History VideoGame / UFOAfterblank

* GenreSavvy: One of the main reasons the Reticulans are able to do so much damage against [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy humanity]] is that they're ''[[DangerouslyGenreSavvy extremely]]'' aware of their own limitations. As such, the first step of their invasion plan involves bombarding military installations into dust from orbit, and the second step consists of a mass bombardment of the entire planet with biological weapons and then waiting a year. Only then do they send in ground troops.

Thus begins the story of ''UFO: Aftermath'', the first game in the ''UFO: After Blank'' series by Altar Interactive (''officially'', it's known as the "''UFO''" series, but you know the Internet). Considered the SpiritualSuccessor to the ''{{X-COM}}'' series, the ''UFO: After Blank'' games combine a geoscape-like view of the planet for strategic planning, and tactical squad-based action for missions. Research and development are extremely important for advancement. In many respects, the game is similar to ''{{X-COM}}'', but the addition of real-time tactical missions, as well as a unique strategic game focused more on territory than resources and a complex story, sets the game apart from ''{{X-COM}}''. Unfortunately, the series does not break from the X-COM tradition of crippling bugs and glitches. This got worse with the sequels, which were often rendered ''{{unwinnable}}''.

* ACommanderIsYou: Essentially the humans are the brute force faction, especially in the first game. The weapons they have tend to have the highest base damage or greatest rate of fire, because humans build their equipment (including their alien-based tech) on a bigger scale. The brute force of the humans' oversized tech is one of the big advantages over the other factions.

* Grenades and rocket launcher type weapons, unlike the original X-Com, the UFO series is real-time which makes the use of these weapons difficult to coordinate and use effectively. Grenades have a variable detonation time and neither grenades or rockets are hit-scan weapons, so your enemy has a good chance of leaving or getting killed by a shooter before the explosive arrives. Despite that, these weapons are still very useful once you get the hang of them - they have great hitting power and area effect plus grenades are your only weapon able to arc over walls.

* In ''Aftermath'', if you build your character to be strong and quick enough, there's no weapon that can match the Collapsible Machine Gun and Collapsible Plasma Cannon. They both have fantastic range, enough ammo to last the longest battles and do so much damage that even highly resistant enemies will go down quickly against them. With enough agility, collapsible weapons become quick to deploy and once deployed - all attacks from the weapons are triggered instantly, so you will always win a quick-draw match against any enemy.

* DifficultButAwesome: In ''Aftermath'', the Heavy Armor starts off as liability. It's extremely heavy which uses up a lot of your max weight capacity and slows down all but the strongest soldiers. Worse yet, it prevents a character from running or crouching and it's poor protection against Reticulan warp weaponry. But when your soldiers have near max stats, the Heavy Armor becomes incredible because it allows you to use collapsible and gatling class weaponry effectively. The InfiniteySwordPlusOne weapon is the Collapsible Machine Gun and with it fully deployed, NO ENEMY can withstand the weapon's incredible range and damage or its rate of fire. With Warp Resonators, Collapsible Plasma Cannon and etc., enemies just don't last long enough to fight back. Even enemies with warp weapons don't provide any threat, as you can gun them down before they can activate their weapons.

* {{Game Breaking Bug}}s: If commentary on the LetsPlay thereof is to be believed, ''Aftershock'' is chock full of these. Known horror stories include saved games corrupted across an entire game profile, destruction of system files, and the uninstallation of anything running in the background, including Steam (currently the best way to get the After Blank games legally). ([[Website/SomethingAwful The Goons]] seem to applaud ''Aftershock'' for getting rid of one user's [=iTunes=] processes, though.)

The whole trilogy can be bought on {{Steam}} or without {{DRM}} from [[http://gog.com GOG.com]].

* {{Game Breaking Bug}}s: If commentary on the LetsPlay thereof is to be believed, ''Aftershock'' is chock full of these. Known horror stories include saved games corrupted across an entire game profile, destruction of system files, and the uninstallation of anything running in the background, including Steam (currently the best way to get the After Blank games legally). ([[SomethingAwful The Goons]] seem to applaud ''Aftershock'' for getting rid of one user's [=iTunes=] processes, though.)

* OrganicTechnology: Inverts the curve set by ''X-COM'', as organic armor and weaponry becomes less common as the series progresses. Reticulans are so advanced that almost everything they build is a living organism, much like [[NightsDawn The Edenists]]. Of particular note is their ships: they start with a Reticulan "volunteer", inject them with something, and the ship grows from and around the new pilot, who is conscious. There's no one flying Reticulan UFOs because the UFOs ''are'' the pilots. Human scientists wisely decide not to copy the tech directly.

* GiantEnemyCrab: Car Crabs in ''Aftermath''.

In May 2004, mankind achieved first contact. Or rather, aliens, named [[TheGreys Reticulans]], strolled over to Earth, ignored all attempts to make contact, and dumped a copious amounts of spores into the atmosphere as a means of hello. A week later, the spores, having rapidly multiplied, fell ''en masse'' to the surface, choking the life out of the planet. The few survivors of the devastation gathered together with one purpose in mind: [[ThisMeansWar to extend a proper thanks]] to the visitors.

In May 2004, humans achieved alien contact. Or rather, aliens, named [[TheGreys Reticulans]], came to Earth. Ignoring all attempts to make contact, the aliens unleashed a massive cloud of spores that completely covered the skies. One week later, the spores, having rapidly multiplied, fell ''en masse'' to the surface, choking the life out of the planet. The few survivors of the devastation gathered together with one purpose in mind: revenge.

* StarfishAliens: While most of the sentient aliens are some sort of humanoid biped, there are some weird variations. The Martians are plant-like, the Beastmen look like an unholy cross between a gorilla and a praying mantis, the [[spoiler: Starghosts]] aren't even shown, but appear as ghostly psionic projections, and the [[spoiler: Myrmecols]] are enormous [[EldritchAbomination Eldritch Abominations]] that at first sight look a lot like asteroids.

''Afterlight'' can be bought on {{Steam}}. The whole trilogy can be bought and downloaded without {{DRM}} from [[http://gog.com GOG.com]].

** It depends, the flamethrower hits harder than anything other than a Warp Demolition Device, BUT you really need to micromanage that weapon. It's range is quite short, and worst of all its wall of flame effect can spill backwards. So it's quite easy to set yourself and any team-mates around you on fire.

** It depends, the flamethrower hits harder than anything other than a Warp Disruptor BUT you really need to micromanage that weapon. It's range is quite short and worst of all it's wall of flame effect can spill backwards. So it's quite easy to set yourself and any team-mates around you on fire.

* VideoGameFlamethrowersSuck: [[AvertedTrope No]] [[KillItWithFire they]] [[AwesomeYetPractical don't.]]