XCOM: Enemy Unknown Review

The XCOM franchise first debuted in 1994 and revolutionized early PC gaming before slowly fading into relative obscurity. After nearly a decade of silence, Firaxis Games, developer of the long-running Civilization series, brought this once-dead series back to life with 2012’s XCOM: Enemy Unknown.

Updated for the twenty-first century, XCOM: Enemy Unknown stays true to its roots by delivering on the promise of tense tactical gameplay.

Building up your base is the key to victory

Gameplay

XCOM: Enemy Unknown divides its gameplay into two sections. These are the turn-based missions and pseudo real-time base management.

As the Commander of XCOM (Extraterrestrial Combat Unit), it falls to the player to make crucial decisions on how best to use the organization’s resources to counter alien invasions of Earth. The number of countries under your protection determine XCOM’s monthly income. Building and launching satellites takes precious time and resources that could be spent on other projects.

Some countries contribute more than others, but losing any nation to alien conquest is irreversible. It also brings you one step closer to total defeat. If half the world falls to the alien invaders, it’s game over.

Losing a country also locks you out from receiving the unique bonuses for having complete satellite coverage over a continent. Wealthier nations may offer better rewards, but players have to balance short-term gain with long-term strategy.

XCOM: Enemy Unknown has a traditional linear plot, but you get more mileage out of the game’s emergent storytelling. The game’s plot is perfectly functional and does a decent job of stringing the missions together, but the real story is in the handcrafted levels and the battles that take place there.