with the wingmen previously assigned to the mission, in a similar style to Wing Commander: Prophecy, with the goals of destroying or disabling the enemy ships. There are various mission types in the game, including disabling/destroying enemy craft, capturing certain special craft, interrupting alien trade routes, escorting convoys, and base raiding missions. The player collects points for every mission, adding to the total campaign score. Every week a short report is presented, with status, recommendations or news. News include political instability and construction of Mega-Primus from X-COM: Apocalypse and the plot of X-COM: Alliance about the missing GSC Patton. X-COM: Interceptor is the first X-COM game to include a fully functional multiplayer portion of the game. Development The game was announced in October 1997. It went gold on June 6, 1998. Reception The game received above-average reviews according to the review aggregation website GameRankings. Edge praised the game's "enormous depth" and inventive gameplay, stating that MicroProse "managed the previously impossible task of blending real strategy with 3D space combat." However, Ron Dulin of GameSpot criticized the game for its campy tone and the out-of-place pop cultural references. Next Generation called the game "a painless way to pass the time, but aside from a good sense of camp, it fails to bring anything new to the X-Com series." In 2010, GameFronts Phil Owen wrote, "This one is known sort of as the red-headed stepdouche of the X-Com franchise, and yet this is the one I played the most", adding that he preferred the administration and space exploration parts over the "not particularly fun" simulation part. The game only sold about 30,000 copies. References External links 1998 video games Alien invasions in video games Atari games Business simulation games Interquel video games MicroProse games Science fiction video games Simulation video games Strategy video games Video games developed in the United States Video games with alternate endings Windows games Windows-only games XCOM