartans kicking ass and taking names just like they were in the novels. Or what about a Mass Effect inspired game? Having the mechanic of biotics from the ME Universe could provide several new strategies you wouldn't be able to see in a game like XCOM. I'm not trying to undermine XCOM either, XCOM just feels like a sort of beginning, a template, a base for an entire gaming genre. It's a very unique game but there is nothing that stood out that made it have a WOW-factor. It sort of did it's idea and left it on the table for developers everywhere to admire and appreciate. It's basically what Mario did for platformers, it sets the groundwork for more ideas to come. 

There's one more thing that this game does really well. You actually CARE about your troops. You're flat, two-dimensional, cardboard troops! You care when they get killed off. It's basically Pokemon Nuzlocke rules with the added bonus of getting to shoot aliens! Why do they matter? Well, when you start seeing them develop and upgrade into their different subsets of classes (Heavy, Shotgunner, Sniper etc.) You saw them climb their way to the top, you watched them fight the alien threat. You watched them fail and miss shot after shot, you saw them get criticals, you saw them blow up 5 Mutons at once. Every failure makes you hate them a little more, every kill makes you like them a little more. When they die, no matter who they are. You begin blaming yourself and your poor commanding skills. What could you have done differently? And that death stays with you through the ENTIRE playthrough. You also learn from those mistakes and gives you a solid reminder why you need to change your tactics, need to start thinking even more critically. Their deaths make an impact on you as a player, that's really quite something in retrospect. A game that pushes you to better yourself. A game that doesn't spoon feed you the victories, a game where you are THE cool guy! A game where every victory means something, where every loss makes you want to give up and never want to play again. I still have yet to beat this game. I took a 3 month break from this game because it aggravated me so much. But there's something to say about a game that can get you to feel so strongly about it.