Back in the early 1990s, the now-defunct studio Microprose captured the imagination of nerds everywhere with a tactical PC strategy game called X-Com: UFO Defense. The game put you in control of a squad of human freedom fighters opposing an alien invasion by fighting harrowing tactical battles on randomly generated maps against unknown numbers and varieties of aliens. Then it had you take the spoils of war (namely, alien technology) and use them to research powerful experimental weapons to bring into combat. Years later, 2K Marin, the studio responsible for BioShock 2, is now working on XCOM, a first-person shooter that will attempt to include elements of that original game but will also focus on fast-paced shooting action and character-driven stories.
The new game takes place during an idealized version of the American 1950s--a time of innocence, white picket fences, and burgeoning conspiracy theories. Your character is special agent William Carter, the head of XCOM, a secret government agency specifically put together to combat what appears to be an alien invasion by researching every reported alien sighting, rescuing civilians whenever possible, and collecting intel on the aliens that can be converted to research. That research can then be used to gain access to those wonderful, wonderful experimental weapons.
While we've seen very little of the game so far, we're both comforted to hear that the 2K Marin team includes many loyal fans of the original X-Com, and we're also looking forward to seeing where the team takes the game from here. XCOM is scheduled for release on the Xbox 360 and PC next year.
