Fresh off the release of BioShock 2, 2K announced today via a press release that 2K Marin is developing XCOM.
The game, which is being touted as a “suspense-filled narrative” that “distills it into a tense and unique first-person shooter experience,” will re-imagine the classic series developed by MicroProse.
The XCOM games were almost exclusively real-time strategy experiences, and the first game in the series, XCOM: UFO Defense is regarded as one of the best PC games of all time. Taking the series and putting it into a first-person shooter world is a bold change of strategy that is certain to excite a certain number of people while infuriating fans of the classic.
The team at 2K Marin have released a screen of the game, which shows a person getting hit by an attack from a UFO and dissolving on the screen. To the left-side of the screen is a beautiful, red car that places the game’s setting in the 1940s, 1950s or early 1960s. Lush foliage is prominent in the foreground and background, bordering the streets, the sun sets and illuminates the sky in vivid orange and purple, and power lines dangle above the scene of utter destruction as a curiously-shaped UFO hovers overhead.
In the game, according to 2K’s release, players will be put into the shoes of an FBI agent who is tasked with identifying and eliminating the UFO threat. “True to the roots of the franchise, players will be placed in charge of overcoming high-stake odds through risky strategic gambits coupled with heart-stopping combat experiences that pit human ingenuity – and frailty – against a foe beyond comprehension. By setting the game in a first-person perspective, players will be able to feel the tension and fear that comes with combating a faceless enemy that is violently probing and plotting its way into our world.”
“With BioShock 2,” said Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K, “the team at 2K Marin proved themselves as masters of first-person, suspenseful storytelling, and with XCOM they will re-imagine and expand the rich lore of this revered franchise. Players will explore the world of XCOM from an immersive new perspective and experience firsthand the fear and tension of this gripping narrative ride.”
XCOM will be coming exclusively to the Xbox 360 and PC. Look for more details in the coming weeks.
