Developer: Firaxis Games Released: 2012 XCOM: Enemy Unknown was a big surprise. Not just because it didn't embarrass itself in the face of the series it was rebooting, but because it surpasses them in almost every way, becoming one of the best releases in its sub-genre. The military turn-based strategy sees the player fending off a terrifying alien invasion, in the form of a fleshed-out base building meta-game and skirmishes. As fights are won (or lost,) you gain access to new technologies and greater funding, allowing you to gain powerful new equipment or add new facilities to the base of operations. Best of all, each of your soldiers are fully customisable, making it a joy when they scrape through, and horrifying when they die, forever.
