Xenonauts is a PC strategy game due for release in 2013. It is a spiritual successor to the classic X-Com strategy games, putting the player in control of an organisation defending the world from an alien invasion. It is a grand strategy game that involves building and managing bases across the entire planet, controlling jet fighters and ground troops in battle against the alien forces, then researching captured extraterrestrial technology to unlock their secrets! Linux version uses WINE.
I used to be an FPS gamer with no sense of direction. Later on I got into realistic games because of BF2:PR and Arma 2(with addons).
Never played an X-COM game before I recently got intrigued by its concept of shooting down enemy ships and trying to capture live aliens and their ship to research better tech. I was not however willing to go into the classic X-COM games themselves because they looked too archaic.
Hearing only bad things or semi-good stuff from other X-COM inspired games I never jumped into franchises like UFO. I did however stumble upon this little gem in the works by Goldhawk Interactive.
This game delivers more than I expected from an alpha game. The gpx are a blast form the past with their 2D appearance. It didn't look like a 3D mess the other games were. I'll describe it as a game that you can feel nostalgic about if it was made 12 years ago. The tiles ingame are actually 3D but painted over by a 2D artist.
The soundtrack hits the spot for me and I am eager to hear more. The Geoscape sounds dreary but suspensfull. Perfect for the leader of an anti-alien organisation. The battlescape music isn't going for adrenaline rush but rather stays in the background which is perfect. It doesn't stand out like a sore thumb but sounds suspensfull.
As a contrast the music played when you engage into air-combat feels like you are there in the pilot seat even though it only shows up as a couple of blips on your map. I actually felt engaged to micro-manage my fighters to give them their edge over my opponent. All I can say about the soundtrack is that it "felt right". Suspensfull but moody at times if that makes any sense.
The artstyle ingame and the pictures in the Xenopedia are of high quality stuff. I'd pay to see more but Goldhawk is doing that for me. The only thing that stands out are the bad portraits for the soldiers. Hopefully they will get the same treatment as their Xenopedia brethren.
I will have my eye on this game as it grows. Godspeed GHI!
F*****g buy it people!
This is why I love indie games, this is what I wanted since X-Com: Terror From The Deep, as this is rightful heir of its throne.
Finally, somebody seems to be doing it right!
Feels like X-com even in this early stage.
The Graphics are really nice and i know i didnt wasted money by buying this game.
Can't Wait to get my Hands on this Game. I still Play X-Com today. Got on Both Steam and GOG.
Even though it's still Alpha I can tell a lot of love has been put into this. I've played several games over the years that called themselves the spiritual successors to the original X-COM -- this is the first that did not disappoint me. Fantastic job. Can't wait until it's finished.
Fantastic game, a faithful and fun remake of the original, unlike the ones that carry the X-Com name.
Still a fair few little issues to be smoothed out, but a very faithful adaptation of the old X-Com games. And I like the cold war vibe, I think it adds something new.
Awesome game. Keep up the excellent work
Even though it has been sometime since I last played this, I, unfortunately, cannot raise my previous score, because, while it has everything going for it; atmosphere, the enemy, the lore and information, details, etc., the MAJOR problem this game has is that the difficulty spike is just ridiculous.
In the original XCOM, even if you're being lazy and just sit around with one base, the difficulty increases gradually in terms of how often the size and number of ships increases. Here though, it's just way too much at one time. You're happily raking in more money when all of a sudden, larger ships appear out of nowhere, wreaking havoc in areas you can't cover. And then the interceptor that's supposed to balance it out, isn't exactly great. The 'pedia warned that it isn't a good dogfighter, but...going down in just one shot? The starting interceptors can soak up a modest amount of damage but the heavier one? One shot one kill? Seriously?