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. fanest
    Jul 3, 2013
    10
    Fantastic game 9.5/10.
    It has good story, great character progression, excellent gameplay and good replayability.
    Missions offer great tactical challenge to everybody who love to employ their tactics and strategy in approaching and eliminating enemies. Turn based system fits perfectly into this and never before have i played turn based game which offers so many smart tactical decisions    Fantastic game 9.5/10.
    It has good story, great character progression, excellent gameplay and good replayability.
    Missions offer great tactical challenge to everybody who love to employ their tactics and strategy in approaching and eliminating enemies. Turn based system fits perfectly into this and never before have i played turn based game which offers so many smart tactical decisions and i played many :D!
    When not on missions u are given control of XCOM base where u plan constructions, researches, craft items etc. all to help u in your fight against alien invaders. All this involves smart strategic approach for your enemy is strong and far more advanced than u.
    To those who like all mentioned above and are prepared to dig in recommend classic difficulty. Have FUN!    … Expand
  2. MorganFreeman
    Jan 28, 2013
    10
    While aliens invade the world, an organisation called XCom takes place to make a stand against them. You find yourself as the commander of Xcom. This organisation establishes a base on the earth wherever commander wants. At this base, there is a whole facility you are responsible of. It has almost every opportunity to produce newer technologies. Engineers, scientists, soldiers work by yourWhile aliens invade the world, an organisation called XCom takes place to make a stand against them. You find yourself as the commander of Xcom. This organisation establishes a base on the earth wherever commander wants. At this base, there is a whole facility you are responsible of. It has almost every opportunity to produce newer technologies. Engineers, scientists, soldiers work by your commands. You can enlarge the facility by making new rooms. And soldiers, the best part of game: You can even become their godfather. Name them, create their faces, hairs, their armors. Just like a Role-Play-Gaming. By every single killing of an alien, you collect their materials and by researching these materials your facility is able to produce alien technology. Yes! You can shoot aliens by their own weapons. Your scientists research alien technologies, your engineers produce your own weapons that developed by alien technology. You can give these expensive weapons to the soldiers you choose. With all these researches and RPG themes, you will feel there would be an invisible bond between you and your soldiers. Besides you try to save the world, you also try to save your soldiers' lifes on the battlefield by making smart moves every turn. The unique thing about the game is playing "turn by turn." Every single turn you have limited move changes. Each turn, first you make your moves and afterwards aliens (cpu) do. You can choose to make your soldiers move, shoot or use a special ability in every turn. About that special abilities, you can be sure Xcom has surprises for you! Walkthrough is not straight, It is all up to you. The places where are seen alien activity are random regions every time you play. Incidents occur randomly. Graphics are good, musics and sounds are fair. There are some little bugs i faced of. However they can be ignored. If you like both strategy and role-playing-games, Xcom: Enemy Unknown is for you.… Expand
  3. RottenRanger
    Feb 1, 2013
    10
    This game is awsesome! The best remake i´ve ever seen.
  4. adokretz
    May 17, 2013
    10
    Where to start.... First of all, don't let the fans of the old X-COM scare you away, they are just angry that this game isn't an exact remake of a game they remember from when they were young. This is a new generation and this game is MUCH more entertaining than the old game it is inspired by. X-COM: Enemy Unknown is incredibly various in gameplay, player choices and story progress. YouWhere to start.... First of all, don't let the fans of the old X-COM scare you away, they are just angry that this game isn't an exact remake of a game they remember from when they were young. This is a new generation and this game is MUCH more entertaining than the old game it is inspired by. X-COM: Enemy Unknown is incredibly various in gameplay, player choices and story progress. You instantly grow an attachment to the crew, and if your favorite soldier gets killed then you'll fi yourself yelling "WHYYYYY" out loud. It's *that* immersive. If you're expecting a copy of the old game from '93 with updated graphics then you'll be disappointed and will probably give this game a bad score and scare away people who would love the hell out of it like I do.… Expand
  5. Seryin
    Jun 6, 2013
    10
    This is the first strategy based game I have been able to enjoy in years. For those complaining about the game not being enough like the original; I dont understand it. This is, imo, the perfect modern incarnate of the old XCOM. We are talking about an 18 year gap between games, it needed the change and they did it very well.
    This game has extremely intuitive features and excellent story    This is the first strategy based game I have been able to enjoy in years. For those complaining about the game not being enough like the original; I dont understand it. This is, imo, the perfect modern incarnate of the old XCOM. We are talking about an 18 year gap between games, it needed the change and they did it very well.
    This game has extremely intuitive features and excellent story and gameplay for a strategy game. I felt involved and driven by the story, and I felt connected to and protective of my soldiers. Good character customization and development.
    The only complaint I can give about this game is that although you can change the skin color and general ethnicity of your characters, you cannot change their nationality and flag. Even though you can change a character from white, to Asian, to Mexican, to African, you cannot change the country he belongs to from, for example, Brazil. They say in the forums it is a prejudiced thing, but I believe the power to change skin color contradicts that claim horribly. This just seriously hinders the amazingly fun ability to create teams of your own imagination. Such as a team of you and your friends, however your best friend Tommy has to be from China, and your brother Chuck was secretly born over the border in Mexico.
    However, the game is an extremely solid 10 for a strategy game. I have never played one more interesting than this one. I must confess before I wrap up that this game possibly gets extra points from me purely based off the fun factor I experienced. It was just fun.    … Expand
  6. 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!
  7. JackLantern101
    Apr 12, 2013
    10
    Awesome game Firaxis! I cannot believe that you guys made a turn based strategy game that blows the doors off most of the games that have come out the last few years. Please don't stray from the original design you guys started here with this game and just MAKE MORE!!!
  8. dave-o99
    Apr 19, 2013
    10
    Great fun for X-Com old timers. OK it's not quite as in-depth as it was back in the day, but no games are these days!
    I really enjoyed building up my squad and researching new developments, and of course kicking alien arse in the field.
    We don't get many turn-based squad strategy games these days, so we have to take what we can get, and this is definitely a good effort. Recommended for    Great fun for X-Com old timers. OK it's not quite as in-depth as it was back in the day, but no games are these days!
    I really enjoyed building up my squad and researching new developments, and of course kicking alien arse in the field.
    We don't get many turn-based squad strategy games these days, so we have to take what we can get, and this is definitely a good effort.
    Recommended for old timers and for newbs who want a slower-paced, humorous and fun strategy game.    … Expand
  9. Carnegin
    May 16, 2013
    10
    While never having played any previous XCOM games I can say that this is a fantastic game. A great blend of action, tactics and strategy with some great cut-scenes and storyline thrown in. Is the game dumbed-down and shallow? Not in my opinion. It's got some simplistic elements in the same way that Civ 5 simplified the economy aspects of that series but this XCOM offering should giveWhile never having played any previous XCOM games I can say that this is a fantastic game. A great blend of action, tactics and strategy with some great cut-scenes and storyline thrown in. Is the game dumbed-down and shallow? Not in my opinion. It's got some simplistic elements in the same way that Civ 5 simplified the economy aspects of that series but this XCOM offering should give enough depth for all but the most ardent strategy fan. The combat system would become slightly repetitive but for the constant stream of new unlocks (both in terms of weaponry and abilities) and new enemies. There's also goals to aim towards that advance the storyline.

    If you've played XCOM previously then perhaps this is just not for you as nostalgia may get in the way. For everyone else, this is a fantastic game well worth the money.    … Expand
  10. maros
    Jun 10, 2013
    10
    I have never played any other XCOM game, but this game is fantastic. It is a surprisingly addicting turn-based strategy. Unlike other turn-based strategies, it has more modern graphics. I liked the mission variations, the upgrades system, the base, the action, everything. The game is the highlight of the year for me.
  11. 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
  12. 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
  13. 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.
  14. 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
  15. 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
  16. daanelf
    May 1, 2015
    10
    I`ve never spend more hours on a game then xcom on my steam library. This game with the long war mod makes for the best game i have ever played. It is unforgiving and at the same time really enjoyable. I love turn based games and this one is one of the best.

    Reviewers who give this game lower then a 7 should spend some more time with it. Or it might just not be for you. I would suggest    I`ve never spend more hours on a game then xcom on my steam library. This game with the long war mod makes for the best game i have ever played. It is unforgiving and at the same time really enjoyable. I love turn based games and this one is one of the best.

    Reviewers who give this game lower then a 7 should spend some more time with it. Or it might just not be for you. I would suggest playing a game that is less demanding and more forgiving.    … Expand
  17. 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
  18. 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.
  19. 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!
  20. 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.
  21. anotherplayer
    Jan 8, 2016
    10
    Having played the original UFO, this is like a remake but with much better graphics and gameplay. In my view, this is the best game I have ever played. Really enjoyed the turn-based battle and management aspects of your base.
  22. Amiga1200
    Nov 7, 2014
    10
    The first time I tried this game I couldn't understand the way the combat worked and that was because I looked at the game the same way I looked at the classic. My second attempt was much better as I finally grasped what was going on. The game is very good and climatic. The combat system is somewhat simplified in comparison with the classic but it came out as an advantage. What I dislikedThe first time I tried this game I couldn't understand the way the combat worked and that was because I looked at the game the same way I looked at the classic. My second attempt was much better as I finally grasped what was going on. The game is very good and climatic. The combat system is somewhat simplified in comparison with the classic but it came out as an advantage. What I disliked in the classic was looking for the last alien that hid somewhere on the map. Here you do not have to do that. Game progression is fantastic. Besides random maps you got fixed missions, which makes game more attractive - you did not have this choise in classic. You can make your soldiers to become cyborgs or enchance them biologically. Each soldiers class is needed and this is a great improvement over the classic title where you could get ultimate killers good at everything. Here you got soldiers that can be achieved only at their profession, which is sensible attitutude. Graphics and animations are quite pretty. I beat the game and I feel like coming back once again to this title to play the campgain once more. I hope they will make another title in the franchise. I am really looking forward to it.… Expand
  23. Sinatra
    May 19, 2015
    10
    As a fan of the xcom games I was a bit scared, when I read that the game should become "more accessible" to a larger audience. But what a great job the developers did!!! Still has a lot of depth and is a lot of fun to play. One of the best turn-based-strategy games I know.
    But after playing this game twice, unfortunately there is not much replayabillity
  24. shatarah
    Dec 2, 2020
    10
    greattttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt
  25. veedub
    Dec 21, 2016
    10
    Fantastic game.
    Love the turn-based strategy.
    Love the strategically scarce resources -- can't buy the stuff you really want (i.e. what you need to build laser and plasma weapons), and can't harvest enough resources to build out everything you want/need all at once. Makes you feel on edge the entire time, unlike its namesake 1990's predecessor in which you could essentially run a    Fantastic game.
    Love the turn-based strategy.

    Love the strategically scarce resources -- can't buy the stuff you really want (i.e. what you need to build laser and plasma weapons), and can't harvest enough resources to build out everything you want/need all at once. Makes you feel on edge the entire time, unlike its namesake 1990's predecessor in which you could essentially run a money-printing manufacturing operation to buy everything you want.

    Love that it's not possible to handle every alien threat at the same time like you could in the game's predecessor. You make your decisions on how to handle what you can based on trying to manage the world's perception of you and what rewards are being offered. Again, puts you on edge the entire game. No sitting back and feeling comfortable.

    Love the story, learning about the aliens' motivation (hint: it's not the classic "harvest the planet" alien invasion story) which also explains why there's a progression of difficulty.

    Scalable difficulty makes the game more accessible, despite the fact that it can get pretty hard even on Easy mode.

    Love "Iron Man" mode -- makes it so you can't just save at good points and load when things go wrong, you have to live with your decisions. Playing that way, even on Easy the game gets really hard.

    Love the squad customization, rank advancement, abilities and team-building strategies.

    The only thing other than occasional glitches that I don't like about the game is that there aren't enough unique stages. Chances are you'll end up doing a mission on the same stage as one you did previously at some point in the game. The stage design is really good -- dispersion of cover, destructible objects, plenty of ground to cover and search for aliens -- but there aren't enough of them. The original XCOM: UFO Defense didn't have that problem, because stages were procedurally generated. I can imagine that would be possible to do while still maintaining the appearance of good stage design, but they chose not to do that. Makes the game feel stale on the second, third, nth run through it.    … Expand
  26. Arquire
    Jan 16, 2018
    10
    This has remained my favourite game since its release putting several hundred hours into it. It is endlessly replayable, with its challenging difficulty settings and ironman mode as well as plenty of mod support.
  27. Gaming_Bear
    Oct 24, 2022
    10
    An amazing turn based strategy with perfect game play, great story full of twists and turns. I must have played through this game at least 5 times. If you are a fan of scifi and turn based strategy and have not played this you are doing life wrong.
  28. RogueV
    Dec 5, 2019
    10
    Possibly the greatest strategy game of all time. The gameplay is intuitive and an absolute blast to play. It's intense, engaging, and results scale very much with skill. Anybody who likes chess or turn based combat in any form, this game is for you. Even if you have never tried a turn based game and don't have much interest in chess, I still recommend you try out XCOM.

    For anyone who    Possibly the greatest strategy game of all time. The gameplay is intuitive and an absolute blast to play. It's intense, engaging, and results scale very much with skill. Anybody who likes chess or turn based combat in any form, this game is for you. Even if you have never tried a turn based game and don't have much interest in chess, I still recommend you try out XCOM.

    For anyone who has played the Civilization series, this game takes that whole model and applies it to a tactical shooter, and it works brilliantly. There is research that takes a certain amount of days just like Civ, and the tile-based movement system in combat is also very familiar. It works brilliantly in this new setting, perhaps even better than in Civ itself.

    One of my favourite things about this game is how the story is created organically. This is not because of dialogue trees or any effort to make the campaign have branching paths (in fact, the campaign is quite linear). It is because the best parts in this story will be made in gameplay by you, the player. And to me this is the absolute peak of what a video game story can achieve. Your soldiers, who start off as homogenous uninteresting rookies, will quickly win a place in your hearts through their heroic feats and resulting promotions. At any point, you can mess up and a soldier can die, and that's it, they will be gone forever. A soldier who has been with you from the first day the aliens attacked, gone forever all because you were careless and put them in a position where they are exposed. I cannot even describe the anguish it is possible to experience from a moment like that. The emotions and attachment I built with my soldiers in this game surpasses my attachment to basically any other video game story I have experienced. I recommend not reloading old saves when a squad favourite is lost, but to roll with the punches, your experience will be all the richer.

    There's a lot of thought gone into this game to make this game engaging as a whole and to provide proper support for the innovative core gameplay mechanic. The base building aspects are satisfying and the perfect addition to the campaign, making you feel invested in what's to come as well as properly dealing with progression and time. The world map and councils offer impactful decisionmaking to be possible within the constraints of a fixed plot.

    Lastly, I should add that if you are a newcomer to the XCOM series, I recommend you first check out XCOM 2 and then XCOM 2's expansion War of the Chosen. This is because XCOM 2 does everything right in making XCOM even better and there's no reason to not start with the best the series has to offer. War of the Chosen is possibly the greatest video game expansion of all time. Anyone who has tried out XCOM 2 and is wondering whether the original is worth it or dated, look no further. Although the graphics are a bit weaker, the gameplay is equally stellar, and for XCOM 2 fans it is easily worth it for the plot alone.    … Expand
  29. Bigmano
    Jun 29, 2020
    10
    It's fantastic and highly tactical. The game runs well and the graphics are good.
  30. Bellarmcsb
    Mar 7, 2021
    10
    The perfect, quintessential strategy game, and a classic favorite of mine. I still play this game every year.
  31. Woolee
    Sep 29, 2021
    10
    I fell in love with this game when I first started playing it, but then something went horribly wrong. If you only intend on playing the game once or maybe twice then this game is a fantastic gem; a great experience. If you want to play more than that then it has some surprises in store. First of all the UI and controls are ok but they could be so much better on the PC. Every once in a
  32. PR9Gaming
    Aug 12, 2023
    10
    There's a reason every new turn-based shooter is called an XCOM game; this game basically hasn't been beat since.
  33. fishgameing
    Aug 14, 2023
    10
    **** amazing. first saw my dad playing it back in 2013 when i was still a little kid. nine years later, got the complete edition for like 30 or 40 bucks on christmas cause i wanted to see what it was all about. instantly **** hooked. i now have 155 hours and counting on steam and i might never stop. highly recommended for anyone who is even somewhat familiar with tacstrat games

    some    **** amazing. first saw my dad playing it back in 2013 when i was still a little kid. nine years later, got the complete edition for like 30 or 40 bucks on christmas cause i wanted to see what it was all about. instantly **** hooked. i now have 155 hours and counting on steam and i might never stop. highly recommended for anyone who is even somewhat familiar with tacstrat games

    some advice i have for new players:
    - normal mode, ironman. perfect balance of fun and challenge. ironman mode will keep you from ruining the fun for yourself. just take care to avoid softlocks, crashes or process terminations
    - buy the enemy within expansion and slingshot dlc. boot to enemy within. before starting the game, enable Operation Slingshot and Operation Progeny in the advanced settings. they add some very challenging side quest-style missions that provide substantial rewards if completed
    - avoid second wave options for your first playthrough, they make the game much more unpredictable and very different from the standard experience
    - smoke & mirrors, flush, battle scanner, and rapid reaction are the worst perks in each of their respective class training trees and are vastly outclassed by their alternatives. never **** pick them    … Expand
  34. Pier
    Oct 10, 2012
    9
    The original Xcom made me love turn based strategy games, and since then no game has been able to fill that void... Front Mission series and Incubation were close... This new Xcom is the real thing. Shut up and take my money!
  35. greywar
    Oct 24, 2012
    9
    One of the very best games I have played in years. The only reason I did not give it a 10 is due to a small lack of more varied starting set ups that would give each replay a bit more of a unique feel. To be sure this is an incredibly small gripe. Buy this game.
  36. cajun67
    Oct 13, 2012
    9
    This is a wonderful update of the old classic. While the old game had so many management options as to bog down the pace of the game, the new XCOM takes much of the tedium away. For example, in the old game, as you hired soldiers you would have to look at their randomly-generated stats individually to determine who should be carrying which weapons, and then work on increasing their bestThis is a wonderful update of the old classic. While the old game had so many management options as to bog down the pace of the game, the new XCOM takes much of the tedium away. For example, in the old game, as you hired soldiers you would have to look at their randomly-generated stats individually to determine who should be carrying which weapons, and then work on increasing their best stats during missions; in the new XCOM, soldiers are automatically assigned weapons and classes, and as they gain experience on the battlefield, they level up, granting them a new class ability each time. Not everything is perfect, however. The camera can only turn in 90 degree increments; not a problem outside, but indoor missions can be hell. Also, you'll find yourself fighting with the scenery at some of the worst times, trying to get the camera to hide it. Despite such minor flaws, this is a truly great game and a worthy successor to the franchise.… Expand
  37. Phabtar
    May 22, 2016
    9
    Just finished. Although must admit It took a while for me. Maybe because I didn't follow what I was supposed to do. Heck I build a foundry and uncovered a whole bunch of upgrades and units I could make only towards the end of the game. By then my soldiers were beefed up so I managed. Gotta give it credit because it was kind of addictive. Great ending too.
  38. 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
  39. garhent
    Nov 6, 2012
    9
    I've played all of the original Xcom games. And one of the things I hated was at the end how you have to run around and find the last hidden alien in a giant map, sorta like a really annoying "Where's Waldo". And the ending game when you get there it was to a point a given you were going to win, you just had to run through the aliens homeworld. Now cut to this updated version to theI've played all of the original Xcom games. And one of the things I hated was at the end how you have to run around and find the last hidden alien in a giant map, sorta like a really annoying "Where's Waldo". And the ending game when you get there it was to a point a given you were going to win, you just had to run through the aliens homeworld. Now cut to this updated version to the franchise, and you know what, it's really good. It has a sweet spot in squad size, and the game put in a lot more options than the original game. Its exciting get a new tech tree to learn. All of the cut scenes are pretty good. The game is hard a lot harder than the original Xcom's. you have to think your moves through and take it slow. I played the game 24 hours non-stop, just saying its really that good if you like squad based games. lastly, the guy who did the audio for the original Xcoms did the audo for this version. Trust me you'll love Xcom, its like slipping on a comfy pair of old shoes.… Expand
  40. HansiHarris
    Mar 10, 2013
    9
    I think XCOM is a great game. Multitude of campaigns, but above all the turn-based combat is the most successful game. In the negative section base management is improved. But the game is amazing in the playable section. Totally recommended.
  41. necronomad
    Oct 15, 2012
    9
    Love this game. I'm a long time fan and still a player of all the previous x-com titles (the real ones not the flight sim or 3rd person shooter rubbish). This iteration of the series is much more streamlined and easy to play while actually providing more options to players tactically. It removes some things some players such as excessive micro-management base supplies and otherLove this game. I'm a long time fan and still a player of all the previous x-com titles (the real ones not the flight sim or 3rd person shooter rubbish). This iteration of the series is much more streamlined and easy to play while actually providing more options to players tactically. It removes some things some players such as excessive micro-management base supplies and other micromanagement details like that, but those changes actually makes you feel more like a commander of a base rather than someone filling the shoes of logistics, command, and every other role of a military base all at once, and lets face it logistics (buying supplies manually) is boring as hell. The Prone, crouched standing for your men has been replaced with full cover, half cover and no cover (also flanked) which makes movement and play feel more realistic and makes it easier to use. Tactically (which is where the fun is in these games) all tactical options from the previous games are still in there except for the some (non-tactical) tricks people used with time management such as creeping forwards really slowly while spamming overwatch which is just cheating really, the new time management system actually results in more believable gameplay without closing off tactical options and making your choices for what to do with your 2 actions per turn more important. The new class system for your troops while taking away the choice from you of how sort of class they will be still gives you the choice of how to make up your squad and with the unique skills each class provides this makes for more strategic choice than in the previous games when making up your squad. On the point of unique skills they open up more options for how you will use a turn than previous titles which only adds to the tactical depth. The only other major change from previous games is the shrinking of the squad size, this doesn't change gameplay or your tactical options all it changes is the time it takes to do a mission. The only negatives I've found are a few rare bugs with the menu system and occasionally the AI will take time (up to 1 min for me max so far) to process what it is going to do making you think it is frozen although graphics are still being rendered in realtime. Overall its a great title and the people making a fuss over changes really don't understand that the changes actually haven't changed the game much at all and have actually enhanced the tactical and strategic aspects, but some people just don't like change or enjoy jumping onto causes weather real or imagined.… Expand
  42. sgtStones
    Oct 18, 2012
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Ok, lets get it rolling...minor spoilers ahead. I'm a XCOM Veteran who played xcom, TFTD and Apocalypse pretty much at release. The original is (and probably always will be) the best game I've ever played. The new XCom comes quite close to that, albeit being quite different in many aspects. I'll quickly say how I feel about the game and then I'll address a few of the complaints some players have. Pro: - good feel of progression (research, foundry, officers school, skill tree, psi-lab)
    - combat mechanics make for fast, yet tactical gameplay
    - narrative much stronger than in the old game, though it's no "game of thrones"
    - Action-Cam can look great and usually adds to the atmosphere
    - new Mission types
    - IronMan-Mode

    Cons: - no randomly generated maps
    - Interceptions have the appeal of an afterthought
    - Graphics seem a little outdated
    - Visual Bugs (Clipping)

    I obviously love the game. I'm in my 3rd playthrough (which is usually a bit shorter than in the original game) and it just doesn't get boring. The new additions and the decisions to let go of some of the old mechanics were spot on, in my opinion. Many players dislike the fact, that you only have one base you can design for yourself. You still have a few more "bases" as the game progresses, but they're mere hangars for your interceptors. But that never bothered me, since that was one of the smarter approaches in the old game anyways and I think, the developers took that into account. I would always have just one main base (with 2 skyrangers max), since the skyranger had huge mileage. You could fly to a crash site on the other side of the planet and still hover and wait for daylight. I'd build small cheap bases early on, with the best radar available and 2 hangars for interceptors. So for me, nothing changed with the new XCOM in regards to my approach to basebuilding.
    Also the new base-building mechanic allows for quite some depths itself, due to the adjacency bonus and rising costs as you dig deeper.

    But many criticize the "dumbing down" of the tactical combat,mainly due to the removal of time units. I, on the other hand, think the new 2-move system is actually more challening at times. It makes for a quicker and more action-packed gameplay, yes, but it also forces you to make some difficult decisions. The new reaction shot mechanic (overwatch) also works much better and can now be a very reliable tool. The addition of a comprehensible cover-system (although it took some time to really get the hang of it) really worked
    . At first, I was a little disappointed with the research tree, but if you take the foundry and the officers school into account it actually feels like there's more complexity than in the original (which, like TFTD, had some seriously game-breaking bugs .when it comes to research). The addition of complexity doesnt end there: The ability tree quickly blew away my initial concerns of what seemed like a rather limited array of abilites in the beginning. No aimed shot, no autofire? You will unlock similar abilites (though only with specific classes) and many more as you progress.

    Yes, the class-system: what a good desicion to integrate that mechanic. I always love seeing that true and old RPG element being used in other genres. Don't get me wrong: XCOMs skilltrees don't have the same complexity like the ones of rpgs like dragon age, baldurs gate or diablo/titan quest, but they still allow for some synergy within the tree aswell as with other classes. So you can have different yet sensible approaches on how to skill your soldier. What still kinda sucks is intercepting UFOs. It wasn't spectacular in the old game and it didn'T really improve with the new version. Yes, just like in the old version, there can be some tension when your interceptor gets close to being shot down, but thats it when it comes to thrilling moments. There are some new additions, which quickly lost their appeal when I found out that instead of going with a cooldown system, the abilities were de facto consumables. But, and thats a another complaint, there are not many interceptions in the first place. It could get a little tedious in the old games, but they may have overcompensated a little in the 2012 version. On the other hand, there's no shortage of missions, just not many crash sites (maybe they aren't that satisfied with the arial combat themselves). The new mission types are a welcome addition, though not ground-breaking. But they force you to adjust your playingstyle which actually makes for a welcome change of pace once in a while. Which reminds of one more criticism: the lack of generated maps. I assume, that the coversystem called for some sort of consideration when it came to designing the maps, but I think this could have been solved. Overall a great game, simplified but not dumbed down, as many would have you belie    … Expand
  43. The_Gooser
    Oct 9, 2012
    9
    Great game, great atmosphere, and overall an exciting strategy game with a little action mixed in. This is not a remake of the original, it is its own entity. XCOM from 1993 was more of a Hide and Seek game, the new XCOM retains some of those elements, but there is a far greater emphasis on strategy. I am glad they decided to make this game, limited "hand holding" and more "oops IGreat game, great atmosphere, and overall an exciting strategy game with a little action mixed in. This is not a remake of the original, it is its own entity. XCOM from 1993 was more of a Hide and Seek game, the new XCOM retains some of those elements, but there is a far greater emphasis on strategy. I am glad they decided to make this game, limited "hand holding" and more "oops I clearly made a bad decision, which is why I lost". Yes, you can actually lose in this game, not only soldiers, you can actually fail to save Earth. Tips: Name soldiers after people you know, adds more significance to when they die, and they will die.… Expand
  44. MustisTheCat
    May 10, 2013
    9
    A clever game for gamers that seek a challenge. It has a mediocre tutorial that does not fulfill its role, so the learning curve is steep and at the first walthrough you will be learning by mistakes unfortunately. If you are new to XCOM series you will like it more than the veterans, because this game is a much dumbed cousin of its elders. The game is quite addicting thanks to someA clever game for gamers that seek a challenge. It has a mediocre tutorial that does not fulfill its role, so the learning curve is steep and at the first walthrough you will be learning by mistakes unfortunately. If you are new to XCOM series you will like it more than the veterans, because this game is a much dumbed cousin of its elders. The game is quite addicting thanks to some RPG/RTS elements. The deeper you go the more new stuff you discover and new weapons. Other times the missions are nearly impossible to accomplish because you for example get thrown with little to no cover into a swarm of bazooka wielding giants. The natural part of the frustration is losing your men (and women heh) other times you will have to sacrifice newbies to get a clear shot for the captain. The game can be really hard even at normal difficulty setting so much so that if you`re new to this I highly recommend not selecting a higher setting than normal. The maps are fairly varied, not too much but just enough to keep going forward. There are also a few mission types, honestly here I was dissapointed. Overall the campaign is good, it proceeds just when it is about to get stale. Some strategy and thinking is required. I played 33hours to get through the whole thing, which is a huge number for a game nowadays. Moreso, the game is built the way that makes you want to beat it at least twice, because the first time you did not know the whole set of rules. Gaphics and music is okay. Overall lots of gameplay for this price so a 8.6 out of 10.… Expand
  45. guinevere2
    Oct 13, 2012
    9
    An awesome game - difficult (on classic at least), complex and demanding. After terribly disappointing CIV V Firaxis finally released deep and fun TBS. There is a lot of decisions to be made and different setups to try out, but beware: the game will punish your severely for your mistakes - an approach that is the heart of old games from '90 and that is seldom found in modern titles. It isAn awesome game - difficult (on classic at least), complex and demanding. After terribly disappointing CIV V Firaxis finally released deep and fun TBS. There is a lot of decisions to be made and different setups to try out, but beware: the game will punish your severely for your mistakes - an approach that is the heart of old games from '90 and that is seldom found in modern titles. It is more in line with last UFO serie (Afterlight, Aftermath, Aftershock) than with the original, but that is not necessary a bad thing. The game is great, although not ideal - camera does not work well sometimes and is overall rather unresponsive. On top of that the variety of maps is poor and they become repetitive quite fast. Also I have no idea how moddable the game is and in the long run it is up to the mods to keep this game alive. This does not change the fact that XCOM is the best game of this year so far for me.… Expand
  46. purutaru
    Oct 15, 2012
    9
    A great attempt by Firaxis to modernize the X-COM franchise. While there are some bugs, i have not encountered any game-breaking bugs yet after 20+ hrs of playing. Game has being simplified from the original XCOM UFO Defense but in my opinion its still pretty fun. From conducting risky flanking maneuvers against powerful aliens behind cover, to breaching rooms not knowing what is behindA great attempt by Firaxis to modernize the X-COM franchise. While there are some bugs, i have not encountered any game-breaking bugs yet after 20+ hrs of playing. Game has being simplified from the original XCOM UFO Defense but in my opinion its still pretty fun. From conducting risky flanking maneuvers against powerful aliens behind cover, to breaching rooms not knowing what is behind the door, the tactical gameplay is very enjoyable. On the strategic level, the game challenges you to juggle your limited resources but the main thing i dislike is how fast the panic levels of the countries can fill up, forcing most players to rush for uplinks and satellite coverage early in the game (satellite coverage will prevent abduction missions from popping up in that country, which is important for controlling panic) I like the good graphics and ambient effects but dislike the limited no. of maps (although they are mostly quite well designed) This game's combat music is nothing short of amazing, and the aliens sound effects/audio prompts does a good job at keeping you in suspense on whats behind the next corner. Overall i think this game is worth the money and everyone who is interested in tactical games should give it a go.

    For those who slam the game because it is not XCOM UFO Defence with updated graphics, please be mature and rate this game by its own merits and faults and not because it isn't what you want it to be.    … Expand
  47. 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.
  48. MJR
    Mar 29, 2013
    9
    Okay I guess I should should start by saying that I have never played any XCOM games before this one so I really have no idea how they relate. That being said I have found this game to be absolutely awesome! I received the game through Steam when I pre-ordered Bioshock: infinite, which worked for me since I had always been a touch curious about XCOM but never actually got around to lookingOkay I guess I should should start by saying that I have never played any XCOM games before this one so I really have no idea how they relate. That being said I have found this game to be absolutely awesome! I received the game through Steam when I pre-ordered Bioshock: infinite, which worked for me since I had always been a touch curious about XCOM but never actually got around to looking into the game. Needless to say, I downloaded the game and was treated to a very welcome surprise in the form of a thoughtful, fun, and interesting turn-based strategy game. Everything seemed to click with the controls and I found the premise to be quite fascinating. What is probably most impressive about the game is the fact that it is so complicated yet completely accessible. I don't know where I would start to try to explain how the game works between the home base and the battle field but it makes perfect sense when playing. While the graphics aren't that great the gameplay more than makes up for it. It has been a while since I actually jumped out of my chair in triumph following the successful conclusion of a mission. If you like strategy games then you should try to find a way to give this game a try it's a rewarding and fun experience.… Expand
  49. qikink
    Oct 15, 2012
    9
    The gameplay of the new XCOM easily justifies a 10, more than a 10 in my book. Unfortunately, the superlative gameplay is the only thing keeping me from bumping my review down to a 6 or 7. I don't want to give the wrong impression, I'm loving the game, but I've experienced numerous issues, many of which have made my missions more difficult than they should have been. I really hope they doThe gameplay of the new XCOM easily justifies a 10, more than a 10 in my book. Unfortunately, the superlative gameplay is the only thing keeping me from bumping my review down to a 6 or 7. I don't want to give the wrong impression, I'm loving the game, but I've experienced numerous issues, many of which have made my missions more difficult than they should have been. I really hope they do a post-release patch in the near future, and I can upgrade the game to one of my all-time favorites.… Expand
  50. HighwayUK
    Dec 19, 2012
    9
    XCOM is basically a flawed classic, it needed to be made to reboot one of the best game series in the strategy hall of fame, but they have messed up in some areas, none of which spoilt the game for me. I bought my first PC as a teenager when the original UFO Enemy Unknown came out, it was that good... now about 15 years or so later the remake is out and it's pretty faithful while trimmingXCOM is basically a flawed classic, it needed to be made to reboot one of the best game series in the strategy hall of fame, but they have messed up in some areas, none of which spoilt the game for me. I bought my first PC as a teenager when the original UFO Enemy Unknown came out, it was that good... now about 15 years or so later the remake is out and it's pretty faithful while trimming down some aspects. The game is a lot faster paced than the original, whih is a good thing, but they took some of the freedom out of the game in doing so.... it was nice to fully customise loadouts in the original game, that is now pretty much gone and a very basic system replaces it...I don't really miss the action point system as the new mode it generally better. The biggest issues with the game are more to do with game balancing which can often be stupidly unfair and unrealstic, it seems a 90+% hit chance more often than not will statistically fail more than it succeeds, so feels like you get cheated by the game quite a lot..... Other main issues are to do with terrain problems with rendering, but most of that was fixed in the last patch.… Expand
  51. Monte28
    Oct 9, 2012
    9
    Well, at first it seemed alright, i would have originally gave it like a 6 or 7. But just as i was about to get off, i realized there was alot more to do. that bumped me up to like a 8. I saw the game being good because i could experiment with different stuff like equipment and tactics. But then that was about it. So just as im about to get off to write my review, im playing a mission toWell, at first it seemed alright, i would have originally gave it like a 6 or 7. But just as i was about to get off, i realized there was alot more to do. that bumped me up to like a 8. I saw the game being good because i could experiment with different stuff like equipment and tactics. But then that was about it. So just as im about to get off to write my review, im playing a mission to escort a scientist to safety. Just as im about to extract him, a hiding alien kills him with overwatch...that ended my happiness. And then the next mission after was a terror mission! Now get this. The only species of alien in this entire mission were chryssalids...now im not going to give away what they are if you are new to xcom, but lets just say too many of these buggers on a terror mission and not even maxed veterans can fully survive. So i lost 5 out of my 6 men while taking 23 of those little buggers with me. Thats when i decided this game deserves a 9. Not only does it create a challenge. But it has a good feel to it where you dont get bored. It gives you just enough uniqueness to think its something new. But thats where i think it may have a hard time. Today's kids drop anything they can't really beat the first or second try. Well ladies and gentlemen. If this is your first xcom. You aren't going to beat it your first or second try. Possibly not even your tenth. Then again i am playing on iron man...oh well. I'd surely recommend XCOM:Enemy Unkown to all players that enjoy a good challenge and have fun doing so.… Expand
  52. Izitmee
    Oct 15, 2012
    9
    Simply put, in spite of many defects, this game is magnificent. The mix of combat tactics, base management, research, and basic rpg is an almost perfect combination which still keeps me longing to play more.
    Sure, the interface is extremely dumbed down (while in combat, I was definitely missing a soldier's list in the UI) and has evident usability errors (for example: basic shortcuts,    Simply put, in spite of many defects, this game is magnificent. The mix of combat tactics, base management, research, and basic rpg is an almost perfect combination which still keeps me longing to play more.
    Sure, the interface is extremely dumbed down (while in combat, I was definitely missing a soldier's list in the UI) and has evident usability errors (for example: basic shortcuts, common to every soldier, vary depending on the soldier's additional abilities, which prevents using them quickly and is just dumb), and a deeper base and research management would've been welcome. But there's still a load of variables to account for, and they're all tied in a string of consequences that will need accurate planning. And. The fighting is awesome. Sure, there are bugs (line of sight is not always clear, and sometimes hidden enemies can be targeted more easily than ones that are almost in the open) and even more missing features in the interface. But it's still deeply tactical and terribly fun. With a better interface and bugs fixed, this game would deserve a 10++.    … Expand
  53. Powderkeg40
    Oct 22, 2012
    9
    I played the original back in the 90's for hours and hours on end, though it had its bugs it was a great game overall.

    This new version has its differences, but I still find it very enjoyable. I would like to see some more of the options and depth that the original had though. Inventory, less hand holding, multiple bases, etc. Maybe that will come in an expansion pack but with    I played the original back in the 90's for hours and hours on end, though it had its bugs it was a great game overall.

    This new version has its differences, but I still find it very enjoyable. I would like to see some more of the options and depth that the original had though. Inventory, less hand holding, multiple bases, etc. Maybe that will come in an expansion pack but with everything tailored to work with the weak consoles I'm not going to hold my breath.    … Expand
  54. MadclownJack
    Oct 18, 2012
    9
    I can't even begin to describe how good this game is. I'm not usually the type to go for the tactical RTS but Enemy Unknown is a wonder. This is the first ever XCOM game I've played, and although sometimes i lose pathetically, (started playing IronMan/Classic Mode) i can not stop playing. There's something mesmerizing in all those little driving mechanisms that comprise EU, that just keepI can't even begin to describe how good this game is. I'm not usually the type to go for the tactical RTS but Enemy Unknown is a wonder. This is the first ever XCOM game I've played, and although sometimes i lose pathetically, (started playing IronMan/Classic Mode) i can not stop playing. There's something mesmerizing in all those little driving mechanisms that comprise EU, that just keep me going, be it the story and setting (both of which are executed above par), the characters who are generic and expendable to the point when they get a promotion, and then suddenly, it's a whole new ballgame. The graphics and visual effects are satisfying, although some of the more "refined" players might take issue with that. The sound effects and music are great, and there's something about hearing a sectoid scream after being successfully shot, that makes me feel warm and giddy on the inside. I'm not too far ahead in the game but i strongly believe that this game is worth your money. I hope for a sequel or an expansion pack soon.… Expand
  55. 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.
  56. Necrotaur
    Oct 9, 2012
    9
    Critics have said that turn based shooters are dead, but I think this iteration of XCOM goes a long way to prove them wrong. I can honestly say, without sarcasm or implications, that if the original XCOM were made today, this is what it would be like. It is a very faithful representation of the original, and if you were a fan (like I was), you will probably enjoy this as well. The factCritics have said that turn based shooters are dead, but I think this iteration of XCOM goes a long way to prove them wrong. I can honestly say, without sarcasm or implications, that if the original XCOM were made today, this is what it would be like. It is a very faithful representation of the original, and if you were a fan (like I was), you will probably enjoy this as well. The fact that the economy/base building aspect wasn't cut was a huge plus to me. Now, to be clear, there are a few changes/issues. Difficulty is not so high, and you won't have everyone die as soon as they step off the transport for the first mission (this can be either good or bad). The soldier voices are all bland American accents, and while it's a small thing it's jarring in a squad of international operatives. The loadout is a more simplified than I'd like, but not enough that it annoys me. Anyway, apart from a few minor issues I feel XCOM is an extremely fun game and well worth a look.… Expand
  57. bilbo1973
    Oct 14, 2012
    9
    Before sharing my two coppers, I took some significant time to read through both good and not so good comments by the respected fellow gamers. And the truth is I agree with both points of view. You will notice either near-10 and near-0 scores, which is absolutely normal. For the guys expected to play the Xcom of the past with newly made graphics, I confirm this is not the case. For thoseBefore sharing my two coppers, I took some significant time to read through both good and not so good comments by the respected fellow gamers. And the truth is I agree with both points of view. You will notice either near-10 and near-0 scores, which is absolutely normal. For the guys expected to play the Xcom of the past with newly made graphics, I confirm this is not the case. For those judging the game as an effort to "translate" the concept with today's means and way the gamer has evolved (with all the pros and cons that this involves), I agree with your high scores.

    To make a long story, short this is Xcom, with upgraded graphics and gameplay that (unfortunately) is not encountered today. Only the fact that a game focused on turn-based, non-10 year old-maniac-clicking way of playing deserves respect and should be supported if we want to see similar efforts in the future. This game is a proof that you can get gaming-satisfaction for using your head instead of your reflexes (and believe me, after 25 years of gaming, your reflexes are significantly reduced!), so a solid BRAVO with the relevant score by yours truly ;-)    … Expand
  58. HAMS
    Oct 12, 2012
    9
    The Good: Solid strategy and tactics game. Recreates the important elements of the original with the strategy and tactical layers working together, in addition to RPG elements. XCOM presents gameplay that has both depth and breadth.

    The Bad: One of the worst hand holding tutorials I have ever seen in a game. The 'tutorial' seems to last for ever, hours, and should probably more    The Good: Solid strategy and tactics game. Recreates the important elements of the original with the strategy and tactical layers working together, in addition to RPG elements. XCOM presents gameplay that has both depth and breadth.

    The Bad: One of the worst hand holding tutorials I have ever seen in a game. The 'tutorial' seems to last for ever, hours, and should probably more aptly be called 'Story Mode.'

    The Ugly: In an attempt to make the game look slick, and appeal to a wider audience, they employ many camera tricks to make the game look more action based and cinematic. While the concept is solid the execution was poor. Many times the camera is pointing at nothing interesting and the characters clip into walls and set pieces. Good idea, bad implementation.

    Overall: Love it.    … Expand
  59. Burnee77
    Mar 10, 2013
    9
    This game is simply awesome!
    As a fan of original series, I was a bit frightened when I first heard about remake of very classic of this genre. On the other hand, Firaxis proved couple times with Civilization franchise they know how to make turn-based strategy game fun, and they didn't fail.
    Although this game has some weaker points (like low variety of missions, no HQ defending missions    This game is simply awesome!
    As a fan of original series, I was a bit frightened when I first heard about remake of very classic of this genre. On the other hand, Firaxis proved couple times with Civilization franchise they know how to make turn-based strategy game fun, and they didn't fail.
    Although this game has some weaker points (like low variety of missions, no HQ defending missions etc. etc.), this is how remake of cult game should look!
    I am looking forward to another sequels of this franchise by Firaxis.    … Expand
  60. Mosstromo
    Nov 9, 2014
    9
    Review of the "Elite Edition" (MacOSX)
    Turn-based strategy games are something of an outcast class in the present game developing environment. No publisher seems keen on investing in these. Firaxis, with their well known pedigree of impecable and all-consuming strategical games, changed the "Outcast" part for "Outclass" in this wonderful modernization of the future (of a past game).
    THE    Review of the "Elite Edition" (MacOSX)
    Turn-based strategy games are something of an outcast class in the present game developing environment. No publisher seems keen on investing in these. Firaxis, with their well known pedigree of impecable and all-consuming strategical games, changed the "Outcast" part for "Outclass" in this wonderful modernization of the future (of a past game).
    THE GOODNESS GALORE
    They managed 3 things I think vital: There is no need to be a fan or have played XCOM to like this game; if you are an XCOM fan you will recognize and understand the changes made to this game; and they adapted TBS to be a heart-thumping bonanza of action kickasserie! (without sacrificing any of the methodical rhythm needed and cherished by fans of the genre, such as myself).
    All-around graphics are of a very high calibre. Detailed environments and creature models bring the world to life, ample customization make your troops feel unique in a way even more profound I have found on some (pseudo) RPG games, a well set tone and story development more than submerge you totally integrate you with the plight of a world facing a patently undefeatable enemy, unless you organize your meager initial resources (men and women, tech, money and time) to mount the best counterattack Earth are capable of, and give humanity at least a fighting chance.
    The game has been streamlined in the right places, such as merging facilities, limiting the size of your team to a 6-man squad more than the sometimes unwhieldy 20-unit troops, but vital aspects such as difficulty, strategy requirements and complex interactions between your resources are still gratifyingly intricate.
    Replayability is enormous, with 4 different levels of difficulty and the discenrning-masochist prefered choice: Iron Man. Which means you have nothing but the game's AutoSave to finish the campaign, therefore every choice you take is uncheangeable, so the stakes get so high they're airplane hazards.
    Best thing about the Mac version? The game is a stand-alone unit, so no need for any Steam nonsense (although you will get all the usual iTunes or AppShop foolishness if you buy the app or iOS version.)
    The game is fortunatelly very stable, so don't worry too much about crashes or glitches since there are only a few, but, as with any game, it's not free of issues...
    THE NAUGHTY BITS
    The environments will get "samey" on further playthroughs since maps will be re-used. There are no attacks on the XCOM base, which would have given Enemy Unknown such a thrilling level of added desperation to your already fragile situation. Some clipping will take place generating cheap deads on your team (or on aliens too for that matter, devaluing your efforts a bit) when they get detected, thus shot, through roofs or sturdy walls, which is not a big deal on most cases except on "Iron Man" where you depend so highly on not screwing up. The aircombat is primitive and uninvolving, and would've benefited the experience (and maybe the story) if it included more than basically just wishing your pilots well by clicking one button at a certain moment.
    CONCLUSION
    But these grievances have no real impact on wheather you should buy or not this game. You MUST. Earth and the TBS market demands it that you do... to give them a chance to survive.    … Expand
  61. Valorin
    Oct 10, 2012
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Possible spoilers in review.
    Fantastic game, very smooth release (few bugs that I have encountered). I am now about a third through the campaign (classic difficulty); and find myself yelling at my soldiers on screen when they mess up (because I'd never miscalculate tactically, heh). I feel like, on classic, I am struggling to beat back the alien invasion and every move is vital. Being my first playthrough; if I didn't save often and then revert to said saves, I'd have already lost.
    I've heard this game is not like the original X-Com; I never played them though. However it is extremely tactically based on missions and has very good strategic development/deployment in the 'Geospace.' The graphics are fantastic, the UI is a bit unresponsive (mouse).
    The bad: some of the battle cutscenes are ridiculous. The shooter has no real LOS but still is able to fire and hit (although 2K says it's more of a graphic misrepresentation of what is really going on). When I have already broken a window/opened a door and go to shoot; it shows me breaking the window again before I fire; not very immersive. I am prior military and our tactics were to always engage with 3x the numbers, flanking, combined firepower and fields of fire. You only get to take 4 to 6 soldiers on a ground combat mission and only 1 aircraft on air intercept missions. The maps are also quite small so that you don't have to really hunt for the enemy. Also you only get one Strike Team (one Skyranger: troop air carrier) to manage per mission. I would prefer things to be bigger; maps 4x the size, multiple ships in air combat, and multiple Strike Teams. Squads in real life are about 10 men, with platoons being about 3 squads and companies being about 3 platoons (90 total men in a X-Com company). You would never send a Fire Team (half a squad) to clear a city block by themselves. Although I do understand adding more soldiers on a mission might weigh down the fast paced combat action; be a load on the computer; etc. Also, when hiring rookie soldiers you can't pick their gender or nationality but you can change their first, last, nick name, and appearance. But if a soldier goes down on a mission you can't pick up that critical medipak or stunner or grenade, etc. he was carrying and use it (no inventory system during combat).
    All in all, a very well spent $50. I can't wait to see what they do with expansions, DLC, and mods.
    men women nationalities ammo pick up items    … Expand
  62. HerrJoebob
    Nov 2, 2012
    9
    Pros: Absolutely spot-on evocation of the original's tense tactical missions. Great eye candy. Very streamlined gameplay (some say too streamlined, forgetting that the original could get very tedious). The research systems are interesting and the money system keeps you just strapped enough for a good challenge level. Cons: A few UI choices hides important data, for instance forcing you toPros: Absolutely spot-on evocation of the original's tense tactical missions. Great eye candy. Very streamlined gameplay (some say too streamlined, forgetting that the original could get very tedious). The research systems are interesting and the money system keeps you just strapped enough for a good challenge level. Cons: A few UI choices hides important data, for instance forcing you to tediously check the loadout of every soldier individually before deploying. The ending is lackluster. The soldier's dialog when they hear a sound cue between turns gets _very_ repetitive. Overall: A really great game! I had a lot of tense fun and this is very worthy of the name (whether XCOM or X-COM).… Expand
  63. Dunikowski
    Oct 14, 2012
    9
    Played at least 20 hours on the weekend, had to restart multiple times due to some really bad choices but I'm having a blast. Firaxis removed a lot of busywork like overblown inventory management of the original and thus streamlined this game but in a good way. My only real complaint is about the camera. It bugs frequently during the action scenes and fighting on multiple elevations isPlayed at least 20 hours on the weekend, had to restart multiple times due to some really bad choices but I'm having a blast. Firaxis removed a lot of busywork like overblown inventory management of the original and thus streamlined this game but in a good way. My only real complaint is about the camera. It bugs frequently during the action scenes and fighting on multiple elevations is very frustrating because often there is something (roof) clipping and blocking your view.… Expand
  64. Ixnatifual
    Oct 13, 2012
    9
    An incredible reimagining of a classic. Firaxis have managed to identify all the things (with one exception) that made the old game great, while streamlining the tedious parts. What's particularly impressive is how they decided to make the tactical gameplay and soldier advancement DEEPER than the original game, rather than SHALLOWER, as is the tendency these days.

    I'd love to be able to    An incredible reimagining of a classic. Firaxis have managed to identify all the things (with one exception) that made the old game great, while streamlining the tedious parts. What's particularly impressive is how they decided to make the tactical gameplay and soldier advancement DEEPER than the original game, rather than SHALLOWER, as is the tendency these days.

    I'd love to be able to rate this game a 10 out of 10, but two major things prevent me from giving it that perfect score. For one, the maps aren't procedurally generated as they were in the original. Rather, the game draws maps randomly from a large pool. Fortunately randomization of spawn points and other things as well as a large map pool to begin with prevents it from becoming boring. The second issue with the game is a bug where in some of the more vertically complex map, the ceiling flickers in and out, making it difficult to see what you're doing.    … Expand
  65. LongTom
    Oct 14, 2012
    9
    The original XCOM was amazing, first game I played with a research tree (and you had to obtain certain alien artifacts before you could research them). Always meeting new aliens, no idea in advance what they could do. Got this remake Friday night. I'd logged 12 hours by Saturday evening. Loving it. While a few things (e.g. multiple XCOM bases) have been taken away, many new thingsThe original XCOM was amazing, first game I played with a research tree (and you had to obtain certain alien artifacts before you could research them). Always meeting new aliens, no idea in advance what they could do. Got this remake Friday night. I'd logged 12 hours by Saturday evening. Loving it. While a few things (e.g. multiple XCOM bases) have been taken away, many new things added including RPG progression for each character, ability to customize soldier's appearance, great in-game cut-scenes when you send-out a mission or land at a mission site as well as longer voice-acted scenes. Just FUN.… Expand
  66. kalv
    Oct 9, 2012
    9
    Fun refreshing new strategy game. Pros - Makes you think, satisfying combat
    Cons - Random glitches(shooting walls, slanted positioned enemies), some aspects can be confusing.
  67. m0rieris
    Oct 18, 2012
    9
    Minor UI and lock up issues aside, this game has taken my interest away from other fantastic games due to its unique style and gameplay that we have not seen in years. Hard not to recommend. Every night becomes a battle with "one more game."
  68. ExpFist
    Oct 16, 2012
    9
    Unfortunately, it looks like this game is slightly shadowed by a small number of 'comic book guy' types that are trying to compare this game to something made in 1995, that really can't be compared to. Not having played the old xcom games (face it, they are ugly, and if you disagree, then why are you even trying this), I can rate this game without previous bias. So far after only playingUnfortunately, it looks like this game is slightly shadowed by a small number of 'comic book guy' types that are trying to compare this game to something made in 1995, that really can't be compared to. Not having played the old xcom games (face it, they are ugly, and if you disagree, then why are you even trying this), I can rate this game without previous bias. So far after only playing for a few days, this game is extremely addictive, and fun. It is hard for me to enjoy a single player game (usually get board within an hour), so it is rare and refreshing to play a game that takes me in, and this reminds me of the first time I played Civilization. I'm sure there are some bugs, but overall the game seems very well thought through, and I really like the design decisions on what you can build, customize, and choose. After a couple hours you'll feel like you're responsible with defending the earth from aliens, and that's pretty cool. If you're in doubt, wait a while and get it when it's cheaper.… Expand
  69. whitewi666
    Oct 9, 2012
    9
    XCOM is true successor to original game! Unless you are butthurt HC/Elitist then you might think other way. If you have never played turn based strategy/action game rest assure you won't be disappointed! XCOM is awesome mix of tactical combat and strategic management of you base/research and etc. Sound is rock solid aside from generic solders voices. Graphics r great for this kind of theXCOM is true successor to original game! Unless you are butthurt HC/Elitist then you might think other way. If you have never played turn based strategy/action game rest assure you won't be disappointed! XCOM is awesome mix of tactical combat and strategic management of you base/research and etc. Sound is rock solid aside from generic solders voices. Graphics r great for this kind of the game. And Gameplay will get you hooked in no time. Replay value is tremendous. And if you want quick fix just jump in to the multiplayer. Highly recommend to all true gamers up there! Thank you Dev team and Fraxis for this great Take on the classic game!… Expand
  70. ILL-Flower
    Oct 25, 2012
    9
    Amazingly addictive and challenging game. I loved playing the first XCom and this one surprised me by feeling like a real modern update that kept the same feel as the original. I would give it a perfect score, but there are some graphics issues that need to be fixed. You shoot through walls way too much, but that is my one minor gripe as the game is amazing and aliens fortunately cannotAmazingly addictive and challenging game. I loved playing the first XCom and this one surprised me by feeling like a real modern update that kept the same feel as the original. I would give it a perfect score, but there are some graphics issues that need to be fixed. You shoot through walls way too much, but that is my one minor gripe as the game is amazing and aliens fortunately cannot shoot you through walls.… Expand
  71. 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
  72. Kirase
    Jan 27, 2013
    9
    Really been waiting for this game to be released and did not get disappointed. Just have to set the expectations right towards this one. It was not meant to be a 1:1 remake of "Ufo: Enemy Unknown". Yes it got a little different, but they've made a good job on it. Gameplay is fluent. Base building, researching, training soldiers, graphics, sounds, everything pretty well done, fun to playReally been waiting for this game to be released and did not get disappointed. Just have to set the expectations right towards this one. It was not meant to be a 1:1 remake of "Ufo: Enemy Unknown". Yes it got a little different, but they've made a good job on it. Gameplay is fluent. Base building, researching, training soldiers, graphics, sounds, everything pretty well done, fun to play and also having some replay value due to the different difficulties and game modes. So why not 10/10? For example cause of the way aliens are roaming and how they are getting triggered during missions. If you come in sight to discover some of them on the battlefield, the hole alien pack will always get a scripted free reaction movement allowing them to run away, take cover or do whatever. Such script makes combat feel a little less like actually fighting against aliens, but rather fighting scripts, damaging the atmosphere. Also as a dedicated player of "Ufo: Enemy Unknown" i really hoped for some more complexity in this game. Anyways this game is good and since it sold well there sure will be a second one that will most likely get even better. Hopefully also including some more complex game modes for hardcore players then.… Expand
  73. Etheldreda
    Oct 15, 2012
    9
    It's been a long time since we got a good turn based game on the PC, brings a tear of happiness to my eyes.

    Also, needs more different shades of pink, so i can rice out my squad.
  74. tazzon22
    Jan 14, 2013
    9
    A great strategic game, one that forces you to make decisions that will effect your game. A refreshing break from all the dumed down sequels that are out there, you have to actually think and plan your assaults. Not perfect by any standard, but alot of good tatical game play.
  75. Epikuros
    Oct 12, 2012
    9
    The original X-COM updated and expanded to a level that will make you cry... If you are a fan of the original, sure this new version will satisfy all this years of waiting and bad clones...
  76. 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
  77. AlpsStranger
    Oct 10, 2012
    9
    Don't let the nostalgic grumps fool you. They beat off to reams of tables and pointless micromanagement and wouldn't know good, solid game design if it had its way with their cat. This game is extremely good and is head and shoulders better than the original. Only nostalgic people and toothpick-counting sperglords have reason to complain.

    The only truly bad change is the weird    Don't let the nostalgic grumps fool you. They beat off to reams of tables and pointless micromanagement and wouldn't know good, solid game design if it had its way with their cat. This game is extremely good and is head and shoulders better than the original. Only nostalgic people and toothpick-counting sperglords have reason to complain.

    The only truly bad change is the weird "encounter script" where the aliens run for cover.    … Expand
  78. raidet
    Oct 16, 2012
    9
    Now this is what I'm talking about. A real game with real strategy and a real challenge. Very happy with this game - can't stop playing it. Don't want to stop. Get it right now.
  79. ultraviper
    Nov 13, 2012
    9
    This is one of those games where hours will fly by and it will feel like minutes. You'll be playing for "just one more" mission, research project, or exploded alien. And then do it again. And again. The only thing keeping this from being a 10 is the two game-stopping bugs I experienced in my 12-hour playthrough. Once the game simply stopped letting me do anything, it just stayed on theThis is one of those games where hours will fly by and it will feel like minutes. You'll be playing for "just one more" mission, research project, or exploded alien. And then do it again. And again. The only thing keeping this from being a 10 is the two game-stopping bugs I experienced in my 12-hour playthrough. Once the game simply stopped letting me do anything, it just stayed on the aliens' turn forever. The 2nd time was a crash to desktop, on the final mission no less.… Expand
  80. 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.
  81. hodub
    Oct 10, 2012
    9
    I think I'm still a ways from beating the game, but being a fan of the original UFO: Enemy Unknown, I've been hooked on this game since its release. Some might think it's been simplified or "dumbed down" in comparison to the original, but I see it more as a sanding of rough edges for smoother gameplay. Admittedly, it would be nice if there were a way to sell more surplus supplies and haveI think I'm still a ways from beating the game, but being a fan of the original UFO: Enemy Unknown, I've been hooked on this game since its release. Some might think it's been simplified or "dumbed down" in comparison to the original, but I see it more as a sanding of rough edges for smoother gameplay. Admittedly, it would be nice if there were a way to sell more surplus supplies and have squad members pack more inventory, but aside from that, I find the new XCOM to be just as addictive, challenging, and engaging as the original. Considering today's game industry standards, Fireaxis did their best in remastering a classic that came out almost 20 years ago. And if you're gonna cry and complain that it's not "up to par" with the original, then go play with dolls.… Expand
  82. Rygar
    Oct 9, 2012
    9
    An extremely good interpretation of X-com and a good Strategy game.

    Pros: Fun turn based combat, good combat system that eschews the modern "You always hit" form of design for design that lets characters fail. New aliens are fun, interesting, and *very* dangerous. Streamlined weaknesses of the original X-com like spending 10 minutes staring at a globe waiting for something to    An extremely good interpretation of X-com and a good Strategy game.

    Pros: Fun turn based combat, good combat system that eschews the modern "You always hit" form of design for design that lets characters fail. New aliens are fun, interesting, and *very* dangerous. Streamlined weaknesses of the original X-com like spending 10 minutes staring at a globe waiting for something to happen. New diversity in missions and maps is excellent.

    Cons: Would have preferred more customization options, and soldiers to have stats. Psionics appear to be missing. Weapons should be the Player's choice, not a skill set. Not sure if you have a choice in which Role a soldier picks up when they gain their first level.

    Overall, I'd say it's well worth buying, and while it does have some minor issues, it's still a really great game.    … Expand
  83. BobRoberts
    Oct 12, 2012
    9
    Could have been slightly more compelling as an heir to the X-Com legacy, but still one of the best Xbox 360 games of all time. Lots of fun, with a few glitches here and there.
  84. 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
  85. 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
  86. Wazzles
    Feb 5, 2015
    9
    To put it succinctly, PLAY THIS GAME. I came into this game not knowing exactly what to expect, and I was absolutely blown away. this game is incredibly fun and addictive, with excellently nuanced gameplay. If you mess up in this game, it is your fault. The game almost never cheats you out of a victory. I can't say it enough: play it. Play it. PLAY IT.
  87. Trtmfm
    Oct 10, 2012
    9
    I played the original x-com UFO defense like it was the only game that existed to the point I would mod my save game files (after beating the game time after time). There was little to nothing I didn't know about that game. When I heard the designer of this remake was cut from the same cloth I could barely contain my excitement. I still worried for this game after expecting so much fromI played the original x-com UFO defense like it was the only game that existed to the point I would mod my save game files (after beating the game time after time). There was little to nothing I didn't know about that game. When I heard the designer of this remake was cut from the same cloth I could barely contain my excitement. I still worried for this game after expecting so much from Diablo 3 (and yes I was disappointed in D3). I got the game early in the morning on release, installed and played all damn day long. No regrets, not 1. The amount of soldiers feels right for this game, the maps are nice even if not 100% generated randomly, ship raids are a blast and scary! I can honestly only nitpick 2 things at this point, and that is I don't seem to have the ability to shoot wherever I want with normal guns (so if a alien is behind a wall I can't aim at the wall to destroy it so another soldier will have a clear shot at that alien), and when you learn to make something new (like armor or weapons) you don't really see the stats or how much better it actually is until it is made and ready to be equipped. This game is totally worth it, It did not disappoint me in the least. Hats off to Jake and the whole team! well done sirs!… Expand
  88. Xsonic
    May 3, 2013
    9
    Played this game all the way to the end. I enjoy strategy games such as Civ, Total War, old school C&C, AoE, Starcraft I&II, Warcraft III, etc. I haven't played the old xcom, but I can say that I had lts of fun playing this one. You'll get your money's worth definitely.
  89. AbeSolum
    Oct 13, 2012
    9
    Love this game. True pinnacle of turn based gaming. Firaxis is to thank for that. Feel light and shallow at first until about 15 hours in. After that you are almost forced to restart on the basis that you've been playing the game all wrong. I felt the same way with Civ 5. Enough depth and entertainment to give me sleepless nights. Lots of ways to customize your play style. Great pacing.Love this game. True pinnacle of turn based gaming. Firaxis is to thank for that. Feel light and shallow at first until about 15 hours in. After that you are almost forced to restart on the basis that you've been playing the game all wrong. I felt the same way with Civ 5. Enough depth and entertainment to give me sleepless nights. Lots of ways to customize your play style. Great pacing. Sometimes wonky camera and movement , but that doesn't distract from the challenge the game offers even just playing on normal. It's a must play for any turn based fan.… Expand
  90. MrMuse
    Oct 12, 2012
    9
    The best way to review this game is to address the "problems" other people have mentioned:

    "blah blah the thing i loved about xcom was i could have loads of different soldiers and customise their names etc" - hire new soldiers from the training school. Customise them in the barracks. You need to diable the tutorial in the options menu first. (only the suit colour was pre purchase bonus    The best way to review this game is to address the "problems" other people have mentioned:

    "blah blah the thing i loved about xcom was i could have loads of different soldiers and customise their names etc" - hire new soldiers from the training school. Customise them in the barracks. You need to diable the tutorial in the options menu first. (only the suit colour was pre purchase bonus - play the game before writing a review.
    "you cant duck behind cover and there is unlimited ammo...this losies strategic variety". You can duck behind cover by hitting the shield icon called Hunker Down after moving. Ammo was deadwood and needlessly over complicates the game and loadout -play the game before writing a review.
    "the difficulty is too high and i can lose my best soldiers all in one mission and countries leave too easilly" - the original had elements of needing to be predictive too. You can lower the difficulty at any time. Save before every mission. - Buy easy games then look up walkthroughs on the internet if you don't have the brain for this kind of game.
    "the camera angles are bad my soldiers often rush into the wrong area rather than changing levels". This is true, that element could have done with some polish but you can avoid most problems by simply being more careful before moving between levels and using the keyboard to change height in steps rather than spinning the mouse wheel. Also get into the habit of using the rotate camera buttons that are pointless in most other games but essential here.

    Overall it's a faithful and competent re-imagining of an all-time classic. A very slightly flawed masterpiece. 9.5    … Expand
  91. 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.
  92. kane148
    Dec 3, 2012
    9
    This game was simply fantastic. It offers a long singleplayer campaign (I got about 50 hrs out of it) which has a good amount of depth while still being very accessible. I haven't played the original XCOM, so I won't compare it against that, but it's clear that this game could have been a lot more complex and allowed for many more strategic options. By mid-game, it begins to suffer fromThis game was simply fantastic. It offers a long singleplayer campaign (I got about 50 hrs out of it) which has a good amount of depth while still being very accessible. I haven't played the original XCOM, so I won't compare it against that, but it's clear that this game could have been a lot more complex and allowed for many more strategic options. By mid-game, it begins to suffer from these limitations since you are limited to only having one party of troops out at a time or intercepting one UFO at a time. You also begin to run out of things to research, making your investments in labs less valuable. The combat is also very unforgiving, and if you're playing it on normal difficulty or above you will end up paying dearly for many mistakes (unless you are willing to save/reload regularly). Personally I liked that this game wasn't easy, but felt that it was occasionally too brutal: all it takes is one wrong move and your squad of elite troops might get slaughtered. Despite these critiques, the new XCOM is definitely a great game and well worth your time and money.… Expand
  93. drSpockwa
    Jun 7, 2013
    9
    It brings back a lot of memories from the original XCOM, but so much better. Turn based strategy has always been my favorite type of game. They did a wonderful job updating the game play with an easy to understand and use interface. The graphics look good, not the greatest but sufficient. I had two occurrences of crash to desktop in my 40 hour play through. I'd suggest turning on autoIt brings back a lot of memories from the original XCOM, but so much better. Turn based strategy has always been my favorite type of game. They did a wonderful job updating the game play with an easy to understand and use interface. The graphics look good, not the greatest but sufficient. I had two occurrences of crash to desktop in my 40 hour play through. I'd suggest turning on auto saves, but you'll want that anyway for when you make a poor decision and send a soldier too far ahead and he gets killed. The ending was good, the cut scenes were well done. The only thing I missed from the original was that you can't pick up equipment from fallen/incapped soldiers. So if your guy with the health kit goes down, he's gonna die unless you finish the mission quick. Well done Firaxis! I enjoyed this a lot.… Expand
  94. Nataraja
    Nov 9, 2012
    9
    If you ignore its origins (and most reviewing this game should as they most likely never played the original) and look at this game as a solo effort its a wonderful game. Great graphics, challenging maps and resource management and AI that is responsive. Its been a long time since a good turn based game has come out and this one gives me faith that the turn based strategy games are not aIf you ignore its origins (and most reviewing this game should as they most likely never played the original) and look at this game as a solo effort its a wonderful game. Great graphics, challenging maps and resource management and AI that is responsive. Its been a long time since a good turn based game has come out and this one gives me faith that the turn based strategy games are not a dead genre but a living, breathing genre that has promise.… Expand
  95. 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
  96. magee
    Apr 6, 2013
    9
    when i watched gameplay my first impression was pretty meh.. i never played the ufo games before so i didnt know what to expect.. i ended up buying it because a lot of friends recommended it to me. I didnt regreat it this game was so much fun the tactical random aspect is very tense. though i dont think its too tactical for non strategy players to get into it. the emotional bindingwhen i watched gameplay my first impression was pretty meh.. i never played the ufo games before so i didnt know what to expect.. i ended up buying it because a lot of friends recommended it to me. I didnt regreat it this game was so much fun the tactical random aspect is very tense. though i dont think its too tactical for non strategy players to get into it. the emotional binding between you and your soldiers is very high, you will literally cry if your best soldier dies. i highly recommend playing this game on ironman mode because loading files over and over again wont give you the full experience.… Expand
  97. Phillippe
    Oct 24, 2012
    9
    Didn't played the original version but love this one. Although they were some issues I believe with just a little bit of effort it would have been a 10, but being less expensive than other game when it came out, it raise from a 8 to a 9. As you may have read from other reviews, yes there is some solid clash in the animation, point of views are sometimes off and the maps are based with theDidn't played the original version but love this one. Although they were some issues I believe with just a little bit of effort it would have been a 10, but being less expensive than other game when it came out, it raise from a 8 to a 9. As you may have read from other reviews, yes there is some solid clash in the animation, point of views are sometimes off and the maps are based with the same features. Visiting Tokyo, Calgary, Seattle, ... all looks the same. I just finished the game and it took me a good 30hours. Gameplay can be challenging, but like all other Turn by Turn game, it's quite addictive. Spinning the time and hoping that your soldier will recover or that you'll get the tech before another invasion is detected is stressfull.… Expand
  98. JO2D4N
    Oct 16, 2012
    9
    A wonder of a game and a wealth of surprises for the shrewd tactician. After dozens of hours, the player is met with an abundance of unpredictability in the nearly mind-wringing array of maps and possible outcomes that lay in wait. One can only be pleasantly confounded by the assortment to which the player can indulge in their tactical and strategic obsession. Furthermore, this energeticA wonder of a game and a wealth of surprises for the shrewd tactician. After dozens of hours, the player is met with an abundance of unpredictability in the nearly mind-wringing array of maps and possible outcomes that lay in wait. One can only be pleasantly confounded by the assortment to which the player can indulge in their tactical and strategic obsession. Furthermore, this energetic assortment is wrapped neatly in a graphical package that never ceases to amaze and leave one in awe. It's a game that can leave you twisted with its unflinching difficulty but have you coming back for more in order to perfect the skill it takes to be victorious on the battlefield. Also, somewhat gleefully, it teases you with neat crescendos of ease to lull you into thinking you've got it mastered until you lay wasted, once again, at the hands of a Muton or shimmering disc of instant death. The multiplayer is impeccable and leaves one thinking that it might just be the only game that can outshine some of the first person shooters so many are playing right now. The only glaring hiccup seems to come in the form of deceptive cover. You just never feel comfortable seeing your Squaddie ripped to bits while he stands confidently behind an abandoned tank or brick wall but, even this, could simply be attributed to not adapting to the "feel" of the game. Such a refreshing break away from the usual and a must-have for anyone fond of gaming. A true classic in its guile.… Expand
  99. altlucifer
    Oct 15, 2012
    9
    I have played and been a fan of the original X-Com since its release. When I saw some of the promotional material for that horrible looking FPS using the IP i was terrified. When I found out Firaxis was putting together a game true to the spirit of the original I became cautiously optimisitic. I pre-loaded and got into this installment the second it came availiable and am more then pleasedI have played and been a fan of the original X-Com since its release. When I saw some of the promotional material for that horrible looking FPS using the IP i was terrified. When I found out Firaxis was putting together a game true to the spirit of the original I became cautiously optimisitic. I pre-loaded and got into this installment the second it came availiable and am more then pleased with the product that they have put together. Well balanced and excellently craftted with the classic at heart. Additional options lend replayability as well.… Expand
  100. Orctownorc
    Jul 18, 2013
    9
    Overall a very successful reboot of the X-COM franchise. The general tone of the game and mood of the turn-based combat are near perfect. The graphics are fine. Sound and voice work are solid. The divide between base management and tactical battles is also good. It is possible to knit-pick quite a few areas where the game is underwhelming: Tactical maps are too small and too similar. LOSOverall a very successful reboot of the X-COM franchise. The general tone of the game and mood of the turn-based combat are near perfect. The graphics are fine. Sound and voice work are solid. The divide between base management and tactical battles is also good. It is possible to knit-pick quite a few areas where the game is underwhelming: Tactical maps are too small and too similar. LOS is obscure. There is no tactical mini-map. The squad size is too small. These are all relatively minor points that could be addressed in an expansion or patch, though I doubt we will get one. The real key to enjoying this game is to do a first play through on easy and learn the mechanisms. When you understand how it works you can re-try on harder difficulty until you find the level of toughness which is personally most enjoyable. Overall this game is a definite buy at or under $20. With luck there may be future versions of this game which improve the tactical controls and increase the strategic complication! Let's hope so. Orctowngrot: timtimjp@yahoo.com… 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.
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  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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