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XCOM looms over turn-based tactics, and really, PC strategy gaming in general, the same way God looms over all us pathetic mortal mayflies. The best we can do is throw ourselves to the ground in prostration and hope it comes back to save us. Sadly, that's probably not happening at this point, but there is something exciting on the way for those willing to play a game sans video—a miniatures game sporting the XCOM name, which was unveiled last week for Firaxis's 30-year anniversary.
The announcement came in the form of an admittedly spartan reveal website, which has a logo and a sign-up sheet for a mailing list. It's got the logo style from XCOM: Enemy Unknown, and as far as I can tell, there is truly no public information aside from that. Will it be a fully-fledged hobby wargame like Warhammer? Something smaller-scale, cooperative, or soloable? All we can do is guess, but Modiphius’s past games may offer some indication of what’s to come.
For one, the company has already done plenty of licensed videogame spinoffs, like the upcoming Doom Arena Board Game and miniatures games such as Fallout: Wasteland Warfare and Skyrim - The Adventure Game (the latter of which I didn't play per se, but I did paint up some Stormcloaks and Imperials so I could pretend they were all star-crossed lovers).
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As tabletop news site Wargamer points out, there may be a clue in how the XCOM game is categorized on Modiphius's site. It's under the "Five X" line, sharing a tag with games like Five Parsecs From Home and Five Leagues From the Borderlands. These self-bill as "RPG-lite" skirmish games playable in co-op or solo modes, a format which sounds like it would lend itself great to an XCOM adaptation.
We'll have to wait for a more detailed reveal to draw any real conclusions about how the game will play, but it seems like Modiphius has a strong history with licensed games and the plastic goodies that come alongside them. I, for one, am eager to try and pass a miniature Muton off as my next Dungeons & Dragons character.
Justin first became enamored with PC gaming when World of Warcraft and Neverwinter Nights 2 rewired his brain as a wide-eyed kid. As time has passed, he's amassed a hefty backlog of retro shooters, CRPGs, and janky '90s esoterica. Whether he's extolling the virtues of Shenmue or troubleshooting some fiddly old MMO, it's hard to get his mind off games with more ambition than scruples. When he's not at his keyboard, he's probably birdwatching or daydreaming about a glorious comeback for real-time with pause combat. Any day now...
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