TITLE: UFO2000, or how I've managed to miss both this gem and bunch of Steves? AUTHOR: Jim9137 DATE: 5/31/2005 02:39:00 ip. ----- BODY:

Most of you who still read this rather unupdated blog might know that I've recently started playing UFO2000, which frankly still is quite awesome, mind you. UFO2000 being an opensource remake of X-Com: UFO Defense or UFO: Enemy Unknown... But most of all, it has multiplayer. Working one. Lobbyed too. So, to add to my trackrecord of reporting opensource remakes, here comes UFO2k! (click read more and yes, and to avoid from doing that massive JA3D article too.) --- Combine one of the best, if not the best, squaddie turn-based strategies into a smooth, (mostly) working multiplayer package and what you get? Maaayhem! To quote DrunkCow, the apparent master of this game, "KAPAPOWPOWPIU". And that sums up the game pretty well, lots and lots of sweating and hoping for that 31% to hit and knock that power armor guy before he unleashes his deadly accurate Autocannon explosive volley, or to kill Steves before they flock and come to do some probing. Unfortunately, the game has it's flaws which I shall adress first. The balance, the issue of balance! X-Com was very unbalanced game, when you think about it. High Explosivs obliterating whole blocks, Rocket Launchers doing just the same, Autocannons spewing fiery infernos full auto and the Alien Grenades... List goes on and on. I have to tip my hat to the developers for acknowledging the problem and doing something about it, but for now, the explosives are rather useless. Besides for terraforming the ground which is always fun! The other guns are, as far as I can tell, somewhat left untouched. I still can't understand how a power armor guy managed to withstand 2-5 direct hits from my Cannon, but maybe the dices were mocking me... Anyway, every game has a point limit. Point limits are good, we don't want those flying armor guys armed to teeth to obliterate the whole area and turn the whole game into WWIII simulator, now don't we? A regular, standard armor human with a laser rifle costs about 1000 points, which seems rather reasonable to me. There's even a weight limit to prevent one from carrying too much, that limit based on Strength stat, I think. No more guys armed to teeth here. Problem is the issues of rushing, the dreaded rushing! "Steve army" is practically 15 Sectoids armed with Plasma Rifles. No X-Com unit of smaller size can withstand that much of power, since they tend to die from one hit. And Plasma Rifle can spew deadly shots in such a deadly rate and with such accuracy, that it's very hard to win. Now on original X-Com, this was countered with the AI who didn't really cooperate his units to achieve such feats as is possible in UFO2000 with a clever human player. That's the main problem with UFO2000, and in developing as well. Playing against the AI is surely different from playing against a human. But that's not all! UFO2000 is, still, in my honest opinion, one of the best games I've played in a while. Not just satisfying in to the old regular "Pit Aliens agains Humans and look who wins!" you have missions, scenarios, randomized terrains, very customizable squads and a working lobby system! The essentials, they're all there. The balancing issues are a real problem for me, probably because I tend to get my arse kicked on it, but that's alright. HOLD! CAPTURE! ASSASINATION! BREAKTHROUGH! Those are just great ideas to implement, but the map size sort of limits the possibilities. Especially on the latter, since you can run quite effectively from side to side in a turn or spread your defending forces quite effectively to kill ANY threat which comes into sight. Randomized terrain is randomized terrain and that's that! Oh, one nitpick. You have to open doors by rightclicking.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:  Anonyymi EMAIL: URL: DATE: 07:46 That's right. I DESTROYY YOUUU!
KAPAPOWPOWPIU ----- --------