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XCOM: Enemy Within 'too big' to be DLC on Xbox 360, PS3
XCOM: Enemy Unknown's expansion, Enemy Within, will be issued as DLC on PC and Mac for $30, but the only way to get it on consoles is through a new Commander's Edition – a retail re-release that includes the XCOM: Enemy Unknown game, the Slingshot and Elite Soldier add-ons, plus the Enemy Within expansion. The reason for issuing the Commander's Edition is because Enemy Within is simply too large a file to patch into the console game as DLC. "For the expansion on the PC, it was fairly straightforward," Garth DeAngelis, senior producer at Firaxis Games, said during a PAX Prime interview. "But when it came to the consoles, it was too big. If we wanted to deliver the same content to the console players, we had to do it this way as a standalone expansion on a disc. We couldn't simply just patch it in." DeAngelis added that Enemy Within includes so many changes to the base XCOM: Enemy Unknown experience – new unit types, upgrades and even skill changes – it necessitated an entire re-issue of the game. "These things are tied deeply into Enemy Unknown so we wanted to release [the Commander's Edition] as sort of the ultimate edition, with all the previous DLC on this one disc. It was either deliver it this way or not deliver it at all." XCOM: Enemy Within, announced at Gamescom nearly a week ago, launches on November 12.
Firaxis talks future XCOM content, 'Slingshot' DLC announced
2K Games and Firaxis have announced the first downloadable content for XCOM: Enemy Unknown. Entitled "Slingshot," the DLC packs in three new Council missions with a unique story arc. The story takes place in China and, says designer Ananda Gupta, revolves around a "badass Triad operative named Zhang." Said badass will be a playable character and, unlike other XCOM soldiers, will feature a pre-designed face and a unique voice.We spoke with Gupta and Firaxis producer Garth DeAngelis to learn a little more about the Slingshot DLC and the developer's future plans for XCOM: Enemy Unknown.%Gallery-167636%
Here, watch this hour of XCOM gameplay
Were you looking to watch an overabundance of new XCOM footage? 2K Games and Firaxis are sure hoping so, as the two companies took to Twitch.tv yesterday afternoon for just that – an entire hour of XCOM: Enemy Unknown hosted by Firaxis' Jake Solomon and Garth DeAngelis.What's that? You want even more XCOM coverage? We've got this handy, international-flavored podcast with the aforementioned Firaxis devs right here. You can almost taste the Gaffel Kölsch!
Exploring the unknown parts of XCOM: Enemy Unknown
Speaking with XCOM: Enemy Unknown producer Garth DeAngelis earlier this year, I managed to unearth a little information that had been (appropriately) unknown about the game at the time. Specifically, I learned that aerial combat is returning in Enemy Unknown. Dogfighting alien aircraft played a huge role in the original X-COM, a game that developer Firaxis is trying very hard to live up to.But what other secrets are housed within Enemy Unknown? We've been privy to plenty of information when it comes to ground combat and tactics. Make no mistake, that's the meat of the XCOM experience, but the core gameplay of outwitting alien combatants is all supported by the structure of scientific research and aerial combat.To uncover more pieces of Enemy Unknown's intricate design puzzle, DeAngelis has returned alongside designer Jake Solomon to exclusively explain to Joystiq about gunning down UFOs, scouring its wreckage, and turning its alien tech back against the invaders.%Gallery-161402%
