b0rsuk
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This forum supposedly cares about good logic games. Yet the game is not mentioned here. I demand an apology.



http://www.kongregate.com/games/StormAlligator/mission-in-space-the-lost-colony

It's a flash game. It resembles the original X-COM, but has probably more in common with Space Hulk. Aliens are numerous, keep spawning, and keep coming from the walls. You have to complete a sequence of 12 missions. Typically you have to rescue someone, get to the elevator or operate some machinery. Missions are varied and difficulty picks up fast. It's not of the random and frustrating variety, though - a bad move can easily lead to a casualty, but the game has surprisingly little randomness. It feels more like a puzzle than a game.

It's really good. It keeps challening you. Mechanics are interesting. For starters, you have separate Action Points and Movement Points. These 2 pools are used independently, actions for shooting, reloading, operating stuff or picking up items. Movement points are for movement only. Reaction fire is strong, limited only by ammo left in magazine. However, it halves your movement speed on the next turn, which increases ammo usage in the long run. Use with caution.

Each of the 5 marines is of a different class, has one built-in ability (such as +1 movement, +3 scanner range or uses ammo at half rate) and can learn several additional ones. Respecs come at no penalty so you're free to experiment. And you will experiment, especially if you're after the better medals. You can get a rating for each mission depending on how well you do (Copper, Silver, Gold, Ruby, Diamond).

Presentation is very good. Solid 2D graphics, punchy sound effects and very good music - several tracks with different style: electronica, piano, hard rock. I'm particularly impressed they've managed to do right-angled corridors with hexes.

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http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20051128/adams_01.shtml

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[Last edited by b0rsuk at 12-14-2012 01:03 PM]

Jatopian
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Huh. I seem to recall trying this game and being driven away by microtransactions, yet I do not see any now.

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Rheb
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Jatopian wrote:
Huh. I seem to recall trying this game and being driven away by microtransactions, yet I do not see any now.

That's funny, I seem to recall trying this game and being driven away by... something. I kinda remember the initial reaction as positive though.

Hm, maybe I should give this another go.

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b0rsuk
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Microtransactions ? None. There are unlocks, but they're fun because they largely add more options. They do make many missions easier, but are not necessary as evidenced by some challenges:

Challenge I
Get a gold medal on Mission 5 with 0 skill points invested.

Challenge II
Get a gold medal on Mission 7 with only 2 skill points invested.

Challenge III
Get a gold medal on mission 10 with only 10 skill points invested.

...
Get a gold medal on mission 12 with only 30 skill points invested.


As you can see, many missions have quite modest requirements. You can reset your skill tree between missions to reallocate your points. And getting a Diamond medal is not incredibly hard. For many missions I was able to finish 1-2 turns before the turn limit.

There are no "you lose" turn limits, you just won't get a good medal. Running out of ammo is the limit with deadly consequences. But you can transfer magazines to people who will need them the most.

I currently have diamond medals in all missions except 12th, which is silver. I enjoy optimizing my solutions, and challenges sound intriguing.

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http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20051128/adams_01.shtml

Jatopian
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A lot of medals say you have to be in "hard mode" to get them, but I don't see how to change difficulty.

____________________________
DROD has some really great music.
Make your pressure plates 3.0 style!
DROD architecture idea generator

Tim
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Thought it was an interesting game when it was released back then.

On the other hand, I've played XCom too many times so this is more like XCom-light.

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b0rsuk
Level: Smiter

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Hard mode is unlocked when you beat the 12th mission. Once that happens, you can launch any mission you like in hard mode.

Tim:

It's light, but it's also better than X-COM in some aspects. The interface is really polished. It uses hexes. Positioning is more important. The game is much less frustrating, because randomness in the game is used in a different way, mostly to determine if an alien is spawned and what kind of alien (there are small diffrences between them). Default mode is burst fire, and even if visibility is lower than 100% there's much less "all or nothing" because there are 5 rounds which can hit. Magazines work in real life, you replace your current magazine with a fresh one. This adds an extra decision: reload for safer reaction fire, or use up the old magazine for extra ammo.

It has less stuff than X-COM, but where the games overlap Mission in Space is better designed. How you play is far more important than what equipment and stats you have.

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http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20051128/adams_01.shtml