tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656428975201272042.post3919878015382292465..comments2024-03-26T04:01:20.919-07:00Comments on Vigaroe: XCOM Aliens Analysis: Part 3Vigaroehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02405424233776571308noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656428975201272042.post-34683287566215907512021-09-22T16:30:47.896-07:002021-09-22T16:30:47.896-07:00I'm not sure why you'd assume EXALT's ...I'm not sure why you'd assume EXALT's visuals were based on anything other than The Bureau's XCOM 'uniform'. Enemy Within even adds a hidden 'hero' that is literally The Bureau's protagonist. It's... pretty blunt.<br /><br />My impression of the Long War team's response to EXALT is almost the opposite. They did a LOT to overhaul EXALT, drawing out things on the strategic level, passing out more player class perks to EXALT and giving them the ability to actually understand their abilities better, made a custom EXALT Commander character with a name and even more customization in other realms, let EXALT show up in support of aliens... and then their handling of EXALT was very clearly the foundation for how they approached overhauling ADVENT in XCOM 2, where they blatantly make multiple ADVENT units act as class counterparts, return even harder to the idea of in-and-out-ing in hostile territory with reinforcements where you're expected to just run, make an ADVENT General that is blatantly re-using the EXALT Commander concept... my impression is that EXALT actually 'clicked' with the Long War team a lot more than the general alien enemies, basically.<br /><br />Which isn't to say Long War succeeds at making them interesting mind, but honestly, while Long War does a number of noteworthy things, 'successfully make the game more fun and interesting' is actually not something I'd credit it in most realms.<br /><br />I actually suspect Chimera Squad intends for Shrike to be a continuation of EXALT, in the sense that EXALT is strongly implied to be getting funding from people who are aware of the XCOM program and for some reason not happy with it, and Shrike is then heavily implied to be getting funding from shadowy figures not impressed with how things are currently being done, and very possibly was being funded by the same people back when ADVENT was running things. Though I've read stuff suggesting XCOM Legends literally brings back EXALT? But I haven't checked that out yet and am unsure how 'canonical' it's really meant to be...Ghoul Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15165232279081041131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656428975201272042.post-83995528043382656752021-09-22T12:58:12.901-07:002021-09-22T12:58:12.901-07:00I've always assumed that EXALT's troops we...I've always assumed that EXALT's troops were visually based on Val Kilmer's character from Heat, or at least a memory of Val Kilmer's character etc. They have a similar 1990s-business-suit-plus-rifle aesthetic.<br /><br />My impression is that the people who did Long War found it hard to make EXALT interesting as well. LW tweak's EXALT's AI, but not much. They still suicidally rush to hack the encoder, which leaves them sitting ducks if there's no cover. Of the two most common EXALT mission types, one involves running away from them, and the other is just a multi-wave shoot-fest, which is boring if you set up a solid defensive line.<br /><br />Of course XCOM 2 un-exists them, although there's a fan theory that EXALT is actually the scattered remnants of the original XCOM, conducting a desperate guerrilla campaign, and that you're being used by the aliens to wipe them out.Ashley Pomeroyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09466311744358782337noreply@blogger.com