Animesque: The intro of the UFO Defense is proto-animesque (with a 90's comic book aesthetic), and the demo's list of features mentions a "popular 'Manga' look and feel to graphics." The background images for base functions and Hidden Movement retain the art style of the intro.See "Tokyo is the Center of the Universe" below. The instruction book suggests that the Interceptor is based on Japanese design.The opening cutscene is laughably inaccurate (chainguns cutting down Mutons with ease? You wish), but the manual sheds a bit more light on X-COM and the nature of their job.They are, of course, equipped with Cow Tools. Several missions involve "Harvester" UFOs sent to meet the aliens' carnivorous needs. Aliens Steal Cattle: One of the few straight but completely non-comedic examples.Alien Lunch: The "Alien Food" is a nutrient soup made from body parts extracted from cattle and humans.They even have a specialised UFO called the "Abductor". Alien Abduction: Floaters and Sectoids practice this.The Aesthetics of Technology: The alien technology is sleek, shiny and spotless.One of the research projects theorises that the aliens seeded Earth with life to harvest. Abusive Precursors: The Alien Brain in UFO Defense claims that the aliens created humanity.It's only at the depths of the research tree that the player discovers the tools needed to turn the tide and achieve victory.
Thus, at the beginning of the game the player is fighting a losing war. By contrast, the aliens have clearly-stated goals: destroy all X-COM bases, bankrupt X-COM, or make a number of countries leave the X-COM project.
Worse, the game does not set any victory goals or narrative at the start. The AI is designed to make the player uncertain of what's around the next corner. (To this day, Gollop is not sure how they did it.) The aliens progress according to their own agenda, constantly threatening funding, introducing new types of missions and ultimately building bases. The original X-COM had a (barely) two-year development time, an AI programmed with a few Kb, and was designed to run on an 80386 PC. The box art for the Firaxis remake, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, was designed in such a way to pay homage to the series' roots. X-COM was going to be Laser Squad 2 until Microprose suggested that an alien invasion scenario would be more exciting. It all started with Laser Squad, the first turn-based tactics game by Julian Gollop.
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