UFO: Aftermath

1024 × 768 and with a bad frame rate. I like the music and atmosphere, but I just can't bear this.

This version has added launcher that messes with things.

Игра не запускается и проблема не решается уже 10 лет

The Cenega UFO series is a pretty interesting alternative take on the X-COM series. Speaking as someone who's not a fan of the board-gamey feel of the new ones and rather prefers the style of the old, I found it enjoyable enough to finish. THE GOOD The writing and "set design" (the tactical maps) are actually really well-done, solid, and show attention to detail. The combat, while fairly basic in its real-time-tactical format, is fairly engaging. The overall concept and story is a more horror-oriented version of the alien conquest theme, with people being turned into horrific genetic monstrosities, who nonetheless fire AK-47s and HK G36s at you (??). Character development is engaging and enjoyable, and keeps you looking forward to the next development point to put into one of their stats. There are no tactical vehicles, but the heavy machineguns mounted on heavy armor do feel really good once you get them. They pretty much rip through almost everything in the game, but they have to be deployed to be used. THE BAD It lacks some elements of the original, like base design, instead turning the strategy layer into a map to conquer with base coverage. There can only ever be one troop transport aircraft, so the purpose of having many squad members becomes reduced, unfortunately, to functioning as alts for injured soldiers. Tactical games sadden me when they have no structure to enforce using more than a base squad with some pinch-hitters. The way tactical combat is implemented, the best way to play is to just plop your team down at the entrance to an area and wait until enemies wander into LOS. They can really mess up your day if they see you first, so the game becomes hide and seek, with the hider almost always getting first shot (and therefore closing the deal). The tactical element is pretty much lost to this, unfortunately. The weapons in the game are oddly done, like the developers couldn't decide whether to go more in the direction of Jagged Alliance or X-COM. So you have your panoply of modern weapons, with many different models of pistols and rifles, and while you do get to research variant alien weapons, for the most part, ballistic 7.62mm and .50 BMG weapons remain competitive to them and sometimes superior (mainly because the aliens' armor shields are more resistant to high-tech weapons than ballistic ones). It's like they really wanted to keep using the cool real-world weapons they like throughout the game, which is an odd choice and eliminates the benefit of that technological plateau you reach in the standard X-COM games once you're pumping plasma weapons. The worst part, in the end, is completely in line with the genre itself. Like with the series in general, the battles get repetitive and feel too frequent at the end, and the game starts to drag. You're just wanting to run time out to get the strategy metalayer progressing faster. Fortunately, it was quite completable in a reasonable playtime, so I did finish it without losing interest. SUMMARY It's an interesting take, and a good Central-European take on the X-COM genre that set the stage for its following games in the series. I came into this expecting jank, and it was surprisingly solid. It is rough around the edges in places, for sure, and is fairly basic in the strategic aspect, but if you like the series and concept in general, it's enjoyable worth a play.

UFO: Aftermath je hra, která sice neoslnila tak jako původní X-COM, ale pro fanoušky sci-fi taktik a mimozemských invazí má svoje kouzlo. Pokud překousneš technická omezení, dostaneš hutnou atmosféru, napínavé souboje a strategické rozhodování na každém kroku. 🟨 Doporučeno s výhradami / 6,5 z 10 – Pro fanoušky žánru a nostalgiky, co chtějí sci-fi taktiku staré školy.

My time spent playing is mostly outside of Steam, so I just loaded this up long enough to leave a review. You might be thinking of XCOM when you see this, but it's more of a Jagged Alliance with Aliens. And it's pretty good.

played it way back when i was a dumb kid, get to finish this game 20 years later is satisfying to say the least if not for the nostalgic the game itself is pretty fun for what it offer, gotta save the game often because it will crashed and delete lots of your progress