At this year's Rezzed gaming convention, one of the games that really caught my attention was a behind-the-scenes look at Firaxis's forthcoming update to the Mythos Games developed XCom game that was originally released in the 90's. Not knowing what to expect from a studio who are more renowned for their Civilisation titles, but still respecting the studio's heritage, I sat down with Ananda Gupta (Lead Designer at Firaxis Games) and managed to probe him on why contemporary audiences should care about XCom: Enemy Unknown, an update to a long dormant and recently neglected gaming franchise.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNyhyzjYCks
Hello, now you've just previewed a demo of XCom: Enemy Unknown – a much hyped and (some would say) eagerly anticipated update to the old PC classic that was originally developed by the Gollop brothers. What sort of pressure have you been under to ensure that your update lives up to the expectations set by its predecessor?
Well, since we were such great fans of the original, the pressure first came from within our own studio. We had to identify the elements which made the original such a classic, and we sat down and figured out what those things were – such as destructible terrain. We wanted to ensur...