A few hours with Firaxis' latest.
Marvel’s Midnight Suns
Something else too: XCOM games are surprisingly rich doll’s houses.
Midnight Suns is an excellent doll’s house, by the looks of it.
In the last hour I fought Hydra guards and chatted to Tony Stark.
At one point, I actually punched a helicopter.
But it’s different too.
I am making up that last part, because so far I’ve only done the movie night.
No matter: you build bonds to unlock new combat synergies between people.
On the battlefield the game is also XCOM, but different.
At first, I felt rather unmoored.
Where was the cover?
Where was the movement radius and what should I be ducking behind?
In truth, of course, superheroes don’t duck.
For one thing, it’s card-based.
But you still have a baddie left to take out.
There is such obvious richness in this stuff even in the early stages of the game.
Despite the lack of a grid, I’m already learning that placement is key here.
It’s how much of an actual card game this is.
It’s not XCOM, but your weapons menu is cards.
Reader: so far I am loving this.
The flow is pure XCOM, but the details are new and delightful.
I can’t wait to play more.
