2K Games has confirmed the long-awaited resurrection of XCOM as a first-person shooter (FPS) for the Xbox 360 and Windows PC.
The re-imagined game is expected to combine the “strategic core” of the franchise with a “suspense-filled narrative” distilled into a tense and unique FPS experience.
“XCOM is the re-imagining of the classic tale of humanity’s struggle against an unknown enemy that puts players directly into the shoes of an FBI agent tasked with identifying and eliminating the growing threat,” confirmed 2K Games.
“True to the roots of the franchise, players will be placed in charge of overcoming high-stake odds through risky strategic gambits coupled with heart-stopping combat experiences that pit human ingenuity – and frailty – against a foe beyond comprehension.
“By setting the game in a first-person perspective, players will be able to feel the tension and fear that comes with combating a faceless enemy that is violently probing and plotting its way into our world.”
However, PC World’s Matt Peckham speculated that 2K Games had chosen an FPS approach simply because it was “more accessible.”
“Because it’s what sells, for better or worse. I felt that (and more, frankly) playing the original, with its low-res 320 x 200 VGA graphics and “detached” isometric perspective,” wrote Peckham.
“Not that I’m saying first-person can’t work here – think of what these guys did with BioShock and BioShock 2, after all – but first-person isn’t the be-all, end-all when it comes to ‘immersing’ players. Anyone who’s played the original knows that.”
