The Crazy History of the X-COM Series

In part one of our three part series on XCOM 2, we dive into the history of the franchise. The instant classics, the forgettable disasters and everything in between!

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[jocar]

I remember the first time I ever ran X-COM: UFO Defense was in 2006, when I was six years old. My dad had dug it up from some site and gave it to me as a gift. At first I couldn't even read the text in the game, and was completely lost. So I didn't play it. When I was 7 I came back to the game and started learning and figuring stuff out, being able to send out my first X-COM squad on an Alien Abduction mission on a very early Saturday morning. The first alien I ever saw was a weird purple/cape guy, who I later came to know as a Floater. I remember loosing squad after squad and Skyranger after Skyranger until I soon knew how to competently play the game. I remember my first Alien Base assault and the dread I felt, or the excitement I had when my soldier "Ed Miller" rambo'd two Sectiods with dual pistols. After obsessively playing the game for easily four years I found X-COM: Apocalypse (which I played along with the original). I loved Apocalypse's atmosphere, music, destruction, weapons, and factions. It was an amazing ride (one which I still come back to today).Basically...X-COM is love, X-COM is life.

[DJChipsandGarlic]

xcom ufo was also brutal when you would visit a terror site for the first time and get mind controlled while still in the skyranger and the mind controlled soldier would throw a grenade in the ship. you have never seen unfair

[thelocalmaxtax]

It took them about 23 years to finally add the the subtitle "2" to their games.

[xDFoRcEzZ]

thank you Jake for saving this franchise.

[ImMrHibachi]

Wow, I liked Jake before but I had no clue he had such a connection to the franchise. That just makes it so much cooler that he was able to revive one of his own old favorites during his career!

[DominikKost]

Original XCom games had so much depth (and I don't mean the "Terror from the deep" here ;) when compared to it's modern remake. The original system allowed greater complexity and realism, fire would spread wildly and it was a legit tactics to just set a barn ablaze instead rushing into an alien hiding inside, plus smoke that would slowly suffocate units on both sides, and they'd fall unconcious or even die if left without assistance. Stunned or incapacitated units could also regain conciousness which was particulary entertaining when you were carrying a previously stunned Chryssalid in your backpack. Even alien behaviour had more common sense in it, like when you assaulted an UFO and it's crew was where you'd expect it to be- engeneers in reactor or engine room, commanders on the bridge, medics in medbays and so on.

[TheOrbling]

I was expecting a video about XCOM lore, but this video was equally as intriguing.

[SEVENTHSIGHN]

....now if only somebody could save the jagged Alliance I.P.

[mrcopycat]

I had HIGH hopes regarding your success on taking this franchise, Jake Solomon, and yet you have exceeded them.

[Mugdorna]

Such fond memories of Laser Squad on my then I heard about this game when you can control a squad of 12 or more then I have lost so many hours, days and weeks of my life to the X-COM franchise. And many more to lose with Long War for Enemy Within at the moment, and X-COM 2 being released for my 40th birthday in February. Thanks Firaxis and thanks to the Gollop brothers for starting it all.

[DJChipsandGarlic]

xcom enemy unknown(ps1 version) was my first experience and had no clue how to play it and the manual was fucking huge. my heart pounded when i met my first sectoid alien, it was scary as hell. but yea i beat the game as a kid and it was an achievement. even now i at least finish the game once a year on the steam version "ufo defence" xcom 2 is great btw

[dekkstar]

only one thing give jake some more franchises we need more of this kind of people. Thank you for saving xcom

[PhilipZeplinDK]

X-Com Apocalypse was fucking dope as hell man. And super hard - my young self, had to cheat the living shit out of the money to have a chance! Damned fine memories!

[aalever]

You could go back further at a stretch, and say that Laser Squad was a game born of ideas in Gollop's earlier game Chaos: The Battle of Wizards (both top-down, turn-based, tactical squad games), which was itself based on a card game.

[thelocalmaxtax]

"Where going to let the Aliens have their way with us, oh yes in the butt. The council has spoke not."
-Angry Joe (2012)

[TheMMObro]

xcom always fascinated me even tho i was a kid with no idea what I was doing. I probably hated it at the time bc of the "gameplay" but something made me hooked on it, repeatedly dying as I unloades my troops. it's true what he said, the atmosphere. .. I borrowed it tho and had to give it back (back before cd keys and needing the cd to run even on pc haha)

[EonHSD]

I've been a console gamer forever and I'm so thankful this is so good on consoles!
Xcom enemy unknown blew my mind, never played Enemy Within But when xcom 2 was announced for PlayStation.. Oh my.
also, War of the chosen looks absolutely incredible. thank you for putting this much effort into a genre that almost died.

[Ibushi]

0:19 so THAT'S where the crazy hairdo in x-com 2 came from! I can't believe i forgot about that.

[ekajgaint]

Jake is a godsend for this franchise, while Xcom: Enemy Unknown and Xcom 2 doesn't bring all the features over from the previous games. What it does bring over works really well

[Yes-wpry]

Played the original xcom and loved it, hit this one point where I got this guy really high up he was my veteran. I stuck him in a ship with a bunch if recruits, the veteran got shot and died on turn 2, everyone flipped their shit. all of the rookies ran back into the ship and shot each other leaving one man who got annihilated. moral of the story, don't stick rookies in combat near the end of the game