X-COM: Interceptor

There is no fault in shifting the concentration of X-COM to punctuate the nothingness of space and the real-time stress of virtually dogfighting in that nothingness. Alas, [i]X-COM: Interceptor[/i] was unsuccessful in captivating players in this manner, which is an irredeemable error when 90% of the game is players fighting/defending in space while 10% is spent managing bases and schizophrenically checking your radars. When you are not fighting alien fleets on your own, you've allies who require specific directions lest they sabotage entire missions by blowing up a target marked for capture. The radio silence command will often find itself being the player's top priority as allies do not know when to notify players of key events (such as calls for assistance and destruction of enemy crafts), so players will either have to bear hearing their allied NPCs flood radio communication with excessive boasting and calls for help or command them to be permanently radio silent. Enemy aircraft are similar but engage in this activity way less than your allies, which is beyond reason when players realize they have enough information flying on their screen, blaring through their speakers, and required to complete their mission with little difficulty. This product can only be seen as a good idea being executed in the most rigid and aggravating manner. Even having read the manual, there is nothing — not even the flight simulator — that prepares players for hours of honing their ability to work aside self-sabotaging computer teammates in a game where missions can fail within the first 15 seconds. Like other X-COM games, time is not your friend and resources are always being drained faster than they are generated, so why torture them further with predictably short-lived missions and unbearable allies?