Xenonauts

Last updated
Xenonauts
Xenonauts logo.jpg
Storefront logo of Xenonauts
Developer(s) Goldhawk Interactive [lower-alpha 1]
Publisher(s) Goldhawk Interactive
Designer(s) Chris England
Programmer(s) Sergey Kovrov, Gijs-Jan Roelofs, Laszlo Perneky, Giovanni Frigo
Composer(s) Aleksi Aubry-Carlson
Platform(s)
ReleaseMicrosoft Windows
  • WW: June 17, 2014
OS X, Linux
  • WW: September 29, 2015
Genre(s) Strategy, turn-based tactics
Mode(s) Single-player

Xenonauts is a turn-based science fiction video game developed and published as the maiden title of London-based independent game studio Goldhawk Interactive. [1] Inspired by the 1994 game X-COM: UFO Defense , gameplay involves the player taking the role of the commander of a clandestine organization known as the Xenonauts, and attempting to defeat an alien invasion of Earth in the alternative history year 1979. [2] The game was released on June 17, 2014 for Microsoft Windows. [3] Ports to Mac OS X and Linux were initially based on the Wine compatibility layer, until native ports became available in September 2015. [4] A sequel, Xenonauts 2 , was released through early access in 2023.

Contents

Gameplay

A screenshot of tactical gameplay (alpha version), showing a UFO crashed in a farm Xenonauts gameplay.jpg
A screenshot of tactical gameplay (alpha version), showing a UFO crashed in a farm

The game utilizes the fundamental mechanics of the early X-COM games, in this case considered to be the real-time global air control and strategic management and research components of the game, coupled with turn-based ground combat where the player controls a squad of soldiers and vehicles against the alien forces. Soldiers can develop their attributes through combat experience. All terrain in the ground combat maps is destructible. [5]

Features advertised by Goldhawk as "enhancements" to the original X-COM model include the following: [6] [7]

Plot

In an alternate history 1958, an alien UFO enters Earth's atmosphere over Iceland and is immediately hostile to the fighters scrambled to intercept it. The United States and Soviet Union use nuclear missiles to shoot down the UFO, which then self-destructs. The governments of the world realise that a hostile interstellar alien race is too much for any of them to face alone, so the Xenonauts are founded to combat the alien menace if and when it returns.

In November 1979 a huge alien fleet arrives in orbit. Initially only the smallest UFOs are able to fly in Earth's atmosphere, but the aliens quickly modify their ships to enable incursion by larger vessels. The aliens attack military and civilian targets in an attempt to spread panic and destabilise Earth's defence. While the Xenonauts are successful in shooting down and researching alien craft, weapons and biology, the alien forces in orbit are seemingly endless.

Studying the aliens' biology reveals that they are extremely hierarchical, with the lowest ranked being mindless slaves. Only the highest ranked "Praetors" truly have free will. The Xenonauts implement a two-pronged plan to defeat the alien invasion - they develop and activate a hyperspace inhibition field, which prevents any future alien forces coming to Earth, then infiltrate the alien mothership and assassinate the High Praetor, rendering the entire alien fleet around Earth inactive.

Development

Development of Xenonauts began in 2009. The game was heavily influenced by the X-COM series but is described by the development team as neither a remake nor a clone, but rather a "re-imagining". It was marketed as a Cold War-era based "planetary defense simulator" and as a direct competitor to 2K Marin's The Bureau: XCOM Declassified , which at the time had alienated many fans due to its FPS-based gameplay. [8] [9] [10] [11]

In November 2010, the project launched a revamped website, announcing that they were accepting pre-orders. The benefits of pre-ordering included early beta access, as well as a price discount. A provisional release date was set as Autumn 2012. [12] A public game demo was released on May 8, 2012. [13] The game's Kickstarter fundraising project managed to raise a total of $154,715 from 4,668 backers. [14]

Xenonauts for Windows reached beta and launched on Steam Early Access in June 2013. [15] A full release date of the end of that year was announced in September 2013, although the developer conceded that the title might be delayed until early 2014 if additional work was required. [16] It was released on June 17, 2014. [1]

Reception

Xenonauts was generally well received by critics, receiving a score of 85% from PC Gamer, [17] and a 77% on Metacritic, based on 21 reviews. [18]

Community Edition

Shortly after the release of the stable version Goldhawk Interactive allowed selected members of the community to access the source code. [19] This resulted in the Windows only platform based community edition of the game, called Xenonauts: Community Edition, which continues development of an independent branch of the game, adding new features and bugfixes. [20] The 1.5 version of Xenonauts incorporated a large number of these changes. While as of February 2017 Goldhawk's version of the game is in maintenance mode, Community Edition keeps updating the game with the most recent release in May 2020, [21] a new release has recently been released as a demo under the name of Xenonauts 2 on the 18th of July 2023. [22]

Sequel

In 2015, Goldhawk Interactive hinted that they were designing and prototyping a sequel. [23] In February 2016, Xenonauts 2 was officially announced. The game is being developed in the Unity game engine, making use of 3D graphics. As with the original game, the developers announced plans to release the game in an early access phase. [24]

Notes

  1. ↑ Ported to OS X and Linux by Knockout Games.

Related Research Articles

<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.

<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

UFO: Enemy Unknown, also known as X-COM: UFO Defense in North America and as X-COM: Enemy Unknown, is a 1994 science fiction strategy video game developed by Mythos Games and MicroProse. It was published by MicroProse for DOS and Amiga computers, the Amiga CD32 console, and the PlayStation. Originally planned by Julian Gollop as a sequel to Mythos Games' 1988 Laser Squad, the game mixes real-time management simulation with turn-based tactics. The player takes the role of commander of X-COM – an international paramilitary and scientific organization secretly defending Earth from an alien invasion. Through the game, the player is tasked with issuing orders to individual X-COM troops in a series of turn-based tactical missions. At strategic scale, the player directs the research and development of new technologies, builds and expands X-COM's bases, manages the organization's finances and personnel, and monitors and responds to UFO activity.

Tactical role-playing games, also known as strategy role-playing games and in Japan as simulation RPGs, are a video game genre that combines core elements of role-playing video games with those of tactical strategy video games. The formats of tactical RPGs are much like traditional tabletop role-playing games and strategy games in appearance, pacing, and rule structure. Likewise, early tabletop role-playing games are descended from skirmish wargames such as Chainmail, which were primarily concerned with combat.

<i>X-COM: Alliance</i> Cancelled video game

X-COM: Alliance is a cancelled video game in the X-COM series. The game was developed by two different teams of MicroProse developers between 1995 and 2002. It 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.

<i>UFO: Aftermath</i> 2003 video game

UFO: Aftermath is a 2003 real-time tactics/turn-based strategy video game created by ALTAR Interactive. It is a homage to the X-COM game series, with roots in the unfinished game The Dreamland Chronicles: Freedom Ridge. It was followed by two sequels, UFO: Aftershock (2005) and UFO: Afterlight (2007).

<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.

UFO: Alien Invasion is a strategy video game in which the player fights aliens that are trying to take control of the Earth. The game is heavily influenced by the X-COM series, especially X-COM: UFO Defense.

<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. Cancelled in 2001, the unfinished game was later bought and partially turned into UFO: Aftermath by Altar Interactive, which was in turn itself followed by two sequels. Some elements of the game are also present in Gollop's own Phoenix Point.

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

XCOM: Enemy Unknown, a 2012 turn-based tactics video game that was developed by Firaxis Games and published by 2K, is a "reimagined" version of the 1994 strategy game X-COM: UFO Defense—which is also known as UFO: Enemy Unknown—and a reboot of MicroProse's 1990s series X-COM. XCOM: Enemy Unknown' is set during an alien invasion of Earth in an alternative version of 2015; the player controls an elite, multinational, paramilitary organization called XCOM and commands troops 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>XCOM: Enemy Within</i> 2013 video game

XCOM: Enemy Within is an expansion pack for the turn-based tactical video game XCOM: Enemy Unknown. The expansion pack primarily adds new gameplay elements to the base game, as well as introducing new themes of transhumanism via aggressive gene therapy.

<i>Chaos Reborn</i> 2015 video game

Chaos Reborn is a turn-based tactical role-playing game developed by Snapshot Games and was part funded through a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign in April 2014. Following an early access release in December 2014, the full game was released in October 2015.

<i>XCOM 2</i> 2016 turn-based tactics video game

XCOM 2 is a 2016 turn-based tactics video game developed by Firaxis Games and published by 2K. It is the sequel to 2012's reboot of the series, XCOM: Enemy Unknown; it takes place 20 years after the events of Enemy Unknown. XCOM, a military organization trying to fight off an alien invasion, has lost the war and is now a resistance force against the occupation of Earth and the established totalitarian regime and military dictatorship. Gameplay is split between turn-based combat in which players command a squad of soldiers to fight enemies, and strategy elements in which players manage and control the operations of the Avenger, an alien ship that is used as a mobile base for XCOM.

Long War is a fan-made partial conversion mod for the turn-based tactics video game XCOM: Enemy Unknown and its expansion, XCOM: Enemy Within. It was first released in early 2013, and it exited beta at the end of 2015. Almost every aspect of the original game is altered, creating a longer, more complex campaign that presents players with more strategic choices and customization options. Long War adds a significant number of new soldier classes, abilities, weapons, armors, and usable items, and also introduces new features, including soldier fatigue and improvements to alien units over the course of the game.

<i>Hard West</i> 2015 video game

Hard West is a turn-based tactical game developed by CreativeForge Games and published by Gambitious Digital Entertainment. It was released digitally on November 18, 2015, for Microsoft Windows, OS X and Linux, and was released for the Nintendo Switch on March 7, 2019. A sequel, Hard West 2, was released in August 2022.

<i>Xenonauts 2</i> 2023 video game

Xenonauts 2 is an upcoming turn-based tactics video game developed by Goldhawk Interactive and released on July 18, 2023 through early access. It is the sequel to 2014's Xenonauts.

<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.

<i>Halcyon 6</i> 2016 video game

Halcyon 6: Starbase Commander is a strategy video game and turn-based tactical RPG hybrid developed and published by Massive Damage. It was released on September 8, 2016 for Windows, OS X and Linux, and October 19, 2017 for iOS. Taking place in a science fiction setting, the player must reclaim and rebuild the derelict ancient space station Halcyon 6 in order to stop an impending alien invasion of Earth.

<i>Terra Invicta</i> 2022 video game

Terra Invicta is a science fiction grand strategy video game developed by Pavonis Interactive and published by Hooded Horse for Windows that was released into early access in September 2022.

References

  1. 1 2 "Xenonauts Finally Released!". xenonauts.com. Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2014-06-18.
  2. ↑ "Game Overview | Xenonauts official site". Xenonauts.com. 1979-10-01. Archived from the original on 2016-10-04. Retrieved 2013-08-24.
  3. ↑ "Xenonauts FAQ". Xenonauts.com. Archived from the original on 21 August 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  4. ↑ "Group Announcements :: Xenonauts". Steam Community. 29 September 2015. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
  5. ↑ Goldhawk Interactive (10 May 2011). "Xenonauts Dev Diary 1". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
  6. ↑ Meer, Alec (16 November 2010). "X-Communicated: The Xenonauts Interview". Rock Paper Shotgun . Retrieved 2016-08-01.
  7. ↑ "Xenonauts @ Taktikzone". Taktikzone.de. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
  8. ↑ Plunkett, Luke (16 April 2010). "Another New "X-Com" Game, And It's Not A Shooter". Kotaku.com. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
  9. ↑ Andrew Yoon. "Xenonauts capitalizes on XCOM rage". Joystiq.com. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
  10. ↑ Alec Meer (16 April 2010). "Xenonauts: The X-COM Anti-Apocalypse?". Rock Paper Shotgun . Retrieved 2016-08-01.
  11. ↑ Chris Faylor (16 April 2010). "X-Com 'Re-Imagined' as Xenonauts by Indie Dev". Shacknews.com . Retrieved 2016-08-01.
  12. ↑ Sitrep #1: Databanks Relaunched | Xenonauts official site Archived April 25, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  13. ↑ "Official torrent file of the demo version". Archived from the original on September 25, 2013. Retrieved 2013-08-24.
  14. ↑ "Xenonauts by Goldhawk Interactive — Kickstarter". Kickstarter.com. Retrieved 2013-08-24.
  15. ↑ "Indie X-Com remake Xenonauts launches for Steam Early Access". Polygon. 2013-06-01. Retrieved 2013-11-15.
  16. ↑ "V19 Stable Released! | Xenonauts – Strategic Planetary Defence Simulator". Xenonauts.com. Retrieved 2013-11-15.
  17. ↑ Birnbaum, Ian (20 June 2014). "Xenonauts review". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
  18. ↑ "Xenonauts". Metacritic. Retrieved 2018-07-29.
  19. ↑ "Community Coder Program!". Goldhawkinteractive.com. 25 June 2014. Retrieved 2015-07-09.
  20. ↑ "What is Xenonauts: Community Edition & how do I get it?". Goldhawkinteractive.com. 15 August 2014. Retrieved 2015-07-09.
  21. ↑ "Xenonauts: Community Edition 0.35". Goldhawkinteractive.com. 2018-06-04. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
  22. ↑ "Xenounauts 2 Steam page". Goldhaawkinteractive.com.
  23. ↑ Webber, Jordan Erica (30 September 2015). "Xenonauts 2 is being prototyped right now". PC Gamer . Future plc . Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  24. ↑ Chalk, Andy (2016-02-03). "Xenonauts 2 is officially confirmed". PC Gamer . Future . Retrieved 2016-02-03.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.