X-COM: Alliance

Last updated
X-COM: Alliance
X-COM Alliance.jpg
1999 logo
Developer(s)
Publisher(s) MicroProse (1995-1998)
Hasbro Interactive (1998-2001)
Infogrames (2001-2002)
Producer(s)
  • John Broomhall, Grant Dean, Stuart Whyte (UK)
  • Martin DeRiso (Chapel Hill)
Designer(s)
  • Andrew Williams, Terry Greer, Marc Curtis (UK)
  • Chris Clark (Chapel Hill)
Series X-COM
Engine Unreal Engine
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows
ReleaseUnreleased
Genre(s) Tactical shooter, strategy, action role-playing
Mode(s) Single player, multiplayer

X-COM: Alliance is a cancelled video game in the X-COM series. The game was developed by two different teams of MicroProse developers (first as a subsidiary of Spectrum Holobyte, then Hasbro Interactive, and finally Infogrames Entertainment) between 1995 and 2002. [1] The game had the player assume the role of commander of the militarized scientific mission lost in space during the aftermath of X-COM: Terror from the Deep .

Contents

Unlike other games in the X-COM series, most of which were strategy games, Alliance was a first-person shooter. It was described as having "strategy, adventure, and role-playing elements too." [1] After being officially announced in 1998 for a planned release in the first half of 1999, [2] the game was repeatedly delayed and put on hold, before eventually becoming vaporware; it was eventually cancelled in 2002. The game has numerous leaked builds online.

Gameplay

A promotional screenshot from the version shown at the E3 1999 X-COM Alliance 1999.png
A promotional screenshot from the version shown at the E3 1999

The gameplay of X-COM: Alliance would emphasize team management and tactics. Through the first-person perspective, the player would assemble and lead squads through a series of story-driven missions with various primary and secondary (optional) objectives. Teams of up to four members would be selected from a pool of soldiers, scientists and engineers (and later also friendly aliens). Each team member would have different skills as well as their own unique abilities, voices, personalities and attitudes, and was supposed to be acting differently from the others even if put in similar situations. The characters' speech, movement, and combat effectiveness would also rely on their emotional state, influenced by their individual personal traits and conditions such as their surroundings and levels of morale and fatigue. [1] [3] [4] [5] [6]

Additionally, a large 2D component was planned for the game's management and research part. Besides the single-player mode, multiplayer co-operative, deathmatch, and capture the flag modes were being planned as well. [1] [3] [4] [5] [6]

Plot

The game takes place in the year 2062 (22 years after the events of X-COM: Terror from the Deep and five years before X-COM: Interceptor ), when the research vessel UGS Patton, with a crew of top scientists and engineers and team of X-COM soldiers, travels to a site of the former alien base at Cydonia on the surface of Mars to retrieve alien artifacts and establish an Elerium mining facility. However, the Patton goes through an unexpected dimensional wormhole gateway and ends up stranded 60 light years from Earth, finding the alien invaders from X-COM: UFO Defense to be engaged in a war with a new alien race, the Ascidians. The crew of the Patton joins forces with the Ascidians, and the alliance gives the game its name. Eight other new alien races were going to be introduced too. [4] [5] [7] [8]

Development

Screenshots of the distinctive 2D (strategic) and 3D (tactical/shooter) sections in an early (before 1999) version of X-COM: Alliance X-COM Alliance gameplay.jpg
Screenshots of the distinctive 2D (strategic) and 3D (tactical/shooter) sections in an early (before 1999) version of X-COM: Alliance

The concept for the game was originally conceived in 1995. [1] Its initial working title was X-COM 4 (later X-COM 5); the project was code-named Fox Force Five to stop media leaks. [3]

Development work began in 1996 at MicroProse's UK Studio in Chipping Sodbury, then led by the Terror from the Deep producer Stuart Whyte and designer Andrew G. Williams, who had also worked together on the Amiga and PlayStation ports of the first two X-COM games (Williams was also simultaneously a co-producer of X-COM: Apocalypse ). The game's concept was inspired in part by the head-mounted cameras of the Colonial Marines in the film Aliens . The use of such cameras was also similar to the 1993 video game Hired Guns , co-created by Scott Johnston, a programmer in the original development team of Alliance. According to Whyte, the game was intended to be multiplayer-based, possibly with one player becoming the team leader and directing the other players. X-COM Alliance used the Unreal Engine. Deformable and destructible environments (as in the X-COM strategy games) were one of the game's planned features; the game engine later created for Red Faction employed a similar concept. [9]

In April 1999, when "much of the foundation work had already been set," [1] the work on the game was then taken over by MicroProse's Hunt Valley studio (creators of Klingon Honor Guard ). [5] Chris Clark became the new lead designer and Chris Coon was lead programmer on the project; [4] artists included Bob Kathman. [5] The game was redesigned, including a complete overhaul of the game graphics and HUD. [10] Dave Ellis provided game design advice, helping to coordinate elements such as the featured weapons and alien races for canon compatibility between Alliance and the other X-COM title in development, X-COM: Genesis . [11] The game was supposed to use the heavily modified Unreal Engine, featuring skeletal animation, motion capture, a completely different AI, a new sound system able to store and playback large amounts of speech, and a DirectMusic-based dynamic music system. [1] [4] [7] The 1999 E3 conference by MicroProse featured people dressed up as aliens and other items from the game's universe, but the display did not include a playable demo. [12] Julian Gollop, main designer of X-COM: UFO Defense and X-COM: Apocalypse, said MicroProse had problems to make the game's engine to work properly. [12]

The game, set for a Q4-2000 release, [1] was pushed back again in August 2000 to "sometime in the year 2001." [13] In January 2000, producer Martin DeRiso stated that the game was "60–70%" complete. [3] However, the project was put on indefinite hold in late 2000, when the Hunt Valley studio was redirected to begin work on the much less-ambitious X-COM: Enforcer , using some resources from Alliance. [11]

In January 2001, Alliance had supposedly resumed development, and its new release date was set to the third quarter of 2001. [14] After Infogrames Entertainment bought Hasbro Interactive, the game was postponed again because of the departure of a key team member (responsible for the implementation of the game's innovative AI system). [15] [16] Infogrames created an official website in February 2002, only to pull it down a few days later. [17] [18] The game was ultimately aborted in 2002 [19] without any official announcement. [20] Gollop commented: "X-COM: Alliance was in development for a long time. How the development got screwed up, I don’t know. As you’re probably well aware, quite often games companies start and you’re going for a long time and it just doesn’t happen." [21]

Reception

Early versions of Alliance garnered very favorable responses from several video game publications, including GameSpot's "Best of E3 (Sequels)" award in 1998 and IGN PC's "Best Action Game of E3" award in 2000. [2] [22] GameSpy called it "the most ambitious game we've seen at E3" and "the pinnacle of tactical gaming, a new high-water mark that'll bust through established game genres," and PC Zone called it "a serious contender for 'game of the year'" in 2000. [23]

Further reading

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hasbro Interactive</span> American video game production and publishing company

Hasbro Interactive was an American video game production and publishing subsidiary of Hasbro, the large game and toy company. Several of its studios were closed in early 2001 and most of its properties were sold to Infogrames which completed its studio's closures at the end of 2001.

<i>XCOM</i> Video game series

XCOM is a science fiction video game franchise featuring an elite international organization tasked with countering alien invasions of Earth. The series began with the strategy video game X-COM: UFO Defense created by Julian Gollop's Mythos Games and MicroProse in 1994. The original lineup by MicroProse included six published and at least two canceled games, as well as two novels. The X-COM series, in particular its original entry, achieved a sizable cult following and has influenced many other video games; including the creation of a number of clones, spiritual successors, and unofficial remakes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MicroProse</span> American video game company

MicroProse is an American video game publisher and developer founded by Bill Stealey, Sid Meier, and Andy Hollis in 1982. It developed and published numerous games, including starting the Civilization and X-COM series. Most of their internally developed titles were vehicle simulation and strategy games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Firaxis Games</span> American video game developer

Firaxis Games, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Sparks, Maryland. The company was founded in May 1996 by Sid Meier, Jeff Briggs and Brian Reynolds following their departure from MicroProse, Meier's earlier venture. They were acquired by Take-Two Interactive in August 2005, and subsequently became part of the publisher's 2K label. Firaxis Games is best known for developing the Civilization and XCOM series, as well as many other games bearing Meier's name.

<i>Master of Orion</i> 1993 video game

Master of Orion is a turn-based, 4X science fiction strategy game in which the player leads one of ten races to dominate the galaxy through a combination of diplomacy and conquest while developing technology, exploring and colonizing star systems.

X-COM: Genesis was a Windows strategy video game in development in the X-COM series. It was being developed by MicroProse employees, then working for Hasbro Interactive who had bought out MicroProse. Production took place in the original MicroProse offices, and the game was planned "sometime for 2001". X-COM: Genesis was never completed due to the closure of the Chapel Hill MicroProse studio.

<i>X-COM: Apocalypse</i> 1997 video game

X-COM: Apocalypse is a 1997 science fiction tactical strategy game. It is the third game in the X-COM video game series. It was developed by Mythos Games, and published by MicroProse in 1997 for DOS and Microsoft Windows.

<i>X-COM: Terror from the Deep</i> 1995 video game

X-COM: Terror from the Deep is a strategy video game developed and published by MicroProse for the PC in 1995 and for the PlayStation in 1996. It is a sequel to X-COM: UFO Defense and the second game of the X-COM series, this time taking the war against a renewed alien invasion into the Earth's oceans.

<i>X-COM: UFO Defense</i> 1994 video game

X-COM: UFO Defense is a 1994 science fiction strategy video game developed by Mythos Games. It was published by MicroProse for DOS and Amiga computers, the Amiga CD32 console, and the PlayStation.

<i>Tactical Ops: Assault on Terror</i> 1999 video game

Tactical Ops: Assault on Terror is an online multiplayer video game.

Julian Gollop is a British computer game designer and producer specialising in strategy games, who has founded and led Mythos Games, Codo Technologies and Snapshot Games. He is known best as the "man who gave birth to the X-COM franchise."

<i>The Bureau: XCOM Declassified</i> 2013 tactical shooter game

The Bureau: XCOM Declassified is a 2013 tactical third-person shooter video game. It was developed by 2K Marin and published by 2K. As the eighth title in the turn-based strategy series X-COM and a narrative prequel to XCOM: Enemy Unknown, the game was released for PlayStation 3, Windows, and Xbox 360 in August 2013. Set in late 1962 at the height of the Cold War, the game's premise mainly revolves around The Bureau, the predecessor of the Extraterrestrial Combat Unit (XCOM), as they attempt to repel an alien invasion. As a tactical shooter, players can use the battle focus mode to issue commands to two other agents accompanying the protagonist, William Carter. Players can permanently lose their squad members so they must make good tactical decisions.

Civilization is a series of turn-based strategy video games, first released in 1991. Sid Meier developed the first game in the series and has had creative input for most of the rest, and his name is usually included in the formal title of these games, such as Sid Meier's Civilization VI. There are six main games in the series, a number of expansion packs and spin-off games, as well as board games inspired by the video game series. The series is considered a formative example of the 4X genre, in which players achieve victory through four routes: "eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate".

<i>The Dreamland Chronicles: Freedom Ridge</i> Video game

The Dreamland Chronicles: Freedom Ridge is an unreleased video game for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 2 by Mythos Games. Developed by the team which produced X-COM: UFO Defense, including lead designer Julian Gollop, the game was planned to be "a remake of the first X-COM with 3D graphics," as the first of four games planned in the new series.

<i>XCOM: Enemy Unknown</i> 2012 video game

XCOM: Enemy Unknown is a 2012 turn-based tactical video game developed by Firaxis Games and published by 2K. The game is a "reimagined" remake of the 1994 cult classic strategy game X-COM: UFO Defense and a reboot of MicroProse's 1990s X-COM series. Set in an alternative version of the year 2015, the player controls an elite multinational paramilitary organization called XCOM during an alien invasion of Earth. The player commands troops in the field in a series of turn-based tactical missions; between missions, the player directs the research and development of technologies from recovered alien technology and captured prisoners, expands XCOM's base of operations, manages finances, and monitors and responds to alien activity.

<i>Phoenix Point</i> 2019 video game

Phoenix Point is a strategy video game featuring a turn-based tactics system that is developed by Bulgaria-based independent developer Snapshot Games. It was released on December 3, 2019, for macOS and Microsoft Windows, for Stadia on January 26, 2021, and Xbox One and PlayStation 4 on October 1, 2021. Phoenix Point is intended to be a spiritual successor to the X-COM series that had been originally created by Snapshot Games head Julian Gollop during the 1990s.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "X-COM: Alliance Interview and Movie". IGN. 2000-06-05. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
  2. 1 2 "GameSpot's Best of E3 2008: X-COM Alliance". 2004-05-02. Archived from the original on 2004-05-02. Retrieved 2013-08-23.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Alliance interviews". 2006-09-26. Archived from the original on 2006-09-26. Retrieved 2013-08-23.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "X-COM: Alliance". IGN. 2000-02-18. Retrieved 2013-08-23.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Niell, Gary (2004-3-10). "Bob Kathman Reveals All!" Interview. TheLastOutpost.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-6-4.
  6. 1 2 "X-COM Alliance Shows Progress – PC News at GameSpot". Gamespot.com. 2000-04-13. Retrieved 2013-08-23.
  7. 1 2 "Alliance FAQ". 2006-08-28. Archived from the original on 2006-08-28. Retrieved 2013-08-23.
  8. "Timeline: Recovery". Strategycore.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-08-23.
  9. Whyte, Stuart. X-COM Alliance Archived March 8, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  10. "Alliance X - where it's X-Com Alliance all day every day: E3 coverage". 2007-06-21. Archived from the original on 2007-06-21. Retrieved 2013-08-23.
  11. 1 2 "Games » Dave Ellis: Early Days". The Last Outpost. 2008-01-30. Retrieved 2013-08-23.
  12. 1 2 "Interview With XCOM Creator Julian Gollop – NowGamer". Nowgamer.com. 2011-08-30. Retrieved 2013-08-23.
  13. "X-COM Alliance Delayed – PC News at GameSpot". Gamespot.com. 2000-08-25. Retrieved 2013-08-23.
  14. (2001-01-09) "X-COM Alliance Delayed ... Again." IGN.
  15. Sulic, Ivan (February 25, 2002). "X-COM: Alliance Update". IGN. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  16. "X-COM Alliance up in the air – News at GameSpot". Gamespot.com. 2001-05-29. Retrieved 2013-08-23.
  17. "X-COM Still a No". IGN. 2002-02-25. Retrieved 2013-08-23.
  18. "X-COM: Alliance still on hold – PC News at GameSpot". Gamespot.com. 2002-02-25. Retrieved 2013-08-23.
  19. Plante, Chris (2013-08-19). "The many faces of The Bureau: XCOM Declassified: from 2006 to 2013". Polygon. Retrieved 2014-05-18.
  20. "The FPS that wasn't. — The Biggest Moments In "XCOM" History". Complex. 2013-08-23. Retrieved 2014-05-18.
  21. "Julian Gollop interview: on X-Coms old and new, the Ghost Recon strategy game that never was, AI, auteurs and "Fork My Fruit" - Page 4 of 4 | News". PC Gamer. 2013-04-29. Retrieved 2013-08-23.
  22. "IGNPC's Best of E3 2000". IGN. 2000-05-17. Retrieved 2013-08-23.
  23. "Alliance 1998–2000 web coverage". Archived from the original on 2006-09-26. Retrieved 2013-08-23.