03-19-2004, 11:14 AM
Goddamn alien punks.
I had a great comeback streak going after some research gave me a "demolition device" based on alien technology. I had one built and tried it out and it turns out that it's basically a very heavy, 10-shot super-shotgun. Only has like a 5m range so I have to use smoke grenades and close-quarters combat and agents have to kneel to fire it AND they can't run while carrying it in-hand, but it'll kill anything in one hit. Great for indoor base defense missions though I still won't be able to get into that damn Russian base because half of that is outdoor combat.
But if you decide to try out this game, let me give you a hint: you will eventually find suits of "heavy armor". I advise not using these at all, because eventually you will find some awesome heavy squad support weapons that only heavy armor can use. The game implies this early on but I didn't know just how cool these heavy weapons would be, so I squandered my suits.
I got this great big machinegun turret last night. It weighs a ton, so you have to have that heavy (mechanized) armor to use it, but it's pretty damn cool. The animation is of your guy carrying this huge folded thing of metal and when you tell him to kneel he puts it down, unfolds it into a big machinegun turret and sits in it. Stick that thing where it has a lot of room to fire and anything that comes in sight gets blown the hell away. Coolest X-Com weapon ever.
Too bad my guy got ambushed and I ended up losing that whole mission and thus the machinegun turret. Luckily I can make similar railgun turrets, but I don't have any more heavy armor suits and I can't build them. Gotta hope I discover some more when I take over another base.
The alien bastards made a big push last night, assaulting 3 bases at once. Lost one (that one), won one and went to bed before trying #3.
Luckily I now have the killer team of Brainiac and Destructor, invented out of desperation for mission #2 because I'd lost so much gear in mission #1.
Brainiac has high psi-ability. Using this alien device, he can mind control the greys. Sometimes I mind control one and have him shoot his friends or blow himself up, but if he's alone and not equipped for suicide, I'll have him throw his weapons down and merrily skip into the range of Destructor's demolition-shotgun. It does like triple their hit points in damage, so I always envision them as being turned into a light smear on the far wall. Sometimes I have to mind control them 3 or 4 times to get them in range, but The Power of the Brainiac Compels You!
Meanwhile the rest of the team is doing the old bait-and-shoot trick from another direction. The fastest runner goes out looking for enemies, makes sure they see him, then runs back. They greys come looking for him and walk through a doorway into my shotgun ambush.
Man, I've had a bad run of not being able to enjoy singleplayer games anymore, but X-Com still rocks.
I had a great comeback streak going after some research gave me a "demolition device" based on alien technology. I had one built and tried it out and it turns out that it's basically a very heavy, 10-shot super-shotgun. Only has like a 5m range so I have to use smoke grenades and close-quarters combat and agents have to kneel to fire it AND they can't run while carrying it in-hand, but it'll kill anything in one hit. Great for indoor base defense missions though I still won't be able to get into that damn Russian base because half of that is outdoor combat.
But if you decide to try out this game, let me give you a hint: you will eventually find suits of "heavy armor". I advise not using these at all, because eventually you will find some awesome heavy squad support weapons that only heavy armor can use. The game implies this early on but I didn't know just how cool these heavy weapons would be, so I squandered my suits.
I got this great big machinegun turret last night. It weighs a ton, so you have to have that heavy (mechanized) armor to use it, but it's pretty damn cool. The animation is of your guy carrying this huge folded thing of metal and when you tell him to kneel he puts it down, unfolds it into a big machinegun turret and sits in it. Stick that thing where it has a lot of room to fire and anything that comes in sight gets blown the hell away. Coolest X-Com weapon ever.
Too bad my guy got ambushed and I ended up losing that whole mission and thus the machinegun turret. Luckily I can make similar railgun turrets, but I don't have any more heavy armor suits and I can't build them. Gotta hope I discover some more when I take over another base.
The alien bastards made a big push last night, assaulting 3 bases at once. Lost one (that one), won one and went to bed before trying #3.
Luckily I now have the killer team of Brainiac and Destructor, invented out of desperation for mission #2 because I'd lost so much gear in mission #1.
Brainiac has high psi-ability. Using this alien device, he can mind control the greys. Sometimes I mind control one and have him shoot his friends or blow himself up, but if he's alone and not equipped for suicide, I'll have him throw his weapons down and merrily skip into the range of Destructor's demolition-shotgun. It does like triple their hit points in damage, so I always envision them as being turned into a light smear on the far wall. Sometimes I have to mind control them 3 or 4 times to get them in range, but The Power of the Brainiac Compels You!
Meanwhile the rest of the team is doing the old bait-and-shoot trick from another direction. The fastest runner goes out looking for enemies, makes sure they see him, then runs back. They greys come looking for him and walk through a doorway into my shotgun ambush.
Man, I've had a bad run of not being able to enjoy singleplayer games anymore, but X-Com still rocks.