X-COM
X-COM is a video game made in the 1990's about an alien invasion on Earth. It has had many games so far, including a remake coming in 2011 that has nothing to do with the original games whatsoever, except for fighting an alien invasion.
UFO Defense
Can you believe I try to keep everyone as alive as possible?
—User:Stylesrj on X-COM
Also known as UFO: Enemy Unknown
The EXtraterrestrial COMbat organisation was formed by the world superpowers in secret to help combat these alien threats.
They had access to the best of Earth's technology and the best of Earth's soldiers (who happened to graduate from the same place Stormtroopers came from)
The object of the game was to shoot down and/or capture UFOs and kill aliens. Then their technology was taken back to base to be researched until eventually the hidden alien base could be found. A squad was to be then sent out to destroy the base and save the Human race.
X-COM is played from an isometric perspective and is turn-based. Soldiers have a number of "Time Units" in which to move (including turning), attack and use items such as medikits or psychic attacks. It is well known for how easy soldiers die in combat with the aliens, even if they do have the best armour and weapons. The soldiers are also really bad at hitting targets, even when they're elite.
Terror from the Deep
They tell me not to research T'soth Commander... but I haven't even seen one of them yet!
—Stylesrj on TFTD
Much like the first game, except it's underwater and the research tree is a lot harder to get behind.
There was a bug in the first game that put the difficulty at the lowest level no matter what was chosen. Terror from the Deep reverses it. No matter what difficulty was chosen, it would be the hardest.
Apocalypse
You get it done much faster and with less casualties if you take it in turns
—Stylesrj on Apocalypse
Set after Terror, this one is set in the future by about a hundred years. Earth is a wreck and a new city called "Mega-Primus" was set up to help set an example of clean and pristine cities to help restore Earth.
Shortly after the city came into being, aliens started appearing around it through dimensional gates and X-COM was reformed to combat them.
The game is quite interesting to play as it utilises both a turn-based strategy mode and a real-time mode for those who want battles to be over quickly enough.
Combat with UFOs is more detailed with ships actually in combat rather than on a radar screen with blips representing the craft and weapons fire.
While the graphics are a bit more advanced, it's still much like the first game, in that you shoot aliens, take their stuff, reverse engineer it and use it against them on their homeworld. The only difference really here is that there are far less deaths as the armour is quite protective against enemy fire.
DYOS Use
Best years of my life... then they throw me out after being lauded as a hero...
—Stylesrj, Ex-Operative
Stylesrj was a former X-COM operative some time between his highschool years and DYOS 5. He worked as a low ranking agent, working his way up until eventually he was promoted to a Colonel.
Rosalina Sunburst also used to work at X-COM as a technician, who later on received Operative training.
Stylesrj was chosen to lead a large squad of soldiers to the Cydonia region on Mars where he was to end the alien threat once and for all.
The mission was a success, but Stylesrj was the only one who returned to Earth.
"Official" X-COM records claimed that Stylesrj was about to enter the main alien stronghold with his squad when he happened to be mind controlled, which led to him using several high explosives and plasma guns to wipe out everyone. But there were several holes in that theory which led to Stylesrj being disgraced and sacked from X-COM, being cited as a "Lone wolf glory-seeker"
What truly happened on Cydonia though is a secret that Stylesrj and Rosalina only know about.
So naturally everyone knows about it somehow...
X-COM is brought up several times throughout DYOS 11 and even the Ethereal Empire, the place the aliens were from.
