XCOM: Chimera Squad - humans and aliens team up

[Assisted Living Godzilla]

I thought I hated XCOM 1/2 aesthetics, I thought it to be way too cartoony and goofy compared to the broody vibe of the original. I never dreamt it could get even worse. Much worse.

X-COM is the most cartoony looking game in the series. In fact the zoom-in effect they're using in the Gameplay Overview trailer (although I'm not sure that's in the actual game) is right out of the original games intro.

I like what they're going for in this game, I like it way more than the toyish budget game looking aesthetic these new XCOM games have had. But I'm not exactly sure what they were thinking with some of these drawing, (and the particular style they landed on) which look like rough rushed shit you'd see in some half assed indie comic. They should have gotten someone like Simon Roy or Giannis Milonogiannis.

They also should have kept cribbing design stuff from Masamune Shirow like the original did. These XCOM cops would look a lot cooler if they were taking stuff from Tank Police, Appleseed, and Ghost in the Shell.

 

[Multi-headed Cow]

Come to think of it, is Xcom shown to be an entity in this? Bradford's presumably still beheading ayys with a machete and releasing videos of it, but none of the troops have Xcom symbols/logos anywhere on them, and if you watch the gameplay trailer it carefully says you're Chimera Squad rather than directly associated with Xcom. Wouldn't be surprised if you have to hunt down some Xcom members beheading grays. Didn't carefully rewatch everything once I thought of this so maybe there is a direct Xcom association somewhere in there though, rather than just being the police.

Ah well, that's a shame. It would've been a fun take if Chimera actually was/is a peaceful organization trying to rebuild with freed aliens and humans and Xcom was out stirring shit in the fringes as crazy alien-hunting zealots. Chimera even could've been from the remnants of Advent, who were mutated/engineered humans anyway, and since they were the existing power structure they tried to continue holding things together after the connection with the ethereals was cut, AND it would explain why Chimera would be more accepting of the aliens because they knew what it was like to be under control by the ethereals, and would satisfyingly work to have some (Perhaps not all, if you don't want to succumb to Bradford beheading-memes) extreme Xcom holdouts trying to blow you the fuck up because they think you're putting alien fluoride in the drinking water. Having it be some Xcom members rather than the whole organization would make sense too, since guerrilla-Xcom is a threat to the ethereals in the second game, but in this they'd basically be squabbling with the police in a single city.

Oh well. Maybe they thought they'd get enough people pissed with the diversity squad and didn't want to have them even angrier by making you hunt down Xcom crazies.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

honestly don't think big video game companies are creative enough to even go that route anymore tbh

 

[cvv]

X-COM is the most cartoony looking game in the series. In fact the zoom-in effect they're using in the Gameplay Overview trailer (although I'm not sure that's in the actual game) is right out of the original games intro.

Of coooourse, whenever someone says nuXCOM is cartoony there's ALWAYS this tired, stupid response "B-but the original was cartoony too, look at the intro!2!2".

Jesus fucking christ how many times I've heard this shit over the years. Yes, the UFO intro is cartoony and it's also totally incongruous with the vibe of the actual game and I've always hated it.

 

[Silva]

I just want the option to turn off guns oversizing. Never liked the cartoonish look it results. Why can't we have normal sized guns, dammit.

Jesus fucking christ how many times I've heard this shit over the years. Yes, the UFO intro is cartoony and it's also totally incongruous with the vibe of the actual game and I've always hated it.

Yeah, right.

 

[cvv]

Silva are you seriously saying the figure on the left is "cartoony"? I don't know what the one on the right is from but the left one is just a normal character with funky haircut.

 

[Silva]

Silva are you seriously saying the figure on the left is "cartoony"? I don't know what the one on the right is from but the left one is just a normal character with funky haircut.

Not just the hair, his body is too horizontal, almost like an oversized dwarf. It IS stylized to some degree and not trying to be purely naturalistic IMO. I think games like SWAT 2 or Commandos went for more naturalistic gfx, for eg.

 

[Mazisky]

The original Ufo defense (which is my favourite game of all time) was cartoony too, but it was an horror cartoon, not a power ranger cartoon. That's a big difference.

 

[JDR13]

I haven't played XCOM 2 yet, but I don't recall the first game being what I would consider cartoony. What exactly was cartoony about it?

On the other hand, this new game does look kind of goofy and much less serious. I'm not sure if that was their intention, but I'm not a fan of what I've seen so far.

 

[Alienman]

There was a dlc that made it cartoony. Lots of weird equipment. Felt like a Twitch bait dlc.

 

[Mazisky]

I haven't played XCOM 2 yet, but I don't recall the first game being what I would consider cartoony. What exactly was cartoony about it?

On the other hand, this new game does look kind of goofy and much less serious. I'm not sure if that was their intention, but I'm not a fan of what I've seen so far.

Xcom 2 with Wotc was cartoony in tone, but not so much in art. This chimera squad is cartoony in art too.

 

[Space Satan]

 

[BarbequeMasta]

Hah that would be a great twist!

 

[Belegarsson]

 

[Jimmious]

 

[Infinitron]

Meet the diversity squad:

 

[CthuluIsSpy]

So this is basically Alien Nation the game, except dumb and shitty.
I hope XCOM 3 isn't like this.

Like, Apocalypse also had hybrids so that's fine, except in apocalypse you had a larger roster, you could choose NOT to have aliens, and you didn't have to restart the entire mission if you lose an agent because god forbid the designers' narrative is ruined.

Why does the muton look like a fish man? I didn't realize it was a muton until I read about it. Terrible design.
Also, the game only takes 5 years after the end of XCOM 2? How exactly did this integration happen? Weren't the aliens actively murdering and oppressing humans en masse?

In Alien Nation the premise was that a bunch of aliens crash landed on earth and had no where else to go, so the government took them in and started to integrate them into society. There was strife in that movie because of course there would be, but it was contained because there was no real bad blood.
Here? Tons of bad blood, 5 years is too short to get over it. Bad story telling and forced diversity is bad and forced.

 

[Zombra]

You didn't have to restart the entire mission if you lose an agent because god forbid the designers' narrative is ruined.

Seriously, not just talking to you CthuluIsSpy, but everybody get over this. Plenty of good games have restricted rosters, and plenty of games make you restart if you lose a key character. Sheesh, it's like people have never seen a damn Game Over screen before.

 

[CthuluIsSpy]

You didn't have to restart the entire mission if you lose an agent because god forbid the designers' narrative is ruined.

Seriously, not just talking to you CthuluIsSpy, but everybody get over this. Plenty of good games have restricted rosters, and plenty of games make you restart if you lose a key character. Sheesh, it's like people have never seen a damn Game Over screen before.

Yes, but not in XCOM. XCOM isn't known for that. XCOM isn't the Banner Saga, it isn't Fire Emblem, XCOM is XCOM.
It is a spin off game though, so I guess it can get away with that, a lot like how the bureau got away with being a 3rd person cover shooter and shitty. Still don't have to like it.

 

[BarbequeMasta]

Jesus, I couldn't draw uglier Art even if I tried...

 

[Assisted Living Godzilla]

X-COM is the most cartoony looking game in the series. In fact the zoom-in effect they're using in the Gameplay Overview trailer (although I'm not sure that's in the actual game) is right out of the original games intro.

Of coooourse, whenever someone says nuXCOM is cartoony there's ALWAYS this tired, stupid response "B-but the original was cartoony too, look at the intro!2!2".

Jesus fucking christ how many times I've heard this shit over the years. Yes, the UFO intro is cartoony and it's also totally incongruous with the vibe of the actual game and I've always hated it.

The actual fucking game is cartoony. The intro to X-COM isn't incongruous, it perfectly lines up with the bright colors, cartoony looking characters, and explosions that look like fucking skulls you'll find in the fucking game. There's no level of X-COM in the game that isn't cartoony.

I also said I fucking hate the look of the previous two XCOM games...which are less cartoony looking and more some shit toyish look they're going for. Weirdly the style they landed on for toys was something like a Fisher-Price Rescue Heroes with how they oversized the weapons, instead of what you'd think they'd be going for like a G.I. Joe.

 

[Assisted Living Godzilla]

You didn't have to restart the entire mission if you lose an agent because god forbid the designers' narrative is ruined.

Seriously, not just talking to you CthuluIsSpy, but everybody get over this. Plenty of good games have restricted rosters, and plenty of games make you restart if you lose a key character. Sheesh, it's like people have never seen a damn Game Over screen before.

Yes, but not in XCOM. XCOM isn't known for that. XCOM isn't the Banner Saga, it isn't Fire Emblem, XCOM is XCOM.
It is a spin off game though, so I guess it can get away with that, a lot like how the bureau got away with being a 3rd person cover shooter and shitty. Still don't have to like it.

XCOM, as in these nuXCOM games should have had a restricted rosters from the start. Not as restricted as this seems, (which seems a little Shadow Watch) but something like the number of characters you get in Jagged Alliance 1 or 2. Unlike X-COM you'll rarely lose anyone in XCOM, the character creation system is shit, and you only have one base to think about. They would have been better off in XCOM just giving you something like 60 unique characters with their own personalities that'll shape the "story" of the game, with there own specific set of skills you can shape, who are a resource you have to more carefully think about.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

Fear The Alien.
Hate The Alien.
Kill The Alien.

 

[Space Satan]

MUH DIVERSIDAD

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

Funny: As RPGs such as Wasteland 3 switch to XCOM-style squad-based turn order, this game is switching to initiative-based turn order.

Looks like it copies Banner Saga's alternating turns.