UFO: Aftermath

 PC
Metascore
67

Mixed or average reviews - based on 23 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 23
  3. Negative: 1 out of 23
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  1. netjak
    73
    While it is a very serviceable try, Altar isn't going to be convincing anyone this is the second coming of X-Com.
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  2. GameBiz
    73
    UFO: Aftermath will give you about 15 hours of solid gameplay, at which stage you may choose to go again and take a different path to victory.
  3. Gamer.tv
    72
    It is a refreshing change to play a game that makes you sit up and take notice, makes you really think about every move, and punishes you if you make a false step.
  5. GameSpot
    64
    Despite some bright spots, this isn't a fitting sequel to X-COM, and, on its own merits, it just isn't a good tactical combat simulator.
  6. PC Gamer
    63
    It took me lengthy experimentation before I learned how to even throw a grenade or use a med-kit - the game's manual offered little help. [Feb 2004, p.79]
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  7. PC Gameworld
    62
    They seem to have removed much of the delicate strategic balancing which made the original so much more than a squad-based tactical game, and many of the tactical elements which made it stand head and shoulders above resource-management games.
  8. Computer Gaming World
    60
    Unpatched, UFO will drag, stutter, and ultimately die a repeated death while a weird save-game bug devours hard-drive space. It's a profound shame, too, because lurking under the seven layers of ugly is an otherwise very good game.
  9. GameSpy
    60
    You could, of course, look at UFO: Aftermath in a vacuum, as if "X-Com" never existed. Even then, however, you're just left with a series of weak real-time tactical battles loosely connected by a shallow strategic shell.
  10. Game Over Online
    59
    Something went terribly, horribly wrong here. UFO: Aftermath isn’t a good tactical strategy game, and it’s not even a good action game by mistake. It’s a game you should avoid, even if you liked the X-COM series.
  11. Armchair Empire
    59
    The game should probably better have been dubbed "UFO: Afterbirth" – it’s ugly and sloppy and imposes itself on the heels of what you really wanted to see.
  12. Yahoo!
    50
    While Aftermath is a brave try, it lacks variety and strategic depth, relying instead on dumb but heavily armed enemies to provide a challenge. It's of passing interest, but ultimately destined to be abandoned in frustration in most cases.
  13. Computer Games Magazine
    50
    That it comes up short isn't too much of a shock; if anything, the fact it holds up as well as it does is perhaps the bigger surprise. [Feb 2004, p.68]
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Awards & Rankings

34
#34 Most Discussed PC Game of 2003
86
#86 Most Shared PC Game of 2003

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
6.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 58 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 58
  2. Mixed: 20 out of 58
  3. Negative: 15 out of 58
  1. SupaIndependent
    Aug 21, 2013
    1
    Taking place in the far distance future of um 2004 immediately after aliens have wiped out the
    overwhelming majority of life on earth, UFO    Taking place in the far distance future of um 2004 immediately after aliens have wiped out the
    overwhelming majority of life on earth, UFO Aftermath was supposed to be a mix of strategy via a global
    view central command with real time tactical missions and a somewhat crpg element in regard to control of tactical teams. In addition to this if you had played this title you would have been required to do research to advance your cause against the aliens. A seemingly interesting balance of game elements right? Wrong.

    So what went wrong? The game was also to advance via the tactical missions. However, poor game balance blamed partly on an impossible learning curve left this aspect of the title unappealing. Except, perhaps, to those with nothing else to do, at all. What was leftover for those who did not free themselves from UFO Aftermath after a mission or so was a tedious and repetitive rut in an unoriginal game with unappealing graphics, amateurish voice acting and no sense of any real point to it.

    In addition, a frustrating optional hybrid system could auto-pause the game allowing the player to plan their next ''move'' before unpausing the game. Perhaps as an attempt to appease or appeal to the legions of fans of the venerable turn-based X-Com, some of whom were lead to believe that this clunker was some sort of ''spiritual'' successor to the X-Com series. A retro isometric style presentation would have been a better tribute to X-Com instead of the low grade 3D graphics that look so tediously similar to dozens of other Jim Crack RTS games. However, not even that would have saved this pot boiler from sub-mediocrity. Furthermore the old 1024x768 resolution leaves wide screens half empty. So please, do yourself a favor today choose the easy option and just avoid it. RATING 12%    … Full Review »
  2. JasonB
    Jul 29, 2006
    0
    Sorry, this game fails to cut it on ANY level. While it is possible to use a limited form of strategy on the lesser alien beings, it isSorry, this game fails to cut it on ANY level. While it is possible to use a limited form of strategy on the lesser alien beings, it is impossible to use a strategy on the reticulans, who seem to all be armed with rocket launchers...bye bye squad in 2 shots.You cant plan ahead as you are totally surrounded. smoke only lasts for about 30 seconds and then your squad is anihilated as they try to break out. Means you have to abort every mission with reticulans and thus lose the game. CRAP!!! There is no challenge in being anihilated. Why is it that when you down UFO'S they have 20 guards outside and another 20 inside? Do they not take casualties from dropping 35 thousand feet+? All in all this game is not balanced at all and players will find it frustrating...this is a very poor stand alone game and a dreadful ending to the first XCOM series.....… Full Review »
  3. SergiusM.
    Jun 2, 2006
    0
    This is what an alien base mission basically looks like: -Your entire squad starts in a hole. -You send one scout out of the hole to take a This is what an alien base mission basically looks like: -Your entire squad starts in a hole. -You send one scout out of the hole to take a peek. -The 25 aliens surrounding the hole simultaneously fire a barrage at your scout, comprised of: 5 guided missiles 5 plasma guns 15 lasers -The rest of your squad loses contact with the aliens. -1 second later, 2 times 25 grenades fall into the hole. -You desperately scramble your team out of the hole. -The aliens reappear, shooting another identical barrage at each soldier as soon as he's in view, obliterating him. -Repeat until no soldiers left. -Mission failed. This game is quite probably the worst balanced, imagined and implemented game in the history of mankind. It shows zero quality control, and never mind whether it resembles X-Com! It doesn't even stand on its own as a decently playable game.… Full Review »
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