The New X-Com Trailer: Better Than My Childhood?

Huge swathes of my childhood were devoted to two things: X-Com, and the X-Files. And now both of those wonderful things are being poured into one mold, called "XCOM". Unlike the original turn-based game, it is an FPS. Made by 2K Games, the same devious bastards who brought us BioShock. It looks to be set in the late-40s, early 50s, which place it much earlier in time than the original X-Com.

The new X-Com looks like a classic monster movie, focused around an X-Filesy black oil that jumps around and infests people. Weapons seen in the trailer range from old-style handguns and shotguns to crazy lightning guns cobbled together from alien technology. It appears you'll be playing the role of a muscley g-man, blasting aliens and taking black-and-white photos of unexplained phenomena. Presumably for the lab techs back at Area 51.

I do have my worries about XCOM. Researching alien tech and designing new weapons and defenses was a big part of the original X-Com. The trailer hints at this, but I get the feeling their version of "research" will be heavily shotgun-based.

We'll see more of the new X-Com at E3 2011 (this trailer is a slightly updated version of the one they had under wraps at E3 2010) – hopefully including some gameplay.

[Via IGN's YouTube Stream]