XCOM: Enemy Unknown Review
The original X-COM game, X-COM: UFO Defense (or UFO: Enemy Unknown depending on where you live), was released in 1994. It shook the industry. For years after its release it popped up on lists of the best video games ever made, often at the #1 slot. The game’s simple directive to protect the planet combined with the emphasis on tactical decision making proved to be a wildly popular formula.
As with anything that is financially successful, many sequels followed. Some, like X-COM: Apocolypse, successfully expanded on the original game. Many others were blatant attempts to milk the franchise. Now, almost 20 years later, the franchise has come full circle . . . literally. Mythos and MicroProse were behind the original X-COM games. In the intervening time some of the developers from MicroProse, including Sid Meier, left to form Firaxis Games which would eventually develop XCOM: Enemy Unknown.
For anyone who has played the original X-COM games, it is quite clear that the original X-COM: UFO Defense was used as the template for XCOM: Enemy Unknown. The basic premise, design, and goals are all the same. The game takes place in the near future and the player is put in control of the Extraterrestrial Combat Unit, or XCOM. The single goal of this unit is to protect earth and humanity from extraterrestrials.
As the game progresses you are steadily introduced to increasingly advanced alien enemies. By taking specimens back to your base for research you have the opportunity to discover how to craft more advanced arms and armor. You are also able to expand your base by building new structures such as laboratories, workshops, and even a foundry where you can upgrade certain items.
The biggest strength of XCOM: Enemy Unknown (and why people play it) is the tactical battles. Missions begin with choosing a certain number of soldiers to take out to the field. Each soldier is an individual which gains levels and abilities as he or she is used in combat. The soldiers are also divided into complementary classes and you decide how many soldiers of each class you will take to each mission. You also get to decide what weapons, armor, and other items each solider will carry into the battlefield.
Once boots hit the ground, the game progresses in a turn-based fashion. XCOM: Enemy Unknown absolutely proves 100% that turn-based games can still, in 2012, feel great. Its a refreshing idea because a lot of other franchises which have turn-based play in their roots have been abandoning the play-style out of some misplaced notion that its dated.
The beauty of the turn-based style is that you have complete control over your entire squad. In games that employ real-time action you can only ever do a single thing at a time. This always leads to either most of your squad getting neglected or you only having mild control over them to begin with.
This game isn’t some bland Call of Duty clone where you just charge in with guns blazing. Combat rewards those who take the time to plan out sound attacks. Things like positioning, keeping some players available as lookouts, and choosing each soldier’s items correctly are keys to success.