Falling Skies: The Game
- September 30, 2014
- 12h median play time
Falling Skies looks terrible, yet still offers a serviceable, if pale, imitation of an XCOM game.
"Falling Skies: The Game" is a single-player, turn-based strategy game set in a Science Fiction world. With a good plot and 12+ hours of gameplay, players command a resistance squadron and engage in tactical warfare against alien enemies. Side missions, resource collection, and weapon building enhance the gaming experience, as players assist TV characters in this thrilling chapter of the battle for humanity's survival.
PC
PlayStation
Playstation 3
Wii
Wii U
Xbox
Xbox 360
Reviews
- The game offers a unique twist on tactical turn-based combat, allowing characters to perform two actions per turn, which adds a layer of strategy.
- Despite some bugs, many players found the game enjoyable and a decent budget option for fans of the genre, especially when compared to the price of AAA titles.
- The voice acting features original actors from the TV series, which adds a level of authenticity and connection for fans of 'Falling Skies'.
- The game suffers from numerous bugs and crashes, with some players experiencing frequent fatal errors that disrupt gameplay.
- Graphics and animations are considered subpar, with many reviewers noting that the visuals feel outdated and lack polish compared to other titles in the genre.
- The gameplay can become repetitive and lacks the depth and engagement found in more polished games like XCOM, leading to a sense of boredom for some players.
- story65 mentions
- 14 % positive mentions
- 82 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The game's story is loosely tied to the "Falling Skies" TV series, featuring familiar characters and themes, but many players find it lacks depth and urgency, often feeling repetitive and uninspired. While missions are varied and contribute to a sense of progression, the narrative fails to engage, leading to a sense of monotony as players complete numerous missions without a compelling storyline. Additionally, technical issues, such as mission bugs and a lack of meaningful story progression, detract from the overall experience.
“Interesting story/theme based on the TV series with familiar characters and voices.”
“So far, the story is pretty good and the missions seem to be in line with the types of things the 2nd Mass engage in on the show.”
“The red missions advance the story; however, when you complete them, the missions you skipped will be replaced with different missions.”
“This game really just doesn't appeal to me; the storyline has nothing to do with the show, and how the bloody hell are you supposed to use a defibrillator?”
“It's so simple, so boring; there is no story at all, you just accomplish missions that look the same over and over again.”
“However, at some point the game stops spawning the red missions and just gives you countless yellow ones, meaning you end up in an endless loop of missions, max out all the research trees, and cannot end the game.”
- gameplay25 mentions
- 16 % positive mentions
- 64 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Falling Skies" is often compared to a simplified version of "XCOM," featuring similar turn-based mechanics but lacking depth and engagement. Players note issues such as clunky interface, outdated graphics, and a lack of urgency in missions, which detracts from the overall experience. While some mechanics show promise, the execution feels amateurish, leading to a mixed reception where the gameplay is deemed acceptable for a budget title but not compelling enough to recommend widely.
“In terms of game mechanics, it's very much like Shadowrun or XCOM, with the exception that one can make two attacks in a single character's turn (each action counts as one action; all characters have two actions per turn) whereas in XCOM an attack typically ends that character's turn.”
“Gameplay is similar to a 'lite' version of XCOM: Enemy Unknown.”
“A couple of game mechanics in Falling Skies can even be considered an improvement over XCOM: Enemy Unknown.”
“Chalk it up to game engine mechanics and that's probably an accurate reason for why it works the way it does, but it's a poor implementation when the actual movement you see is literally twice as far as the total movement available to that character, and will activate enemies as if you'd moved into their area in a legitimate manner.”
“After playing through both EU and EW, Falling Skies is a disappointment, because it has the same battle mechanics as EU, graphics that are worse, and lacks a certain amount of common sense (striking a melee attack through building walls because it is an 'adjacent' tile? Seriously? Combat knife, okay, but this is 'too sci-fi').”
“With glitches, combined with poor gameplay and the looks of more like a mobile game, which would be fine on a mobile device, but I don't sit at a large TV screen to play games with mobile-level graphics, there's not much reason to play this.”
- graphics16 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have been widely criticized for being subpar, with many reviewers noting that they appear outdated and lack polish compared to similar titles like XCOM. Users have pointed out issues such as poor textures, stiff animations, and a clunky interface, leading to a perception that the visuals are more suited for mobile devices than modern consoles or PCs. Additionally, there are concerns about misleading promotional images that do not accurately represent the in-game graphics.
“The textures, menus, models, and overall graphics are adequate.”
“Graphics are not bad.”
“Graphics are ok.”
“Graphically it's not pretty, and trying to work out what you are supposed to do next is beyond silly.”
“Graphics and sound effects that would have been good 10 years ago, stiff and limited character animations, clunky and 'too-large' interface and badly paced gameplay (even for a turn-based game)... but it does seem to be fully voiced, which is its only plus.”
“Something that requires special note, the in-game shots on the Steam listing look remarkably better than what I saw in-game. This is despite running the game at 1920x1080 and with all graphics options turned on and set at high where applicable - given this, they border on being false advertising as they are not the graphics to be expected in-game (at least not in the earlier stages of gameplay).”
- stability6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 83 % negative mentions
The game's stability has been widely criticized, with users reporting frequent crashes, freezes, and various bugs that significantly hinder gameplay. While some players experienced no glitches, the overall consensus is that the game suffers from serious stability issues, making it difficult to enjoy.
“The TV series was okay, the game looks okay but is very buggy.”
“There are now several known issues with the game, such as crashes during target changes, certain research tasks (assault rifle magazines and painkillers), and animation freezes during actions.”
“Too buggy to enjoy.”
- music4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The music in the game has been criticized for being strident and repetitive, with many finding it boring and depressing. Additionally, the voiceovers and sound effects lack creativity, contributing to an overall uninspired auditory experience.
“The music is strident.”
“The music in this game is very depressing, and the voiceovers and 'acceptance of orders' replies are unimaginative compared to other games.”
“The battle music is a boring tune and repeats forever.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is largely negative, with users expressing feelings of disappointment and betrayal, particularly due to poor animations in combat and cutscenes that detracted from the overall experience. The graphics are also criticized, leading to a sense of frustration among players.
“The animation, both in combat and in cutscenes, made me cry.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Users report that the game runs smoothly on their PCs, especially in comparison to XCOM, which is noted for being jittery and slow.
“This runs smoothly on my PC compared to XCOM, which is kind of jittery and slow.”
