XCOM: Enemy Unknown is a 2012, turn-based tactical strategy game released by Firaxis Games (the company that is responsible for the well-famous Civilization franchise) and published by 2K. Enemy Unknown is a remake of the classic 1994 game of the same title. Enemy Unknown takes you into a long and brutal journey to fend off the alien invaders and the hefty responsibility to command your troops to victory. The game was a huge success to Firaxis Games. This review will also extend to the expansion pack, Enemy Within. Is Firaxis Games’ vision of XCOM a true successor to the original franchise?



The story is very simple. The aliens invade Earth and you play as the Commander, who leads the XCOM organization to fight off the aliens via commanding your troops and facilitate limited resources to your advantage. One of the main features for the game is character customization that brings in strong, “emotional” investment to your created characters. Admittedly, I found the character customization limited but it did little to prevent me from caring about the created characters. A few reasons why a person would be invested in fictional characters. Field promotions and experiences in combat will put you in intense situations. The feeling of victory and triumph or the tragedy of mission failure and a character’s (or characters’) sudden death will put you in an emotional ride. Such emotions makes this game very addicting.



The game brings a good challenge to the player and the difficulty levels are appropriate for any player who have some experience on understanding basic tactics or “complex” strategies to win over the enemy. The best features for the game are the unpredictable nature and improvisation to withdrawal from battle or fight to the bitter end. Even with “common sense”, aliens can hit you based upon chance and random critical hits. The commander’s (or your) decision will determine if your soldier will fight another day or take a huge risk to kill the biggest threat to your squad.



The game certainly has some of the best features, but there are some minor annoyances and criticisms that needs to be addressed to potential buyers. First, I find Dr. Moira Vahlen a tad annoying due to her “accent” or the voice acting for the character. Second, the game’s unpredictability can be a turn-off for some players who felt “cheated” by sudden critical hits on your soldiers. Essentially, the outcome of each mission is based on a “gamble”, hoping that the enemy won’t hit you or at least won’t “cheat” on getting a sudden kill shot on someone who has full health. Honestly, I like this unpredictability but not for some players. The map designs are “limited”, meaning that there is a chance that you will play the same map design more than one mission. Since the missions can take place in anywhere on the world, there are no “cultural distinction” on any maps. For example, if the mission takes place in Egypt, China, Germany (and elsewhere) there are no cultural icons or specific cultural features in the maps that take place (besides the introductory mission in the Slingshot Pack)



Lastly, the spoken languages are very limited and disappointing. The game only offers English and various European languages (like Spanish, French, Polish, Russian, etc). Ironically, the addition for European languages comes from the expansion pack, Enemy Within. Worse, the European languages pack comes from the base game (for European players who played in his or her native language) only to be packaged to the expansion pack for American audiences. Since XCOM is an international military and scientific organization, the lack of more languages (Arabic, various African languages, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin and Cantonese, and various others) in the game was a bitter disappointment to me.



XCOM: Enemy Unknown and its expansion pack, Enemy Within, is worth your money and your investment. An excellent mod, The Long War, raise the replay value into new heights and is a worthy addition for any XCOM player to have (depending if you want a very brutal and a marathon campaign). The game’s optimization is very good mainly because the system requirements is very affordable for any PC player at this point of time. However, this game might not be everyone’s favorite cup of tea if the person does not like turn-based combat. Regardless, the high replay value, intense firefights, and emotional attachments to your created character makes this game unique. A must buy for any PC gamer even with the minor issues at hand. This game has my highest recommendation.



XCOM: Enemy Unknown is a 2012, turn-based tactical strategy game released by Firaxis Games (the company that is responsible for the well-famous Civilization franchise) and published by 2K. Enemy Unknown is a remake of the classic 1994 game of the same title. Enemy Unknown takes you into a long and brutal journey to fend off the alien invaders and the hefty responsibility to command your troops to victory. The game was a huge success to Firaxis Games. This review will also extend to the expansion pack, Enemy Within. Is Firaxis Games’ vision of XCOM a true successor to the original franchise? The story is very simple. The aliens invade Earth and you play as the Commander, who leads the XCOM organization to fight off the aliens via commanding your troops and facilitate limited resources to your advantage. One of the main features for the game is character customization that brings in strong, “emotional” investment to your created characters. Admittedly, I found the character customization limited but it did little to prevent me from caring about the created characters. A few reasons why a person would be invested in fictional characters. Field promotions and experiences in combat will put you in intense situations. The feeling of victory and triumph or the tragedy of mission failure and a character’s (or characters’) sudden death will put you in an emotional ride. Such emotions makes this game very addicting. The game brings a good challenge to the player and the difficulty levels are appropriate for any player who have some experience on understanding basic tactics or “complex” strategies to win over the enemy. The best features for the game are the unpredictable nature and improvisation to withdrawal from battle or fight to the bitter end. Even with “common sense”, aliens can hit you based upon chance and random critical hits. The commander’s (or your) decision will determine if your soldier will fight another day or take a huge risk to kill the biggest threat to your squad. The game certainly has some of the best features, but there are some minor annoyances and criticisms that needs to be addressed to potential buyers. First, I find Dr. Moira Vahlen a tad annoying due to her “accent” or the voice acting for the character. Second, the game’s unpredictability can be a turn-off for some players who felt “cheated” by sudden critical hits on your soldiers. Essentially, the outcome of each mission is based on a “gamble”, hoping that the enemy won’t hit you or at least won’t “cheat” on getting a sudden kill shot on someone who has full health. Honestly, I like this unpredictability but not for some players. The map designs are “limited”, meaning that there is a chance that you will play the same map design more than one mission. Since the missions can take place in anywhere on the world, there are no “cultural distinction” on any maps. For example, if the mission takes place in Egypt, China, Germany (and elsewhere) there are no cultural icons or specific cultural features in the maps that take place (besides the introductory mission in the Slingshot Pack) Lastly, the spoken languages are very limited and disappointing. The game only offers English and various European languages (like Spanish, French, Polish, Russian, etc). Ironically, the addition for European languages comes from the expansion pack, Enemy Within. Worse, the European languages pack comes from the base game (for European players who played in his or her native language) only to be packaged to the expansion pack for American audiences. Since XCOM is an international military and scientific organization, the lack of more languages (Arabic, various African languages, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin and Cantonese, and various others) in the game was a bitter disappointment to me. XCOM: Enemy Unknown and its expansion pack, Enemy Within, is worth your money and your investment. An excellent mod, The Long War, raise the replay value into new heights and is a worthy addition for any XCOM player to have (depending if you want a very brutal and a marathon campaign). The game’s optimization is very good mainly because the system requirements is very affordable for any PC player at this point of time. However, this game might not be everyone’s favorite cup of tea if the person does not like turn-based combat. Regardless, the high replay value, intense firefights, and emotional attachments to your created character makes this game unique. A must buy for any PC gamer even with the minor issues at hand. This game has my highest recommendation. Check this box if you received this product for free (?) Do you recommend this game? Yes No Cancel Save Changes