XCOM: Enemy Within

 PlayStation 3
User Score
7.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 85 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 63 out of 85
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 85
  3. Negative: 16 out of 85
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  1. Vanpire73
    Mar 6, 2014
    9
    As a turn-based strategy game fan, this was my favorite of all time. I am a little unsettled that I had to shell out $40 for an upgraded, better version of the same game I played last year, but I won't let pricing effect the rating I give. I will, however, take a point away for running into a near miss campaign-ending freeze point during the base invasion. Luckily it wasn't during anAs a turn-based strategy game fan, this was my favorite of all time. I am a little unsettled that I had to shell out $40 for an upgraded, better version of the same game I played last year, but I won't let pricing effect the rating I give. I will, however, take a point away for running into a near miss campaign-ending freeze point during the base invasion. Luckily it wasn't during an iron man run or I wouldn't have been able to devise a plan to work around it. Great game. Now release a patch for the bugs and release any further expansions at expansion prices.… Expand
  2. Untamed_Skies
    Nov 27, 2013
    9
    This game I found almost exactly as addicting as it's predecessor, what makes it a true success isn't just the added little perks to game, but the additions to the story, showing a wider spectrum on the world and adding more flavor and ideas to the idea of a alien invasion. With the inclusion of a third party enemy looking to sabotage you, to the new inclusions in the story it actuallyThis game I found almost exactly as addicting as it's predecessor, what makes it a true success isn't just the added little perks to game, but the additions to the story, showing a wider spectrum on the world and adding more flavor and ideas to the idea of a alien invasion. With the inclusion of a third party enemy looking to sabotage you, to the new inclusions in the story it actually feels very fresh. It's also harder, it forces your tactics to change from previous games and with additions like Training roulette it also guarantee's true uniqueness in your soldiers as you go forward. It's not really any different from "Enemy Unknown," but the additions it includes definitely makes "Enemy unknown" the lesser product between the two.

    If you like strategy games, or if you liked Enemy Unknown pick it up, you'll enjoy it.    … Expand
  3. sufflaminandus
    May 10, 2019
    8
    What is the formula of successful reboot? Do everything exactly like grandpa did but with enhanced graphics! Well, here we are, ladies and gentlemen, XCOM: Enemy Unknown (Within)!

    City A. Comms are down, panic in masses, what the hell is going on there? Brave squad of rookies sent to investigate the insurgence. “What do you have there?”, ask commander. People wrapped in green cocoons?    What is the formula of successful reboot? Do everything exactly like grandpa did but with enhanced graphics! Well, here we are, ladies and gentlemen, XCOM: Enemy Unknown (Within)!

    City A. Comms are down, panic in masses, what the hell is going on there? Brave squad of rookies sent to investigate the insurgence. “What do you have there?”, ask commander. People wrapped in green cocoons? Numerous metal machines of unfamiliar design? “Check that dubious warehouse, soldiers!”. “Everything is clear, commander. Wait! What is it?! Big headed big eyed noseless greenish creature with pistol that shoots green plasma? I thought such things are fantasies of conspiracy theorists!”

    Well, you should have known better. The first contact was made, alien invasion has begun. In response to the threat, Council of Nation forms XCOM, Extraterrestrial Combat Unit, and appoints you, player, as its commander. Time to beat some aliens!

    But first you need to set up base. Choose any continent you like but mind location bonus, not all world areas are equal. As soon as base is set you will be introduced to three faces you will regularly see throughout all 30 or so hours of gameplay: head of research Dr. Vahlen, engineer boss Dr. Shen and ‘everything-else’ man John Bradford. Those people symbolize main activities that you must do on the strategic level: reverse engineer alien technology, build the results of the research and, finally, use them to smash the scoundrels! For all that underground base is supplied with ‘construction cells’ where you can build various facilities that serves your commander needs: workshops and laboratories supply engineers and scientists, foundry allows to create advanced equipment, satellite uplink expands capacity of satellites.Classic buildings, like psi lab, return too - commitment of new XCOM to the original one is commendable.

    Eventually, when you are done giving out orders, you will return to mission control room. Aliens are not dormant and actively assaults various locations of the Earth. Such assaults either directly reported by the countries, requiring your immediate intervention, or can be stifled in root by your aircraft or strike force. Latter though is only possible on areas falling onto your satellite coverage, that’s where uplinks come in handy. The countries you weren’t able to protect will panic, increasing their likelihood of withdrawal of support of XCOM. Eight such cases of withdrawal and the game is effectively over.

    Countries that you *do* manage to please though, by stopping abdications or saving terrorized citizens, will reward you with money, workforce or soldiers in addition to decreasing panic. Such rewards and council’s monthly funding are primary source of cash, which is never in abundance. Black market of original game returns too but now you can’t ease your way out by selling alien weapons: they are destroyed automatically into components upon holder’s death.

    To be honest, strategic level of new XCOM on normal level is extremely easy and trivial. Everything happens on its own, you only need to assist countries with highest panic and you will be fine. The fact that you need more satellite is only evident in mid game and initial interceptors can fight enemy ships even up to late game! Ship management overall was simplified to a minimum: just upgrade guns in manner of some jRPG.

    I guess all creative efforts went into squad design which is totally OK. Your barracks accommodates up seventy soldiers but only up to six can be sent to mission. Soldiers can wear armor, carry two weapons and one usable item. It is the result of all your strategic efforts: the variety of equipment is astounding. You will start with ragged west and bullet guns but end with flying titan suits (oldfaqs, are you here?) and plasma gun. Following MMO tendencies, soldiers are divided into classes (assault, sniper, heavy, support) and have skills. The skill tree is simple but meaningful: ten promotions, eight choices between two skills. Yes, promotions are there - with experience soldiers will gain levels, making you feel like a successful parent. Enemy Within also added possibility of transformation of your chosen officers into giant japanese robots and genetic mutants. Latter is totally useless but former - oh yeah!

    The combat itself I describe in three phrases and move one: ‘chance to hit’, ‘cover’, ‘one move-one action’. XCOM highlights are high number of maps, multistoried level design, destructible environment and smart AI (on classic or higher difficulty). Variety of enemies is not that great but everything is balanced. Is it ‘save-load’? I finished game on normal with Iron Mode without breaking the sweat but playing on impossible was impossible.

    Brilliant strategically, addictive tactively, XCOM suffers from the same problem as original one: it’s generator of random fights. But this time around I noticed it only at very end.    … Expand
  4. WSSJESS
    Apr 2, 2014
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game is surprisingly addicting. I enjoyed XCOM EU but Enemy Within just adds so much more. All previous DLC from EU, new characters and enemy types. You get new abilities, mechs, gene mods which make you character even more powerful and can give you a tactical advantage.
    I bought this game after hearing about it, thinking it was the same as EU, I thought I was not missing out on much but I was wrong.

    If you have not played EU though, you can still jump into this one simply cause it's a decent expansion.
    If you're into squad based strategy games, this game in my opinion holds the crown(for console turn based RTS).    … Expand
  5. allan_treebeard
    Dec 15, 2013
    8
    Enemy within is a refined, improved version of enemy unknown. It adds a number of existing features that improve it whilst still keeping the same core game. It is, however, still buggy as hell. I've lost two save game files to glitches and framerate is terrible in places. Still worth it though.
  6. Thefanboy1928
    Nov 18, 2013
    9
    Xcom enemy within takes what was great about enemy unknown, and amplifies it tremendously. The new enmies are great, and the mech troops are very fun to use. However, there are a couple of things that are bad. First of all, xault are a joke, and are not a threat whatsoever. Secondly, the game is too easy. The inclusion of the mech troop and the gene mods means that you will reach the pointXcom enemy within takes what was great about enemy unknown, and amplifies it tremendously. The new enmies are great, and the mech troops are very fun to use. However, there are a couple of things that are bad. First of all, xault are a joke, and are not a threat whatsoever. Secondly, the game is too easy. The inclusion of the mech troop and the gene mods means that you will reach the point of invincibility a lot quicker. But overall, a great game,… Expand
  7. Krobolt
    Mar 23, 2014
    9
    Last year, the reboot to the XCOM was outstanding. Its deep strategic game play lead to careful scheming between every move you make. With enough tenacity and mindful planning, every shot to our out-worldly invaders felt all the more satisfying. XCOM was so finely balanced every way through, I couldn't imagine adding anything that wouldn't break the formula. Despite this, Firaxis hasLast year, the reboot to the XCOM was outstanding. Its deep strategic game play lead to careful scheming between every move you make. With enough tenacity and mindful planning, every shot to our out-worldly invaders felt all the more satisfying. XCOM was so finely balanced every way through, I couldn't imagine adding anything that wouldn't break the formula. Despite this, Firaxis has released an expansion to its sci-fi strategy game that slides in so perfectly into this flow. The new additions as well as new game play elements adds new dimensions into the already deep experience.

    If you have played the previous game, you will understand XCOM's nature. You play as the commander of the XCOM project, a program in charge of handling the extraterritorial invasion of Earth. At the base, you control the project's income through XCOM council requests as well as managing research projects, building facilities to strengthen your program, and scanning the planet for any alien activity. On the field, however, game play changes as you are put in command of a small squad of soldiers through turn-based combat. Both layers are rewarding in their own ways and Enemy Within cleverly adds to both.

    The most significant addition is a new currency system called Meld. With it, you can biologically modify your soldiers with alien powers, from jumping to previously unattainable heights to the ability to see cloaked foes. Having trouble with a Sniper's accuracy? Equip an eye buff that adds to aim and line of sight. Are you getting tired of your soldiers firing upon their allies after being mind controlled? Add a brain mod to add to their will and mental defense.

    If biological modifications aren't your thing, you can also create MECs for your soldiers. MECs are hulking cybersuits that add strength and durability at the cost of the use of cover during combat. Once a
    soldier is augmented for use of the MEC, they are removed of their class of Sniper, Heavy, etc. in favor of the new class, MEC trooper. This new class comes with its own skill tree as well as a buff that is
    fully dependent on the previous class of the soldier before augmentation. MECs themselves are also fully customizable and have a tree where you choose its weaponry and skill. A kinetic punch for close quarters and a flamethrower that fires and spreads across the battlefield are just a few of its equipment options. Each MEC also can be armed with heavy weaponry strictly for its class only, such as a Rail gun or Mini gun making it a powerful chose for every squad to have.

    Meld can be obtained throughout missions strictly. During certain missions, Meld counters appear on the Hub acknowledging Meld canisters are within the area. Once a solider is near one, a turn counter appears numbering how many turns remain until you can grab the Meld before it detonates. This adds pressure to the combat as the player can scrub whole plans aside in pursuit of this valuable resource.
    Meld in its entirety doesn't remain in the bank for long so each trek can be profitable. Meld is a dangerous and profitable carrot on a stick adding to this already sweat-inducing formula.

    The aliens won't make this pursuit any easier however. There are new enemy types as well to heat up combat situations. The new Seeker enemies are tentacle creatures that, as soon as they appear, cloak immediately and only reappear when they begin to strangle and stun your soldiers from actions. These new aliens encourage grouping your team together in close proximity to one another. The last thing anyone wants is their Sniper to be stunned and unable to support the team. Another new foe is the Mechtoid, a Sechtoid within its own MEC suit. These walking behemoths have the properties as the MEC making them a deadly foe on the field whenever one appears. Most are accompanied by a partner,
    Sechtoid that adds a shield to these menaces. With its shields and high attack power, these tanks
    become a walking powerhouse of chaos and cause for careful strategy.

    XCOM: Enemy Within takes every element that made the original great and expands upon it. The numerous new features and enemies are fun to play with it and makes XCOM: Enemy Within the best way to play Firaxis’ reboot to the series. Anyone who loves a good challenge and an excellent sci-fi experience should give Enemy Within a shot.    … Expand
  8. Kai82
    Jan 10, 2021
    10
    A great expansion that makes the base game inferior and is for me the definitive edition of the game. I already rated X-Com Enemy Unknown which is included in the expansion. I will first give a summary and then explain what is new / added (Clarification: You can not chose between base game and expansion)

    X-Com Enemy Unknown: After aliens attack the Earth an alliance of nations founded    A great expansion that makes the base game inferior and is for me the definitive edition of the game. I already rated X-Com Enemy Unknown which is included in the expansion. I will first give a summary and then explain what is new / added (Clarification: You can not chose between base game and expansion)

    X-Com Enemy Unknown:
    After aliens attack the Earth an alliance of nations founded the X-Com project who should battle the aliens while also investigating the threat. The overall story seems first just like a vehicle to carry the story but at the end you find out the truth behind the alien attack and why they did it in this way. The gameplay mechanics are well interwoven and you have to pay attention. You get founded monthly and must use this budget or sell resource you might need later on the black market. The catch is that only the countries were you have a surveillance satellite above will pay you and there is a system how satisfied the countries are. Any country that gets unsatisfied enough will leave the X-Com project and if to many leave it is game over. This can happen long into the game (Don't worry you have not to please all approx 200 nations around the world. Only 2 to 6 per continent if I remember correctly). Be warned you should speed this up as the aliens know this and will attack multiple countries at once (You can respond to 1 of 3 and must make hard decisions). If you have support of all countries on a continent you get a useful bonus and you get 1 for free at the start when you chose to build your headquarter on that continent. Further you research alien technology and biology to develop better weapons and human technology. This is also crucial for your success as the missions will get harder and harder without. Some new items are just to awesome to negate. Be warned you need scientists, engineers and power (plants) to do so. For this you build facilities in your headquarter at increasingly costs. There is some bonus for adjacent buildings of the same type or building a power plant on a special place. Beware there are also maintenance cost to factor in. I will end this here and continue with the turn based battles. If there is a mission you send out a squad of your soldiers. I will start with the important info that these can permanently die and are lost forever (There is a memorial wall in your base). These soldiers get experience by killing aliens and level up to new ranks (Maybe also a small bit for participation as I have seen level ups without but very rarely). On each rank expect 1 you can chose 1 of 2 new abilities for them. Some are really good and others are situational. I tested a lot and read about it as there were interesting approaches I did not see fitting. You have also a training school were you can unlock upgrades but need a soldier with the required rank. High on the priory list should be the squad size upgrades (You start with 4 and can upgrade to 6). In addition to dying your soldiers can also be injured and are unavailable until they recover. Have a few new recruits participating with veterans to have appropriate replacements in case of injuries. You have 4 classes of soldiers Assault, Heavy, Support and Sniper. Each class is useful and you should have multiple soldiers in each class available. Remark: Sadly it is random what class your rookie gets promoted into. This is one of my main complains. I saved the game near the end of a mission and reloaded until I was satisfied. This is not possible on Ironman mode which is a fitting transition. The game has a great variety of challenges. Normal mode is no breeze, Classic is really challenging and Impossible is named correctly. Ironman is an addition that you have just 1 save file and it will save after each decision / action (no second chances or retries).

    Addition from Enemy Within:
    Enemy Within adds Meld which is a substance that can be found in small amounts in battles in storage container that expire after a set number of turns. This changes your gameplay as you must approach faster to get it. Meld gives you access to gene mods and MEC troopers. Gene mods are additional abilities for your soldiers. You can choose 1 of 2 for brain, eyes, skin, chest and legs. These give a lot of advantages. MEC troopers are cybernetic enhanced soldiers. You get a new class of soldier with great durability but be careful your Meld reserves are not unlimited nor can you have gene mods on MEC troopers. Then there is a new human enemy in form of the Exalt organization. These want to use the alien invasion for their own benefits while not being allies of the aliens. You have to fight them too and they will try to sabotage X-Com. There are also new alien enemies, maps, options and missions. I enjoyed the covert operations, an intense recon in Canada and operation progeny. There is another mission that I cant spoil that returned from classic X-Com.

    Overall:
    Huge improvements make this an even better game and easy recommendation.    … Expand
  9. Magodoom
    Sep 21, 2014
    9
    Weones ql q no cachan nada de weas de video juego este game es la cumbia!!! Chupenla pichula lo q le ponen un 7 mancos ql q ho cachan ni una wea hasta metascore cacha lo bueno del juego
  10. dj_cole
    Feb 19, 2015
    9
    Xcom Enemy Within is an updated version of Enemy Unknown. Enemy Within greatly improves on the somewhat simpler version of Xcom that was Enemy Unknown.

    The series, for those unfamiliar with it, is based on leading a secret covert operations group, known as Xcom, as it attempts to secretly defend earth from an alien invasion. The game does allude to all of this being top secret, which    Xcom Enemy Within is an updated version of Enemy Unknown. Enemy Within greatly improves on the somewhat simpler version of Xcom that was Enemy Unknown.

    The series, for those unfamiliar with it, is based on leading a secret covert operations group, known as Xcom, as it attempts to secretly defend earth from an alien invasion. The game does allude to all of this being top secret, which seems a bit ridiculous as you play through the game, but that doesn't really matter to the gameplay. You act as supreme commander of the Xcom project, managing and building up a base of operations, sending out satellites to detect alien presence, managing the happiness of funding countries, researching and leading squads of up to six soldiers into battle that can then be leveled up as they gain experience.

    The game, like any other game, has evolved with its modern iteration. It is a sharp, fun and responsive squad based strategy game that has streamlined a lot of the annoying micromanagement features of past games, but has also simplified things and put a cap on squad member leveling up. It is a more accessible, but simpler game than past generations.

    The game, in the most basic sense, plays like this. You have a base that you expand with various modules that you can build into your secret mountain hideaway. As you research new technologies new modules open up for upgrades or more efficient research. You launch satellites to gain funding from the various nation groups across the globe and to spot alien incursions. When incursions happen you deploy a squad of soldiers into a tactical, squad based "seek cover and advance" type gameplay that dictates a methodical approach to combat. As missions are failed or ignored panic will rise. Victories reduce panic. There are a handful of main story missions for advancing the game that are unlocked by certain milestones in the game, but the vast majority of missions are procedurally generated battles with aliens. There are basic research items, but as you kill aliens and do autopsies, capture and interrogate aliens, or shoot down and capture alien ships more research items are unlocked to gain better weapon and armor and new gadgets.

    There are four basic classes. Assault, heavy (machine gunners), snipers and support (medics) which each have their own skill trees that you can utilize as they level up. All four classes are needed across the game to face different situations. Medics to stabilize downed squad members, snipers to provide cover, heavies to deal huge damage in short bursts and assault troops to act as front line combat soldiers.. Later in the game psionic abilities are added which add some more variety to your soldiers, but psionic abilities are rare and only have three tiers. In Enemy Within a new addition is Meld which can be used to upgrade soldiers genetically or cybernetically. This adds a lot more variety to the class structures, allowing you to turn your favorite soldiers into cybernetic MEC's or upgrade them genetically to improve their abilities and durability. Personally, I found MEC's not terribly useful and fairly resource intensive in terms of Meld, which is a very limited resource, but the genetic alterations had great affects and were well worth the cost.

    The Enemy Within expansion also adds a good variety of missions if you count the smaller addons with it. There are new covert operations to locate and eliminate a secret organization known as Exalt that is out to hamper your efforts. There is also another series of missions focused on a Chinese criminal orgainization. Overall, they are nice addition of scripted, story missions.

    The aliens you face are variations on a few base models, but the variations offer enough change that the game continually changes and evolves as you proceed. New challenges are thrown at you every few missions that force you to think more carefully about how you combat the alien menace.

    The game looks good. It won't blow anyone away. It has its own style, but nothing that really sticks out as uniquely distinct. The technical side of the graphics are good enough and slightly better than your run of the mill top down game. Sound effects are well done and add to the experience and the voice acting is well done with squad members reacting to the battle.

    The controls on the PC are very easy to work with. Consoles are also surprisingly good, though moving the cursor around with the joysticks can be slow. The iPad controls are cumbersome and you can end up moving soldiers to areas you don't mean to because you have to press an area twice to move there.

    Enemy Within is a much improved version of Enemy Unknown. It adds additional complexity, options, missions types and squad improvements to the game. Ultimately, the game is still on the simple side, but the added content really pushes the game into the replayable multiple times enjoyment level. I would recommend for strategy fans who may have been turned off by Enemy Unknown's simplicity.    … Expand
  11. Folmer
    Feb 23, 2019
    8
    I'm not a fan of tactical strategy genre, and i really enjoyed this game. My favorite feature of this game is a worry about your characters, because the loss of your favorite hero is a big tragedy. This game gives strong emotions, and great experience.
  12. ente2ente
    Jul 28, 2022
    9
    I am playing the game for 8 of weeks now allmost every evening for 2-4 hours, at least 80 hours, and still can't stop. It is great, more addicting than XCOM: Enemy Unknown (from 2012). But, similar to Enemy Unknown 2012, I think that the replay value is pretty low. When the story is done I was so fed up with repetition which after some weeks of playing you see through all the variationI am playing the game for 8 of weeks now allmost every evening for 2-4 hours, at least 80 hours, and still can't stop. It is great, more addicting than XCOM: Enemy Unknown (from 2012). But, similar to Enemy Unknown 2012, I think that the replay value is pretty low. When the story is done I was so fed up with repetition which after some weeks of playing you see through all the variation they built in.
    So it is much more addicting than the one UFO Enemy Unknown (european name, XCOM Ufo Defense was the us name I think) from 1994, but the replay value of the 1994 version still is higher because of it's much higher complexity.    … Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
88

Generally favorable reviews - based on 6 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. PlaySense
    Dec 4, 2013
    85
    XCOM: Enemy within significantly expands on XCOM: Enemy Unknown and because of that, die hard fans or newcomers are advised to get it. It's a shame the developers didn't do anything about the bugs though, since they're still very present.
    Read full review
  2. Playstation Official Magazine Australia
    Dec 2, 2013
    90
    All of the augmentations do not unbalance what was already a near-perfect formula. Do yourself a favour, step out of your genre-rut and buy this gem today. [Christmas 2013, p74]
  3. Game Informer
    Nov 11, 2013
    93
    The game often throws you curveballs; you can easily have a rookie wander too deep into the battlefield and suddenly alert three units of enemies. However, dealing with the bad hands you’re dealt is what makes XCOM’s battles so exciting – and often leads to creative problem solving.
    Read full review
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