Whatever Happened To The Other XCOM Remake?

Well, it may have become a third-person shooter, rather than the first-person shooter 2K Marin's divisive XCOM was originally billed as. \Kotaku have seen a opinion-monitoring survey allegedly allegedly allegedly sent out to punters by 2K, which contains apparent screenshots of a third-person view that seems to have a heightened focus on squad play.

Other than that and a reiteration that 2K Marin are at the controls, there's not much to go on. It looks like a big change, though. I can't ascertain from peering minutely at these screens whether or not you directly control just the one guy while doling out orders to the rest of the squad, or if you switch between them.

The screens evoke a sort of 40s Ghostbusters to me - so they've kept the setting even if they've changed the camera, UI and (presumably) mechanics. I also notice that they contain an enemy called the Outsider, which is one that also appears in the XCOM strategy remake, so there'll be some link between the two if these screens are the real deal.

The question, for me, is why they've changed the game, having already given it at least one do-over since its initial announcement in 2010. Is it because other drafts of the game haven't been working, they couldn't meet their lofty intentions, fear of the fan reaction, or some other form of cold feet? Inevitably much may rest on how well XCOM: Enemy Unknown performs. I've got review code for that on my PC now, donchaknow - verdict next week, all being well.