Just a heads up for you folks but the XCOM demo is currently available to download on Steam so go grab it if you're interested.

So play it and let us know how you feel about it.

FUUUUUUUUUUUCK

I have not fIended a game I've never played like this since Uncharted 2. Everytime someone says XCOM my bones rattle with longing. This must be what people with celebrity crushes feel like.

God dammit, I had stuff to do today....

The download doesn't seem to work for me though, it just boots me to the main store screen.

I was going to flag you because you were talking nonsense and are crazy.....then found out the demo actually exists......your still talking nonsense and crazy however its all true!!!

Edit: yeah the download wont work right now. gonna have to wait.

Unsurprisingly, the download is pretty iffy considering that it just came out and people are clamouring over it. Ah well, doesn't hurt to know it's there anyway.

There are two missions in the demo.

@eroticfishcake said:

Unsurprisingly, the download is pretty iffy considering that it just came out and people are clamouring over it. Ah well, doesn't hurt to know it's there anyway.

Yeah, I can't download it. Here's to hoping I can pretty soon.

hopefully I can get it soon.. no sleep tonight for mop power level to 90.. but xcom.. even a demo is > wow.

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/09/24/unhidden-movement-xcom-demo-is-go/

A two-mission plus base-browsing demo has just arrived on Steam, which sounds like it’s primarily tutorially but should give you a flavour of Firaxis’ 21st-century reimagining of the classic 90s TBS.

Well, whenever someone finds out when we can actually download, be sure to report it here. I'll make sure I do, I'll check every half hour or so.

An error ocurred while installing XCOM: Enemy Unknown Demo (No Subscription)

Oh well. :(

Shit. My day is gone.

And yeah, it's not working ATM, but Steam's probably distributing the files across their massive amount of datacenters right now.

EDIT: It works now. Downloading 5.8GB.

I was able to download the demo via opening steampowered.com in my web browser, going to the xcom page and clicking download demo. When prompted, I selected that I have the steam client and it promtly started downloading.

Nope. Doesn't work.

Works for me now. I am downloading.

@Bio2hazard said:

I was able to download the demo via opening steampowered.com in my web browser, going to the xcom page and clicking download demo. When prompted, I selected that I have the steam client and it promtly started downloading.

This worked like a charm, thanks!

Still getting the "no subscription" error =(

Hm, not sure if I can be bothered. I think I'll just wait until the actual release.

If anyone plays it, let me know if it might ruin the excitement of playing it when it comes out.

Well crap. There goes my productivity.

EDIT: Oh right, they're livestreaming it on Gamespot right now.

Curse you no subscription!!!

@Jams said:

If anyone plays it, let me know if it might ruin the excitement of playing it when it comes out.

It's more of a tutorial so if anything it just prepares you to jump right in when it comes out. You can't access most of the base options so it's more of a battlefield control tutorial than a full game tutorial. If anything it has me more excited. It looks gorgeous as well.

@david3cm said:

Curse you no subscription!!!

restarting steam fixed it for me.

@CaLe said:

@Jams said:

If anyone plays it, let me know if it might ruin the excitement of playing it when it comes out.

It's more of a tutorial so if anything it just prepares you to jump right in when it comes out. You can't access most of the base options so it's more of a battlefield control tutorial than a full game tutorial. If anything it has me more excited. It looks gorgeous as well.

Good, thanks for the heads up. I want to play it, but this is about the only game I'm really looking forward to and I'd hate for it to get me less excited for the actual release.

@eroticfishcake: TITS! Thanks!

For those saying your productivity's gonna disappear because of this demo- don't get too excited.

This demo is less than an hour long. Its almost completely tutorial and cutscenes as well- you only get to do your own thing after the first 2 moves in the 2nd mission- and that's not saying much since the map's completely linear.

The worst part is that the demo ends right before they can provide a mission that would potentially give a better impression than the tutorial. But oh well. :\

Downloading now, thanks!

I don't mind if it's tutorial-y since I've never played an Xcom game but am still incredibly interested because of the Full Spectrum Warrior vibes.

EDIT: lol my download time is longer than when the stream starts :P

Oh god I played the demo now how do I survive until the ninth OH GOD?!

(Actually I have plenty on my plate what with TL2 right now, so I'm fine... OH GOD)

The demo is pretty disappointing. I mean, I'm so excited for x-com that I still enjoyed getting to play it for even two brief tutorials, but I would not exactly go telling friends to download this demo in order to try and convince them to buy it. Cause to someone who knew nothing going in, two super easy, linear scripted tutorial missions is not a good seller.

Demo is too short for a game like this. Most of it is simply tutorial which is needed but they should have let you do the 2 missions they let you choose from (after you do one it kicks you to the main menu). Game will definitely be cool though, looks real pretty I think.

Man demo was awful.... :-/ 5 gigs, and 2 missions. If they didnt force you to do the worthless 1st mission theres about 7 mins of gameplay.

When is it out on other 2?

The demo is too short. But it makes me want this game soooo much. I have never played a game that made me feel the weight of my combat decisions. I was too risky with one unit, and she was taken out for a number of missions. The game will force you to adapt your team to adversity and new situations. I can see my self playing this as much as I've played Firaxis' masterpiece, Civilization V. Ooooh I can't wait.

I am glad I played this, just not the type of game for me.

5 gigs for two missions. I wouldn't necessarily recommend people download it.

@eroticfishcake said:

Just a heads up for you folks but the XCOM demo is currently available to download on Steam so go grab it if you're interested.

So play it and let us know how you feel about it.

Thanks for the heads-up. Played it twice. Once with KB&M and once with 360 gamepad. Definitely prefer the gamepad, KB&M seems too finicky and nervous to me - whilst the gamepad layout is pretty much spot-on perfect. The PC version seems really well put together and runs smooth as butter. Really pretty too.

Amazing demo, that hits all the notes a demo needs to hit. It effortlessly teaches me the basics of the game. Wows me with its stellar cinematic presentation. Hints at a wealth of depth to come. And all of it in style, with a great flow to the proceedings. Pre-ordered the PC version immediately. Awesome. Looking forward to it.

I was a little disappointed when I found out that the China mission and the USA mission are exactely the same, will this be the case in the finished game as well? You have a choce between two or more missions but the only difference is your reward (and of course the panic level in the countries)?

I'm still extremly pumped for the game

@Seppli: I'm sad to hear the KB&M setup is so weak. PC titles that SCREAM for mouse based interface keep getting shuffled around to deal with the market realities of console gaming. I'm really disappointed to hear about that. I'll probably still play it regardless, but I hate that I'm forced to use inferior control layouts to accommodate players of console versions.

Sigh.

Oh well, at least X-Com exists. The game should at least end up being pretty rad despite the interface issues, if the QL EX (or whatever it was live thing) they did earlier today is any telling.

@Rayeth said:

@Seppli: I'm sad to hear the KB&M setup is so weak. PC titles that SCREAM for mouse based interface keep getting shuffled around to deal with the market realities of console gaming. I'm really disappointed to hear about that. I'll probably still play it regardless, but I hate that I'm forced to use inferior control layouts to accommodate players of console versions.

Sigh.

Oh well, at least X-Com exists. The game should at least end up being pretty rad despite the interface issues, if the QL EX (or whatever it was live thing) they did earlier today is any telling.

KB&M support is not weak - it's just too nervous for MY preferences. If you prefer the quickness of the mouse over the steady and smooth feel of a gamepad, then it'll do you fine. You know, combat happens in a multilayered gamespace - hence the game has to fade out ceilings and walls and such, in order to show the player what he needs to see. The plodding pace of the gamepad's cursor fits that circumstance much better than the mouse, lest the the picture is almost fluttering with environmental elements fading in and out constantly.

Why not just try the demo and find out for yourself.

@Rayeth said:

@Seppli: I'm sad to hear the KB&M setup is so weak. PC titles that SCREAM for mouse based interface keep getting shuffled around to deal with the market realities of console gaming. I'm really disappointed to hear about that. I'll probably still play it regardless, but I hate that I'm forced to use inferior control layouts to accommodate players of console versions.

Sigh.

Oh well, at least X-Com exists. The game should at least end up being pretty rad despite the interface issues, if the QL EX (or whatever it was live thing) they did earlier today is any telling.

I don't think that KB&M support is bad, having played it. When I played Skyrim, I felt ripped off by the poor PC control scheme. I can see how a pad might be someones preference in this game, while another may prefer the Keyboard. I honestly think they did I very good job keeping it quick and easy no matter what your preference.

@Abendlaender: Both missions were very directed tutorial missions, so it's not reasonable to think there would be random elements or that they would construct two different missions to introduce the same gameplay concepts. I'm sure the actual single player campaign will be highly random.

Overall, I loved the demo, and I'm more pumped than ever for the full release. The gameplay is an excellent update to the old-school XCOM gameplay, and the level of presentation is incredible. It has a UI that's just as slick as what I'd expect from the guys that made Civ Rev and Civ V, but it also does something that I've never seen in another Firaxis game, low-level on-the-battlefield action. And it does it extremely well. A dynamic camera that occasionally swings around like something out of a Michael Bay film and a soundtrack that swells and fades along with the action can at times make this game feel more reminiscent of Gears of War than Civilization.

Bring it on!

From everything that I have read so far about this demo, it seems pretty polarizing. There are a lot loving it and a lot hating it. I've never played X-Com and am about to give the demo a go myself.

I hate that the camera angle change isn't "smooth" it's like a toggle between a couple viewpoints. At first I felt the controls were dumbed down (kb & m) but after I got used to it, it felt fine. Preordered and can't wait.

I can download the game just fine... then I get steam error 55 and the dream of playing the tutorial ad nauseam dies.