For those interested, I post the link to the latest download of (open source) sequel of SSI’s games: http://spwaw.com/
Believe me, it is awesome.

The scary thing about X-Com (and this is true for the originals as well as the new one) is that when you lose, you don’t just die and reload. Game over is the result of a massive downward slide that started game-months, if not game-years, earlier. It is entirely possible to get yourself into a position where you’re falling further and further behind, completely unable to cope with the impending alien threat, and there is nothing you can do about it. But by the time you realize how colossally screwed you are, all your historical saves have been replaced with more recent ones. Congrats, champ, you’re starting over. Because you suck.

I think this more modern one will throw you a bone, though. I got into pretty dire straits once by playing fast and loose with economics, and then some country decided to offer me a ridiculous amount of money for a resource that I had plenty of. I don’t know if that was luck or an intentional bailout, but I was glad of it all the same.

Welcome to the fold, Luke.
I’ve loved X-com from the beginning. I’m a big fan of turn-based games as well. Always have been. I guess I just can’t keep up with RTSs.
Have you given Frozen Synapse a try? It’s some very juicy squad-based combat with asynchronous play.

Luke, the endgame can get really boring if you save scum, because the game is balanced (on classic, at least) around the idea that you will lose a squad or two and make a few bad economic/strategic decisions in your playthrough. (Normal difficulty was a joke.)

I played on classic, reloading only when the game glitches out (and twice when I got overwhelmed by 10+ glitched, teleporting enemies at once) and the game was challenging up until I could field three psionic soldiers. I’m playing on classic Ironman mode now and I highly recommend it–there is a much greater weight to your decisions and the highs are much higher when the lows can be devastating.

As for the rocket launcher, there is a fusion core based blaster launcher available with self guided projectiles that doesn’t require line of sight. It is a thing of beauty. Very satisfying to use (“taste of your own medicine, sectopod?”). I absolutely tore the aliens a new one on a late game terror mission.

The thing about the game that caught me off-guard was that the combat mechanics are entirely binary. For example, you’re either flanked or you’re not, and the difference between the two can be one tile placement. So nothing (especially gunfire) is based on true line-of-sight or spatial cues, it’s all simple statistics.

Finally, for a more authentic X-COM experience, I suggest checking out Xenonauts. (It’s in alpha at the moment.) It’s basically X-COM with a lot of the cruft removed but with no real streamlining. It’s a lot more realistic and does not have the arbitrary gamey limitations Enemy Unknown imposes, such as being able to respond to only one abduction, or being unable to simply hire scientists the way you hire soldiers. It’s not much of a looker, though.

@ alphast:

I googled Steel Panthers and accidentally found the website of a ridiculous looking 80’s hair band. lol

But yeah, I haven not played SSI games. The screenshots remind me of the good old chit based strategy games of old. :)

@ Hexren:

Damn it! I guess I must have missed a Battleship UFO or two at some point. Few UFO’s got away from me mid game when I didn’t have adequate air coverage. :(

There incidently is an update for the rocket launcher:
http://www.ign.com/wikis/xcom-enemy-unknown/Guided_Fusion_Launcher

It’s guided green awesomeness of destruction. And kind of nice.

Cheers

I think that the X-Com game was indeed awesome. I played it a lot and I agree with everything you said. Including the couple of annoying glitches. This said, there is another game that was turned based and absolutely awesome and that I would still play with passion if it was available on my machine. I mean of course the SSI series called Steel Panthers. This is, imho, the best tactical game ever made based on turn per turn. And it had the same level of unlimited life, because, like the Elder Scrolls games, the game could be modded ad nauseam, even by noobs like me.