X-COM

X-COM/XCOM
Genres	Strategy Space flight simulator Third-person shooter First-person shooter
Developers	Mythos Games (1994-1997) MicroProse (1994-1999) Hasbro Interactive (1999-2001) Infogrames (2001-2002) 2K Marin (2010-present) Firaxis Games (2011-present)
Publishers	MicroProse (1994-1998) Hasbro Interactive (1998-2001) Atari (2001-2005) 2K Games (2005-present)
Creators	Julian Gollop
Platform of origin	PC
First release	UFO: Enemy Unknown December 31, 1993
Latest release	X-COM: Enforcer April 18, 2001

X-COM was a 1993-2001 science fiction video game series that began with a classic strategy game UFO: Enemy Unknown. A reboot series, entitled XCOM was announced in 2010.

X-COM games

Main articles: UFO: Enemy Unknown, X-COM: Terror from the Deep, X-COM: Apocalypse, and X-COM: Interceptor

See also: X-COM (Email games), X-COM: Enforcer, X-COM: Genesis, and X-COM: Alliance

The X-COM core series consisted of four main games published by MicroProse: UFO: Enemy Unknown (also known as X-COM: UFO Defense and originally released in 1994 for the PC, with later ports for the Amiga and Sony PlayStation), X-COM: Terror from the Deep (PC in 1995 and the PlayStation in 1996), X-COM: Apocalypse (PC, 1997) and X-COM: Interceptor (PC, 1998).

The premise of the franchise is that a mysterious alien invasion has began in 1999 (a near future at the time of the first game's release). In response, a coalition of funding nations create an elite clandestine paramilitary organization codenamed X-COM (an abbreviation of "Extraterrestrial Combat Unit") as the mankind's last hope. The player is charged with leading this secret force, tasked with a mission to engage and research the alien threat. At the end of the successful game, the X-COM manages to capture and reverse engineer enough of the invaders' technology to decisively turn it against them. The sequels took the fight against new alien invasions underwater (Terror from the Deep), into a futuristic megacity (Apocalypse), and eventually into space (Interceptor).

Enemy Unknown, featuring a turn-based ground combat system, remains by far the most popular and successful game in the series and has been often featured on the various lists of best video games of all time. The first sequel, Terror from the Deep, was quickly created by MicroProse's internal team and based on the same game engine and used largely identical gameplay mechanics. Apocalypse took several new directions with the series, introducing an optional real-time combat system and shifting the aesthetics to a retro-futuristic style. However, despite being developed by Julian Gollop's Mythos Games, the original creators of Enemy Unknown, it failed to repeat its smash success. The last released X-COM main game, Interceptor, constitutes a hybride of a strategy game and a space combat flight simulator.

After Interceptor, Hasbro Interactive purchased MicroProse and acquired the X-COM brand. In 2001, Hasbro published X-COM: Enforcer, a poorly-received third-person shooter loosely based on the events of Enemy Unknown, marking a low point in the series. A budget range multiplayer game em@il games: X-COM was also released in 1999. Two more major titles were planned for this series: a strategy game X-COM: Genesis and a tactical first-person shooter X-COM: Alliance, but both of these projects were cancelled after ex-MicroProse Hasbro Interactive studios were shut down in 1999-2001 (Alliance has been later abortively reactivated until its ultimate cancelation in 2002).

The X-COM games were also released as part of four compilation releases: X-COM (Collector's Edition) (1998), X-COM Collection (1999), X-COM: Complete Pack (2008) and 2K Huge Games Pack (2009).

XCOM games

Main articles: XCOM and XCOM: Enemy Unknown

In April 2010, 2K Marin announced to be working on re-imagining of X-COM, relabeled as XCOM, to be released for the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It is described as a tactical and strategic first-person shooter supposed to combine elements from the original X-COM alongside a new setting and viewpoint while keeping some main concepts from the original game series. The setting is getting a complete overhaul and now based in the early 1960s, with the XCOM being a U.S. federal agency.

In January 2012, Firaxis Games (led by ex-MicroProse Sid Meier) revealed to be developing a PC and console strategy game XCOM: Enemy Unknown that is going to feature real-time strategic view, turn-based combat and destructible tactical environments more in vein of the original X-COM game. Similarily, it is also set in a more contemporary setting than the XCOM game being developed by 2K Marin.

Novels

There are two X-COM novels based UFO: Enemy Unknown: Diane Duane's X-COM: UFO Defense - A Novel (1995) and Vladimir Vasilyev's Enemy Unknown (1997).

Reception

Aggregate review scores
As of November 17, 2011.

Game	GameRankings	Metacritic
UFO: Enemy Unknown	(PC) 93.60% (PS) 92.90%	-
X-COM: Terror from the Deep	(PS) 100.00% (PC) 86.00%	-
X-COM: Apocalypse	(PC) 87.00%	-
X-COM: Interceptor	(PC) 70.12%	-
X-COM: Enforcer	(PC) 65.13%	(PC) 65
XCOM	(PC) - (PS3) - (X360) -	(PC) - (PS3) - (X360) -
XCOM: Enemy Unknown	(PC) - (PS3) - (X360) -	(PC) - (PS3) - (X360) -

Intellectual property rights

The trademark for the X-COM name was filed on May 25, 1995, by MicroProse Software. Following the acquisition and subsequent merger of MicroProse with Hasbro, the X-COM intellectual property was also transferred to Hasbro Interactive on August 19, 1998.

Due to financial difficulties, Hasbro Interactive was sold to the French concern Infogrames Entertainment, SA on January 29, 2001. As part of this transfer, the X-COM IP was legally transferred to Infogrames on December 21, 2001 (shortly thereafter, Infogrames was renamed Atari Inc., able to do this since acquiring several Atari IPs from Hasbro Interactive).

In 2005, Atari, SA transferred several IPs to Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. and X-COM was transferred with them on June 12, 2005. The X-COM IP is currently owned by Take-Two and its subsidiaries; in 2007 there were unconfirmed rumors that Irrational Games (who are owned by Take-Two) were developing a new X-COM title.

In May 2007, 2K Games (a subsidiary of Take-Two) inherited the X-COM franchise. 2K Games re-released Terror from the Deep on Steam with support for Windows XP only (in October 2008, an update was released through Steam, which enabled Windows Vista support for Terror from the Deep). In September 2008, Enemy Unknown, Apocalypse, Interceptor, and Enforcer were re-released with support for Windows XP and Windows Vista as downloadable content. 2K Games subsidiaries 2K Marin and Firaxis Games are currently developing two different XCOM games.

Spiritual successors

Because of the series' popularity, various developers have created spiritual successor games similar in theme and tone of the X-COM games. The level to which they borrow from the original series varies.

• Incubation: Time Is Running Out is a 1997 turn-based PC tactical combat game that was considered to be "what X-Com Apocalypse should have been".

• The Dreamland Chronicles: Freedom Ridge was a canceled strategy game for the PC and PlayStation 2 by Julian Gollop's Mythos Games (the authors of Enemy Unknown and Apocalypse), claimed to having been "essentially a remake of the first X-Com with 3D graphics". It was, however, canceled in 2001 and Mythos Games soon ceased to exist.

• Laser Squad Nemesis is a 2002 low-budget PC tactical combat game by Julian Gallop's new company, Codo Technologies, very similar to the Battlescape ground combat system of Enemy Unknown. In 2005, Codo Technologies and publisher Namco also released Rebelstar: Tactical Command, as well reminiscent of the Battlescape system, for the Game Boy Advance.

• UFO: Aftermath is a 2003 single-player PC strategy game which was heavily influenced by the X-COM series and used elements of the Mythos Games' Freedom Ridge project. During its development, the developers, Altar Interactive solicited comments from the X-COM fan community. It has since been followed by two sequels: UFO: Aftershock in 2005 and UFO: Afterlight in 2007, both of them also for the PC.

• UFO: Extraterrestrials, a PC strategy game released in 2007, aimed to be an unofficial sequel to the X-COM games. Its sequel, UFO2Extraterrestrials: Shadows over Earth is currently in development as of January 2012.

• UFO: Alien Invasion is a free open-source PC strategy game heavily influenced by the X-COM series.

• Xenonauts is a PC strategy game presently in development by Goldhawk Interactive, again heavily influenced by the X-COM series. It is being marketed as a Cold War-era (1979 instead of 1999) re-imagining of the original UFO: Enemy Unknown and an answer to 2K's XCOM which has alienated much of the X-COM fanbase due to its FPS-based gameplay.

See also

• Laser Squad: a science fiction tactical game by the original creators of X-COM and an immediate predecessor of X-COM.
• Rebelstar series: precursor games to both Laser Squad and X-COM series, also created by the same developers.

External links

• Official website
• X-COM at MobyGames
• X-COM at TV Tropes
• UFOPaedia: an extensive wiki containing information, analysis, strategy, and other resources for the X-COM series of games.
• X-Com: the oldest X-COM website still on the web (has been dormant for years, but still hosts unique content for the original three games).
• XCOM: UFO Defense: another X-COM fan site with numerous resources and patches for the Windows versions of the X-COM games.
• StrategyCore.co.uk (formerly X-COM.co.uk): news, fan-fiction, files and forums.
• X-COM Trilogy UFOpedia: the original in-game encyclopedias of the first three X-COM games.
• OpenXcom: an open-source reimplementation.
• Xenowar: an Android and Windows open source game, focusing on simplicity, and playability.