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Irrational Games Australia Working on X-Com?

Irrational Games certainly hasn't been shy in promoting their upcoming Xbox 360 / PC fps title, BioShock, but it's understood that Irrational's Boston Studio is mostly handling that title. It has prompted Sumea to ask the question "what the heck is Irrational Canberra up to?" a while ago, and it seems that we may finally have an answer. According to Shacknews, a small slip up revealed that the Irrational people may be working on the sequel to X-COM: UFO Defense. From Shacknews...

It was listed in the CV of firm partner Frederick U. Fierst, which states that among Fierst's clients are "Ken Levine and Jonathan Chey, founders of Irrational Games LLC." The current version of the document has had the pertinent reference removed, but a cached version of the document lists the following games as being credited to the Boston, Massachusetts- and Canberra, Australia-based developer... (emphasis added):

System Shock 2, Tribes 3, SWAT, X-Com, BioShock, Freedom Force

Submitted by anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 18/02/07 - 9:34 PMPermalink

  • 1. Anonymous Coward - Mon, 19 Feb 2007 14:20:59Z
    Seems like a logical choice to me, considering the Canberra studio's work with their original IP series: Freedom Force.

    If I recall correctly, the last studio to have a crack at an X-Com game, made a pile of turd. Irrational Australia should do way better than that, if it is the case that they are developing a title based on the X-Com IP.

    Still waiting for a new Syndicate game thou...

  • 2. Grover - Mon, 19 Feb 2007 17:16:51Z
    I hope they dont bother on PC. UFO:Extraterrestrials is looking like the master XCom replacement for us all. Out in just over a week's time too... check out the movies, it looks so much like XCom.. with sweet gfx... ahh..nice. I think this is gonna sell bigtime, since the makers are such avid XCom fans.
  • 3. Anonymous Coward - Tue, 20 Feb 2007 0:52:5Z
    How long you been working in the marketing division of UFO Extraterrestrials Grover? Enjoy your job?
  • 4. Grover - Wed, 21 Feb 2007 17:0:34Z
    u on drugs? Im an XCom fan.. and the guys that made this one.. were originally home devvers, you know, avid XCom fans. Its really kool to see people that know the franchise make a really good sequel. Rather than some washed-up coders trying to use too many shaders and polygons to make 'gameplay'. Have a read around any of the XCom:UFO forums.. most of the XCom sequels have been horribly poor efforts at best - Defense and Terror from the Deep are it, the rest just mess up a perfectly good idea. Watch the videos of this new one.. it goes back to the original concepts of turn based play.. and so on.. must be sad to work at Irrational knowing there is going to be a game out in a couple of weeks that holds true to the original XCom gameplay.. snide comments obviously make you feel better about it.
  • 5. Grover - Wed, 21 Feb 2007 17:2:43Z
    BTW.. the other option is to play XCom:Defense on PSP or PS1 :) Happen to be playin on PSP recently, brilliant timeless game..
  • 6. Souri - Wed, 21 Feb 2007 17:19:1Z
    Are Irrational concentrating too much on reviving old titles? Some of these games are only remembered by a relatively small number of (hardcore?) gamers. I haven't played System Shock 2, any of the X-Com games, or even Tribes. Hopefully this effort won't have the same result as Tribes: Vengeance which was a great game but seemed to cater to the niche hardcore Tribes audience who eventually snubbed it because they're a pretty hard to please bunch.
  • 7. Anonymous Coward - Wed, 21 Feb 2007 22:9:50Z
    I'd like to see them doing more original IP myself... not holding my breath.

    Seems like these are kind of old school. Played the original System Shock, never played 2 myself. Never played any of the X-Com games or Tribes games. Just heard about them.

    Still waiting for the Syndicate sequel...

  • 8. Anonymous Coward - Thu, 22 Feb 2007 4:56:51Z
    Bio Shock is original IP, it doesn't look like it bears THAT much similarity to System Shock 2. Its an FPS with RPG elements, that looks like the similarity. Certainly the setting. the powers the character has and the way the AI is shaping look totally different to SS2.

    As for X-Com, well I think if anyone has done a few games that would be a good pedigree for an X-Com updates, its Irrational with Freedom Force and SWAT.

    Bagging out Irrational though, one of the best local developers (and no I don't work for them). The comments on this site are rich sometimes.

    Grover - that X-Com unofficial sequel does sound interesting, the original is, as you say, a brilliant game, I will have to check it out.

  • 9. Souri - Thu, 22 Feb 2007 12:15:36Z
    er,,, wait, who was bagging Irrational? o_O
  • 10. Anonymous Coward - Thu, 22 Feb 2007 18:59:47Z
    Lay off the crack... my comments at least were not "bagging out" Irrational.

    You should stop trying to cause sh*t for the hell of it, mate ;)

  • 11. Souri - Thu, 22 Feb 2007 20:13:22Z
    I wasn't accusing you of bagging out Irrational. But from your post in #8, you were accusing someone in this thread of just that. The problem here is that no one is bagging out Irrational whatsoever. Read this thread again, slowly if you must.
  • 12. Sonic Wang - Thu, 22 Feb 2007 21:2:49Z
    I think #10 is actually #7, not #8 souri... maybe... damn you anonymous cowards!
  • 13. Souri - Thu, 22 Feb 2007 21:42:28Z
    Argh... *shakes fist at confusion*

    So anyway, about that Syndicate sequel!!

  • 14. The tribe that is red - Thu, 22 Feb 2007 21:51:44Z
    I spent so many hours of my life playing X-Com, that game was the bomb. Good luck to Irrational if they're working on it. Based on how SWAT and Freedom Force played I think they can make it really good.

    AC #7, there was a Syndicate sequel made ages ago called Syndicate Wars. Most Syndicate fans pretend it didn't happen though - maybe you're in this category :-P I thought it was alright. A modern version that kept that captured the original gameplay would be sweeeeet.

  • 15. Anonymous Coward - Fri, 23 Feb 2007 2:29:38Z
    No, I mean another Syndicate sequel in that they should do another.

    Syndicate Wars was ok, but a little too arcade in some respects, and it had a few people lost - like the fact you actually had to rob banks to make money if you were going to get anywhere.

    I heard that whoever (publisher) had the rights, had some developer working on a sequel, but, that was a few years back - my guess it was canned.

  • 16. Anonymous Coward - Sun, 4 Mar 2007 17:43:53Z
    Another X-Com FPS?
    No thanks.

    When will someone make an FPS that.. isn't generic?

    -sigh-