XCOM: Enemy Unknown

 PC
User Score
8.2

Generally favorable reviews- based on 2608 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2,075 out of 2608
  2. Mixed: 329 out of 2608
  3. Negative: 204 out of 2608
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  1. RingK
    Oct 28, 2014
    9
    Fantastic game, good combat system. good successor to the 1993 title (which in my opinion is a 10), even with his small flaws, totally worth playing!!!
  2. smilzoboboz
    Oct 28, 2014
    8
    Old school evil aliens invade the earth and you are the commander of an elite team that should be able to defy that menace. Fortunately the game doesn't take it too seriously and is therefore enjoyable even if it features "evil alien invaders".

    The plot was surprisingly varied, considering we're talking about evil alien invaders, but it actually just need to support the turn-based    Old school evil aliens invade the earth and you are the commander of an elite team that should be able to defy that menace. Fortunately the game doesn't take it too seriously and is therefore enjoyable even if it features "evil alien invaders".

    The plot was surprisingly varied, considering we're talking about evil alien invaders, but it actually just need to support the turn-based in-field combat mechanics change throughout the progress of the game.
    It was the first time I approached turn based combat games (and the only turn based strategy game I ever played before XCOM: Enemy Unknown was Sid Meyer's Civilization V) but I found XCOM: Enemy Unknown gameplay system pretty straightforward and enjoyable.

    Game graphic is nice, I wouldn't have changed anything on that part, music instead sounds often repetitive even if it matches the atmosphere.

    Now, the cons.
    Percentage system is not totally random but randomly predetermined: if you miss a hit, no matter how many times you reload a savegame and/or change actions before that very hit, it will miss (even with 98% hit chance).
    The movement system gets you hard time with ramps/levels/obstructions.
    Finally, this game has a few bugs, one above all it may happen that the game still runs without any visual issue or crash BUT no matter what button you press, you can't do anything and you need to force quit the game (happened 1 to 3 times per finished game).

    To recap, if this game was made for PC in the first place a lot of things would have been better, but it is clearly adapted to consoles limited controls (gamepads != mouses) and then ported to PC.
    The good thing is that, controls aside, the game has a lot of customizable options and since it uses the unreal engine it's pretty solid.
    Also, the game runs on linux, I'd say it runs really good on linux and I can only praise that.

    If you enjoy turn based strategy combat games this game is for you, if you don't give it a try anyway, I really enjoyed it as my first time turn-based combat game.    … Expand
  3. Notonlytheend
    Oct 25, 2014
    9
    Turn based squad strategy at it's finest. The only complaint is that the story is a little week. Other than that, there's enjoyable progression, challenge for any level of familiarity, and huge replay-ability.
  4. DGDrocks7
    Oct 18, 2014
    10
    I have never played the original XCOM games, I just downloaded the demo, not knowing that the XCOM series existed. I got so addicted to the demo, I replayed it several times. Then I got the full game for Christmas. This game defines fun. The story may seem shallow, but guess what, that why you must create your own story. I mean, you can customize your own soldiers, even their names. TryI have never played the original XCOM games, I just downloaded the demo, not knowing that the XCOM series existed. I got so addicted to the demo, I replayed it several times. Then I got the full game for Christmas. This game defines fun. The story may seem shallow, but guess what, that why you must create your own story. I mean, you can customize your own soldiers, even their names. Try naming them after your loved ones, and you'll get attached to them. That's the thing about XCOM, it doesn't trivialize death; it even has a memorial for your lost soldiers. Haven't played multiplayer, but singleplayer alone justifies the price tag. There are some lags here and there but they're minor. Come on, buy it NOW.… Expand
  5. Jochokilla
    Oct 15, 2014
    10
    Incredible game, I have spent at least 120 hours playing this, people saying it´s "dumbed down" Its because they have not even tried it in impossible with iron man mode enabled, buy this game, I asure you wont regret it.
  6. Dozmo
    Oct 14, 2014
    8
    Great. Interesting characters - who you genuinely care about, because they can die at any time. Varied skills - which can really shake up the field of play. A variety of classes - which really do play differently. Lots of tactical options to consider and with the expansions/DLC, even more. I'm not typically a TBS player, but even I found this to be a great game. The only caveats are thatGreat. Interesting characters - who you genuinely care about, because they can die at any time. Varied skills - which can really shake up the field of play. A variety of classes - which really do play differently. Lots of tactical options to consider and with the expansions/DLC, even more. I'm not typically a TBS player, but even I found this to be a great game. The only caveats are that the action can be a little slow at times (e.g: chasing down the last few aliens on a map), and the base-building part of the game seemed underdeveloped (at least, without the DLC).… Expand
  7. 2clicks
    Sep 28, 2014
    9
    Great game. The tactics are quite simple and make for streamlined gameplay. Its not bad for it, the range of maps is quite good. The solider nationalities and editing give you a connection with them, if you play on ironman you feel gutted if a favourite dies.

    The ironman mode is really good one bad mission can cause a lot of problems. I would like to see more mission types although    Great game. The tactics are quite simple and make for streamlined gameplay. Its not bad for it, the range of maps is quite good. The solider nationalities and editing give you a connection with them, if you play on ironman you feel gutted if a favourite dies.

    The ironman mode is really good one bad mission can cause a lot of problems.

    I would like to see more mission types although the missions themselves seem to be quite different with each play through.

    Would recommend however if you are looking for in depth combat you may be disappointed.    … Expand
  8. iunewind
    Sep 22, 2014
    5
    Ita amazing - this piece of s... still playable and even not bad in spite of, ALL good what was in original X-com was failed, ruined or remaked in absolutly stupid way. My english too poor to describe all, but i try:
    - two-turn stupid system for stupid kids, i wonder
    - no aiming - no inventory - no casulty shots (you can shoot ONLY your target or you miss even if target stay in huge    Ita amazing - this piece of s... still playable and even not bad in spite of, ALL good what was in original X-com was failed, ruined or remaked in absolutly stupid way. My english too poor to describe all, but i try:
    - two-turn stupid system for stupid kids, i wonder
    - no aiming
    - no inventory
    - no casulty shots (you can shoot ONLY your target or you miss even if target stay in huge crowd and you soot from mashinegun)
    - ruined economic. All prices very funny. And stupid (like all other in game)
    - no more strategy, only one base and stupid "sattelite" instead another base
    - terror missons always theree and you alweys fail two. No, no more two or how you like ships for closing all mission.
    - "timer" mission its something from hell. Im cant remeber anything so idiotic and so not fitted ot plot like this.
    - hm,... "plot"... yes, its make you facepalm again and again
    - even video search report failed. Original 200x300pix ufopedia pages was much better. Im dont know, how firexis make this but its true.
    - and many more, i suppose, i just lazy to start game again for remember all of this.    … Expand
  9. socialist6
    Aug 21, 2014
    1
    Having played the original version i was extremely disappointed and surprised that they simplified it so heavily, when they had the option to keep the complexity and add better graphics, but chose not to.
    Graphics are good, but again mostly made up of preset animations, and not depending much on what you actually do, meaning the same thing happens over and over, also when it comes to    Having played the original version i was extremely disappointed and surprised that they simplified it so heavily, when they had the option to keep the complexity and add better graphics, but chose not to.
    Graphics are good, but again mostly made up of preset animations, and not depending much on what you actually do, meaning the same thing happens over and over, also when it comes to damage (i actually it could not be true).
    Line of sight is sadly also broken.
    1 point for decent graphics.    … Expand
  10. koval321
    Aug 19, 2014
    0
    As fan of first classic X-Com am disappointed of where this go, and from what I see have no reason to play this. Strategy is better when its more complex and realistic, where apparently here they do everything to make it worst.
  11. Overtake
    Aug 18, 2014
    9
    This new XCom can proudly bear it ancestor name. While it isn't the old XCom game in new dressing, it keeps the essence of the old title.

    It is simpler in many aspects, like you don't have to care for munition -- making it or using it, only issue is to reload the guns in battle, but the munition supply is infinite, which has an impact on tactics, since you can shoot all the time, even    This new XCom can proudly bear it ancestor name. While it isn't the old XCom game in new dressing, it keeps the essence of the old title.

    It is simpler in many aspects, like you don't have to care for munition -- making it or using it, only issue is to reload the guns in battle, but the munition supply is infinite, which has an impact on tactics, since you can shoot all the time, even when % is very low. And its fun to kill an alien with a 10% chance! Also, you don't choose the kind of equipment a soldier will use. After the first graduation each soldier will go automatically to Sniper, Assault, Support or Heavy, and from them on can only use weapons for his or her class. But this isn't a problem, its cheap to get new soldiers and you can choose which ones to take on the missions (use the Clear button on the mission rooster to change them) (Also, its good to have many soldiers and train them all. It can be important along the game).

    One little point I disliked is that soldiers can hold just a weapon, a side weapon, armor and one extra item, like grenades, medikits or any other of the later developed items. It seems to me that some items, like a Scope or a Helmet, should be used besides these ones, but no, you have to give up on grenades/ medikits to have these ones.

    One funny aspect is Engineering can build anything instantly (provided you have money and materials for it). Also, you can't sell equipment. All you can sell are alien items you get on battle -- and this isn't really a good idea, you will need them to build items with alien tech.

    Another thing that for me doesn't look great is how hard it is to get all satellites in the air (if you loose a country, you cant recover it back later, so at first its all efforts to put satellites everywhere), and how easy is to have money after that is done. This side of the game is very intense at first but too easy after the satellites. You research all that is to research really quick, I didn't even build any Laboratory (playing on Normal), just built two Workshops to have enough Engineers to built the satellites. It would be more interesting if you could make some super special hard mission to recover a lost country later...

    Because of these small points I don't give the game a 10.

    On the plus side, graphics and sounds are phenomenal. Really great. Sceneries are also great, even if a little more variations would be good. On old XCom games we could end walking around the scenery looking for that last alien to kill, but this wont happen here, sceneries aren't very big (it would be great to have some variation in size, it would be more interesting), and there is an interesting hearing cue to tell you where the aliens are. Animations are also great. The way camera changes when a soldier or alien shoots is great (and sometimes when a soldier moves), adds a lot to the game.

    Interface is also great. I had a little trouble to understand how to use mouse wheel (to raise/lower levels of view), but after I got it right, everything with interface was easy and fun. One little issue: at the end of a turn, we could have a button to put all the remaining soldiers on Overwatch, instead of going one by one. Also, after a mission start, you cant choose the sequence the orders are given to soldiers (when clicking the button to go from soldier to soldier, or Shift key). It could be like you manually choose the order the first time and the game could remember the sequence and repeat it instead of using its own sequence all the time. This makes we jump from a side of the scenery to the other with each soldier instead of solving movement for all that are together. This using the Shift key to change soldiers. Of course you can click on the next soldier too (the cue that you are on the correct point to click is very good, its hard to do it wrong).

    After a while playing the game, you can turn on Ironman. On Ironman you can't save the game while in a mission, making things much, much harder. (Of course you can always return to a saved game before the start of that mission that went very badly, but don't do so, its cheating (: )

    The tactical aspect of the game is very well thought. At first there's no difference what kind of weapon you use, but after the game progress it is essential to have the correct ones (before each mission, game tells you what kind of aliens you should find in the mission). Or, you can solve the problem without the right ones, but its much more difficult. Also the tactical positioning is essential. On missions where the UFO landed (opposed to crashed down), you can't approach it heads on, there will be a ton of aliens shooting at your soldiers at the same time. So you have to find other ways to approach... (here a bigger scenery could be more fun. But it is already very interesting the way it is!).

    All in all, a very recommended game and one I will play for a long time. Already crossed the 200 hours on it!    … Expand
  12. mthrl
    Aug 17, 2014
    5
    Could have been a really enjoyable game if it wasn't for the many game-breaking bugs that make it just plain annoying. I'm on one of the last missions in the game and yet every time I go back to try and complete it I get a bug where I'm stuck in the middle of my turn and can't do anything. It's been ages since the game's release and yet there is still no fix for the issue.
  13. anggadaz
    Aug 8, 2014
    9
    This game is turn based game, but you must try it. The graphic game is great. The storyline is very good. This game has psychic power that can use for weapon, control enenmy, etc.
  14. Sir_Red
    Aug 1, 2014
    9
    Utterly immersing and satisfying. If you like first person shooters as well as turn based grand strategy games (think total war series) then this merges the two in a perfect way. As a newbe to the xcom series, I have been left very impressed.
  15. deweee
    Jul 29, 2014
    1
    Let me explain why I hate the guts this crappy game.

    1- The storyline, combined with so-to-speak side missions are completely retarded, since you cannot build a satellite uplink before 5th or 6th "forced" missions. Panic level rises in countries, missions become impossible therefore game gets **** 2- Game is buggy as hell. Both visually and AI wise. I have given a second change to it    Let me explain why I hate the guts this crappy game.

    1- The storyline, combined with so-to-speak side missions are completely retarded, since you cannot build a satellite uplink before 5th or 6th "forced" missions. Panic level rises in countries, missions become impossible therefore game gets ****

    2- Game is buggy as hell. Both visually and AI wise. I have given a second change to it in July 2014, still as bad as it gets. You can shoot through walls, they can shoot through walls and miss through walls. It is like a joke.

    3- UFO vs Intercepter fights must be a joke... It's like '99 ATARI gameplay, which you cannot even play. It is like OGAME of some other browser-based sh*t.

    4- Dark parts of the map (not mini map, the whole screen) cannot be revealed except diving with your soldiers, which is retarded in a turn based game.

    5- So, on and on. Sorry that I've forgotten a lot of other things. Just read the negative reviews and I am sure you'll find those too.

    Overall, I would not touch this game ever gain.    … Expand
  16. rodericrinehart
    Jul 22, 2014
    10
    I would put this game in the pantheon of strategy games, without question. SCORE: 97/100.

    I loved this game from start to finish and everything about the tactical gameplay is amazing and engaging. There are a great variety of classes (with upgrade paths, ranks, and different equipment) and enemies, diverse maps, good base technology and items, and just a complete package that is fun and    I would put this game in the pantheon of strategy games, without question. SCORE: 97/100.

    I loved this game from start to finish and everything about the tactical gameplay is amazing and engaging. There are a great variety of classes (with upgrade paths, ranks, and different equipment) and enemies, diverse maps, good base technology and items, and just a complete package that is fun and replayable.

    This is a game that you will play again, and you will be glad you did.    … Expand
  17. TitaniumDragon
    Jul 22, 2014
    10
    All in all, the game is very strong; the combat works well, the macro-level stuff keeps you sucked in, and there is a fairly decent variety in enemies. The game will keep you entertained for 20-30 hours.

    That being said, it could be a little bit better; the aliens aren't quite smart and aggressive enough, and eventually, once you get things under control, it can get a little bit dry    All in all, the game is very strong; the combat works well, the macro-level stuff keeps you sucked in, and there is a fairly decent variety in enemies. The game will keep you entertained for 20-30 hours.

    That being said, it could be a little bit better; the aliens aren't quite smart and aggressive enough, and eventually, once you get things under control, it can get a little bit dry towards the end.

    Still, on the whole, it is an enjoyable experience and well worth the time and money to beat it once.    … Expand
  18. metamoth
    Jul 11, 2014
    5
    This is a review of the base game with all DLC except Enemy Within.

    XCOm is a very polished but ultimately after about the first 100 hours I was bored with it. The challenge and excitement is all in the beginning but once my research and engineering catches up and my soldiers become strong enough to become a match for the aliens the missions start to become a chore to play and I just    This is a review of the base game with all DLC except Enemy Within.

    XCOm is a very polished but ultimately after about the first 100 hours I was bored with it. The challenge and excitement is all in the beginning but once my research and engineering catches up and my soldiers become strong enough to become a match for the aliens the missions start to become a chore to play and I just can't be bothered to finish the rest of it. The original XCOM UFO Defence managed to keep me hooked all the way to the end because of its randomness, variety and customisability. All these attributes are sorely lacking in this version of XCOM.    … Expand
  19. zBedlam
    Jul 9, 2014
    9
    Excellent game.

    Hard decisions to make, punishes bad moves, makes you feel accomplished when you succeed. Game has high replay value due to randomization and various settings/mods.

    Only reason its not a flat out 10/10 is minor annoyances. Such as if the last man with medkit gets wounded and some odd camera bugs.
  20. FantasicGamer
    Jul 4, 2014
    0
    This is not a remake of UFO Defense but only a reboot at best. It is simply a downgraded tactical strategy game but with some elements taken from UFO defense.

    Just another generic strategy game taking advantage of the name of XCOM to monetize. On a side note, the technical issues of this game are also notorious for long, so check them first before you decide to give it a shot.    This is not a remake of UFO Defense but only a reboot at best. It is simply a downgraded tactical strategy game but with some elements taken from UFO defense.

    Just another generic strategy game taking advantage of the name of XCOM to monetize.

    On a side note, the technical issues of this game are also notorious for long, so check them first before you decide to give it a shot.

    Fortunately, players cam still have either open xcom project or true remake Xenonauts to choose from, so they can recap the feeling of original.    … Expand
  21. Derythor
    Jul 2, 2014
    9
    This game is fantastic. It's ALMOST to the 1993 version in terms of greatness, in my opinion. It falls just short with the base customization and the way the difficulty really tapers off. However, this game is a great reboot to the series, and an excellent stepping stone for Jake Solomon and his team to bring the XCOM franchise into a new light and, hopefully, continue refining the gameThis game is fantastic. It's ALMOST to the 1993 version in terms of greatness, in my opinion. It falls just short with the base customization and the way the difficulty really tapers off. However, this game is a great reboot to the series, and an excellent stepping stone for Jake Solomon and his team to bring the XCOM franchise into a new light and, hopefully, continue refining the game to make his XCOM run last longer than Julian Gollop's unfortunate luck with the series.… Expand
  22. Andonia
    Jun 30, 2014
    9
    While this game is a lot less complicated than UFO Defense, this is still a very challenging and fun strategy game. If you ARE one of those idiots that are so die-hard to the franchise that you think that anything new is automatically bad, I will point you to Xenonauts, a fan-made remake of the UFO defense.
    .......
    Are they gone? Good. Now let me just say this is a MUST for any    While this game is a lot less complicated than UFO Defense, this is still a very challenging and fun strategy game. If you ARE one of those idiots that are so die-hard to the franchise that you think that anything new is automatically bad, I will point you to Xenonauts, a fan-made remake of the UFO defense.
    .......
    Are they gone?
    Good.

    Now let me just say this is a MUST for any strategy game fan. If you haven't already bought this, turn off your computer,do yourself a favor and run to the nearest retailer to pick up this masterpiece. It is THE BEST strategy game I've played in a while. While the story is admittedly not that great, (You don't even find out why the aliens are here) the game-play makes up for it. With tense fights that will have you biting at your fingernails, interesting research trees to discover new technologies and use them for the against the aliens, and an amazing new "ant-farm" look for the XCOM base that makes building facilities a breeze, this game is definitively worth the 60 dollar asking price, not to mention it has decreased down to about 30 dollars now. I was going to give this a 10 to negate the effect of all the CoD idiots and "hardcore gamers", but that wouldn't be right, would it? Opinions are still opinions, even if they are wrong. 9/10    … Expand
  23. RazvanClaudiu
    Jun 25, 2014
    10
    If you judge this by how well it is made, it is a complete ten. I've played the entire XCOM series except Terror From the Deep and the UFO Aftermath spinoff. This is the best XCOM game I've ever seen. Yes, it is simplified and streamlined but in a good way.

    However, this game follows the World of Warcraft formula. There is no real end in mind. The game has an ending but you level up to    If you judge this by how well it is made, it is a complete ten. I've played the entire XCOM series except Terror From the Deep and the UFO Aftermath spinoff. This is the best XCOM game I've ever seen. Yes, it is simplified and streamlined but in a good way.

    However, this game follows the World of Warcraft formula. There is no real end in mind. The game has an ending but you level up to level up to get better gear to level up to level up. This creates addiction. The first time I've played it, I've did it for six hours straight and then deleted the game. I've installed it a second time and played eight hours in a day.

    Since then I gave up on it. If you have a lot of time on your hands, it is worth it. It has enough variety to keep you surprised, the level up system is extremely addicting and the story is very good. It combines a techno-military-thriller feel with hunting aliens. Even if the graphics are not that realistic (by design), it has a very strong military vibe to it.

    I wish I had the 50 - 100 hours to finish it (with Enemy Within). However, the second time I've woke up at 02:00 AM in my bed, with my girlfriend sleeping still playing this game, I've realized I've gone too far and deleted it right away.

    As a bonus though, it works great on integrated graphics. Since it is turn base you don't need big FPS but even on an Intel HD 4000 I can play it on low with decent graphics. If you tweak the ini file a bit, you'll gain 15 - 30 FPS right of the bat.

    So it is hard not to give this a 10 / 10 but since there is no end in mind to it, I won't play it. It follows the same formula as Call of Duty, as World of Warcraft, as Civilization 5. And it works. If only this game was released 10 years ago when I had the time for it.

    One last thing, the action is not that hard.

    As long as you equip your soldiers with the right weapons (or better yet, the MEC suits in the expansion which are way overpowered in the early stages) and place them in cover, that's about the entire strategy you are going to get.

    I could place my sniper high or throw a flashbang or ruin their cover with a rocket but why do so?

    It is enough to place three MEC suits in front, three people in cover, preferably the support class that can fire twice after the upgrade and press "1" and "space" for every single one of them. It works for a large section of the game.

    If you follow the instructions, capture the aliens, do the right research, it is hard not to overpower every alien you meet.    … Expand
  24. maximilianschme
    Jun 24, 2014
    3
    It is called Xcom Enemy Unknown, but it isn't!
    I played ALL strategic xcom games and i loved them all, each of them has their negatives but the new Firaxis Xcom is the worst remake (after JA back in Action) i have seen, why? Go on:
    Good: + You still can catch aliens + PSI is still in the game + the graphics are okay, for such a game + the sounds are good + It is tactical, very    It is called Xcom Enemy Unknown, but it isn't!
    I played ALL strategic xcom games and i loved them all, each of them has their negatives but the new Firaxis Xcom is the worst remake (after JA back in Action) i have seen, why? Go on:
    Good:
    + You still can catch aliens
    + PSI is still in the game
    + the graphics are okay, for such a game
    + the sounds are good
    + It is tactical, very diffrent but it is.
    + only one base, yeah i do like it, but it could be also negative but i think it is the only good change...

    Negativ:
    - no Inventory...the game has Shooter like Weaponslots...
    - no diffrent firemodes for each weapon, skills/perks instead...
    - Clipping errors (weapons go through walls...)
    - just a few Equipment
    - Very linear story structure, NO REPLAY VALUE! Railroad Shooter story...
    - with one base, you still don't have to defend it...BORING!
    - you can't pick up Items during a mission...like in a shooter.
    - like every weapon is class-based...
    - enemys are like dolls, no specific weakness or strengthen (fire, gas? why not? oh...i get it, you have to think and be tactic...)
    - higher difficulty increases enemy numbers and hitchances instead of a smarter A.i....
    - greandes are skill based...no "put a he grenade or smoke grenade in the belt of a soldier".

    This is my personal "Worst game remake i ever saw" i was so excited after i heard Firaxis announced this game, but after i played the demo, i was sure it will be the worst remake in history.
    But i give it a chance and i purchased it on a steam sale...
    Even with Ufo extraterrestrials i had way more fun!
    Shame on you firaxis for destroying my so much loved franchise, i really hate you for this game...
    - Cover which isn't really covering you....    … Expand
  25. whatever523
    Jun 23, 2014
    9
    XCOM is a great game. It does have a few annoying flaws however: Every time you mess up, which will probably happen every now and then, you can't access the menus during the enemies' turn. That means you have to watch 1-2 minutes of your team dying or restart the game, instead of being able to reload instantly.
    Same problem with your soldiers' class: It's randomly chosen after the first    XCOM is a great game. It does have a few annoying flaws however: Every time you mess up, which will probably happen every now and then, you can't access the menus during the enemies' turn. That means you have to watch 1-2 minutes of your team dying or restart the game, instead of being able to reload instantly.
    Same problem with your soldiers' class: It's randomly chosen after the first level up instead of letting you pick it. There are ways to get the class you want, but it's still a stupid design decision.
    I get what they're trying to do with these things, but let people play however the hell they want, damn it.

    Except for these things, it's a great strategy game.    … Expand
  26. Gixian82
    Jun 22, 2014
    6
    While nice looking and shiny on the first look and obviously fun for a lot of today's players, for anyone who grew on the old 1994, the new one is flat, shallow, repetitive and soon boring. I know the old game was not perfect, and a lot of micromanagement there was unnecessary, but still the remake is far too simplified and streamlined. While it looks like a strategy game, beside theWhile nice looking and shiny on the first look and obviously fun for a lot of today's players, for anyone who grew on the old 1994, the new one is flat, shallow, repetitive and soon boring. I know the old game was not perfect, and a lot of micromanagement there was unnecessary, but still the remake is far too simplified and streamlined. While it looks like a strategy game, beside the tactical combat (which may or may not suite you), there is no strategy involved in the game at all, as outside the tactical missions the game is fully scripted and ignores how good or bad you do. Anyone looking for a true XCOM game have much better choices around than this one.… Expand
  27. Tibster
    Jun 18, 2014
    10
    Loved the game. Just had to write a review to say i gave it a 10 because 2 many ppl give it 0 cus they have no clue about anything. For real its 9 in my eyes. Go play!
  28. synergy_inc
    Jun 11, 2014
    9
    I have always been a huge fan of Firaxis Games. I love the Civilization games and was very interested to try XCOM: Enemy Unknown, to see how a new spin on turn-based strategy might play out. I was pleasantly surprised. The game is very fun and very addictive. It's also challenging and forces you to try different strategies to finally win.

    It's not without it's faults, however. The    I have always been a huge fan of Firaxis Games. I love the Civilization games and was very interested to try XCOM: Enemy Unknown, to see how a new spin on turn-based strategy might play out. I was pleasantly surprised. The game is very fun and very addictive. It's also challenging and forces you to try different strategies to finally win.

    It's not without it's faults, however. The game has some pretty bad line of sight issues and the AI can sometimes seem glitchy. However, these issues are not constant and overall don't detract from the fun and addictive gameplay. I also wish the XCOM base progression wasn't as repetitive and mundane. It's still fun, but gets a little old toward the end of the game.

    All in all, I have many more praises than complaints and I highly recommend this game for anyone, let alone those gamers that love turn-based strategy!    … Expand
  29. carlosgtardon
    Jun 10, 2014
    8
    Pese al pavor que tenía porque lo hubieran hecho mal, es un digno sucesor del juego original (que es uno de mis favoritos). Han tenido que simplificar algunas mecánicas y parte de la gestión pero sigue teniendo ese regusto a batalla épica a la desesperada que te generaba el primero. Vale la pena comprarlo aunque es una lástima que el multi no te dejen jugar en cooperativo contra los aliens.
  30. DeusXCom
    Jun 7, 2014
    9
    Amazing game. I was a bit worried if it will live up to the fame of the cult classic form 94 or if it will be entertaining enough in this day and age, but this was a 40hours long ride full of fun for me. Engaging tactical battles, politics, research, HQ building, DeusEx style music and atmosphere, great story, some surprising voice actors I've recognized like the scientist from LOST'sAmazing game. I was a bit worried if it will live up to the fame of the cult classic form 94 or if it will be entertaining enough in this day and age, but this was a 40hours long ride full of fun for me. Engaging tactical battles, politics, research, HQ building, DeusEx style music and atmosphere, great story, some surprising voice actors I've recognized like the scientist from LOST's orientation videos, Im completely satisfied here. Yes, it has been a bit simplified compared to the original, but that's understandable and it doesn't ruin the experience. My only complain is the lack of customization for your squad since building your dream squad is the main fun here, at least for me, the final battle also left kinda weak impression as I have headshotted the final boss in one turn, but other than that, this is an awesome reboot of the X-COM classic. 9/10… Expand
  31. Paulystan
    Jun 2, 2014
    3
    I am bias writing this because what I so desperately hoped for was a modern version of the original classic game. I am constantly surprised by how many people love this game and each time I read one of their reviews I try hard to give it another chance for a day or so... However:

    I find this game to be extremely disappointing, poorly developed and a piece of mass produced poo. There    I am bias writing this because what I so desperately hoped for was a modern version of the original classic game. I am constantly surprised by how many people love this game and each time I read one of their reviews I try hard to give it another chance for a day or so... However:

    I find this game to be extremely disappointing, poorly developed and a piece of mass produced poo. There are SO many problems I have with it from the tactics to the inventory and development of your soldiers. The voice acting is extremely poor, the development of the story is poor and the limitations in research, engineering, hiring/firing, building countries up etc are extreme. Stupid things like you can either have a scope (which would surely be attached to your rifle) or a grenade on a soldier... WHAT?!?!? Do you not think a bloke that had mainstreamed that many steroids (judging by the ridiculously stupid graphics of your soldiers) would possibly be able to carry more than a couple of items? Maybe if the option was 'either carry a house or a bus' then carrying only one would make sense. Having soldiers from China, England, France, Germany etc is a nice twist in that they all have their own flag (although here is an important fact... Scotland does not have it's own army, neither does England (nor Wales or Northern Ireland). They are all part of one force called the British Army and having served in it, screw you developers for mucking about with it). However, apparently wherever your soldiers are from, they are in fact all American from their accents and spoken languages.

    Even were I not still trying to get over the sadness of this not being the hoped for 1993 game revamped, I would score this game poorly. It has some amazing ideas, great graphics, interesting twists and game play tweaks that could make a smile but it has far too many flaws to be good in my books.    … Expand
  32. Aeryx
    Jun 1, 2014
    9
    This is a game that doesn't care to be balanced. It only cares to be great, awesome and to give you the most nerve-wracking hardcore experience ever! On Classic difficulty, this game is all-fury and no balance and it is awesome! You will scream and bite your nails as your troops get slaughtered, your interceptors shot down and countries It doesn't care about casual gamers and it doesn'tThis is a game that doesn't care to be balanced. It only cares to be great, awesome and to give you the most nerve-wracking hardcore experience ever! On Classic difficulty, this game is all-fury and no balance and it is awesome! You will scream and bite your nails as your troops get slaughtered, your interceptors shot down and countries It doesn't care about casual gamers and it doesn't care to be fair. If you don't have the balls to play then go back to your casual games! I can't wait to buy the expansion! My only regret is that I didn't buy this game earlier!… Expand
  33. X-Abrupto
    May 7, 2014
    7
    This game totally went under my radar until recently. I played the original XCOM game back in the mid-90's and I kept seeing people talking about this game called XCOM: Enemy Unknown, not realizing they actually remade it a couple of years ago. As soon as I figured it out, I went and got it.

    I don't think there are comparisons to be made with the original XCOM/UFO Enemy Unknown game    This game totally went under my radar until recently. I played the original XCOM game back in the mid-90's and I kept seeing people talking about this game called XCOM: Enemy Unknown, not realizing they actually remade it a couple of years ago. As soon as I figured it out, I went and got it.

    I don't think there are comparisons to be made with the original XCOM/UFO Enemy Unknown game despite the various similarities.

    This game has two major flaws.

    The first one is that it doesn't look good. Its uninspired main screen menu tells you it doesn't aim to be visually beautiful. It's not a big budget game with mindblowing graphics. I even wonder why they didn't chose to do cinematics with real actors instead of poorly animated computerd generated characters. Live acting would've reduced the cost ( it's a 2 days work, really ) and it would've made the game look better overall. But that's a personal opinion, of course.

    The second flaw, and probably the most important one, is that this game is unforgiving and brutal. It's not a Ninja Gaiden Black or Dark Souls type of challenge that forces you to sharpen your skills by practicing - and ultimately defeating the game with a feeling of accomplishment. This XCOM game is just ruthless and you can't do a thing about it. There's only a tiny difference of difficulty between easy and normal, and the normal mode is very, very hard. The game doesn't tell you what to do to augment your chances of winning, especially concerning everything surrounding the base management. It won't tell you how to make profits and how to augment your chances of victory. There's a lot of stuff you get to learn by yourself at the cost of tens and tens of hours of gaming filed with what I'd call gamer rape. You are most likely to restart your game once or twice. By the third time you play, you probably will master most of the elements of the game, but it's still very hard to beat.

    The combat mode is probably the best part of the game. Those who like military strategy will fall in love with this game. It's the strategic aspect of the game that kept me from giving up on it after realizing I had to invest on satellites when it was way too late. The combat mode can be very gratifying if you come up with strategies as you fight your enemies. If you send your squad to random spots without thinking of the consequences, you're most likely to get a severe beating at the hands of a formidable AI that could reduce Garry Kasparov to tears.

    But then again, the difficulty of the game catches up and you'll find yourself in terrible situations more than once. Your soldiers will die and you will fail some missions unless you save and load repeatedly. The AI isn't to blame here, because if you have a smart AI, why make it dumb to alleviate the difficulty? All they had to do was to reduce their hit points and reduce the damage they could deal to you to make the game easier. But it seems the people who made this game really wanted to make it almost impossible to play for an average gamer who can't spend days playing a single video game before he actually manages to understand the mechanics of the said game.

    Many so-called hardcore gamers will tell you this game is just like the old school games and that it was made difficult willingly. Sorry, but I don't agree. The good ol' hard games were hard because they were poorly designed and had close to no beta testing whatsoever. Battletoads, Friday the 13th, etc. etc. they were hard games because the people who made them had no idea on how to reduce the difficulty - or they simply didn't care. There's hard and then there's hell-worthy hard. This game falls in the second category.

    There's also something that bugs me in the combat mode. Sometimes I put my soldiers in specific areas, thinking they will get a higher accuracy percentage, but it turns out they don't. I think this game required a little more tweaking here and there concerning this department.

    Scenario-wise, it's very boring. They missed the opportunity of hiring a good writer who could've come up with a respectable story. Instead, we get dialogues worthy of a 10 year old boy playing with action figures.

    The music is pretty good in this game. It's highly reminiscent of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, but it still holds its own. There are some good tunes in this game.

    Ultimately, this game is still amazing despite the harsh criticism I have on it concerning the difficulty. You end up getting the upper hand of it, but it takes so much time ( definitely 20hours+ required to know what you're doing ). I mean, we either go to school or have jobs. Sorry to put it this way but let's be honest here. This game will only be loved uncondtionally by people who don't have a life. Normal people who play video games a couple of hours once in a while will quickly give up on it. I think that commercially speaking, this game is a failure since it only appeals to a very tiny portion of gamers out there.    … Expand
  34. ingreenblue
    May 1, 2014
    10
    Turn based strategy at its finest with a variety of gameplay options. Play it on ironman where every decision matters. Nothing beats the moment when your favorite Sniper (named after yourself, of course) is down to one health bar, low on ammo, Thin Men dropping in from everywhere, and your Support Class Girl sits on the other end of the map. Be sure to get the excellent Enemy Within as well.
  35. ericcoutinho
    Mar 8, 2014
    9
    X-COM: Enemy Unknown is high quality.
    It was a long time since i had a game with more than 50 hours of playing in a week.
    Since i never play the X-COM classics before, i'm not the one who gonna spit on that game because of some lack of fidelity from the original series, which seems to be what people was most criticizing about. Even the story is good, although is not the focus, and    X-COM: Enemy Unknown is high quality.
    It was a long time since i had a game with more than 50 hours of playing in a week.

    Since i never play the X-COM classics before, i'm not the one who gonna spit on that game because of some lack of fidelity from the original series, which seems to be what people was most criticizing about.

    Even the story is good, although is not the focus, and it's not so well explored. You'll have to manage resources, research alien materials, train and customize your soldiers, capture aliens alive to study them, build facilities, weapons, gadgets, robots, all kind of features to help you to deal with an unknown alien menace.

    The biggest part of this game is at turn-based strategy battles, with a third person point of view on shooting enemies or doing another actions.

    I got some minor bugs, mostly concerned the camera movement, which can be very annoying some times, but nothing truly deal breaker.    … Expand
  36. Hall7718
    Feb 21, 2014
    5
    Purchased this game in a Steam sale and spent about 6 hours playing it. The mechanics started feeling repetitive and unoriginal after the first 4-5 missions. Game mechanics are in every game, but for some reason this game kept reminding me that it was a game... not an action packed experience. Before others say I'm not cut out for turn based games... I've got hundreds of hours playingPurchased this game in a Steam sale and spent about 6 hours playing it. The mechanics started feeling repetitive and unoriginal after the first 4-5 missions. Game mechanics are in every game, but for some reason this game kept reminding me that it was a game... not an action packed experience. Before others say I'm not cut out for turn based games... I've got hundreds of hours playing Civilization V. XCOM wasn't the game for me.… Expand
  37. Will3700
    Feb 14, 2014
    10
    I love this game, every character you make gets you attached to them, i already have completed it, and its just... BEYOND amazing! I love all the different alien types and i would not be playing it if it weren't for a youtuber!
  38. zecik
    Feb 14, 2014
    9
    I never played old xcom, but it don't regret that. This game has some bugs like shooting through walls, weird angles of shooting, very rare freeze after animations, but overall game is fantastic :) On the higher levels with second wave options game i really hard and requiring. Maybe there's not many options as it old xcom had, but in my opinion there's a lot of things and research to obtain :)
  39. gyrate
    Feb 8, 2014
    9
    I've put 32 hours into this now and I'm still enjoying it. I have not made it through the game and I've restarted several times after learning from my mistakes. So I feel it puts up a good challenge. The graphics are solid, the atmosphere is pretty nice, and the music is as well. There are a few things that bother me such as when it cuts to my soldier shooting and it's giving me a strangeI've put 32 hours into this now and I'm still enjoying it. I have not made it through the game and I've restarted several times after learning from my mistakes. So I feel it puts up a good challenge. The graphics are solid, the atmosphere is pretty nice, and the music is as well. There are a few things that bother me such as when it cuts to my soldier shooting and it's giving me a strange camera angle. It is also rather slow during those scenes at times I'm thinking just shoot didn't I tell him to attack what's going on? Then he shoots finally. It also occasionally crashes for so no apparent reason. It could use another coat of polish but other than that it's a great game.… Expand
  40. gwkleong
    Jan 29, 2014
    8
    I am an XCOM fan and I find this is an awesome reboot of the series. Unfortunately the story is a bit short. The Slingshot DLC requires a replay of the game once installed hence for those fans out there, make sure you purchase this DLC upfront else you will need to spend another 40 odd hours to replay the whole lot!!!

    I am looking forward with Enemy Within DLC but for the price of USD    I am an XCOM fan and I find this is an awesome reboot of the series. Unfortunately the story is a bit short. The Slingshot DLC requires a replay of the game once installed hence for those fans out there, make sure you purchase this DLC upfront else you will need to spend another 40 odd hours to replay the whole lot!!!

    I am looking forward with Enemy Within DLC but for the price of USD 39 on just an expansion....I'll wait for a good deal    … Expand
  41. Frost_
    Jan 23, 2014
    10
    I personally didn't like strategy games until i played Xcom:Enemy Unknown.With updated graphic and a nice gameplay.even though it's not a 100% remake of the UFO:EU,It's still fantastic.With improve combat system and tactical system.
  42. Aeruja
    Jan 17, 2014
    8
    This is my first XCOM game, and it is a solid game.

    Apparently, according to many fans of the previous one, this XCOM game is less creepier and overall less complex and streamlined. To be honest, despite being simplified, I was still quite challenged by Classic and Impossible modes. Perhaps due to the rather stringent starting conditions that you were given, and the huge tactical    This is my first XCOM game, and it is a solid game.

    Apparently, according to many fans of the previous one, this XCOM game is less creepier and overall less complex and streamlined.

    To be honest, despite being simplified, I was still quite challenged by Classic and Impossible modes. Perhaps due to the rather stringent starting conditions that you were given, and the huge tactical advantage the enemy possessed.

    Under those reviews, they talked about inventory management affecting movement and reload speeds, manual lighting, and targettable cover, all of which sounds pretty interesting without a doubt, some of which even made me feel like I was missing out on.

    However, that doesn't necessarily make this a poor game, certainly not 0, even if you were trying to downvote..which isn't necessary at all, the good reviews themselves aren't all 10s anyways. And an 8 feels pretty justified in my books.

    This is a great turn-based game. Graphics are decent, too.
    The story is short, and is somewhat linear, as with its game progression.
    Since the achievements are based on replayability, the storyline is kinda overlooked.
    The game progression however, feels constrained. Especially on the harder levels where every level pretty much fights the same if you want your team to come out in one piece.
    Now if there were a bit more leeway in the characters themselves, a few more special moves in the higher tier skills to compensate their weaknesses a bit more, that would make the gameplay much more flexible and enjoyable.

    Other than that, it's a fun solid game. Well worth the christmas sale.    … Expand
  43. Everlast66
    Jan 14, 2014
    1
    It was a decision of the creators of this game to call it XCOM and use the IP of a game that has reached a legendary status. Therefore it should be judged in comparison with the original 1994 game UFO: Enemy Unknown (X-com: UFO Defence in America). The original 1994 game was a brilliant open world alien-survival strategy game. The player had to build and manage mutiple bases around theIt was a decision of the creators of this game to call it XCOM and use the IP of a game that has reached a legendary status. Therefore it should be judged in comparison with the original 1994 game UFO: Enemy Unknown (X-com: UFO Defence in America). The original 1994 game was a brilliant open world alien-survival strategy game. The player had to build and manage mutiple bases around the globe, recruit soldiers, scientists and engineers, research technologies and manufacture (which took time based on engineer hours required and eng. allocated to project) aircraft, weapons and equipment. You had to manage storage, production, research between bases and equip craft and soldiers.
    I might be repeating other people, but in comparison to the above the current game looks completely dumbed-down, lacking strategic depth, freedom and controll. It feels scripted where things happen to you instead of you taking control of the whole X-COM project.    … Expand
  44. Slate
    Jan 12, 2014
    9
    A solid game, great graphics and sound. Good ui and easy to learn, good story and interesting. I'm not a RTS player but this game hits the mark and well. The only complaint I have was a minor glitch where the enemies shots would go through walls and objects and hit you, other than that its a great game.
  45. Gamec0re
    Jan 8, 2014
    10
    Just finished my first play through of this game and I have to say it was well worth the money. I picked it up for 10 dollars during the Steam Xmas sale and after finishing it, I would say it's worth full price. If you like turn based tactical games then buy this game. You get to build your force as you like, recruiting your troops, upgrading them through combat and upgrading theirJust finished my first play through of this game and I have to say it was well worth the money. I picked it up for 10 dollars during the Steam Xmas sale and after finishing it, I would say it's worth full price. If you like turn based tactical games then buy this game. You get to build your force as you like, recruiting your troops, upgrading them through combat and upgrading their weapons and armor through research/capturing/killing the enemies. I found the game play on the challenging side, but I enjoy that in turn based tactical games.… Expand
  46. DablosScropio
    Jan 8, 2014
    9
    I haven't really played the old XCOM and I'll sound like a fan boy, but I'll keep this review short. This game is very fun and some what frustrating but is only because I was losing when I played on hard mode and getting my butt handed to me. All I can say is if you like RST games or military (REAL) simulation either way, and if you want to get away from the Call Duty generation or the FPSI haven't really played the old XCOM and I'll sound like a fan boy, but I'll keep this review short. This game is very fun and some what frustrating but is only because I was losing when I played on hard mode and getting my butt handed to me. All I can say is if you like RST games or military (REAL) simulation either way, and if you want to get away from the Call Duty generation or the FPS games this is the game for you.… Expand
  47. bocephvs
    Jan 7, 2014
    6
    Three words..... frustration, frustration, frustration..... going to have to go to easy mode to see if I can just enjoy this after a long day at work or if it still wants me to delete the game from my steam account and chalk up the time spent as lost time and find something else. For the masochist, have at it. I'll gift you my copy, you'll have to provide your own Tums. For thoseThree words..... frustration, frustration, frustration..... going to have to go to easy mode to see if I can just enjoy this after a long day at work or if it still wants me to delete the game from my steam account and chalk up the time spent as lost time and find something else. For the masochist, have at it. I'll gift you my copy, you'll have to provide your own Tums. For those looking for a relaxing but fairly challenging game, stay with the last version of XCOM.… Expand
  48. Octomon
    Dec 30, 2013
    0
    Worst purchase ever, Installed 13GB and it wont let me play a single player game without updating 6GB first.
    Firaxis and 2K games are just insulting players with this.
    The whole point of buying a retail disc is to avoid huge downloads, I can understand requiring up to 1GB update in order to play multiplayer. But 6GB just to play a single player...... i'll never buy anything from 2K    Worst purchase ever, Installed 13GB and it wont let me play a single player game without updating 6GB first.
    Firaxis and 2K games are just insulting players with this.

    The whole point of buying a retail disc is to avoid huge downloads, I can understand requiring up to 1GB update in order to play multiplayer. But 6GB just to play a single player...... i'll never buy anything from 2K games or Firaxis again.

    And they wonder why PC retail is dying to console games, least a console game you buy from a store you can play single player out of the box without updating. I would rather they didnt bother at all with a retail store copy if they are going to be like that, it just wastes my time.

    This one is going back for a refund, misleading packaging does not state anywhere on the package that it requires an update to play single player, only that online activation is required.    … Expand
  49. Roeratt
    Dec 29, 2013
    5
    I never played the originals, so I was able to go into this game with no expectations. It could have been solid and entertaining, and was to a point, but it was crippled by RNG. Never apply RNG to accuracy in games. Never do it.
  50. Warlord8
    Dec 23, 2013
    9
    This game is an excellent product. A good reboot and remake of the original XCOM videogame. This is what we needed to play again against the Alien invaders. It is immersive, difficult and well balanced. Definitely a must have both for nostalgists and for strategy gamers alike
  51. tenmuter
    Dec 16, 2013
    8
    I really enjoyed XCOM. The gameplay is fun and addicting and you always have the option to load a previous save if you troops start dying and you are afraid of losing someone important or losing the mission. I did find that the equipping soldier loadout aspect of the game quite annoying however. I really wish the developers had integrated a button or function that would remove all specialI really enjoyed XCOM. The gameplay is fun and addicting and you always have the option to load a previous save if you troops start dying and you are afraid of losing someone important or losing the mission. I did find that the equipping soldier loadout aspect of the game quite annoying however. I really wish the developers had integrated a button or function that would remove all special armor and weapons from the soliders rather than have me spend 15 minutes looking through every soldier to find my 6th ghost armour for the squad.… Expand
  52. Thunderstorm
    Dec 3, 2013
    5
    Decent game, nothing special. The conceptually broken auto-save ruined the game for me after a day. Didn't feel like starting over or with all my main goons dead.
  53. Serenth
    Dec 1, 2013
    10
    I LOVE THIS GAME.
    I've never played any of the predecessors prior to XCOM Enemy Unknown and this game straight injected addiction into my ready and open veins.
    After I downloaded and started playing..... I.... could.....not.....get off of it. If you like tactical turn based strategy. THIS GAME IS A MUST!!! Only thing I didn't like about it... was there is no auto save feature....    I LOVE THIS GAME.
    I've never played any of the predecessors prior to XCOM Enemy Unknown and this game straight injected addiction into my ready and open veins.
    After I downloaded and started playing..... I.... could.....not.....get off of it.

    If you like tactical turn based strategy. THIS GAME IS A MUST!!!

    Only thing I didn't like about it... was there is no auto save feature.... so pro tip: SAVE OFTEN.
    it'll prevent headaches lol

    GREAT GAME    … Expand
  54. suneater
    Nov 30, 2013
    5
    People who bash Dark Souls for its "Artificial Difficulty" haven't played Enemy Unknown. This game takes a well known PC series and consolifies it, dumbing down the base building to a single base, dumbing down the soldier customization into locked equipment slots with a shallow skill tree, and dumbing down the combat into praying you don't get flanked by enemies who get free turns and statPeople who bash Dark Souls for its "Artificial Difficulty" haven't played Enemy Unknown. This game takes a well known PC series and consolifies it, dumbing down the base building to a single base, dumbing down the soldier customization into locked equipment slots with a shallow skill tree, and dumbing down the combat into praying you don't get flanked by enemies who get free turns and stat bonuses. On Normal difficulty the game is too easy, with enemy AI being dumbed down... yet on Classic difficulty they get free accuracy and critical hit buffs. Ironman Mode is unplayable because one year after launch and there are still frequent bugs and crashes that will count your mission as a loss after you restart the game.

    While you definitely get your money's worth with EU's lengthy campaign, be prepared for a lot of frustration due to your troops getting one-shotted regularly in the early missions, 3 marines missing their overwatch shot in the same turn on the same enemy, your troops shooting each other while panicked (in cover!), and not being able to hit the broad side of a barn until your unit is so kitted out they look like a Space Marine from W40k.    … Expand
  55. rahto56pilko84
    Nov 22, 2013
    9
    Very good game, and is a good tradition holder from the original xcom. It does not has many flaws, Mainly i would have prefered to be able to play with more than 6 soldiers at a time, and the lack of alien assault in the player base removes one of the best moments in the original game. But it is solid and very well done.
  56. IonDissonanc357
    Nov 20, 2013
    7
    Fun game but not worth the $40 i spent on it. I'd say you get around $20 worth of fun out of it. The line of sight is unpredictable and shooting down ufos is extremely boring and might as well not even be a part of the game. Maybe it's just my computer but the voice overs simply don't work.
  57. Dreiraben
    Nov 19, 2013
    8
    I must say this X-Com remake is WAY better than i expected. Sure it has been "dumbed down" compared to the classics, but it still feels authentic. the graphics are decent, the camera in the vanilla game is a little bugged and clunky (but can easily be optimized with some mods). The campagin itself is brilliant, addictive and fun, one thing that bothers me personally is the fact, that youI must say this X-Com remake is WAY better than i expected. Sure it has been "dumbed down" compared to the classics, but it still feels authentic. the graphics are decent, the camera in the vanilla game is a little bugged and clunky (but can easily be optimized with some mods). The campagin itself is brilliant, addictive and fun, one thing that bothers me personally is the fact, that you can only have one base and one Skyranger which makes keeping all the states happy, a pain in the arse. Another big minus ist the Multiplayer. It really lacks feature like an option to play together with a player against AI which a) shouldn't be that hard to include in a turned based game and b) would improve the playability and replayability of the game imense. But despite those minor issues, it's one of the best turnedbased strategy games since ages.… Expand
  58. Jossis
    Nov 18, 2013
    0
    This is not Xcom. Period. The only thing this piece has with the xcom series is by name and that's were it ends. I wouldn't give this to anyone except the trash can. If you've never played the original Xcom you'll probably like this. If you have Go look for Xenonauts its the best Xcom version out there to date.
  59. faceless-1
    Nov 18, 2013
    7
    This game is not bad, but original X-COM was better. No base battles, space ships got simplified (only sky ranger), no and team you waaay smaller. The good idea was soldier classes, but sniper class is way overpowered in compare to others. Still XCOM: Enemy Unknown is solid game and good tribute to original X-COM.
  60. Type4101
    Nov 18, 2013
    10
    A wonderful resurrection of a neglected genre, XCOM: Enemy Unknown is simultaneously a breath of fresh air and a nod to a time when games were designed to be fun, not to extract money from customers in an endless parade of overpriced DLC. There are no horrible micro-transactions, no stupid online requirements...just good old-fashioned fun. A full game at a fair price, I can't say enoughA wonderful resurrection of a neglected genre, XCOM: Enemy Unknown is simultaneously a breath of fresh air and a nod to a time when games were designed to be fun, not to extract money from customers in an endless parade of overpriced DLC. There are no horrible micro-transactions, no stupid online requirements...just good old-fashioned fun. A full game at a fair price, I can't say enough about how refreshing that feels! The gameplay could be a bit more developed, XCOM could use more tactical options, and less streamlining....but given the shortage of good turn based games, this one is a true gem. I look forward to a full, robust sequel.… Expand
  61. birdman3
    Nov 6, 2013
    10
    Fire Emblem with guns? Pretty much- you must get this game if you love strategy/RPGs. I loved this game for its story, its gameplay for giving players the ability (and responsibility) to make choices that affect the resistance to alien invasion. Best of all, I loved having my soldiers rank up and become specialists. The game is well thought out, as enemies generally spawn in randomFire Emblem with guns? Pretty much- you must get this game if you love strategy/RPGs. I loved this game for its story, its gameplay for giving players the ability (and responsibility) to make choices that affect the resistance to alien invasion. Best of all, I loved having my soldiers rank up and become specialists. The game is well thought out, as enemies generally spawn in random locations so you can’t just restart a level once you know where the enemy is. My only regret about this game is that once you really get the ball rolling with powerful soldiers, weapons, and income, the game ends rather abruptly. Other than that (and some production issues, like being able to shoot through solid objects to hit targets), the game is nearly flawless.… Expand
  62. yiffy99
    Nov 3, 2013
    8
    I thoroughly enjoyed this game and it is by far one of the best turn-based strategy game I have played. Playing on classic ironman is tense and challenging. However there is a couples of things that puts me off from giving it a higher than 8:

    1: Aliens 'teleporting' bugs, only got it once in a playthrough but it wiped my party as a sectoid, 5 chrysallids, 2 muton elites and 4 heavy    I thoroughly enjoyed this game and it is by far one of the best turn-based strategy game I have played. Playing on classic ironman is tense and challenging. However there is a couples of things that puts me off from giving it a higher than 8:

    1: Aliens 'teleporting' bugs, only got it once in a playthrough but it wiped my party as a sectoid, 5 chrysallids, 2 muton elites and 4 heavy floaters and 2 sectoid commanders were all dumped on me at spawn.

    2. At higher difficulties one has to play very conservatively to not trigger additional spawns, which does get old after a while.    … Expand
  63. kikmeister
    Oct 31, 2013
    9
    This game is superb! It stay's true to the spirit of the XCOM game we love from the early 90's. Despite some persistent glitches or inaccuracies. It is still a great game that is replay worthy. I have spent over 300 hours on this game as of this writing and still find it challenging, engrossing, and enjoyable.
  64. demongoat
    Oct 27, 2013
    6
    tl;dr good game built on bad foundations, possibly wrong devs lots of bugs, heavily simplified, base game mechanics broken, but still a lot of fun

    XCOM is a series known for its difficulty, encouraging players to use tactics to defeat a considerably more powerful force. Though it's had some 'rocky' games in the past, the original was met with critical acclaim for breaking a lot of    tl;dr good game built on bad foundations, possibly wrong devs lots of bugs, heavily simplified, base game mechanics broken, but still a lot of fun

    XCOM is a series known for its difficulty, encouraging players to use tactics to defeat a considerably more powerful force. Though it's had some 'rocky' games in the past, the original was met with critical acclaim for breaking a lot of ground in the Turn-Based Tactics genre. For its time, UFO Defense: Enemy Unknown was very well developed, with cover mechanics bringing a whole new level of tactics.

    Since the release of UFO Defense, there have been a total of 9 games released to the series, with XCOM: Enemy Unknown being the 8th. One would think it safe to assume that great strides have been made to the gameplay since 1994, a grand 18 years ago at time of release. Unfortunately, that is not the case.

    XCOM: EU's improvements are decent updated graphics bring the immersion up noticeably, nice customization options to personalize your troops plus gameplay has been streamlined to accommodate for console releases.
    However, the issues are also numerous. Poor QA testing has left many bugs even a year after its release, a large number of features were removed for 'streamlining' (I assume), and the continuation of relying on RNG to decide the outcome of a match flying in the face of 'tactics'. Cover has little effectiveness, accuracy issues meaning a point-blank shot can display a 20% chance to hit, repetitive mission mean a player can lose interest quickly and a lack of randomly-generated maps removes a whole level of dynamic gameplay.

    What is interesting is that, despite these glaring issues, XCOM: EU is still a lot of fun to play. For that I have to give it merit it's clearly a very good game, but I wonder how much that has to do with it being part of the series.

    On my Realistic Review Scale it gets a 4, slightly below being an average game due to some glaring faults.
    However, on the Metacritic Scale where an 8.5 is average, I'll have to give it a 6.

    A very good game marred by poor design decisions and QA but isn't that the tune of strategy these days?    … Expand
  65. g0ing2f4st
    Oct 24, 2013
    9
    A great game that can only be made to look negative by giving it a direct comparison with the original.

    Story line is decent. Combat and developing your base & arsenal is greatly entertaining. Combat can feel a bit simplified at times as it is rather dumbed down, but is made more dynamic by the unit abilities gained through promotions. The game is not overly challenging although it    A great game that can only be made to look negative by giving it a direct comparison with the original.

    Story line is decent. Combat and developing your base & arsenal is greatly entertaining. Combat can feel a bit simplified at times as it is rather dumbed down, but is made more dynamic by the unit abilities gained through promotions.

    The game is not overly challenging although it may take more than one playthrough to really get a feel of what you should be doing early in the game.    … Expand
  66. Afroman22
    Oct 23, 2013
    7
    X-Com Enemy Unknown is a wonderful turn based Real Time Strategy. It's got great options for your units you are controlling and has great ways to really make each battle a little more exciting.

    What's Here: X-Com as I said before is an RTS turn based. Planning and careful consideration of each move must be taken into place here or you could wind up dead. Aliens are coming to take over    X-Com Enemy Unknown is a wonderful turn based Real Time Strategy. It's got great options for your units you are controlling and has great ways to really make each battle a little more exciting.

    What's Here: X-Com as I said before is an RTS turn based. Planning and careful consideration of each move must be taken into place here or you could wind up dead. Aliens are coming to take over our planet and it's up to us to stop them learning from their technology to better equip ourselves to be better at the fight. Story is generic and boring so it's really just the gameplay that's keeping you here.

    Gameplay: It's turn based and it's hard to explain all the options there without it being long winded. Pretty much you can either decide to move twice move then shoot shoot right at the start take cover and so on. It makes you try to think things out and move cautiously because if you charge forward right away you can run into enemies and they can gun you down easily. You need to take cover consider your gear and consider your surroundings. You also need to consider what class to bring along with you to make sure you have a functional squad. It's really different and hard to take in for new people to RTS at first but everyone should be more than capable to learn what's going on. In the story you have to fight airships sometimes... but it's not really fighting it's just... watching wires duke it out. Which is dull and boring.

    Visuals: While they are not exactly eye popping they do have their plus sides to details on weapons on the characters in game. You can see the glow each marking and all kinds of stuff. The armors are well designed that's for sure. The alien designs too were truly outstanding. Each one was unique and full of color and life and some even scared the crap outta me when they popped up on my screen behind me. This was really well done. As for the maps it was ok. I mean they weren't eye popping but what really got me was how destructive everything was around it. The more you and the aliens fight the more torn up the map becomes. That really got me there.

    Sound: Music replays over and over again. I turned it off and started playing my own music. Gun noises well there is only 3 variety of guns regular, laser and, plasma and there is a sniper, assault rifle, shotguns, machine guns, and rocket launchers. They were good but it didn't really stand out for me So... not much there either. Voice acting was just a snooze fest.

    Controls: Well it's not hard it just takes time to learn but you get use to it fast. It even controlled with a gamepad but it is for PS3 and Xbox so I assumed nothing less if it's on those.

    Recommendation: This game is a 7/10 in my book due to the lacking music and sounds and the more detailed visuals as well as lacking story. Overall though the gameplay and dynamic field really help save it where it lacks in that makes this game a higher score then what I would have given it without seeing those things. While this game has it's flaws it's worth taking a look at if you are an RTS fan or just want to get into RTS.    … Expand
  67. cidgrad01
    Oct 22, 2013
    9
    There are quite a lot of butthurt original X-Com fanbois on here slamming this game and giving it 0 to 3-score reviews, which is utterly ridiculous. It’s like bashing a modern platformer b/c it doesn’t force you to get through 100 levels on 3 lives. XC: EU isn’t perfect but it’s still a lot of fun and doesn’t deserve to be trashed.

    It may not be as complex as the original game but it is    There are quite a lot of butthurt original X-Com fanbois on here slamming this game and giving it 0 to 3-score reviews, which is utterly ridiculous. It’s like bashing a modern platformer b/c it doesn’t force you to get through 100 levels on 3 lives. XC: EU isn’t perfect but it’s still a lot of fun and doesn’t deserve to be trashed.

    It may not be as complex as the original game but it is still very tactical and turn-based, despite many claims here to the contrary. Not sure how some reviewers can compare this to Call of Duty or Mass Effect. Idiotic. There are still difficult decisions to make, as in do you dig open another level of your base, buy another plane, buy another satellite, or research better weapons? Should you investigate that UFO you just shot down or wait b/c your medic & sniper are still recovering from wounds and you’d have to take too many rookies into battle? If you don’t plan & pay attention to what you’re doing, you will have to start all over. You also end up getting attached to your squad members even though they never speak and it’s hard to resist the urge to reload when they die (or when you get faced with a very inconvenient random event between missions one game hour before finishing research on that new armor).

    Some here are even complaining about the “cutscenes” during missions which are actually cinematic visuals of your characters doing what you tell them to do. Sorry, I never got tired of the camera zooming in on one of my guys rounding a corner & shotgunning a baddie at point blank range, or my sniper coolly raising up his rifle & blasting another before they could attack a vulnerable squad mate in the next turn. These are a very cool touch.

    Where I will knock the game is that battles do feel a bit skewed in the AI’s favor. Whenever you stumble upon the enemy, they always see you and essentially get a free movement turn to shuffle around. So if the last guy you move in a turn happens to be the one the aliens see, they immediately get a free move and then will move right away again since their movement turn just started, which most likely means they will swarm whichever squad member is closest. This makes most levels take a long time unless you reload after finding out where the baddies are, as you don’t want to move around the map too quickly.

    And the battles do end up becoming a bit tiresome by the time you reach the end of the game. No way around that after sinking hours & hours into the game.

    Overall, though, it’s an excellent game. Regardless of whether or not the original X-Com is better, XC: EU stands on its own as a great experience.    … Expand
  68. Shadowbane
    Oct 22, 2013
    7
    Having played XCOM in the past I wasn't sure how this game would turn out. I read a lot of reviews saying the dumbed it down and it wasn't a true XCOM. I can see where they are coming from, but truthfully I really enjoyed this game in it's own right. I wanted more weapons, armor, and item, and was a bit disappointed by perma nades and medpacks, but I got over it. I enjoyed the grafx, musicHaving played XCOM in the past I wasn't sure how this game would turn out. I read a lot of reviews saying the dumbed it down and it wasn't a true XCOM. I can see where they are coming from, but truthfully I really enjoyed this game in it's own right. I wanted more weapons, armor, and item, and was a bit disappointed by perma nades and medpacks, but I got over it. I enjoyed the grafx, music and updates to the game. What really makes it shine is the well designed combat system that for the most part stays true to XCOM. Sadly they did not put in a random number generator and shots will always turn out the same no matter how many times you save and reload a battle. I would have also likes to see multiple bases in the world and the ability to dispatch more than one mission at a time if you had the forces and equipment. 7.5/10… Expand
  69. Tubey
    Oct 22, 2013
    9
    I can't believe I waited a year to play this title. This is a stunning, stunning game. I can't speak of the older X-COM games as it was before my time, but I'm really surprised that this reboot is getting ANY negative reviews whatsoever.

    The major complaint seems to be that it's "dumbed down" from fans of the overall franchise. I don't think this is the case. The difficulty level here    I can't believe I waited a year to play this title. This is a stunning, stunning game. I can't speak of the older X-COM games as it was before my time, but I'm really surprised that this reboot is getting ANY negative reviews whatsoever.

    The major complaint seems to be that it's "dumbed down" from fans of the overall franchise. I don't think this is the case. The difficulty level here is fine; I can imagine it's been streamlined somewhat to make it more accessible to the modern gamer, but that was to be expected. X-COM fans of old need to ask themselves a question; would you rather have a game that has a multitude of vaguely thought out features that could foreseeably ruin the project, or a streamlined experience which is highly polished and still a challenge worthy of the franchise?

    Because XCOM: EU is a top, top strategy title. There's no doubt in my mind that Firaxis have done this franchise proud here. I'll go back and play the older titles, and I'll probably prefer them too, but there's no reason to hate on this game at all.    … Expand
  70. TermusDerv
    Oct 21, 2013
    8
    It's pretty sad that some die-hard UFO defense fans are downrating this game just because it fell short of their expectation. As a self-contained item, XCOM: Enemy Unknown is a genuinely great game. I'll keep this short. The soundtrack is alright, the gameplay is excellent, and the presentation is wonderful. Soldier customization personalizes characters and in combination with theIt's pretty sad that some die-hard UFO defense fans are downrating this game just because it fell short of their expectation. As a self-contained item, XCOM: Enemy Unknown is a genuinely great game. I'll keep this short. The soundtrack is alright, the gameplay is excellent, and the presentation is wonderful. Soldier customization personalizes characters and in combination with the brilliant ironman mode, it can be pretty crushing to see them die. There aren't a whole lot of maps, and it can be repetitive after continuous play, but technological developments tend to refresh the gameplay and keep it interesting.

    In brief summary:
    Good
    - Addictive, relatively deep gameplay
    - Extremely strong presentation
    - Extensive customization options
    Bad
    - The amount of RNG (basically luck based gameplay) may irritate some.
    - Not as in-depth as it could have been.
    - Becomes a little bit repetitive.    … Expand
  71. an91
    Oct 18, 2013
    9
    Xcom is a great game. Far from perfect. It has those cheap shots, and those 3% never going to hit it shots that really change the entire game. One shot can change everything about a campaign. For the better, or for the worse. Impossible mode is just pure evil... which is why I love playing it
  72. Spudgunner
    Oct 18, 2013
    4
    Unlike vintage XCOM, this incarnation removes player preferences. If you prefer females to be snipers and males to be heavy. Tough! Beware saying this on the Steam Forum! You find character assassins that tend to spend their lives hovering in this forum illogically calling you a sexist, misogynist and anything random with 'ist postfix. The price you pay if you have a personalUnlike vintage XCOM, this incarnation removes player preferences. If you prefer females to be snipers and males to be heavy. Tough! Beware saying this on the Steam Forum! You find character assassins that tend to spend their lives hovering in this forum illogically calling you a sexist, misogynist and anything random with 'ist postfix. The price you pay if you have a personal preference. (Makes me worry we are moving into). You can dismiss some troops but it is costly in time & finance which makes no sense. As you play more and more games, its like the software realises you have a preference anyway and punishes you. You find it gives you more of you don't want.

    Will I buy the Expansion? If it caters for player preferences (and includes base invasions). Yes and I'll even overlook the games other flaws.    … Expand
  73. Thom
    Oct 17, 2013
    8
    I liked the game, but not enough to finish it. One of the problems was that the base building wasn't really explained, so I had to restart 10 hours in because I didn't realise that the effect of placing like-structures next to each other was cumulative. Consequently, I lost half the council in one month due to an inability to launch satellites. There's also a case to be made that the gameI liked the game, but not enough to finish it. One of the problems was that the base building wasn't really explained, so I had to restart 10 hours in because I didn't realise that the effect of placing like-structures next to each other was cumulative. Consequently, I lost half the council in one month due to an inability to launch satellites. There's also a case to be made that the game over-emphasises a slow defensive approach this makes battles take far longer as you tediously move each squad member forward between alien encounters. It's not a massive problem for most of the game, but then you get to the final the story missions, one of which is basically a long, long corridor. It's just tedious moving your guys forwards. In the end, I just got sick of moving guys around arbitrarily and packed it in. Still had a fun 20 hrs with the game, which is pretty huge given I'm not a strategy fan.… Expand
  74. outfctrl
    Oct 17, 2013
    9
    I am not a turn-base game player, but this one caught my eye. It was on sale at steam for around 10.00 USD. I jumped on it. I can't put it down. The reason I didn't give it a 10 is because I play on easy mode since I am not to familiar with TBS games, but as it turns out, the game becomes difficult, very difficult.
    Also, Scenarios always change and it is not repetitious, at least not at    I am not a turn-base game player, but this one caught my eye. It was on sale at steam for around 10.00 USD. I jumped on it. I can't put it down. The reason I didn't give it a 10 is because I play on easy mode since I am not to familiar with TBS games, but as it turns out, the game becomes difficult, very difficult.
    Also, Scenarios always change and it is not repetitious, at least not at the level I am at.
    Warning: Do not name your soldiers with Family names. You will end up restarting and becoming sad when they die. LOL
    Great game. If it ever goes on sale at Steam again, grab it. Don't pass this one up    … Expand
  75. gameshadow
    Oct 15, 2013
    9
    This was my first foray into the Xcom genre and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. This game delivers on all levels. Overall I found the game very entertaining. I've almost 80 hours played and still holding my interest. The graphics and music are good. The missions are challenging but fair. The overall game play is great and fun. The only reason this wasn't a 10 is that I wouldThis was my first foray into the Xcom genre and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. This game delivers on all levels. Overall I found the game very entertaining. I've almost 80 hours played and still holding my interest. The graphics and music are good. The missions are challenging but fair. The overall game play is great and fun. The only reason this wasn't a 10 is that I would have liked to see some additional tactical choices available on missions and some of the skills you can purchase build off of each other but this is not apparent the first time through (because you can't see the locked skills).… Expand
  76. Shaddock
    Oct 13, 2013
    8
    I resisted buying this game for some time, but picked it up during a good Steam sale. Glad I did! Although I never played the original XCOM all the talk of the dumbing down of the game worried me. I cant talk to it as a comparison to the original, but overall in its current form it is fun.

    Most missions feel short, but in a good way, you can boot up the game and do a quick mission    I resisted buying this game for some time, but picked it up during a good Steam sale. Glad I did! Although I never played the original XCOM all the talk of the dumbing down of the game worried me. I cant talk to it as a comparison to the original, but overall in its current form it is fun.

    Most missions feel short, but in a good way, you can boot up the game and do a quick mission while working on something else, or do some base management. I would have like a more detailed record for my squad mates (Kills, date of promotions, awards being given, times wounded) but at least the memorial is a nice touch.

    Even well after this game came out it is worth picking up in my opinion.    … Expand
  77. buczek1993
    Oct 13, 2013
    9
    My first XCOM game ever, definitely not the last one. I don't know original XCOM from early '90, but I know that is a bit worse, that the first version (Microprose always made awesome games).
    Game is sometimes too simple (alien's AI could be better), sometimes is too hard (massive misses from soldiers, even with HIGH aim skill). It also have few annoying bugs camera works, hud bugs    My first XCOM game ever, definitely not the last one. I don't know original XCOM from early '90, but I know that is a bit worse, that the first version (Microprose always made awesome games).
    Game is sometimes too simple (alien's AI could be better), sometimes is too hard (massive misses from soldiers, even with HIGH aim skill). It also have few annoying bugs camera works, hud bugs (guard/reload with few soldiers), critical wounded soldiers in final mission or atack on ufo-base. Could have more maps after all, could have more soldiers nations and more countries (if I'm allowed to lose 8 countries from the total number of (about) twenty, it's too easy).
    But, besides that, it's really great piece of work. Not so easy as almost every game this days (even GTA looks too easy, San Andreas was last one really cool piece of hard work), have an AMAZING soundtrack (Michael McCann still sounds amazing, just as he did in DX:HR), and still give you at least 30-50 hours of playing. Including the top difficulty level (which is really tough) and Ironman mode you could gain even about 100 hours of playing. And that is definitely good score.
    One more thing "One more turn" syndrome is absolutely here. It only happens to me with a few games (SCII, Age of Empires, Football Manager), so, at least for me, it's worth buying and playing.
    It could be more difficult to gain access to all discoverable goodies from aliens, but that's probably only mine opinion.    … Expand
  78. Outlier
    Oct 11, 2013
    5
    Summary: a fun (aggravating), addictive tactical game with a lot of surprises, but half-baked. The half-baked stuff: your squad will take missions all over the world from Africa to Russia, yet every map has English street signs and pretty much looks the same. Be prepared for cover and line of sight to be utterly meaningless and for enemies to drop out of the sky in your flank and in theSummary: a fun (aggravating), addictive tactical game with a lot of surprises, but half-baked. The half-baked stuff: your squad will take missions all over the world from Africa to Russia, yet every map has English street signs and pretty much looks the same. Be prepared for cover and line of sight to be utterly meaningless and for enemies to drop out of the sky in your flank and in the rear. Might as well have the hand of God come out of the sky and squish a squad member. Enemies will fire through solid objects and even whole buildings to make a mile-long shot against an soldier they have had no contact with and crit. Buggy in a "QA missed that" sort of way: ex: the interface for training psy soldiers has three slots, but will only take two. I beat this thing, but I won't say it was a fun experience-more of a trial by fire with a lot of loaded saves.

    I really enjoyed the fact that each individual squad member can be customized with a full on char gen, so that when they are slaughtered you know them by name and can scream "Not Crawford!!!"

    There is a vertical dimension to the game, with lots of rooftop climbing and flying, but I found the interface difficult to use for vertical movement, you never really know if you can scale a wall until you rush it and get stuck at the base pounding on the grapple button.

    The 'flight' mini-game is really just plain dumb. Now if we had some control over the interceptors, that would be something. Otherwise it's just a little cutscene where we find out how much you have spent on your air coverage.

    Base building is the usual tree-type thing, I found this aspect of the game pretty easy to beat.

    I had fun, but I'm looking for a tactical game where there are some understandable and logical rules that both sides play by. The whole 'aliens dropping out of the sky" thing soured me on this game, as did the line of sight and cover issues. There's nothing like losing a squaddie who was about to make Colonel near the end of a mission when he is swatted by the AI. That's just aggravating. A "C" game.    … Expand
  79. MarioRossi
    Oct 9, 2013
    9
    hey guys, guess what: it's not a free roaming game! So what? cmon, we know that from 1993! How can you give a 0 for that?? And no, you cannot just click randomly with left mouse button to beat this game (i'd rather say difficulty here is below your average tbs games, imho, not to mention comparing to previous Xcom's).
    It's fun and engrossing. When you start capturing foes to learn their    hey guys, guess what: it's not a free roaming game! So what? cmon, we know that from 1993! How can you give a 0 for that?? And no, you cannot just click randomly with left mouse button to beat this game (i'd rather say difficulty here is below your average tbs games, imho, not to mention comparing to previous Xcom's).
    It's fun and engrossing. When you start capturing foes to learn their weak spots or equipping your soldiers with ultimate weapons and armor, entertainment goes through the ceiling.
    If you think gaming is about fun, get this great product. If you like to dissect everything to test your ability to show off how some cleverness, well you don't belong here. Try rubik's cube or Nouvelle Vague movies.    … Expand
  80. Muuvinki
    Oct 7, 2013
    9
    Very entertaining strategy game, even for a guy like me who hasn't played the original Xcom. Game is very challenging and nearly sadistic punishing on higher difficulty levels, not that it is a bad thing. Every move has to be planned carefully and charging in without a plan causes you to be squashed like a bug. This is a must buy for any strategy game fan.
  81. Truthserum
    Oct 7, 2013
    6
    This is my first review, and i'm going to promise all, when you see my tag, it'll likely be the only honest and critical review of a game around. I'm so tired of these fanboy responses, or hater responses.

    Anyway, here's the nuts of it. The new Xcom game is great in many areas (you'll read many of them in these lists: gfx, ambiance, sound, music, art, troop management, resource    This is my first review, and i'm going to promise all, when you see my tag, it'll likely be the only honest and critical review of a game around. I'm so tired of these fanboy responses, or hater responses.

    Anyway, here's the nuts of it. The new Xcom game is great in many areas (you'll read many of them in these lists: gfx, ambiance, sound, music, art, troop management, resource management, alien threat management, country management, etc all real nice). And it deserves play and praise (still overpriced tho, but all games are when they just come out :)

    Yes, it is a somewhat less depthful than the original (everyone who tells you "no it isn't" is a newbie fanboy who lacks objectivity. I promise). But its not so bad, as this new game brings a lot to the table, plus one its key "depth" failures is actually linked to its awful "enemy spawn gameplay design" which i'll detail next (and maybe its something they could improve on)

    Its "enemy gameplay spawn design" is awful because, essentially it works like an MMO grind. The enemies hang about in "spawns" of 3. Some "spawns" travel short patrol circuits which might cross paths without another spawn. Basically you inch forward, hook the "first spawn" in your way (which ALWAYS consists of 3). then pull back (so you don't trigger any other "spawns"). You kill them, then rinse and repeat. Sometimes a patrolling spawn maybe crosses the battle ground if you did not pull back enough and you might face upto 6 enemies, but this is rare. You also sortof HAVE to do this since the fights are pretty tough, and the percentages weirdly and repeatedly defy what they promise?

    After you realise this what the combat is about, after a couple of missions, it gets boring. Kill 3. move up a bit. kill next 3, move up a bit, etc. During a fire-fight sure some fun stuff can happen, but its always your squad versus 3 (or sometimes 6) enemies and you know more or less where they are. I can't give this game more than a 6 as a result, since the "on ground" conflict is key to the game. And as polished as the visuals are, it can't make up for the flaw of a poorly designed encounter mechanic.

    The original had a better, more natural, encounter system. The enemies patrolled around the map, sometimes near each other, sometimes not, all random i guess, following whatever script was written for them. You had to fan out to find them (a motion detector kit was there to help you) and you NEVER knew when you'd run into them. you'd get surprised, A LOT, cover was vital, but it could get blown away (fun), and you never knew when more aliens would pitch up (attracted by the noise or whatever script dictated them). So you developed strategies to deal with that. More work than this new version of the game sure, but never boring. never predictable.

    I like the newly released Xcom expansion, it certainly looks to add more cool features, etc, I just wish they'd modify the "enemy spawn system" to make the enemies more autonomous and surprising.

    Good Gaming all.    … Expand
  82. Spgsamuel
    Oct 7, 2013
    5
    at first i played it and it really sucked. its not x-com or aftershock or aftermath,

    once i came to terms with this i gave it a fair go, none expectationally like before. I started to have a really good time, soldier development is great. i really wanted them to live and they get really cool nicknames depending on their heroic encounters, kinda awesome. its full of awesomeness really.    at first i played it and it really sucked. its not x-com or aftershock or aftermath,

    once i came to terms with this i gave it a fair go, none expectationally like before. I started to have a really good time, soldier development is great. i really wanted them to live and they get really cool nicknames depending on their heroic encounters, kinda awesome. its full of awesomeness really.

    i did not notice the 'sucky AI' i never get gamers who demand perfection, like xcom had perfect AI it was easy to outsmart a grey with bug exploits etctec. its a freakin game you guys need to learn to use you imagination a little. i mean in a movie when captain fantastic goes all rubbery and wraps around dr doom you say wow that is so unrealistic that would never happen in real life, no you use a thing called initiative and try to accept that while a movie it has limitations and they rest is your problem.

    anyway like i said it was good. for mabey six hours... then i chuffing finished it.

    Ill never play it again theres nothing there... tooo play. i wish i hadnt bought it its kinda like a waste of time, dont get me wrong its good and fun when you commit. but them its over, poooof no replay value its more like a piece of junk, not xcom, good, but shorter than a fat guys appendage.

    Disapointing.    … Expand
  83. Magnanimous_j
    Oct 6, 2013
    9
    Back in the early 90's when I was a wee lad, I was looking at the selection of PC games in a KB Toys in the mall and some random guy walked up and put a copy of XCOM in my hands. To this day, I think of him as a neckbearded, ponytailed, Hawaiian shirt over a huge gut, angel. Because to this day, the original XCOM lives in the pantheon of great PC games. Half Life, Baldur's Gate, Rome:Back in the early 90's when I was a wee lad, I was looking at the selection of PC games in a KB Toys in the mall and some random guy walked up and put a copy of XCOM in my hands. To this day, I think of him as a neckbearded, ponytailed, Hawaiian shirt over a huge gut, angel. Because to this day, the original XCOM lives in the pantheon of great PC games. Half Life, Baldur's Gate, Rome: Total War, Dues Ex and XCom are the juggernauts of the medium.

    It was a brave choice to remake it, because they were never going to fully win over the faithful. But on the other hand, it would be sad to let it die. All in all, it's not perfect, but it does the heritage justice.

    Assuming you've played the original, long story short: The battles are far more exciting, the campaign is dumbed down.

    Battles: Still turn based. Time units are gone, replaced with 2 action points. Move and shoot, move and snap shot (now called overwatch), move and ability (or item) or move and move. Seems overly simplistic, but the balance of unit types and terrain keeps it from getting too tedious.

    The Good: You won't spend 10 minutes looking for the one last alien whose camped out in a house for some reason. Faster battles, more shooting, feels like a battle instead of a hunt. Unit types are broken down by classes, which makes squad assembly a lot easier, but in a good way.

    The bad: The enemies "patrol," which means they agro when you see them. There is very little AI on their part. They rarely retreat. They also get a bonus move where they move to cover whether they move into your zone or you move into theirs.

    Campaign: Pretty familiar. You pick a location for your base and build up. You can only have one base and the aliens never attack it. Scientists and Engineers are awarded as mission bonuses and over time, more or less.

    Good: It's pretty close to the original. Combat gear is expensive to build, but you never lose it.

    Bad: Dumbed down. No additional bases, no base attacks, half the building options are completely unnecessary. Even though 2/4 of the unit types are specialized, your soldiers advance at the same rate, leaving you with a ton of snipers and heavies that you never use and never enough Assault and Support units. Once you build the Firestorm, you will never lose an aerial battle.

    Overall: Do everything in your power to build satellites in the beginning game and after a few months you won't be for want of money.

    Misc note: Any veteran player will want to play on Ironman mode, where any death on the battlefield is permanent. But the game isn't really set up for that, unless you play it perfectly. In the original, there were low level missions intermixed with the higher ones, so you could level up your B and C squad without thinking too much about it. In this one, if you are smart with your research priorities, you've got 10-20 missions in the whole game. You have to deliberately bring lower units on important missions (they are all important). A squad wipe halfway through the game can be the end. Once the heavy enemies start showing up, unless you have a good squad, you're done for. Ironman mode seems to be a last minute addition.

    Ending Thoughts: This is a great game. I love it. It has a few flaws that keep it from being perfect. But if you were a fan, you will probably like it. I wish it was a bit more complex, but you can't have everything. I wish there were more to it, but it's the best sequel to the original, and I include all the official sequels in there.    … Expand
  84. jadereviewer
    Oct 6, 2013
    8
    My only issue with this game was the LACKING multiplayer. Limited maps (like 8 i believe) and repetition. The single player is fleshed out however, with soldier customization, and cool base customization.
  85. Woundheir
    Oct 6, 2013
    9
    XCOM Enemy Unknown is a truly unique strategy game. With the countless "strategy" games that are dumbed down to the point where everyone can beat the hardest mode in a single long weekend, this is a breath of fresh air. You can actually lose the game and have to start over completely! I missed those games. Not only do you need to plan out moves in missions, but you need to plan out longXCOM Enemy Unknown is a truly unique strategy game. With the countless "strategy" games that are dumbed down to the point where everyone can beat the hardest mode in a single long weekend, this is a breath of fresh air. You can actually lose the game and have to start over completely! I missed those games. Not only do you need to plan out moves in missions, but you need to plan out long term political and investment strategies. You can't make everyone (Countries in the game, resources, etc) happy. You need to strike a balance that will ensure long term success. The actual combat is great as well. It is turn based, and primarily about positioning and using the right weapons at the right time. Weapon choices could have used a bit more strategy, but missions are still fun. When you screw up and get a team member killed, they are dead. You can run out of soldiers in the long run if too reckless. You can also save at any time, so short term mistakes are fixable, long term ones are not.… Expand
  86. Borgy_one
    Oct 5, 2013
    9
    Great fast paced game play and the control of your base of operations is awesome, and the ability to rename and customise your squad makes the combat personal
  87. Deathmarch
    Oct 3, 2013
    9
    Excellent Tactical Rpg. You cant really compare to the older version due to technology, but on its own compared to what available it stands out. Its a very unforgiving difficult combat but that how it should be, people whining its too hard is what lead to dumbdowned games. There was some bugs like MObs spawning on top your team and graphical error when entering alien mothership but theyExcellent Tactical Rpg. You cant really compare to the older version due to technology, but on its own compared to what available it stands out. Its a very unforgiving difficult combat but that how it should be, people whining its too hard is what lead to dumbdowned games. There was some bugs like MObs spawning on top your team and graphical error when entering alien mothership but they seems to been patched, has good replay ability due to you could always research technology differently, play in different area and 2nd wave. Good hard strategy game Keep it coming and make them harder… Expand
  88. Pedrazl
    Oct 2, 2013
    9
    Simplemente brillante. He jugado a casi todos los juegos de la serie, y no recordaba haber disfrutado tanto desde el Apocalypse. Han dado con la tecla, una maravilla en todos los sentidos.
  89. da040926
    Sep 24, 2013
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I spent a lot of happy time with XCOM:EU but truth is, most of it was due to learning how to mod the game without any modding support from the developer.
    This is one of those games you enjoy despite being annoyed by so many bugs or simply things which could have been done so better.
    I played all my games on Ironman being unable to reload wrong decisions or even bad luck situations created great suspension and emotional involvement for me. I recommend trying it for everyone as in my opinion it itself adds 1-2 point to my score.

    I would give it 6 for vanilla game, 8 with existing mods, so I make it 7.

    - absence of modding Support despite early promises
    This is really sad potential for modding improvements, tweaking and fixes is huge!

    - friendly panic fire is way over the board
    While a great idea, their implementation is terrible. The only thing deciding if you can beat high difficulties is if you can survive massive friendly fire during early missions.

    - research unbalanced
    Since one third (maybe one half) of the game, my scientists were just playing games 90% of time (and I even had no research lab built)

    - base management trivial and boring
    I never found reason to build expensive advanced buildings as basic ones were much cheaper and did the trick just as well and I never had issue with lack of space.

    - clumsy UI shameless and poorly done console port
    Equipping soldiers before mission disturbingly annoying as there was no un-equip all function and you need to select specific soldier, check his current equipment and change it one by one.

    - itemization trivial
    No need to think here as lasers are clear upgrade over default weaponry in all parameters and plasma is clear upgrade over lasers. Situation with armors is a little better as there are some choices to be made.

    - bag restriction to a single item
    Highly annoying artificial cover for bad game design instead of design proper balance for items, cost, power and consequences, they rather force us to use only single thing. Yes, I understand it is much easier for them but it is also dumbing the game down and if you look around reviews, it is highly resented.    … Expand
  90. Stefanfr15
    Sep 22, 2013
    8
    While it is buggy as hell, it also has a lot of charm, and it certainly reminds me of the original XCOM, but with an interface you can clearly understand.
    It also gets a few new DLCs occasionally, and seeing the new XCOM Enemy Within DLC trailer, I will certainly throw more money at the developers.
  91. Old_Skewl_Gamer
    Sep 18, 2013
    8
    I have never played another game in the X-COM series and don't have much experience with turn and squad based tactical games like this but I was not disappointed with X-COM. The ant-farm approach to the base management mini-game is a nice touch and killing aliens is fun. Save your games a lot and go for satellite coverage above all else and you'll do fine, the game is hard even on easyI have never played another game in the X-COM series and don't have much experience with turn and squad based tactical games like this but I was not disappointed with X-COM. The ant-farm approach to the base management mini-game is a nice touch and killing aliens is fun. Save your games a lot and go for satellite coverage above all else and you'll do fine, the game is hard even on easy (at least for me).… Expand
  92. Schwarzenegger
    Sep 17, 2013
    8
    Great game, probably a bit too easy for players of the old ones. It's a bit dumbed down for the console players... I not really liked that but hey we life in times were you have to sell your games to masses of noobs. Still a really good remake.
  93. jamesphillip198
    Sep 14, 2013
    9
    This is XCOM: Enemy Unknown, not quite like the first one, but a good reboot on it's own. I just miss some features that were on the first game and they didn't include them in this version (multiple bases, alien retaliation attacks, more ships, more weapon tiers...) but still, I've liked the game much. I have like +200 hours played, and always enjoyed it, specially on Classic andThis is XCOM: Enemy Unknown, not quite like the first one, but a good reboot on it's own. I just miss some features that were on the first game and they didn't include them in this version (multiple bases, alien retaliation attacks, more ships, more weapon tiers...) but still, I've liked the game much. I have like +200 hours played, and always enjoyed it, specially on Classic and Impossible difficulties (always Ironman). If you don't know the series, it's a good introduction, and way less complicated than the first. Buy it.… Expand
  94. BigWillyTaft
    Sep 12, 2013
    8
    Where to start? Well, the opening that plays once you start a new game makes me want to paint half my face blue and stomp aliens while wearing a kilt. The games atmosphere continually reminds you that you are earth's last line of defense in her finest hour. And like many other people, I also found myself getting attached to my soldiers as they leveled, and swore payback when a luckyWhere to start? Well, the opening that plays once you start a new game makes me want to paint half my face blue and stomp aliens while wearing a kilt. The games atmosphere continually reminds you that you are earth's last line of defense in her finest hour. And like many other people, I also found myself getting attached to my soldiers as they leveled, and swore payback when a lucky shot killed a squad mate. And along those same lines, hearing my heavy weapons chick yell "ooo-rah!" when she throws a grenade is as awesome as watching it blow a hole in a building.

    The story is cool, not the most mind blowing but definitely not the worst I've encountered. The main characters you interact with in your base aren't mind blowing either, aside from Central Officer Bradford. I can't really say why without spoilers, other than when he speaks I really feel like I'm listening to a military officer who is dedicated to saving the earth and at the same time preserving the lives of XCOM soldiers. Definite kudos to that voice actor.

    Another pro in my book is the interesting take on turn based combat. They did to turn based combat what Skyrim did to RPG statas and skills. What I mean by that is they simplified things while not dumbing them down. There are no turn points. You can move and then take an action, or move twice in what is called a dash, or take an action without moving. And that concludes a soldiers turn. An action would be firing, reloading, activating an ability or using an item. So it's not like there still isn't tactics involved. If you don't outsmart the aliens (or just make a goofy move because you've been playing this game instead of sleeping) they will paint the local scenery with your soldier's faces. It's just that they've simplified the steps you take to direct your orchestra of alien face-splosions. And the cinematic camera that shows kill shots is sweet when you pop an alien, painful when you realize you just screwed up and lost a high ranking soldier.

    The game was a bit buggy at launch, but the only time it acts weird on me now is when the level has multiple heights involved. Sometimes I have trouble selecting troops, but thankfully there is a handy next button.

    I find the games normal and classic difficulties to be quite a jump, and playing classic Ironman (ironman no saving unless you exit) can be extremely frustrating. I crushed normal but I have gone through a lot of restarts on classic. I feel like part of the problem is luck. It is extremely hard to go through an entire game without getting several missions back to back, or having a couple variants of the "if we attack you we will totally one-shot your brains all over the map" aliens spawn just in front of your starting zone.

    Bottom Line: This is a well made game. If you like turn based strategy and watching with glee as you use your wits to violently welcome alien face to earth ground, give this game a go. It's not perfect, but it's pretty close. I bought this on sale for $20, but I'd pay 50 or 60 for it and not feel ripped off. Also, this has been said, but if you need game sequels to be just like the first game do not buy this. There is an open source game called UFO:AI that you would probably prefer in that case.    … Expand
  95. melodymoony
    Sep 6, 2013
    9
    Xcom: Enemy Unknown like its predecessor is a well-crafted turn-based strategy game. Here is the story so far: Some nasty aliens have invaded earth and it’s time for humanity to fight back, the elite unit known as XCOM is ready for the job and you are the commander, so the destiny of the world is in your hands. How you handle this situation is up to you, from squad management (hiring,Xcom: Enemy Unknown like its predecessor is a well-crafted turn-based strategy game. Here is the story so far: Some nasty aliens have invaded earth and it’s time for humanity to fight back, the elite unit known as XCOM is ready for the job and you are the commander, so the destiny of the world is in your hands. How you handle this situation is up to you, from squad management (hiring, promoting, and upgrading your soldiers), alien technology, gear and aircraft research, you probably will have a lot of fun customizing your squad. This game is deep and yes it’s also hard, do not expect any mercy from the AI, even at lower difficulties so you have to play safe and you have to play smart if you want to succeed, also you need to be careful with the resources you manage. Overall, the graphics are nice and the animations are awesome, so if you like turn based strategy games, then you are gonna love this one.… Expand
  96. i0n
    Sep 3, 2013
    10
    Quite simply one of the most engaging, well designed games I have played in years. Even those who don't usually play turn-based strategy games will get something from this. The graphics are slick, gameplay mechanics are polished, and there is nothing else in the genre as refined as this title right now. Outstanding game and I can't recommend it enough. Brilliant.
  97. drake666
    Aug 31, 2013
    2
    The game has two very different parts that work together to create an interesting game. Or at least should. The original game did it well and it was a lot of fun.
    This game doesn't. There is next to no strategy in the strategic part. Sure, you select what to research, but the order of research is just about the only decision you can make here. And it doesn't matter much. As long as you    The game has two very different parts that work together to create an interesting game. Or at least should. The original game did it well and it was a lot of fun.
    This game doesn't. There is next to no strategy in the strategic part. Sure, you select what to research, but the order of research is just about the only decision you can make here. And it doesn't matter much. As long as you don't forget to research, you'll get everything before long. It's boring. Repetitive. And the interface that makes certain tasks, like changing the soldiers for the next mission and equipping them, slow and cumbersome and getting where you want to go with the mouse isn't always easy.
    But let's talk about what the game isn't. A game should be scored on what it is, not what you expected.

    The storyline of the game is simple, extremely linear, and boring. There's no room for variation, making replaying the game a chore. It wouldn't be so bad, if the game wasn't so damn short; I finished it in two evenings.
    The tactical part of the game is challenging, but the bugs break it. There are Line of Sight errors. Elevation causes problems. Slopes aren't handled correctly but are common. There are camera problems when dealing with multiple floors. And the camera goes mad if you try to throw grenades or shoot missiles.
    Okay, I can accept that at launch. Now, almost a year later, those bugs are still not fixed.
    That means I can't give it more that 4/10. Too many too severe bugs.
    Add the questionable decision of granting aliens a free move when you see them (for what reason? It adds nothing to the game and makes no sense), the very limited amount of maps, the very limited amount of variation in the missions, and the non-comprehensible decision to disallow targeting objects even with area suppression weapons lowers to score further.
    It can be fun for a few hours, but it had the potential to be great. Given the alternatives available don't know if even the ten bucks I spent on it were worth it.    … Expand
  98. Nenvolk
    Aug 28, 2013
    3
    Let me explain the points i have given this game: 9 or 10 for the combat parts. 0 or 1 for the "administrative" parts. The combat scenarios are fun, exiting and looks great, but to get to them you have to manage your company (yes X-Com is now a modern company with shareholders and marketing strategies controlling EVERY aspect of your actions). If I wanted this I would get a job as a middleLet me explain the points i have given this game: 9 or 10 for the combat parts. 0 or 1 for the "administrative" parts. The combat scenarios are fun, exiting and looks great, but to get to them you have to manage your company (yes X-Com is now a modern company with shareholders and marketing strategies controlling EVERY aspect of your actions). If I wanted this I would get a job as a middle management executive!! Most of the aspects are locked and incredibly boring and unrealistic. How that part of the game was even released is a BIG mystery to me. And I am not the only one saying this, EVERYONE I have talked to about this IRL says the same thing: Fun combat, RETARDED non-combat parts.

    I am sure the game has made someone rich since the first part of the game is great and many have bought the game on that first impression (as we do), but after 30 days NOONE talked about it any more.

    My wish is that Firaxis Games would take that combat engine+graphics and make a real game based on that. I see many cool aspects to creating a real X-Com game, not jsut this...slop.    … Expand
  99. KingMob4313
    Aug 21, 2013
    8
    While no where as deep as the originals, the gameplay has been stripped down to it's essential elements and refined to match the gameplay innovations made since its first release in the mid-90s.

    Is it perfect? Far from it. The simplicity of the game leaves much to be desired, but even with all of that said, it --is-- Xcom and a better product than even Xcom Apocalypse. However, I    While no where as deep as the originals, the gameplay has been stripped down to it's essential elements and refined to match the gameplay innovations made since its first release in the mid-90s.

    Is it perfect? Far from it. The simplicity of the game leaves much to be desired, but even with all of that said, it --is-- Xcom and a better product than even Xcom Apocalypse.

    However, I must rate it one point lower for absolutely no mod support, which is critical for these sorts of games.    … Expand
  100. lukemacu
    Aug 21, 2013
    10
    X-COM:Enemy Unknown is one of those really good turn based strategy. Half of the game is spent planning, researching and building in the X-COM HQ and the rest is spent out on the field. However neither fells like a gimmick on the other. In the base you'll feel either excited to use your new tech, or terrified that you could lose more soldiers. In the field you'll long for the time when youX-COM:Enemy Unknown is one of those really good turn based strategy. Half of the game is spent planning, researching and building in the X-COM HQ and the rest is spent out on the field. However neither fells like a gimmick on the other. In the base you'll feel either excited to use your new tech, or terrified that you could lose more soldiers. In the field you'll long for the time when you can get back to base hopefully with a full squad. Since mission are, for the most part randomly generated it has a huge replay value. While the story is a little lack luster there are some good moral moments and the gameplay makes up for it.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

7
#7 Best PC Game of 2012
11
#11 Most Discussed PC Game of 2012
8
#8 Most Shared PC Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
89

Generally favorable reviews - based on 57 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 56 out of 57
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 57
  3. Negative: 0 out of 57
  1. PC Master (Greece)
    Feb 6, 2013
    88
    Is it better than the original? No. One can’t imagine X-Com 2012 being an all-time-classic and people still playing with it, months from now (let alone, years). Is it a ‘true’ X-Com game, however? Definitely. Remorseless geeks are in for shivers and swoons when they meet their beloved foes: mind-controlling sectoids, zombifying Chrysalids, Cyberdisks, Ethereals… [December 2012]
  2. Armchair Empire
    Dec 18, 2012
    95
    XCOM: Enemy Unknown is a worthy tribute to its progenitor and hopefully the start of something brand new for players who've been dying to get a good squad-based strategy game that lets them not only think, but feel as well.
    Read full review
  3. Hyper Magazine
    Nov 14, 2012
    90
    Amazing tactical complexity, satisfying strategic depth; slightly dodgy ending, but your own stories are more important anyway. A modern classic.
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