XCOM: Enemy Unknown is around the corner. The official release date is set to Oct 9th 2012 in the United States and Oct 12th worldwide. Steam unlocks the game on Oct 11th 2012. So, next week is XCOM’s week, and I’m excited to get my hands on it to hopefully have a review ready a few days after, or a bit more depending on how long, and how complex, the game actually is.
Today, 2K and Firaxis have put up the XCOM:EU’s launch trailer. You have all the trailers we’ve covered here by the way. They are really worth the watch.
Now, the question is: will the game be up to the expectations generated in the last months? The game has received extensive praise throughout the gaming media, no doubt about that. A hype I hardly remember seeing done for any other game of lately.
The thing about doing remakes and re-imagining versions of classic games series like this is that it’s very hard (but not impossible of course) to please both new comers and hardcore fans, because long-time fans loved the original games the way they were. But, things have changed. The technology is different. And, let’s face it, many of the people playing games now are also different. So, naturally the games are also different. For the better we all hope.
Now, will this new installment be as, or more, intense as the original games (e.g. X-COM: UFO Defense)? Will there be horror elements, a sense of fear and killing suspense as well? Will there be enough surprises along the way? And finally, but perhaps the most important aspect of all: will there be enough meaningful choices to be made along the way? That’s what we are going to find out (for real) in the next couple of weeks. So, stay tuned for our review! There’s a demo available on Steam if you want to get warmed up.
If you’re interested on a (good I hope) XCOM weekend read, about what I think made the X-COM series so fantastic in the first place, I invite you to read this article, which also features another X-COM type game to be released on the next months.
\Edit: And in this next video the Lead Designer – Lake Solomon – tries to “sell” his game to people in a store. Hilarious stuff :) “So, you guys like aliens? No.. Yea, exactly, you like shooting aliens right?”
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Really looking forward to this so bad, I might expect that their will be elements that I like and some that I do not, but the main thing is that I hope enough people buy it for anything other then for Firaxis to release another one!, and you never know once they do: it might start a chain reaction of other companies that will follow suit! that often is the case.
It’s been a top seller on Steam for a while now :)
I am pretty confident in thinking this will be this best strategy game of the year.First review by gameinformer is 9.5 and reading comments of most major sites it should be a 90 metacritic.
The new X-com is the relavent X-com in PC gaming circles from next week and onwards.
Shiny! But does it have a soul? I think we will know this only after the release.
No it does not, they “streamlined” it out because it was too intimidating for new players.
Wow you have a build all ready.I
I’m looking forward to receiving my Special Edition copy from Amazon next Tuesday :)
I think Xenonauts will benefit from holding off their release for a couple months, as XCOM: Enemy Unknown increases awareness of X-COM remakes.
After playing the demo, I was very impressed. I am even more impressed after seeing this trailer for what;s in store for me… Some of the weapons look amazing, animation is fluid…. I found out that as I am getting older, it is harder for games to make me happy…I used to get lost in RPG worlds, but lately been very disappointed (The witcher 2, Mass effect 3’s ending, Skyrim,…) Last game that really got me immersed was mass effect 3. But for some reason I am really really looking forward to this one. HOPE IT DOES NOT DISAPPOINT!!
I’m counting down the days to release as i have fond fond memories of the original. I think it’s going to be an awesome game and i also cant wait to see what the modding community release over the next few months.
I trust sid meier when it comes to civ series. The big question is, should I trust sid now? After seeing xenonauts I was confused if I am going to preorder this or not. I wish someone could enlighten me if I should take a shot at this game or not
You can always wait for Adam’s review :)
I could but the thing is that they have those extra goodies for pre-order
But…..
I already have Civ V so what the heck, I will wait for a review
Everything I’ve seen says this game will RAWK! :) I don’t think I’ve ever used that (non)word in a sentence before, LOL!
I’m sure the extras being given for the pre-orders will eventually be available as DLC, and probably fairly soon after release. So you’d just be paying more if you don’t pre-order. Then again, you’d save $50 if the game isn’t as good as everyone thinks it will be.
In regards to Xenonauts, I pledged during their Kickstarter, so I’ve got that game also, although I haven’t tried playing the alpha version yet. I may give the beta a try once the game is in beta, which is supposed to be October 9, the same date as the XCOM: Enemy Unknown release. But it won’t be for a while, because hopefully I’ll be playing a great XCOM game :)
Ohhhhh
Now I am confused. I know that Xenonauts does not have cutting edge graphics like xcom but I usually prefer indie games with less graphics and more features chucked in it. I mean if it is an updated xcom then I guess I will go with xenonauts. I really really really tried to get into xcom but the UI is intolerable for me and its so darn hard
If you want to see what Xenonauts is about, just go to the web site: http://www.xenonauts.com/
Already saw their site. Just wondering if they accept paypal. I haven’t trusted Desura….yet and mum is a bit reluctant to let me purchase stuff off dodgy sites. She even doubts paypal because she hears stories from her colleagues at work that they lost money even when they use paypal.
Anyway I am going to check it out again. I am a bit reluctant to purchase games because I sort of have a lot on my plate as of the moment but I am so confused if I am going to get either xcom now or xenonauts or just give xenonauts more time and see where it goes
Man you worry way too much about video games.
But yes, if you want to play a game as close to the original X-com as possible Xenonauts is it. I’ve played the alpha and it’s X-com down to the ground, but it’s still a ways off from release.
Why not just play the new X-com demo and see if you like it?
There is nothing “dodgy” about Desura. It’s a site that sells games (I’ve purchased Conquest of Elysium 3 from them, and can download Xenonauts from them due to my pledge on Kickstarter), and also allows developers to fund their games through the alpha-model, the same thing Notch did with Minecraft… selling a game for less while it’s in development. Desura is very good for indie developers. The only risk involved is if you purchase a game that’s still in alpha or beta, and for whatever reason it doesn’t get developed all the way to a playable game. But that’s not something Desura is responsible for. If you’re not comfortable purchasing a game that’s still in development, then don’t do it. But you don’t have anything to worry about from Desura itself.
Youtube has lets play videos of the latest Xenonauts build .Go watch that.
It still has the same 1 map and the static A.I the game had 5 months ago.
Down to $50 bucks until the next two weeks for gaming budget. I had some unforeseen expenses. Now I have to make a difficult choice between this and xenonauts. I could buy this game off gamersgate cheaper than steam and just activate it on steam.
Now that I realized that the release for US is on the 9th and here we will have it two days after so I guess I could look out for reviews of xcom and still have time to preorder if I would want the game.
I am thinking twice of downloading the demo since it is a huge one and it only lasts a couple of minutes
I have 10 or more unfinished games, so I think I will play X-COM in the next year ;)
Xenonauts will only be in beta next week, so it’s not like you need to buy it now. It’ll be a few months before release, even if you can play it in beta. I’d suggest just getting XCOM: Enemy Unknown, and wait until release for Xenonauts.
a few months till release? Make that a year. Or longer.
Green Man Gaming is selling it at $44 ($34 if you use their discount coupon). I’m with GG but GMG has such a good deal for XCOM.
What the heck. I guess I am overthinking and yes the best way to go is just get xcom now and if I am disappointed then I could wait for xenonauts
Don’t forget, UFO Extraterristrials 2 (is that right?) is supposed to be out this fall.
I never played UFO Extraterristrials 1, but it looked kinda good.
These games are complicated. It’s hard not to find a way to screw it up. Hence the fact that we’ve been waiting for a decent ‘X-Com’ replacement for 19 years.
Hahaha, UFO: E2 is almost abandon-ware at the moment. No updates on their website for 6 months and the last meaningful entry in their forum was almost as far back. Chaos Studio has some talent but also an atrocious management style so don’t expect anything.
It’s a shame cause I’d have rated UFO: E2 over Xenonauts.
People who are playing the “extended” xbox “demo” are telling me that the game is actually quite good, once they managed to get past the console UI solutions.
It is still two more days until it unlocks for me though, so waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.
Rock, Paper Shotgun loves it: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/10/08/xcom-review/
uhm, could I ask you a favor? could you tell me how it is once it is when you play it? I think its not the top on my priority list anymore. I feel guilty that I have tons of game that I haven’t played yet, heck I am still playing torchlight 2 with unfinished business in borderlands 2 and little big planet vita plus I got AC 3 waiting for me while I haven’t touched AC revelation.
I got uber backlog and I think I will get this once I see adam’s review and what the other users think about it. I know firaxis and sid is good and all but I can’t trust any big devs nowadays. Heck I trusted blizzard but now I wont buy a single game from them
Okay.. a small break after my 3rd lost game.
The game is hard.. if you are thiking: “oh, i will go classic/ironman, cuz i have ballz”, well.. think again.. I had such balls myself, but then i met some aliens, who ripped them off and ate them and they weren’t even the hungry kind.
So far the game meets all my expectations and considering how high those were, its quite an accomplishment. There are a few strange clipping issues and the game sometimes has a hard time to decide whether to show me the top floor or the bottom floor of a building, but those are minor compared to the sheer fun this game is.
Oh before I forget.. if you are a perfectionist like me, then you better curb it back a little. Pulling a mission off without losses is .. well.. out of some 20 missions I played until now, I managed to do it once, compared to the 6-8 complete wipes, thats a rather horrifying ratio and no.. I’m actually quite decent at tactical games. It’s just that the odds are stacked heavily against you.
Example: take on 7 thin mans and 3 floaters with 5 guys out of which 2 are rookies and are all using basic gear. :)
As for the strategic part:
I managed to lose 1 country during the first month and the council was impressed with my progress (not kidding), lost 2 more the second month and they were enthusiastic…
Sure I generally did well, but even though it did not look like it, I was already losing the war. at the start of the third month, I had 6 more nations on the brink of flipping and basically no way of turning them back :)
Playing the strategic part is a game of such delicate balance that it will take a few games before you get it right.
Bottomline: awesome game.. if you have not bought it yet, do so.
Darn it I am drooling just by reading your description. Ok mate I will. I saw the videos and wow it was great.
Will get it asap
Thanks for your first impressions. Looks good!
I received my Steam review code just now by the way. Downloading …
Will start to work on the review asap to let you guys know what an X-COM veteran player thinks of this remake/re-imagining version ;)
Minor status update.. the new game goes a lot better. Hell, I was only forced to reload twice in the first two months and one was due to a stupid misclick on my part causing the whole operation to cascade fail :)
Nowhere near the scary part yet tho.. still a month to go to that point. :) Have not had any terror missions yet, or large UFOs.. the last one of those I saw ate 3 of my basic weapon equipped interceptors (around the time I gave up on that save :P), so I guess it is something one should invest into by the 3rd or 4th month – definitely on MY todo list now. :) Obivously those large ufos were scary in the original as well.. its just that in the original, everything was a lot.. how shall i put it.. easier. Money was available in abundance, there always was enough trash to sell.. with the new one, there is barely any trash from missions. Mostly just the corpses. Everything else you will need and do not want to waste away. Its not like coming back from a successful UFO mission fills your account. You are always broke and keep praying for those UFO sightings so that you can build the next satellite that will keep you afloat.
When I first saw those videos with the three choices for abduction, engineers, scientists, 200 cash, I was thinking.. what sort of idiot would pick the short term gain cash reward instead of the more rewarding boosts to R&D? If I would only have known.. that 200 cash reward, its like 2 months worth of funding early game. Nothing to scoff at.
Nice, keep throwing water on those haters.
Dude you are killing me! We don’t get it until Friday but that is fine or else I would be tempted to call in sick.
Heck the way you are describing things made me think of getting it ASAP. Will pre-order soon, Im just waiting for mum’s pay cheque to come in so I could buy this once she pays me.
I am concerned about replayability though, How is it minus the multiplayer? I am worried because of the preset maps and the “haunted house” AI as stated by IGN.
Got my “XCOM: Enemy Unknown Special Edition” delivered around 4:30pm today. Started installing around 5pm, it’s currently downloading from Steam. My download rate is around 2GB per hour (I have a 6M/1M DSL line), and the game is over 12GB, so it’ll be a 6 hour download. Where’s Google Fiber (1GB/1GB) in your city when you need them? LOL! I really hope Google Fiber goes to other cities besides Kansas City.
Why are you downloading from steam when you have a disk?
Because, like Civilization V in the retail box, the install disc only comes with support programs… Steam Client, Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable, DirextX and Microsoft .NET 4, and the Setup.exe program will install what you don’t have, then start Steam for you to enter the key code provided on the back of the 6-page manual. Then Steam starts downloading.
I heard from a friend that his game installed from DVD, with just a small patch from Steam. I did get a “Not Responding” on the program while installing. I also got that message recently while downloading a digital copy movie, and the movie wouldn’t play afterwards.
Sounds like my DVD player is not working correctly :(
It looks like csebal gave you his impressions, so I’ll just say…
This game is FRIKKIN’ GREAT!
I started playing last night. It’s 9:15am and I haven’t been to sleep yet!
Ok, back to the game! :)
Oh, and that “haunted house” issue? That’s only on EASY.
Thank God for confirming that mate! that was almost a deal breaker for me. Anyway I just purchased it and I purchased premium xenonauts from desura and my progress on torchlight 2 was hindered because I also redownloaded the original and darn it its pretty scary.
I have to say that the original xcom would scare me more than this.
My wish though if there is one thing in the game that would come true in real life is the fact that all nations worked together minus the alien invasion. LOL
Another thumbs up review from the usually reliable IGN: http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/10/…unknown-review
One thing that struck a chord with me was that the reviewer noted that the battles have the feel of a haunted house. ;o) Alas, since I’ve already sprung for Skyrim Dawnguard for my Halloween gaming fix, I’m probably going to pass on the pricey XCOM for the time being. In any event I’m about three hours in to Dawnguard and thus far it is really good.
The game has handstrung A.I on easier levels that does not patrol or become very active.Hence why this is not mentoined by any other review.
Hi all,
I spent 5 hours playing the game and not even noticing how fast time flew by. I got really drawn in to it even tho it has some flaws that are quite annoying. I like the suspense the music in the game is great. Deployed on the map pondering my first moves to secure the area not knowing whats lurking in the darkness. The suspense is there. Shortly in to the mission I’ve engaged group of aliens at a busy truck stop. We got in to a visceral firefight. One of my troopers got critically wounded even tho he was in full cover. It brings memories of the old Xcom life and death at mercy of a coin toss. I pounded the leaving hell out of them by juggernaut storming the enemy positions and shoving gun barrels down their throats. And when I thought all will be OK I run in to team of Floaters that were hidden behind next tractor trailer and they ruined my so far good day. When discovered enemy starts their phase of cover/movement and engaged 2 of my 4 units wiping them out. Just like that… Thats just the taste of one of the missions I had chance to experience.
I played through 15 missions on classic difficulty level loosing total of 5 soldiers one of them high ranking officer. I also lost funding from one country on European continent. I did reload few games when things just got out of control(learning from mistakes). It only takes One thought through move to make a massive SNAFU out of the mission.
When playing tactical part of the game I ran across few annoyances. First was the fact that I got shot through the walls and vice verse. Is there a line of sight?. I did not notice any of the paroling A.I mentioned by game designers. It feels scripted you will usually find them hunkered over body of some poor human being(or whats left of it). The ability to move on to the tops of the buildings was hindered by building switching to “interior view”. Takes some practice to nail it right and its kind of annoying.
Other minor thing is the fact that all the items and technology costs pocket change. Kind of makes me feel like Im 13 year old and daddy gave me 200$ of pocket money to manage it wisely. It kind of takes away from the felling of a commander and chief of military organization. As a commander you are solemnly depended on the council funding. I cant sell stuff I manufacture!!! and money is the #1 resource in the game thats scarce to say the least…
Other than that game is awesome I enjoy it and at the end that whats actually counts.
Disclaimer:
I kind off got carried away here typing all that sutt. It kind of started to look like a mini review. Sorry to tire your eyes dear reader. I think its time to end. Sorry for grammar punctuation and typos after all Im just a guy whos wife was writing his collage papers.
This game is awesome. I am about to leave work right now so that I can get back to it. The name of the game is “Engineering” and “Satellites”.
I am not a fan of a satellite only able to scan one country (would have preferred it to scan an area that may span multiple small countries but also needing more than 1 satellite for US or Russia).
The advanced rules of engagement are not really explained, you kind of got to learn on your own (or online) since the manual is about 5 pages. I am talking about a break down of the different soldier rank/soldier types. I am talking about the difference between overwatch and that shield thing that limits vision….
But the game is awesome and I haven’t been that immersed in a game in a long time…. Definitely a A+ in my book. We need to encourage companies to make sequels/similar games/DLC/Patches….
THIS IS AWESOME!!!
People are reporting that “time flies by”, others are not sleeping in order to play and others are eager to get back home from work so that they can return to the game. Boy, haven’t seen so much excitement over a game in a long time :) Which is good, very good.
Excited for this game and for your review Adam. Too bad we’re getting it late tomorrow so it would be almost on the 13th :(
Its Civ V Gods and Kings all over again.
I noticed a strange new download for XCOM just now on steam. I am unable to play until said download is complete. Is it a patch?
Anybody got any news on this?
I have no idea what the 1.8GB patch is for. “View Details” and “View News” aren’t showing anything new. But the patch is downloading for me right now, too.
We wanted to let you know the details for the PC update for XCOM: Enemy Unknown that went live today (10/11/12). I’ve included the notes on this patch below:
•Various visibility/hiding optimizations
•Multiplayer text chat support (press J to activate)
•Mouse button 4/5 will switch soldiers in the Barracks
•ESC hides the movement grid, if you do not want to commit to a move while it is activated
•Squad Sight ability optimization
•Fixed issue when equipping two grenades with Deep Pockets.
•Fixed Rapid Fire sometimes consuming too much ammo.
•SHIVs that are damaged will no longer become unusable.
•Fixed some hangs/soft crashes in tactical combat.
•Replaced software cursor with the operating system cursor to reduce lag and framerate dependence.
•Fixed rendering bug which causes some soldier’s hair to appear as if it is rendering on top of environment fog.
•1080p movies are now used at all times on the PC.
“Replaced software cursor with the operating system cursor to reduce lag and framerate dependence.”
Great! I wonder why this is not the standard in games, and why they insist in using software mouse cursors.
Thanks for the patch notes, Ashbery76!
7 hours download form steam??? What evryone buying right now?
It’s a 12GB+ download.
Just got it,played for an hour then had a nap because I ran out of energy and I have to recharge to do a whole night of xcom. Played for 3 hours then got to stop because my girlfriend was complaining that I am playing it while talking to her and she is still complaining after hearing my keyboard while typing this.
Ok here are my thoughts.
I am a bit disappointed if I compare it to the original but its a game that is worthy of its own merits. So far I feel that the aliens aren’t surprising me like the original and tend to stay in place compared to the surprises the original throws at me. I feel that the new one is more structured and scripted compared to the original that just basically throws you into the fray and really really puts you into the feeling of being in a real invasion where you don’t have a clue of what is going on around you and aliens really surprise me.
These are my thoughts so far and will try to add more later. Another thing is that I hate the limited customisation and I can’t recreate chuck norris as my squad member. I played the original last night and naming one of my guy chuck norris made him lucky and he keeps on killing more aliens
Just an update. I lost a couple of rookies before and I consider some of them cannon fodder (I still miss Mr Washee Washee though). Now I just killed 2 rookies and my best sniper who went through 7 missions on my first terror mission.
Now I know that s**t just got real when the aliens start dragging out the zerglings and those flying aliens. I remember that I lost the squaddie sniper I had who would have been a backup to my main one but now I am back to training rookies.
Hopefully I get base building and priorities right and now I only manage to provide 2 carapace armours (one for the survivor of delta team and the other to my assault soldier).
Darn it this game is getting scarier. I need to see my shrink to cope up with the lost of my squad mate
After putting in about 10 hours of game play I stop comparing it to the predecessor.The game has its own character and individual identity. I got the XCOM sickness. I truly cant get enough of it. Just one more mission and I’m done syndrome(that should be a medical term I think)…
The field missions structure is scripted I noticed that too. There are times however where during combat additional enemy units emerge out of fog of war and rush to assist their comrades under fire. There are instances when I can hear enemy movement from a distance and that gives an impression of A.I doing something. I’m not really sure how that works yet or if it is the first encounter a trigger that puts the gears in motion.
The field missions have their own dynamic and more than once put me through gut wrenching hopeless situations. Where I honestly thought I loose my entire team. Yet I managed to get out of it with just minor scratches and bruises. What I’m talking about is getting surrounded by 4 cyberdisks and survive the ordeal walk away and brag bout it!!!
Game definitely has a way of delivering a unique experience and thats what keeps me glued to it even thou it got streamlined quite a bit.
Here is my 5 gramms of elerium, after running several missions: The game capture some of old XCOM feeling, it’s a very good game but not a classics. What I like – missions are shorter, crouching is present, snipers, abilities. I like also some of the “dumbing doun” like no TU and replacing ammo with reload.
What I dislike:
1. Maps. Masp what I have seen are quite primitve, mostly one-dimentinal racing course with one-two layers of building on either side, barely enough for flanking. Wonder if they will get more complex later in the game.
Also they are very generic. China, Nigeria and France all exactly the same.
2.No ability to choose soldiers for mission. That is just malicious decision by devs.
3. No visible destructable enviroment, just some superficial like exploding cars. Rockets don’t make holes in the buildings.I guess it’s limitations of Unreal engine. They should have gone with voxels or something.
4.No base defense
5.Too much cut scenes.
What was not so bad as I was afaraid:
1.Inventory limitations are not annoyng
2. Upgrade to 5 units team is very easy, 5 units team is good enough for tactis.
IMO it still can be made into great game withg some patches or DLC: more and bigger maps, country-specific maps , abilty to choose units for the mission. Nothing could be done about destructable enviroment – it’s an engine limitations, but more exploding objects could be added.
Your #2 is incorrect. When the game presents the soldiers for a mission, you can click on the “Clear” button for a soldier and choose a different one.
Thanks for that tip! They should have added it to tutorial
1. I agree with you on that one.
2. Im not sure what do you mean by that. I have Xbox version of the game and it allows me to select whoever I want for the mission.
3. All terrain is destructible except the Terra firma itself. I employ a tactic of blasting holes in the side of the ufo and drawing the hostiles out instead of storming it the old fashion way.
4.Not sure about that.
5.If i can turn off the cams during game on console im sure you can on a PC. If thats what you paling the game on. I played the demo on my pc and even it had an option to turn off the action cams.
Phew, thanks for clarifying that points of Serge.
Beeing not able to pick favourite soldier for a mission would be an instant no-buy for me:)
Country specific maps would be awesome! Also would want satellites to cover Regions vs. Specific countries. Maybe make the council bigger (lump small countries into blocks). It makes no sense needing 2 satellites to cover Europe (France and Germany), while 1 satellite cover the whole of Russia or the US. Also would want more research and more different building modules in the base.
But those are just things to turn a very good game into AWESOME!!
Has there not been an official review yet?
I for one am disappointed in Enemy Unknown. They’ve essentially removed all the tactics from this game and have neutered the horror/suspense/fear factor.
Given todays technology, the 1994 XCOM would have done more, not less. The new XCOM thinks leap frogging your units during full frontal assaults every map is “tactics.”
I hope the review takes a critical look at what passes for “tactics” in this new XCOM.
No, not yet. Classic difficulty gave me more trouble than I first anticipated :) But, I’ve finished the game in Classic difficulty yesterday, so, expect the review to come out very soon (I’m aiming at today).
Why do you say they “removed all the tactics” in this new XCOM? And, leap frogging does seem to be a widely known technique, part of infantry tactics. And, you can definitely do reconnaissance, use cover, benefit from higher ground and even do ambushes also.
It’s not a tactic when it’s not basically the only way to play the game.
It’s only a tactic when it’s part of a larger toolbox of techniques to choose from.
Silent Storm was a much more tactical game. You could sneak and avoid enemies altogether. You could hide a sniper and snipe from acros the map if you got good elevation with your sniper.
Where are the mutli story buildings? Standing on top of a container’s roof does not multi-story make.
Srsly, the game is a dumbed down console game where in order to keep the pace of play up, they just have you play leap frog every single time.
It doesnt feel like XCOM. It feels like they a turn based run & gun shooter.
I was able to use flanking and ambushing several times.
I also put a snipper on a multi story building yes (although I hope those maps would appear more often).
I also used reconnaissance tactics using a support sprinter unit to spot enemies and come back to the “front” to tell where they are. Even if 3 turns from there they are somewhere else they couldn’t be far though. And, you can use battle scanners also.
By the way, which difficulty level do you play on? And, do you play ironman mode? Have you finished the game? Difficulty matters in this context because the higher it is the more you need to think. And, in ironman mode you REALLY have to think.
Leapfrogging (suppressing while others flank) will not always work because although your suppressed target loses significant aim sometimes they do shoot. So, assess if losing your Heavy Major is something you would be willing to afford.