X-COM: Chronicles
Written by: Adam "ManKorn" Korenman, CC2K Video Games Editor
Hello there, CC2K-ers. Welcome to Diaries of the Damned, a new series for CC2KOnline’s Game Talk. I’ve long been an advocate for storytelling in gaming, but never explored that concept in full. That is about to change.
Starting this week, I will be posting the diaries of new recruit Adam Korenman as he enters the world of X-COM: Enemy Unknown. This incredibly impressive and punishing expansion will test my skills, but also open up one of my favorite parts of the game: The meta-story.
Sure, there is a narrative that runs through X-COM, but it serves only to progress the alien-bashing. The real stories are told in mission, as your soldiers fight and die for the good of the species. I will name my heroes after people in my life (and YOU, if you comment below), and reveal their exploits, successes and failures.
This will be an ongoing series, and will contain SPOILERS for the game itself.
I will enable certain Second Wave and Advanced options that should open up the gameplay and help me survive until the end. I started a new game and made sure I had an American either in the starting party or at the base after the first mission (for my protagonist). It took a LONG time to get those results, but now I have Rookie Adam Korenman awaiting his first piece of the action. After that, wherever the game goes I will follow. And, for your enjoyment, I will turn the events into a lasting narrative. This serves as both a writing exercise for me, and a way to experience the game for those of you not in the know.
By the way, if you haven’t picked up a copy, check out Steam’s sales this holiday season. It’s almost always there.
As the game is notorious for punishing mistakes, I expect that Adam might not survive this war. If that happens, I will have someone pick up the story where he left off. Hopefully, if I play smart, I can have a powerful soldier leading the final charge at some point down the road. And should I fail and the world end, then we will at least have enjoyed an adventure together, and we can pick a new game and start anew.
On a side note: The aptly named Long War is pretty much the new standard for masochism. Harder enemies, a million new stats to manage, and a completely different mid-game. I intend to play the hell out of it, but as I run off a Mac, it is still quite buggy and difficult to install.
In order to make it easy for you to find these articles, they are now in a separate column! Look for the X-COM Chronicle tag and you can follow the adventures of Rookie Korenman through his time in service. New article every Monday, Wednesday and Friday! The first article will be up this Friday, and more will come quickly after.
Leave your comments or suggestions below and I will put you in the game!