XCOM: Enemy Unknown Review: A Long Overdue Return

Hard decisions aren€™t limited to responding to missions; resources are limited, and there are seldom enough cash and raw materials for all available projects to be completed. Very often players will have to choose whether to invest heavily in research, or instead upgrade soldiers€™ gear. The need to launch new surveillance satellites and upgrade base facilities as well means that resources are constantly at a premium, and players always need to carefully balance the various aspects of base management. Graphically, the game looks decent enough, without being mindblowing, and it looks a little unfinished close up. Nevertheless, soldiers and aliens alike all have unique designs, making them instantly recognisable and memorable. Occasional glitches, such as soldiers pushing their guns through walls, or taking reaction shots despite having entire buildings between themselves and hostile units, can break the immersion, but apart from these incidents the game excels in creating a tense atmosphere. The regular tendency for soldiers to miss shots with a 90% accuracy rating can become infuriating, as does the incomprehensible fact that reloading a gun uses up a soldier€™s entire turn. There isn€™t very much to say story wise. €˜The aliens are invading, we need to stop them€™ just about covers the plot for 95% of the game, until in the final mission a sudden and inexplicable attempt at introducing a deeper story is unveiled. No really satisfying explanation for the alien invasion is ever really given, and it never really feels as if the stakes are that high, possibly because the aliens only seem to do about two things each month, leading to long periods of inactivity at the base, waiting for a UFO to appear. The fact that most resources come from recovering downed UFOs makes the fact that they appear so rarely doubly frustrating. Compared to the story of the original, which saw the final mission take place on the alien base on Mars, the finale on offer here is resoundingly inferior. Aside from the few quibbles listed above, XCOM: Enemy Unknown is a great strategy game. It is easy to get in to (even on console) but difficult to master. Most of the new features are great improvements on the original game, but Firaxis have kept enough to keep long-time fans happy. Hopefully XCOM: Enemy Unknown does well enough to warrant a sequel; a return to the ocean depths of Terror From The Deep would be more than welcome. XCOM: Enemy Unknown is available to buy now.