Youll have to decide whether or not an expansion pack that completely changes a good 90% of an original game from last year qualifies to be on a list in 2013, but we would assure you it does. XCOM: Enemy Unknown was one of the greatest games put on consoles last year, offering up a top-down tactical shooter that allowed you to create a custom-named squad of your best mates, deck them out in alien-researched weapons and gadgets, and take the fight back to the foreign invaders one district at a time. Enemy Within might as well be a sequel to that phenomenal game, as like the newly introduced mech-upgrades you can put upon your soldier, what we now see is something incredible, yet what beats inside is the strongest of hearts. Couple body-modification with gene-splicing that gives your soldiers many abilities including see-through mimetic skin so they can penetrate enemy defences alongside their mechanised brethren. Add that to all the weapon modifications from the previous game, new undercover modes that face you off against an entirely new enemy plus various alien-upgrades that pad out their already terrifying arsenal, and throw in all the previous downloadable content as well, and you have one of the most tantalisingly perfect packages money can buy. Thats not to mention the increased facial and armour customisation you can give your troops, as although XCOM has a threadbare stop the aliens at all costs narrative, the small epithets youll put upon your own crew as you struggle to make it through mission after mission, is the kind of silent bond you only get through hours of exposure with any game.
