                                  *MINI ME*
                                Now Brings You
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          X-COM COLLECTOR'S EDITION (C) MICROPROSE/HASBRO INTERACTIVE
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| Supplier : FAT BASTARD             | Release Date : November 17th, 1999  |
| Cracker  : -                       | Size         : 2.88M * 14           |
| It's Like: X-Com!                  | How it rates : Oldschool All Over   |
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|              Pentium 133, 100M HD, 16 Megs RAM, Windows 95/98            |
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RANDY:

Since Hasbro/Microprose hasn't bothered to update the webpage about this
game, I thought I'd post a review from Computer Games Online about this
release.

While most strategy gamers would probably finger the Civilization series of
games as the "best" strategy games ever, a small but vocal minority would put
the X-COM series on that throne (or, at least, the seminal X-COM UFO
Defense). Few fans of turn-based games would argue against putting X-COM near
the top, and it's easy to understand why: the first three games of the series
(we'll ignore the fourth the action game Interceptor like Trekkers wish they
could ignore Star Trek V) combined a fun, randomized tactical battle system
with a strategic layer in just the right mix you rarely got tired of either.

The series posits waves of alien invasions and the secret force X-COM put
together to combat them. The first and best game, UFO Defense (called Enemy
Unknown in the U.K.) occurred on land, with maps from around the world. The
second, Terror from the Deep, was set some decades after the first and
took place mostly underwater or in coastal locales. Gameplay-wise it was
nearly identical to the first game (even including underwater grenades?),
albeit larger and, according to some, more difficult. Some fans loved it, some
hated it, but no one thought it superseded its predecessor. Apocalypse saw
the return of UFO Defense developers Mythos Games, and was a change:
instead of a global focus it concentrated on enemy attacks on the one city
remaining on Earth. The engine was new ("higher-res" graphics), but many
didn't like the "retro '50s" look. The team did a good job, however, of
implementing both turn-based and real-time play in the tactical module. 

The problem with the games as designed (at least the first two) was that
they were built for DOS only, and assumed much more modest systems
than we have today. Even if you can get them running under Windows
95/98, chances are good that they play impossibly quickly. Hearing the
wails of fans, MicroProse decided to port the games over to Windows
95/98 (well, Apocalypse was already semi-Windowsfied), and to put some
kind of governor on the games to make them playable on today's systems.

The effort is a mixed bag. You can install and run the games without much
trouble (although the Apocalypse install, with all its request for DOS-related
info, may leave you scratching your head a bit who remembers how to do that
kind of stuff any more?). Apocalypse runs much as it did when first released
(it didn't have the speed problems of the other two), but the tweaking done on
UFO Defense and Terror from the Deep wasn't as successful. On a 350 MHz
Pentium things still happen too quickly, especially in the "Geoscape"
strategic-view mode: the world spins a tad too quickly, intercept missions are
nearly uncontrollable, and even functions set to slow in the tactical mode are
barely acceptable (imagine what they'd be like on a P-III/733!). Also, some
of the music that plays during tactical missions in UFO Defense seems off,
although this may vary with your sound card.

The gameplay, however, is still the same wonderful stuff it was before (marred
only a bit by the overly-speedy user interface of the conversions). If you've
played the games before, you'll be able to dive right in. If you're new to the
series, though, you'll have to go through the unpleasant task of reading (or
printing) the manuals off the CD-the five teeny pages of paper documentation
MicroProse saw fit to include just cover basic installation (the rest of the
"manual" has four pages of license agreement text and four of tech support).

Whether the package is for you really depends on how desperate you are for an
X-COM experience. If you can wait, MicroProse's X-COM Genesis should be out
late in 2000 (rumored, however, to be real-time only). If you just can't hold
out that long, though, and you have a modern machine, then the X-COM
Collector's Edition may be for you.


So a reminder to doubters & nukers: This is a *LEGIT* release, as this is
an UPDATED version of X-Com, updated to now work on Windows 95/98.

We left out X-Com: Apoclypse (X-Com3) since there was nothing new in it.
All the rest is here, and the docs also (also never released).

MOJO:

This group named after the little guy who sits in some group channel that
gets ignored when asked a question, kicked if repeat or msg an op, or
banned if we get annoying.

BLUEBALL:

A piss fuck you to the fakers who were pissed at losing on Swat 3, and had
to make fake directories, put out a fake disk fix, and a useless fix (the
nfo explains everything nicely). If you can't play fair, go eat your
grandma's muff.

INSTALL:

Unrar with winrar or any other decompressor, then run the game exe
inside the directory of the xcom you want to play.
