XCOM: Enemy Within - 8 Reasons It Is 2012 & 2013’s Game Of The Year

5. Genetically Modifying Your Soldiers By Performing Autopsies On Aliens

Xcom Gene Time for the big shake-ups this time round; genetic modifications and body-augments. With the never-ending horde of aliens in their various forms requiring you to take to the skies, or fortify close-quarters to take them on in-game, Enemy Within introduces the alien substance Meld. Doing as it says on the space-container, Meld allows you to remix the DNA of your soldiers, both internally and externally. Mods for your eyeballs that ensure taking higher ground increases a critical attack, thereby ideal for your Sniper Mark 2.0? Tick. Mimetic skin that makes your soldier invisible should he be in full cover, allowing you to bypass the frontlines of the enemies defence and attack them from behind? Tick. Enhanced muscle-tissue so certain soldiers can leap tall buildings in a single bound? Thereby instantly turning the tide should you be pinned down in an ambush? Tick, cross, game, set and match. That€™s barely even scratching the surface of what€™s on offer here, and as the only way to gain new abilities is to tell your Research Department to perform blood-splatter-autopsies on your defeated enemies, you€™ll be taking on your foes in increasingly tactile and less explosive ways, just so you can reap what rewards are locked away inside an intact carcass.
Gaming Editor
Gaming Editor

WhatCulture's Head of Gaming.