X-COM UFO Defense Review

Welcome to my review of the original X-COM: UFO Defense, a tactics and strategy cRPG released by Mythos Games in 1994 for MS-DOS and Amiga. This review covers the most impressive aspect of X-COM: its Battlescape.

For information on the X-COM Geoscape and UFOpaedia, please refer to X-COM UFO Defense Guide. cf. Retro TBS Games.

X-COM Battlescape

The tactical mode of play in X-COM is called the Battlescape. It is distinguished from the strategic mode of play aka Geoscape. In the Battlescape, the player controls a squad of X-COM operatives tasked with defending Earth against alien incursions.

The Battlescape screen is divided into two parts: the icon-based tactical control panel (UI) and the viewport or playing field, which is where the action takes place.

Below: The Battlescape. The squad approaches a building under cover of trees. By stacking on the roof layer, we can see an alien enemy perched on it. By peeling off the roof layer, we can see the squad member who has moved into the ground floor of the building, beneath the alien's position. One of the trees is missing due to alien-fire.

X-COM: Seamless Transition

X-COM features seamless transition from indoors to outdoors, and vice versa; a trait of many god-tier tactical and strategy games. What do I mean by "seamless"? I mean there is no loadscreen, no delay and no immersion-breaking indication whatsoever that we have transitioned between inside and outside. And you know what, that matters to me. A lot.

Here we can see that X-COM allows us to fire through windows:

There are 10 different Battlescape terrain types in X-COM:

X-COM Base
Alien Base
Arctic
City Terror Site
Cydonia
Desert
Farm
Forest
Jungle
Mountain

Each terrain is made up of small, discrete tile-bitmaps or larger premade tile assemblies such as building exteriors and base facility interiors. Discrete tile-bitmaps are randomly arranged for general terrain creation whereas the assemblies fit together with other tiles or assemblies, thereby creating the battlezone.

Weather and environmental hazards are not employed for biomes, but dynamic lighting is a factor in night missions. For example, incendiary fire can illuminate the battlescape thereby increasing visibility.

X-COM: Verticality

Projected in isometric cRPG, semi-randomly generated and supporting four levels of verticality cRPG -- amazing for early 1994 -- the various battlemaps are divided into square tiles (grids) which are employed for accurate positioning and measurement of movement and blast radii.

For comparison, Jagged Alliance 2 features two levels of verticality; X-COM: Apocalypse several; Silent Storm, potentially dozens. As in SS, the levels of verticality can be isolated through UI icons (peeled off and stacked back on).

Operatives and aliens are represented by sprites whose movements and attacks are animated simply but serviceably.

A four-layered UFO structure in X-COM [extracted and converted by cRPG Blog]:

The map-view is also layered:

The graphics are bright and colorful; certainly, Bullfrog's Populous 1989 influenced X-COM in terms of the visuals. Of course, Gollop's own Rebelstar Games ZX Spectrum (1984-88) and Laser Squad (1988) were also big influences. For example, the Rebelstar franchise employed aimed shots, snap shots, Action Points and Interrupts by 1986.

X-COM's height-mapped terrain and structures are tiled. That is, they are made up of a series of discrete bitmaps which are joined by the engine to form areas, buildings and objects (ground, floors, walls, roofs, trees etc.). In addition, much of the tiling is only displayed when it can be seen or has been explored.

X-COM: Destructibility

Incredibly for the time (1994), terrain, structures and objects are destructible in X-COM. That is, they can be destroyed by inflicting enough damage on them by way of firearms or explosives. Terrain and structures do not weaken or wear down by inflicting damage on them over time (the tiles don't have "HPs" like destructibles do in SS); instead, they are destroyed when the damage from a projectile or blast equals or exceeds their fixed armor rating, which varies depending on what material the tile is flagged as being made of. If the damage does not equal or exceed a tile's AR, it remains unimpacted.

But what is so good about destructibility? Simply put, blasts can reshape the landscape of the battlefield and change the battle's dynamics. Cool thing: we don't always need to find the front door.

X-COM: Combat System

The Battlescape's combat system is turn-based tactical. That is, the player and the AI take turns in issuing orders to their combat units (X-COM operatives vs. Aliens). The battle (movement, attacks) continues in discrete turns until the player has won, the aliens have won, or the player aborts the mission. Notably (at least, in retrospect), there is no realtime component to the Battlescape.

Even when no alien is visible or targetable, the Battlescape remains locked in turn-based mode. This is in contrast to Silent Storm, Jagged Alliance 2 and ToEE, whose TB mode kicks in only when in proximity to hostiles.

I personally prefer the TB persistency of Laser Squad and X-COM's Battlescape because I find the transition from realtime to TB jarring (especially in ToEE). Also, I prefer to commit to my tactics over the long-term: the advantage of non-persistent TB is that we can marquee select our squad and move them over the playing field easily, in formations. Is it a convenience feature or a casual one?

cf. Laser Squad MS-DOS 1992:

In its employment of Time Units (action points), hidden movement, modes of fire and opportunity fire, the Battlescape of X-COM draws on and expands upon the foundation laid down by Alien Squad. The main visual difference is that X-COM eschews the top-down perspective in favor of isometric, which is more effective in representing verticality. In addition, movement, targeting and gunfire are all handled seamlessly within the Battlescape whereas Laser Squad employed a separate Line of Fire map, which was lame.

X-COM: Movement & Positioning

X-COM operatives must be moved, positioned and given orders individually by the player (not in formations). There is no party order initiative as in ToEE: players may, on their turn, choose to move their operatives in any order. The movements and actions of the operatives are governed by Time Units (TUs). This is a primary stat. By that I mean, TUs are not derived from other stats (such as action points are from Agility in JA2).

TUs are functionally equivalent to Fallout, JA2 and SS action points (APs) in that they impact mobility and how much combat units can do on their turn. Holding TUs in reserve at the end of the turn allows for automatic attacks such as retaliatory or opportunity fire, which are sort of like JA2 interrupts or ToEE attacks of opportunity (at least in so far as they add a bit of surprise to the battles).

In moving to an adjacent square, the operative expends four time units. In one turn, a operative can move across as many squares as its TU pool permits. Terrain-type also impacts movement rate. Kneeling, which costs four TUs, is the only stance in X-COM other than standing (and it costs eight TUs to stand upright from a kneeling position). Operatives cannot duckwalk, assume a prone position and army crawl, nor can they backpedal, sprint or climb (they can in JA2 and SS). However, X-COM operatives can fly / levitate if wearing flying suits.

In 90 degree increments, operatives can be rotated on their square of occupation. It costs two TUs to rotate 90 degrees and four to rotate 180 degrees. Rotation of operatives is a key tactic because line-of-sight (LoS) is employed. That is, only by facing in the direction of the alien, and only by being within a certain range of the alien, can the operative actually see the alien (and attack it). Modified by terrain and obstructions, the visible range of combat units is 20 squares, and their field of vision is 90 degrees. Visbility is greatly impacted at night: the squad needs a light source.

X-COM: Modes of Fire

Of course, attacking also expends TUs. Operatives can execute different attacks and activate different modes of fire. Aimed Shot, for example, expends more TUs than Snap Shot, but is more accurate.

SS features many more aiming modes whereas JA2 features four degrees of aiming through its crosshair concentration. FO, SS and JA2 also allow for the targeting of body parts; X-COM does not.

Oddly, rather than having a fixed value, firing mode TU expenditures are calculated as a percentage of the operative's total TU pool. In essence, therefore, operatives with a deep TU pool cannot fire a weapon more times than operatives with shallow ones. This is in contrast to FO, for example, in which APs can add up to extra attacks per turn.

Firearms and explosives are not the only form of attacks. Aliens possess psionic or psi powers, and X-COM operatives can eventually acquire such powers later in the campaign as well, with the aid of psi-amps. The variety of aliens that can be encountered, as well as their various abilities, is impressive. Indeed, X-COM's aliens were a precursor to JA2's crepitus.

X-COM: Operative Combat Roles

Operatives can take on several combat roles, depending on their stats. Prime combat roles include scouts, tanks and snipers. There are also grenadiers. The object is to have operatives complement each other on the battlefield. For example, the scout acts as spotter for the sniper, who hangs back at safe distance to take long-range shots.

Since the operative pool is infinitely deep (as opposed to JA2, which has a merc pool of 63), operatives can be employed as cannon fodder. As in JA2, however, operatives can advance in combat effectiveness (they can be "built" over time and employed over multiple missions). As in JA2, operatives learn by doing; they gain experience by performing actions in battle, but the stat boosts are not awarded until battle's end (in JA2 and SS, stat gains happen on the fly).

Operatives can also succumb to negative status effects such as Panic, Berserk, Domination and Unconsciousness. For example, if an operative enters the Berserk state, they fire wildly about them.

X-COM: Control & User Interface

Control of combat units and selection of UI icons in Battlescape mode is responsive. What I mean is, when we click on a combat unit or icon, there is no discernable lag or sluggishness. Instead, the selection immediately happens (a rare thing in complex games of such vintage). In addition, the speed of battle is tailorable in increments; the increase in speed enhancing X-COM's replayability:

X-COM 1: Battlescape Limitations

Pathfinding is limited in that operatives can't solve pathing routines over what I will call "mid-range" distances. In addition, the isometric perspective conceals objects that should be visible. Note that Fallout and Jagged Alliance 2 (which are also isometric) don't suffer from this problem.

X-COM: Scrolling is not Smooth

X-COM employs avatar-anchorless screen-scrolling. One complaint I have is that hardware scrolling (controlling the viewport or "cam") is not employed in the Amiga version. Such 2D acceleration is not employed in the PC version either because there was no custom chipset in PCs of the day. That means scrolling doesn't feel as smooth as it could have felt. To be fair, that doesn't matter so much in a turn-based game, but it's just disappointing even in 1994. Those playing in DOSBox will definitely want to reduce the edge-scrolling speed of the viewport.

X-COM: Pixel Art Lacks Artistry

The Battlescape's graphics are not impressive for the time though they're well put together. The graphics are technically top-tier but lack any kind of artistic flair. The art assets were overrated back in the day, and probably still are. Too basic and cartoony. To those who think the Battlescape's artwork is top-tier, I kindly refer them to Dan Malone and Mark Coleman's masterworks on the Amiga (just to name a couple of top-tier pixel artists working in 1994). The Syndicate aesthetic is superior, too (1993).

That said, art is not the most important thing. There is nothing "wrong" with the Battlescape's presentation.

In conclusion, the Battlescape's systems are highly advanced even by today's standards; the work of trail-blazing visionaries. Indeed, the Battlescape is a masterpiece of combat system design, and indicative of coding wizardry. That it can be so immersive, atmospheric and engaging almost three decades after its release -- well, that's proof.

List of X-COM Battlescape Features

Key virtues of the Battlescape include:

Robust turn-based tactical combat system
Retaliatory and opportunity fire
Different firing modes (aim, snap, auto)
Proper Line of Sight system with visibility range and field of view
Terrain undulation limits LoS
Isometric projection with four levels of verticality
Seamless transition between inside and outside environments
Destructibility of terrain, structures and objects
Terrain-type impacts movement rate
Light-sourced terrain that facilitates basic night-ops tactics
Responsive controls and logical UI modes
Speed of action and scrolling is tailorable

In 1994.

For combat connoisseurs, the Battlescape is not quite as good as the JA2 equivalent on an absolute level, but it's definitely god-tier and cannot be overlooked even in 2023. Thus, do I acknowledge its greatness.

Back to: Retro TBS Games.

X-COM UFOpaedia	X-COM UFO Defense Review	X-COM Apocalypse Guide
Dungeon Rats Guide	Silent Storm Review	Master of Magic Review
Temple of Elemental Evil	Jagged Alliance 2 Guide	cRPG Blog

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