The Civilization 5: Brave New World is bringing a new ideology system to the game, as well as adding some social policies. A new trailer for the expansion goes into a bit more detail on how these will make it easier to become ruler of the known world.
The clock has chimed thirteen, blood drips down my walls, I hear footsteps in the empty hallway, and a Dracula is biting my neck, which all chilling omens all indicate that XCOM: Enemy Unknown and Civilization developer Firaxis has now launched its first mobile game. Turn-based spooky strategy Haunted Hollow came out this morning on iOS.
Original X-COM creator Julian Gollop has played through XCOM: Enemy Unknown and found it to be a great and entertaining game (as we did). But that doesn't mean he wouldn't have done some things differently, and probably failed in the process.
Pretty much every game Firaxis Games has ever developed is prefixed with either "Sid Meier" or "Civilization." But, that changed last year with the release of XCOM: Enemy Unknown. Later this year, the studio dips into yet another original experiment: Haunted Hollow, a free-to-play mobile game.
"Firaxis, like many other game companies, sees mobile as the land of opportunity for expanding and we want to diversify," lead designer David McDonough told Shacknews. "We are traditionally a PC shop, but one cannot live by Civ alone. Firaxis wants to grow as a company creatively, so mobile seems like a great place to try out."
Developer Firaxis Games is continuing to stay busy. After the success of XCOM: Enemy Unknown and the recent announcement of a new expansion for Civilization 5, the studio known is also working on a new free-to-play title for iOS called Haunted Hollow.
Culture, trade and diplomacy are to become more important in Civilization 5 with Brave New World, the second expansion pack, announced today by publisher 2K Games. Arriving this summer, it'll bring a new culture victory condition, international trade routes, the new World Congress, and heaps more.
If you're a Mac owner whose stubborn refusal to dual-boot Windows has kept you from playing one of 2012's best games, good news: XCOM: Enemy Unknown is coming to you. Port publisher Feral Interactive today announced it's bringing Firaxis's turn-based tactics 'em up to Mac this spring with the DLC included.
COMMANDERS... You have performed... admirably, considering the situation. You managed to beat competition from what should have been Game of the Year contenders this year, and did remarkably well. The odds were always stacked against you, and earning support from Gamers around the world was always going to be a challenge. Would hardcore fans offer their support, given how radically different Enemy Unknown is from the original UFO Defense? And what about the hyphen? More casual gamers may have struggled to see the appeal of a turn-based strategy game in 2012. "Why isn't this a FPS?," they might have proclaimed. Who could have known there was so much power hidden in this relic of a genre?
Many publishers have been sending holiday cards to ye olde Shacknews office. However, this one from 2K Games merits special attention.
A simple black card with XCOM's "Vigilo Confido" logo emblazoned on it opens up with a warning. The card tells us to consider Enemy Unknown "for any annual video game awards" because "future funding for the XCOM project may depend on it."
You'll have to start a brand new campaign to access any of the new content for XCOM: Enemy Unknown's "Slingshot" add-on. Considering how great the core game is, that's not really a bad thing. Unlike other DLC expansions, Slingshot is integrated into the campaign, with Council missions triggering at key moments in the story.
It's clear that XCOM's first add-on was designed to address some of the cosmetic complaints fans had about the original game. Although the threat is global, and the game takes you to places around the world, you never feel like you leave the good ol' US of A in the game. Whether you're in Mumbai, Johannesburg, or Shanghai, you always feel like you're in some generic middle American suburb.
The first expansion pack for XCOM: Enemy Unknown lands on PlayStation Network, Xbox Live, and PC December 4th. It will be available for $6.99 (560 Microsoft Points).
As previously announced, "Slingshot" adds three new missions to the campaign set in China, promising to add a bit more structure and narrative to the mostly randomly-generated game. To access the add-on's new content, you'll need to start a brand new game; the first opportunity to partake in a DLC mission should occur around when you make your first encounter with a downed ship.
Prepare yourself for even more XCOM: Enemy Unknown. Described as a "commercial success" by publisher 2K Games, the company has announced that it will continue supporting the Firaxis-developed strategy game beyond the two DLC packs already announced. In fact, "additional content" for the game is planned for 2013 as well.
Hands up, who wants more XCOM: Enemy Unknown? You do. It's you. All of you. Delightfully, more is coming "soon" in the 'Slingshot' DLC, announced today by publisher 2K Games. The new Council missions will see your squad "meet an enigmatic Triad operative, divert an alien ship's course, and do battle with the aliens in the skies over China." Ooh, exciting!
XCOM: Enemy Unknown's release next week marks the return of a franchise in hiding for over a decade. But, how has it changed since its inception? Developer Firaxis Games has released Enemy Unknown's original pitch video--the same video used to get publisher 2K Games on board the series revamp.
Many similarities to the final product can be seen, but there are a few differences. For one, the camera is much closer to the characters, and movement is severely restricted. Additionally, there's a time gauge that lead designer Jake Solomon says ended up making the game "too slow."
Ever keen to experiment with digital distribution, Steam is trying something unusual on XCOM: Enemy Unknown pre-orders with publisher 2K. Rather than offering fixed bonuses, Steam will unlock increasingly fancy goodies as more people pre-order, including extra character customisation options, Team Fortress 2 hats, and a free copy of Civilization V.
You wouldn't know it from watching the bang-pow-quote-cinematic-die-die trailers, but XCOM: Enemy Unknown is actually a turn-based tactical affair in the same vein as the widely-celebrated original X-COM games. Fortunately, publisher 2K decided to show off the game itself yesterday, though you'll have missed it if you don't follow social Twitfacestreams. So come, enjoy an hour of tactical delights.
Civilization V recently got a lot more holy with the Gods and Kings expansion, but some of you fence-sitters haven't yet indulged in abusing religion for your own selfish ambitions. If you're still itching to give your theocracy a try, you'll be happy to know that a demo for the game is now available.
Hyperviolence was all the rage at this year's E3. However, only one hyperviolent game could take the crown. The Game Critics Awards have finally been determined, and Naughty Dog has come on top with The Last of Us. Its strong performance pushed PS3 to the top of the heap, with PS3 as the most-winning platform. Sony Computer Entertainment is the most-winning publisher as well, with 7 awards.
How exactly can one sell a turn-based tactical game to the E3 audience, those hooting, hollering troglodytes who clap and roar because they recognise a character in a video game? The approach taken by XCOM: Enemy Unknown, at least, is to pretend you're something else entirely with a very flashy E3 trailer.
Firaxis is cutting out Civilization V's existing mod browsing system to slip in Valve's sleek and chic Steam Workshop, publisher 2K Games has announced. As in Portal 2 and Skyrim, it'll let you easily peruse, download, rate, and submit mods through your browser or the Steam client.
Civilization V is getting ready for some of that old time religion, also known as polytheism. To mark the Gods and Kings expansion, Firaxis and 2K Games are offering the game as free to play for this weekend, lasting from today until Sunday, May 27.
Firaxis has a daunting challenge to overcome with XCOM: Enemy Unknown. As a true successor to the beloved strategy classic, it has to sate the expectations of those that played the 1993 original. But, it needs to be flashy enough to catch the attention of the modern console gamer. How does one go about making a turn-based strategy game appeal to the masses?
Simple: stay as true to the original X-COM as possible. Fighting an alien invasion where the stakes are so high makes for great drama, no matter what the genre. Thanks to the game's unforgiving and brutal difficulty, every move matters that much more. Whereas other games had me mowing down hundreds of enemies, Enemy Unknown made me feel like every decision I made was crucial.
Although 2K Marin's first-person reboot of XCOM has disappeared into the ether, Firaxis' strategy game has been dated. XCOM: Enemy Unknown will be available on PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 on October 9th.
Of course, no release date announcement is complete without mentioning pre-order bonus incentives. Pre-ordering the game from select retailers will entitle you to the "Elite Soldier Pack." This DLC add-on includes a classic X-COM soldier, inspired by the original UFO Defense. Soldiers can also be customized with a Deco pack and "complete color customization."
XCOM: Enemy Unknown is a re-imagining of the turn-based tactics and RPG elements found in the original X-Com: UFO Defense. Enemy Unknown producer Garth DeAngelis recently talked about the game that core fans of the series have been waiting for, and the focus on accessibility while keeping challenges in-tact.
"We look at games like Demon's Souls and Dark Souls and Minecraft and Dwarf Fortress, and we think there's a little bit of a renaissance of difficulty in games. Gamers are buying those experiences, clearly, and they're not easy games," DeAngelis said. "They're challenging. You can lose. You can fail. And failure is part of games. So we wanted to bring it back, and we thought, you know, it's a pillar of X-Com."
Firaxis is ticking a lot of the right boxes in "reimagining" the much-loved tactical series X-COM for modern audiences with XCOM: Enemy Unknown, certainly more than the FPS XCOM. The developer's shared a few details on the PC edition now, ticking more boxes with support for modding and a "unique" UI especially for PC.
Read more: Console interface? "No, no, no. Nooo. Oh man, no," says lead designer »
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