X-COM: Apocalypse

MicroProse are hard at work on the third instalment in the phenomenally addictive X-COM series. The next game in the series is being designed by the Gollop Brothers, the team behind UFO - Enemy Unknown. Anyone familiar with the first two games will remember the addictive turn-based strategy sections. Apocalypse will still offer players the option to fight their battles by taking turns against the computer, but it will also have a new real-time option for even more realistic battle action.

We were given an early preview of the game and it's looking superb, even at this stage in the production. The familiar 'Geoscape' has gone and has been replaced with the much bigger and far more detailed 'Cityscape'. The game is set in a city called Megalopolis, where you'll find most of the characters, including councillors, corporate bosses and gang leaders. As leader of X-COM, the player has to monitor his relatonship with all of these factions as well as keeping an eye on the alien threat. The X-COM agents in the game are now more competent than ever before, with new abilities such as interrogation, engineering, driving and flying skills, making them more effective in the battle against the aliens.

In addition to this probably the biggest new feature is the addition of a network option, which will allow you to take on your mates at world management once you've completed the proper game. We are hoping to pay the developers a visit very soon to take a closer more in-depth look at how they're getting on with the game.