| X-COM: Terror from the Deep | |
|---|---|
North American DOS cover art |
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| Developer(s) | MicroProse |
| Publisher(s) | MicroProse Hasbro Interactive 2K Games |
| Designer(s) | Stephen Goss[1] |
| Series | X-COM |
| Version | 2.1[2] |
| Platform(s) | PC (Windows or DOS), PlayStation |
| Release date(s) | 1995 (PC) 1996 (PlayStation) |
| Genre(s) | Real-time strategy, turn-based tactics |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | |
| Media/distribution | Floppy disks, CD, download |
| System requirements
33 MHz 386, 520 Kb base + 3 MB extended RAM |
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X-COM: Terror from the Deep is a strategy video game developed and published by MicroProse in 1995. It is the sequel to UFO: Enemy Unknown, and the second part of the X-COM series.
Contents |
Terror from the Deep plays out underwater, with base-building and combat all being submerged beneath the waves. The only time the game moves onto the surface is for missions when the aliens attack a port, ship, or island.
Terror consists of several parts. The first is the GeoScape, a global view of Earth. Here the player views alien and X-COM craft. The BattleScape is used for combat between squads of aliens and humans, and takes the form of a turn-based battle from an isometric view. Underwater battles use the same physics as the ground ones, even as many of the underwater weapons can be used on ground.
Resource management is also present, as the player must hire and dismiss staff, buy and sell vehicles, weaponry, ammunition and items, and build and expand bases.
Terror from the Deep is set in 2040, decades after the first Alien War was won, when a new alien menace begins to emerge from the oceans.
Eventually, it is revealed the aquatic aliens came to Earth on a massive spacecraft, known as T'Leth, that crashed into the ocean 65 million years ago and supposedly caused the extinction of the dinosaurs.
Destruction of T'Leth by the player results in victory but also results in a worldwide cataclysm, setting the stage for the third game in the series, X-COM: Apocalypse.
MicroProse wanted Mythos to make a sequel to UFO: Enemy Unknown in six months. Julian Gollop felt that the only way to do so was to change the graphics and make minor changes to the gameplay. MicroProse licensed Mythos' code, and made Terror in a year.[3]
| Reception | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Publication | Score |
| GameSpot | 7.2/10 |
| PC Gamer UK | 92% |
| PC Zone | 94%[4] |
Terror was received very well and the PC version holds an average rating of 86% according to GameRankings.[5] PC Gamer stated "Terror From The Deep is not only a great sequel to UFO but a superb game in its own right."[6] On the other hand, GameSpot summed Terror up with "Apart from new art and a handful of new combat options, this is exactly the same game as UFO Defense, only much more difficult."[7]
On May 4, 2007, Terror from the Deep was released on Steam by 2K Games, who has inherited the franchise.
The game has been also re-released as part of the compilations X-COM (Collector's Edition) by MicroProse in 1998, X-COM Collection by Hasbro Interactive in 1999, X-COM: Complete Pack by 2K Games in 2008 and 2K Huge Games Pack in 2009.
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