Do you consider the first X-COM as a contender for the best game

Sure, I've been calling it one of the best games ever made for years now. I consider it as one of the must play PC games together with Deus Ex, System Shock, Thief, and couple of other titles.

THE best? not even close

one of? maybe

top 100? definitely

it's a shame TFTD was kind of a buggy, unfair mess what with fucking LOBSTERMEN

No. The theme is cool and the strategy layer had some interesting stuff going on but the actual battles were fairly mediocre compared to a lot of other, better TRPGs.

Jagged Alliance 2
X-COM Apocalypse probably for most ambitious strategy game

>>3797124
>deus ex , Systemshock, Theif
So pretty much the /mu/core Neutral milk hotel, animal collective and radiohead of /vr/

Is xcom hard to get into?

>>3796793
My favourite for sure.

>>3797230
>mediocre compared to a lot of other, better TRPGs
Name 5. Please, I like these games and would sincerely enjoy more to play. I like Jagged Alliance 2 but it just doesn't hit the same spot the X-COM does for me. You did say 'a lot' so I feel like you owe me now.

>>3798185
I found it pretty intuitive. The interface is kind of on the ugly side but not complicated. Once you understand how to move supplies around in bases and soldiers on the ground you just have to work out what works best where. Which guns for fighting what, which materials are needed where. Too easy. Watch a let's play if you really don't get it.

>>3797214
>stun rod lobsterman
>shove in backpack
Problem solved.

>>3797214
>TFTD was kind of a buggy, unfair mess
Didn't TFTD fixed that difficulty bug from UFO?

>>3798080
I thought it was Neutral Milk Hotel, My Bloody Valentine and Slint.

Can someone tell me what the best strategy is to move in a fresh map? I fucking hate early game so much. It's so boring to place the shitton of soldiers in the beginning so I at least would like to have a standard well working procedure to position my soldiers safely and effeciently. Not really something xcom did wrong though since every turn based game with lots of units has this kind of boring early game. Chess is also boring as fuck in the first couple of rounds.

>>3796793
As is: no.

Bug fixed and modded (open x-com): definitely maybe.

>>3796793
No. It's a good game but not in the same ball park as "best game ever made". I'd say your meds deserve to be taken.

>>3799343
Early game for me revolves around smoke grenades, a handful of unfortunate scouts armed with quick-reaction weapons (basic pistols if you're playing unmodded) and a firing line far from harms way. Smoke the ramp before anybody moves, then have scouts move out in one or two open direction until they spot something. If it's right in their face they shoot, otherwise they get as clear as they can while their ten squadmates unload the thing with all the firepower they can carry.

Breaking your big unit into small squads who all watch each other and clear small areas simultaneously is the safer and smarter way to play but if you get bored of that bring lots of explosives and be willing to sacrifice a few rookies to make the aliens reveal themselves.

>Do you consider the first X-COM as a contender for the best game ever made?

Clearly no. It was however the most important pioneer in terms of turn-based squad strategy.

- fucked up research tree, literally half of it is useless and has no effect
- one background music track (also less annoying than in TFtD)
- fucked up inventory system. One has to manually distribute stuff every mission
- lame AI, but ok for that time
- somewhat shitty controls and handling the 4 terrain layers. Lots of hotkeys would help.

Still enjoyed it. The real crime was TFtD, which is maybe the crappiest sequel ever, as it is really the exact same game with items and enemies replaced by even uglier shit. Maps are too big for the AI, so one has to spend hours to find the last alien hiding somewhere.

And Apocalypse, well its even uglier and has even shittier controls.

>>3799343
Sort your rookies by shooting skill and place them as snipers near the shuttle. Use a tank to scout. Tank can take a few hits, so drive around, it gets fired on. Take the tank into cover and fire at the enemy with your snipers.
Research plasma rifle as soon as you find one. I completely skipped laser weapons and all that crap. Plasma all the way, you find enough ammo for those.

>>3799214
it's actually NMH, MBV and Death Grips

>>3796793
yes it is the best game ever made

>>3800792
What are your thoughts on OpenXcom? That fixes a lot of what you brought up. And even more with mods. It's not ideal but it's pretty awesome when you know the base game well enough to get tired of its problems.

What I really wish for though is somebody to create a true ground-up successor. I never actually played Xenonauts though, it didn't look right.

>>3798071
God, I just want someone to remake Apocalypse according to the original design docs, that game was so full of potential.

>>3802443
Xenonauts is a lot of fun, but you should be particularly excited about Phoenix Point, currently being made by Julian Gollop's new studio. Check it out.

>>3802593
>Phoenix Point
I read about that a month ago and got excited, then completely forgot about it. Now I'm excited again. My computer is certainly too much of a potato to ever run it but the fact that a game like that can even get made in 2017 is amazing. Hopefully it'll be able to win over the new XCOM fanbase and do really well.

>>3802443
Looks aside, it doesn't even play right at times.
Aiming and cover being several layers of weird to the point where high ground is actually disadvantage, hit chance capped at 95%, the ayys with supposedly poor eyesight are equal to your troops and then probably a laundry list of things I'm forgetting.