This is a brilliant strategy game that no fan of the genre, especially fans of turn based games, should pass up. The easy and normal difficulties make the single player portion of the game new-player friendly, while the classic and impossible difficulties, combined in the Ironman (autosave only) option transform this game into one of the most tactical and challenging experiences ever created.

While the single player has tremendous replay value, there is also a full-featured multiplayer side, which includes LAN play, unranked, and ranked matches and the ability to build your custom team with thousands of options. And yes, you read that correctly, this game has actual RANKED multiplayer, using the Elo rating system (similar to WoW, LoL, and Starcraft 2). All this means that XCOM: EU provides one of the best single player experiences along with competitive multiplayer you won't find in any other turn based strategy game on the market, period.… Expand

Possibly one of the best games I've ever played. Ignore Lysh or whatever his name is. Honestly this game is astounding and even though i wasn't there for the original XCOM, this game somehow manages to turn a turn-based strategy and management sim into something that is out of this world (no pun intended). The game itself is very very fun but be warned- when your soldiers die- it almost feels like part of the time you spent in the game itself died. Trying to NOT get invested is difficult. Your soldiers level up after battle experience and after each battle you'll garner resources from the aliens you've killed/ captured. With regard to the mangement system , Firaxis has managed to turn something that should have been tedious and boring into an intriguing and tactical. Placement of different Facilities inside your base actually counts towards the effectiveness of said buildings. Missions issued from the Council of Nations that funds the XCOM initiative are sporadic and almost always unique. One day you might be saving a Council member's buddy from abduction. the next you're giving laser pistols to the Chinese Army to get more engineers into the XCOM initiative. You, the player truly are the Commander of the XCOM project, from researching new weapons to fight the aliens, managing missions and your base, to actually controlling your troops on the ground and interceptor jets in the skies. This game truly has limitless potential, especially if Firaxis will later release the ability to mod the game. The inclusion of Multiplayer with the ability to play as the Alien Menace is also very fun and very cool. Definitely one of the best games I've seen this year. :)… Expand

Thank you Fireaxis. You dit it. We had high expectations, and you surpassed them. XCOm is one of the best games of this generation. Shut up and take my money!

Critics have said that turn based shooters are dead, but I think this iteration of XCOM goes a long way to prove them wrong. I can honestly say, without sarcasm or implications, that if the original XCOM were made today, this is what it would be like. It is a very faithful representation of the original, and if you were a fan (like I was), you will probably enjoy this as well. The fact that the economy/base building aspect wasn't cut was a huge plus to me. Now, to be clear, there are a few changes/issues. Difficulty is not so high, and you won't have everyone die as soon as they step off the transport for the first mission (this can be either good or bad). The soldier voices are all bland American accents, and while it's a small thing it's jarring in a squad of international operatives. The loadout is a more simplified than I'd like, but not enough that it annoys me. Anyway, apart from a few minor issues I feel XCOM is an extremely fun game and well worth a look.… Expand

I have to admit, I was afraid that this game would be a perfect example of a game where it was built up and then was just mediocre (Skyrim anyone?). Went ahead a bought it and I have to say, that wasn't a mistake. So I came here to see what others were saying and was pleased to see the majority agree with me. I also wanted to address the main objection the ones that gave it a negative review have: it's depth of strategy and, stemming from that, those who say that just wanted a retexturing of the original (which, if Firaxis did that, they would be saying "just get the original on Steam for 4 bucks, Firaxis just sold us an update"). They call it "tactics" but what they really mean is strategy (tactics being squad based planning, which this game clearly has and if they say it doesn't they don't know what they're talking about). Is the global strategy dumbed down? Yes, yes it is. Is this Xcom circa 1990? No, no it is not. Examples? Sure: You can no longer manufacture things to sell to the countries for money (there is a different, simpler dynamic). Manufacturing of guns and weapons as far as I can tell is instantaneous (don't really have a problem with that, but since the major complaint is that this isn't a retexturing of the original, I'll put that in there). There are no longer any ammo conservation concerns during missions, you just need to worry about reloading (though there are a limited amount of special abilities). You can have only one base (but you can have an high number of interceptors and satellites so that, in my opinion, makes up for it espc since in the original the presence of your base had no effect on the game unlike real life or this game). The manner in which you build your base has consequences, unlike the original one. Can you ignite the entire map and let fire spread? Yes. Destructive environments? Yes. But you can't shot a GUN at a wall (you can throw grenades or fire rockets however [more realistic]). The basic complaint here from the negative people is that it isn't Xcom. They wanted a simple retexturing and updating of Xcom. I can understand that, but it's also something that you can get elsewhere (UFO Afterlite series for example). What they fail to realize is that there are a number of things that were annoying and negative about the original. Cone of sight? (Kantai *COUGH*) Who sees in that? If an alien is right next to someone but not within a side square they're not gonna see it? Gimme a break. TUs are still there but they have been updated to be more realistic, because, seriously, why does it take time to turn around in the original? The first part of a mission in the original might as well be a ballet with all the squad members twirling around to get around the vision cone. No sniper rifles in the original (seems like an oversight to me. Yes they had "rifles" and "heavy weapons" but that seems kind of dumbed down now doesn't it (Kanti, Lysh *COUGH*). There are more, but there is a character limit here.

This Game actually expands the tactical and strategic options beyond the original. I'm sorry, but having to manage you backpack like Kanti complains this game took out, that's not tactical or strategic. Being able to construct a base that makes sense and has position bonuses (like this new game does), makes sense. The main point is this. If you want the exact same, original, authentic, experience and gameplay you got from Xcom, but with updated graphics DO NOT BUY THIS GAME. I don't want you buying it and then coming here and throwing a fit because it's not the same, exact Xcom. But if you want a different, enjoyable experience that takes most of the good of the original and adds new concepts and ides to it while still being true to the original, then you can't go wrong here. Are there some things that I miss? Sure. Are there some things here I didn't even know I wanted? Hell yeah there are. Would I recommend this game? Def. And that, in the end, is all that really matters… Expand

Oh my god it's full of stars. Yes, it's not a total 100% remake of the original X-Com / UFO but you know what? Maybe that's a good thing. UFO was awesome, but you can always go play it in DOSBOX and it'll still be great. It's not like somebody killed X-Com; that's just silly, and people that are saying that need to think about how silly they sound saying it. This way you get a game that evokes the awesomeness of the X-Com games of the past, but brings in new elements to re-imagine it. Let your nostalgia go free and enjoy something new and awesome. I found the tutorial a little confusing (does it have an end?) but I'm loving this game. I heard somebody say that it's basically like crack and I highly agree. It's so hard to stop playing it.… Expand

Exactly what one would reasonably expect this game to be. Playable for new and young players, a breath of fresh air for people who liked the original series and the 3rd party spinoffs. This game was made in record time imo. It would be reasonable to expect a few more instalments in the near future .

This version of XCOM actually has MORE depth than the original. The bits that added little to the (classic) original have been removed or altere while tactical (combat based) and strategic ("base" based) options have been added that actually add to ythe thought that's required to succeed. Examples Disembarking - man that was a pain, one well placed grenade and your entire squad wiped before you'd started your second turn and split up to avoid being one large target for me this always meant a reload of a saved game. It just annoyed me when it happened, now it doesn't. "Bug hunt" endings. Scouring maps for that one last alien who had decided to stand in a cupboard, 90 minutes trying to find it, ending up just being bored and making a careless mistake or just quitting the game - gone...Unrealistic micro customization - In the original you could force any soldier to become anything. That's not realistic at all. A 5 foot 3 sharpshooter moulded into being a musclebound heavy weapons carrier "just because you need one" It might offer you control - but at the expense of any level or realism. The movement simpified in use, but actually increased in tactical options. Moce a squad member a level? Easy! - No special button to take the view up or down required, how about over a wall or through a window. SImple, no 3 level menu system to go through, it will calculate it, and you will know whether you have the ability to continue with another action after or not. All the calculations are there if you play, but they are transparent to the user, leaving you just to work out what is best rather than micro analysing action points. Supression fire? Opportunity fire, different levels of cover? These allow you to work out some pretty snazzy tactics. Your troops level in a way that makes it fab. Actual abilities are learned that expand your tactical options, some are passive, some used on a turn based "cooldown" - all make a difference if used in the right place. Morale, Psi attacks. It's all there - it just doesn't require micro management. I thought I would miss micro management - but I don't - not one bit. For me - someone who loves to see a proper AAA turn based game (at LAST - after Sooooo many FPS..aren't FPS bored to tears with the same game being sold over and over and over and over) Xcom is a breath of fresh air. The moddability of the PC game means we can expect maps, missions and TC's in the next few months that will keep this game on my hard drive and being played almost indefinitely. 10/10 Best game I've played since Jagged Alliance 2 or Rebelstar. Well done Firaxis, after the relative mess of Civ 5 you are back with a bang. Best game of 2012 by a mile.… Expand

Fun refreshing new strategy game. Pros - Makes you think, satisfying combat
Cons - Random glitches(shooting walls, slanted positioned enemies), some aspects can be confusing.

One of the best turn based strategy games I have ever played. Ignore the hater and trolls, they are still stuck in nostalgia limbo to even make a thorough and non-biased review. The developers decided on a smaller squad to stress the importance of tension and making your squad actually mean something. The graphics are wonderful UE3 engine works well with this type of game and I like the art style direction. This will ensure this game will age properly. Overall, this game is a masterpiece and should be a candidate for GOTY against Dishonored. :)… Expand

Greetings from Germany! Im happy this is not an UFO Enemy Unknown with just better Graphics. Its an Game for its own. And its really fun to play. Im a huge Fan of UFO, TftD and X-com Apocalypse and this game is a worthy part 4 of those games. If you know the old Games and play this one is like you meet old friends. Siliconids and Mutons and Etherials, and so on, are on earth again! If someone tells you "You cant destroy Buildings, there is no reaction Fire and there arent any different fire modes" he is flat lieing to you. Some peoples should actually play the Game first and then make a review. But thats just my opinion.… Expand

A striking, fresh and faithful reboot of a classic game- made immersive and engrossing with elegant design, appealing graphics, and non-wonky interface. XCOM challenges you to do it all: make tough tactical choices with your squad, and strategic ones with panicky nations around the world. There's nothing like that primal scream you let out when your hand-picked assault element gets vaporized, or when your rooftop sniper picks off a Sectoid Commander like a bolt out of the blue. Sure, there are weaker elements, like the air intercepts, limited maps, or simple dig'n'build antfarm base, but they're ourweighed by the appeal and challenge of This fun, well-built game.… Expand

As much as I really wanted to enjoy this game, I'm finding it more and more difficult to do so. How can I shoot through walls? Where is the randomization that allows for the better gameplay? I'm growing more and more tired of replaying the same maps, listening to the terrible voice acting, and having to wait on stupid cut scenes. The squad consists of people from all around the world, yet they all sound the same. No random maps, repeating maps, no base building, terrible voice acting, etc...

Yet another disappointment. The only good thing about this is I got a copy of CIV5 with it due to the pre-order.… Expand

A brilliant and ambitious re-imagining of the original X-COM games. Not 1:1, and many of the features have been streamlined, changed, or removed, but it still captures the same fundamental feeling of terror, and each round of the game's turn-based tactical combat is a knuckle-biting affair. Absolutely a contender for GOTY 2012.

XCOM is true successor to original game! Unless you are butthurt HC/Elitist then you might think other way. If you have never played turn based strategy/action game rest assure you won't be disappointed! XCOM is awesome mix of tactical combat and strategic management of you base/research and etc. Sound is rock solid aside from generic solders voices. Graphics r great for this kind of the game. And Gameplay will get you hooked in no time. Replay value is tremendous. And if you want quick fix just jump in to the multiplayer. Highly recommend to all true gamers up there! Thank you Dev team and Fraxis for this great Take on the classic game!… Expand

This is simply one of the best strategy games I own! So much fun in such a great package. Losing a soldier or failing a mission is all a part of the gameplay and is implemented even from the first mission. The customization of your soldiers brings losses to a whole other level as well. I love this game and will be playing it for a long time to come!

Fans of the original X-Com will love this revival of the turn based strategy they used to play. I spent the last week playing the original X-Com to see if all the things I loved and hated from the original were still there. Not all of them were but that isn't a bad thing. The game can and will treat you in the most brutal fashion possible if you make poor choices. For those of us that played X-Com on Super Human back in the day this is a great reminder of the level of foresight needed to keep ahead of the alien menace. Play has been streamlined and the range of options has been reduce. The clunky inventory management has been removed. Your soldiers take only what they need. While I can appreciate this minor re-visioning I think the option to scrounge from the battlefield mid combat was part of what made the original X-Com great. The software its self is flawless. 16 hours in and not a single bug encountered. No glitches, hitches, or any such frustrations which plague current day pc gaming. In all this game stands an excellent chance at revitalizing the turn based strategy Genre and I hop the franchise lives on in this format for years to come.… Expand

Great game, great atmosphere, and overall an exciting strategy game with a little action mixed in. This is not a remake of the original, it is its own entity. XCOM from 1993 was more of a Hide and Seek game, the new XCOM retains some of those elements, but there is a far greater emphasis on strategy. I am glad they decided to make this game, limited "hand holding" and more "oops I clearly made a bad decision, which is why I lost". Yes, you can actually lose in this game, not only soldiers, you can actually fail to save Earth. Tips: Name soldiers after people you know, adds more significance to when they die, and they will die.… Expand

XCOM veterans, this isn't just the game you used to play, but with updated graphics. It's a true reimagining of the original. But worry not, it's certainly worth your time. Especially on Classic difficulty, the game is definitely a challenge that takes me back to the agonizing moments, so full of tension, from the original. I found myself coordinating my squad's movements to work as a team; carefully approaching each map in a slow and methodical fashion. The XCOM "squad" has a cohesive tactical feeling that the original was missing. Sure there was plenty of strategy in the original, but the new XCOM has a way of really making your team feel like more of a "TEAM" in a way the original didn't. The strategic layer of the game has been modified in such a way that it really serves to reduce the unnecessary elements of the original while still highlighting the importance of thinking about "the big picture" while playing. The game is so much more than just making sure you have the best squad for a given mission. It's about the long game. It's about planning for expansion down the road. It's about being prepared for the inevitable setbacks. It's about being able to think strategically as well as tactically. Nope, this isn't the original XCOM with a new coat of paint. It's a new XCOM. A modern XCOM. An XCOM that already kept me up WAY too late, and I'm sure will claim many more. This is an excellently crafted, undeniably fun strategy game.… Expand

a true spiritual succesor to the infamous x-com. a brialliant game that my as well along starcraft be the savoir of rts genre on the pc, a genre many claimed to be dying. This game, along with dishonored will keep you busy. PC gamers rejoice, x-com is here to stay.

Playing XCOM: Enemy Unknown is like sitting down for dinner with an old friend who appears to be doing very well for themselves, after all these years. You recognize them, and while you both have enough memories of the "good old days" for you to fall back on, there's enough new and interesting things going on in your friend's life to make for a memorable conversation. And then, when it's all over, you begin to wonder why you ever lost touch all these years to begin with. 9.5/10 -- Solid execution, atmosphere, mechanics, and enough twists that this title isn't just a retread, it stands on its own two feet.… Expand

Despite some negative reviewers who can't approach nastalgia with an open mind, this is a game of its time. It has just the right mix of the original elements while ditching those things that would frustrate in the modern era. Those who are fans of the original and those who just want to see what the fuss is about should pickup this game. Those that wanted the original with a new skin might consider booting up the old version as you will find change here that is good, but requires some perspective to appreciate.… Expand

Possibly one the best turn based tactical game. Dont listen to the bad reviews. probably players who does'nt even own the game. Good job firaxis.

I am an old school PC gamer. I have a shelf over my desk on which I display the original boxes of games that I consider truly great. The games are arranged more or less in chronological order, except that I have great games with great sequels grouped together (e.g. the SSI gold box games are all together, the two Starflight games are together, etc.) The original X-com, in it's ugly white corrugated cardboard box with the black printed sleeve, is sitting on that shelf immediately to the right of "Betrayal at Krondor". The game to the immediate right of X-com is Deus Ex… Expand

The original Xcom made me love turn based strategy games, and since then no game has been able to fill that void... Front Mission series and Incubation were close... This new Xcom is the real thing. Shut up and take my money!

Well, at first it seemed alright, i would have originally gave it like a 6 or 7. But just as i was about to get off, i realized there was alot more to do. that bumped me up to like a 8. I saw the game being good because i could experiment with different stuff like equipment and tactics. But then that was about it. So just as im about to get off to write my review, im playing a mission to escort a scientist to safety. Just as im about to extract him, a hiding alien kills him with overwatch...that ended my happiness. And then the next mission after was a terror mission! Now get this. The only species of alien in this entire mission were chryssalids...now im not going to give away what they are if you are new to xcom, but lets just say too many of these buggers on a terror mission and not even maxed veterans can fully survive. So i lost 5 out of my 6 men while taking 23 of those little buggers with me. Thats when i decided this game deserves a 9. Not only does it create a challenge. But it has a good feel to it where you dont get bored. It gives you just enough uniqueness to think its something new. But thats where i think it may have a hard time. Today's kids drop anything they can't really beat the first or second try. Well ladies and gentlemen. If this is your first xcom. You aren't going to beat it your first or second try. Possibly not even your tenth. Then again i am playing on iron man...oh well. I'd surely recommend XCOM:Enemy Unkown to all players that enjoy a good challenge and have fun doing so.… Expand

An extremely good interpretation of X-com and a good Strategy game.

Pros: Fun turn based combat, good combat system that eschews the modern "You always hit" form of design for design that lets characters fail. New aliens are fun, interesting, and *very* dangerous. Streamlined weaknesses of the original X-com like spending 10 minutes staring at a globe waiting for something to happen. New diversity in missions and maps is excellent.

Cons: Would have preferred more customization options, and soldiers to have stats. Psionics appear to be missing. Weapons should be the Player's choice, not a skill set. Not sure if you have a choice in which Role a soldier picks up when they gain their first level.

Overall, I'd say it's well worth buying, and while it does have some minor issues, it's still a really great game.… Expand

This is an excellent game for both fans of the original and newcomers to the series. Please don't be put off by the fanatic 1 in 10 minority who are so blinded in loyalty to the orginal that they can't accept change and would preffer the in-penetrable tedium of counting out pistol clips for half an hour before every mission. The game has been streamlined from the originals and almost entirely for the better, there is enough tactical and stategic depth in both combat and base mangement to satisfy almost all without boggin you down with overly excessive micro-management elements. The gameplay is intuitive and to my supprise works incredibly well on console given the PC heritage of the game. Action is a joy and provides a good challenge provoking you to think before clicking, it will punish the rash and impatient and reward those that have a considered approach. This is simply the best game of it kind in the genre over the last few years; gameplay, depth, accessbility - They really have got the balance just right. It's monstrously addictive and most of all it's fun. I had a slight gripe with the graphics not being quite top end up but in hindsight it's perfectly presentable and I'm probably being harsh to an otherwise excellent game. It's a bit annoying that the game has got lost amongst the big realeases over the last week (I had to hunt around several stores in order to find a copy) as it really deserves to be played by as bigger audience as possible, those who don't are missing out. An exceptional game and a perfectly executed re-imagining of the original that does justice to it's ancestry in the modern gaming era.… Expand

This is a 10 for me. It is fun to play not tedious like the original. You can spend hours playing and actually enjoy it. It is somewhat simplified compared to the original but that is not a bad thing. Great graphics and cut scenes while playing, a lot of tech to research, money management, base management and of course awesome missions that are the meat of the game. Bottom like if you are looking for a complicated and hard core strategy game than this is not it. If you are looking for a fun yet challenging strategy game this should be on your TOP list to try.… Expand

Superb. Feels very much like the real deal but with an updated engine and annoying fiddles removed.

I noticed one review saying they hated it because you can't save everyone and you will lose countries. Well.. Yes... You will.. Sorry that's unavoidable. It's about winning the war, not the battles and figuring out which countries you can cope without is a big part of the game.

Also of note in this is the way you get attached to your soldiers as you build them up. To the point where you actually feel really bad if one of your favourites dies, which is sadly likely. And this is what makes it a dynamic unfolding drama of your own making rather than a lot of the super-structured games where you just win win win.

The tactical combat in this is genuinely brilliant. Cover and the use of flanking is VITAL in this game and all the better for it.… Expand

Very good..a lot like the 1993 version which is a game i would play for hours on end,has almost all the things I used to to dream that version had..it is a little simpified compared to the 1993 version..but hey thats our fault we stoped calling friends and family out for being too stupid to fact check things and we let them be intelleculay lazy well this is the end result and it will continue to be so ..games that takes brains are long gone..so enjoy your ride into idiotacracy ..… Expand

Absolutely Stunning. A game that takes strategy, decision and luck. This game definitely improves from the old XCOM and you should buy it. This is one purchase you wont regret.

Also, look at the reviewers previous reviews. 10 for Dead Island but 0 for Xcom? You mad? Don't understand why people do things just to be generally annoying.

I have been a old school gamer and have played the original x-com and the jagged alliance games as well. With the Xcom: Enemy Unknown I can say this is definitly the spiritual successor of the original. I have been waiting for a turn base tactically game that was actually any good and my long wait is over. There are so many details in this game and you can tell alot of love and thought was put in this game by that set details. I give Firaxis mad props for them tackling the remake of one of the best games ever made in x-com. It is similar to the original but also it is definitly not the same game as it. This is a good thing, there is a lot less micro managment that would bog down the "fun" factor in the game and the fun factors are all-a-plenty! The core game play is tactical turn base combat, and the game brings this in spades. You actually worry about your soldiers surviving and when they die you will feel it, especially if it a veteran soldier that fall in combat because what they bring to the table as they gain levels is hard to get back. This type reaction give you a emotional attachment to your soldiers as the game progresses.

I can say more about this game but just talking about doesnt it give it justice. Just go buy it and see for your self. Its one of the best games I have played in long long time and worth every cent I payed for it.… Expand

Great game! Fun and scary like the first, for everything it lost for the console tards it gained some features or something that is improved on the first game. A must buy if you like TBS or XCOM. Now we don't see just one X-com, we see X-COM and XCOM in the IP :D (buy it on PC) Mods will put the stuff back in one day!

Despite some minor issues like the consolized interface, XCOM Enemy Unknown is a worthy successor to the original XCOM game and one of the best strategy games I have played in a long time.

The best way to review this game is to address the "problems" other people have mentioned:

"blah blah the thing i loved about xcom was i could have loads of different soldiers and customise their names etc" - hire new soldiers from the training school. Customise them in the barracks. You need to diable the tutorial in the options menu first. (only the suit colour was pre purchase bonus - play the game before writing a review.
"you cant duck behind cover and there is unlimited ammo...this losies strategic variety". You can duck behind cover by hitting the shield icon called Hunker Down after moving. Ammo was deadwood and needlessly over complicates the game and loadout -play the game before writing a review.
"the difficulty is too high and i can lose my best soldiers all in one mission and countries leave too easilly" - the original had elements of needing to be predictive too. You can lower the difficulty at any time. Save before every mission. - Buy easy games then look up walkthroughs on the internet if you don't have the brain for this kind of game.
"the camera angles are bad my soldiers often rush into the wrong area rather than changing levels". This is true, that element could have done with some polish but you can avoid most problems by simply being more careful before moving between levels and using the keyboard to change height in steps rather than spinning the mouse wheel. Also get into the habit of using the rotate camera buttons that are pointless in most other games but essential here.

Overall it's a faithful and competent re-imagining of an all-time classic. A very slightly flawed masterpiece. 9.5… Expand

As a hardcore XCom fan i have to say im very impressed with this, not sure what people are saying that if you have played the original it wont be as fun? im having lots of fun? im "probably" about halfway through it and have enjoyed every moment of it. No, its not the original but it wasnt set out to be. I find it much more tactical then the first game as in this one the AI is quite intelligent and you have to use the cover system and back each of your squad members up and think of every possibiltiy, which is nice. the graphics are great and give a good "personal" feeling to the game with the dynamic camera. The ant farm style base is great and gives a different feel to the game as you can see what is going on in your base like recently captured aliens being held in the containment etc, I rated this a 9 as no game is perfect in my view, it is a very good game but i would like to see certain functions be in there like someone has said when your troops initially upgrade from rookie to select which paths they take as i had 6 snipers in a group of about 12 soldiers and without hiring more soldiers i could not get the other classes which were needed, even then wasnt always certain. Also found the interface when i move my soldiers in a ufo tends to not zoom inside the ufo as id like and alot of the time see the roof when i go to move, which is a pain sometimes but its very minor. All in all from what i have played so far about 16 hours worth its a very impressive game and appeals not just to fans of the series but new ones alike. Id recommend it to anyone.… Expand

This is a very very good strategy game at the tactical level. I think the Strategic level needs a little work, and the itemization of weapons and gear needs more options. But with that said, I have been playing pretty much non stop since release and I see a lot of replay-ability. With DLC coming, i can see spending many many hours on this game.

XCOM: EU is a thoroughly enjoyable sequel to the franchise, with a good balance of missions, technology, suspense, and gut wrenching decisions as you are forced to prioritize your way to victory. The graphics and engine work flawlessly together with only a few minor graphical glitches. The suspense and feelings of loss when you make a bad decision or joy at pulling off a flawlessly executed strategy encourages you to push deeper and deeper into the game to fully explore it's plot. Normal difficulty seems properly tuned for players new to XCOM, Classic is definitely a challenge right in line with previous games and the Ironman feature of a single autosave makes it even more daunting.

In 30 hours I've only encountered one AI glitch where the turn would not end a quick save game reload fixed. There are only two minor complaints. The lack of a "tech tree" where you can see how far along a research path you are, something previous game iterations lacked but a useful addition if you lose track what was coming next. The second, squaddie role assignments are random, forcing you early on to mix up new teams to ensure you have two-three of each role instead of being able to pick.

TFTD was one of my favorite games when I started PC gaming in the 90's and X:EU does NOT disappoint in this regard. A modern, playable re-imaging of XCOM that comes highly recommended.… Expand

The game is brilliant! it doesn't handle you with kiddie gloves. it roughs you up. til you man up.

It strives to capture all the great things that nostalgic players wanted from the old XCOM. including the "this is not a cakewalk" feel. Ok ok so I was playing on "classic" difficulty level, which is one step higher than normal. But they got it right!

Almost all the negative reviews you'll see here are out of frustration from how to manage getting credits and not go overboard with accumulating upkeep costs for your facility. Admittedly if it's your first run through the game, you'll probably face this problem. Since you are faced with a wide array of things to upgrade and work on, and it's easy to overlook the main credits making path to keep things afloat, namely satellites.

I've been playing this game 2 days straight now and I'm strongly attached to my squad members, and spend a few mins before every mission just to make sure they look right for their characters before they deploy.

The tactical squad combat carries the whole title. It's lovely and its tense. which is not an easy thing to do on a turn-based game (think jagged alliance?). Admittedly the assault class seems to be overpowered next to others. But other classes are still very helpful as support. The cover system is very simple and clear enough.

Managing resources is a tight rope, and being able to hold on to all countries is a challenge. Base facility management also adds the cool element of "adjacency bonuses", meaning if you cluster your power generators together you get more power.

It's a rare gem that can't be missed!… Expand

This game is fantastic! Very well done and is (almost) all I hoped for in a reimagination of this old classic! I write "almost" because there are a few things lacking, but nothing serious.

First the good things: The game! Yes, it does almost nothing wrong. I know there are a lot of people ranting over the things that are missing compared to the old game. But really, this is an reimagination and most things have been changed up - and for the better. Inventory management is quick and intuitive, no more 10 min. inventory checks before each mission. The research tree is expanded and you are able to customize everything from troops and items to vehichles. More varied missions. Nice cutscenes and input from NPC's adding to the atmosphere and storyline. MUCH more emphasis on tactics - make too many mistakes and you are seriously punished, think before you move and you are rewarded. Soldiers have different classes, contributing to the tactical thinking. Base building requires more consideration. Resource management! Probably the single most mportant enhancement if you like this sort of game! Depending on difficulty level, you really have to pay a much closer attenyion to your resources than in the old Xcom. You can no longer mass produce laser rifles and sell them off, this is a big plus as it keeps the end game interesting! Even though you are 4 months in you can still make mistakes that can cause you to lose the game. This and much, much, more!

It is a teeny weeny lacking in the original atmosphere. The music, although good, is a bit too upbeat in my opinion. You just don't get the same creepy sensation... Then there is the clunky characters, guess it is because of the console adaption, but come on, some of the guys got hands twice as big as a normal person's head. Finally I wish they would have spent a little more time on finding talented voice actors.

But all on all highly recommendable. If you loved the old game you shouldn't be dissapointed.… Expand

I'm afraid "old school" x-com fan boys are scaring away people from this game. I see so many old school fans complain about how "This game isn't as good as the original" and 0 out of 10 because the original is better and this sucks". That's not fair. I'm not bashing old school fans, but just because the remake/reboot isn't as good doesn't make it crap. Go play the original all you want! But don't drag this game down because of it. I am aware this game has some issues. Such as the bulls*it free move aliens get during your turn, and some crash to desktop bugs (which are extreamly rare.) But that doesn't make this game bad. Aside from those problems, i sit and play this game for hours at a time. Its fun and addicting. You also get attached to your soldiers, and get legitimately sad or pissed off when they die. All in all, its problems held it back from being the best game of last year, but it still one of my favorites.… Expand

XCOM: Enemy Unknown is solid. Period. For those of you who have been playing games for years and like various aspects of many types of games, this one will satisfy you. Turn based strategy. Check. Shooter vibe. Check. Base building. Check. Difficult decisions. Yes. Desisions matter. Umhum. Feels like you're "in the game." Absolutely. Fun and re-playable. You see where I'm going with this.
Give XCOM a chance and it'll surprise you at the most unexpected moments in both great and devastating ways. These moments are always interesting though and happen in ways that never leave you feeling cheated.
This team deserves to be supported. A little creative searching can yield a slightly cheaper result if pricing is a problem for you. I have over 40 games on Steam and XCOM is my shining star that I'm most proud of and that I'm most likely to recommend to others. It's the game I going to want to talk about months after completion and maybe fire back up again from time to time.

Firaxis,
Congratulations and thank you for implementing your ideas for an XCOM reboot so well. I know that you know that you have a special product under your belt. Now the rest of us know it as well, and most of us agree that it's unique, fun, and relevant in today's gaming space/market.

Knocked it out of the park!… Expand

Simply put, in spite of many defects, this game is magnificent. The mix of combat tactics, base management, research, and basic rpg is an almost perfect combination which still keeps me longing to play more.
Sure, the interface is extremely dumbed down (while in combat, I was definitely missing a soldier's list in the UI) and has evident usability errors (for example: basic shortcuts, common to every soldier, vary depending on the soldier's additional abilities, which prevents using them quickly and is just dumb), and a deeper base and research management would've been welcome. But there's still a load of variables to account for, and they're all tied in a string of consequences that will need accurate planning. And. The fighting is awesome. Sure, there are bugs (line of sight is not always clear, and sometimes hidden enemies can be targeted more easily than ones that are almost in the open) and even more missing features in the interface. But it's still deeply tactical and terribly fun. With a better interface and bugs fixed, this game would deserve a 10++.… Expand

The Good: Solid strategy and tactics game. Recreates the important elements of the original with the strategy and tactical layers working together, in addition to RPG elements. XCOM presents gameplay that has both depth and breadth.

The Bad: One of the worst hand holding tutorials I have ever seen in a game. The 'tutorial' seems to last for ever, hours, and should probably more aptly be called 'Story Mode.'

The Ugly: In an attempt to make the game look slick, and appeal to a wider audience, they employ many camera tricks to make the game look more action based and cinematic. While the concept is solid the execution was poor. Many times the camera is pointing at nothing interesting and the characters clip into walls and set pieces. Good idea, bad implementation.

Overall: Love it.… Expand

As an old fan of the original XCOM game Im very pleased to see that this game brings the heart of the original into a real smooth and fun new game. That being said, its not the original game with new graphics, its a new game. That aside its just as captivating and time absorbing as the original. My guess is that there is over a hundred hours of fun in this game, so I see my money well spend. - My wife and job disagrees of cause. A solid 10 from me to a game that shows, that a good idea don't always involve MMO to become a great game. Sometimes the idea is so good that it can carry itself for over 18 years ;)… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Possible spoilers in review.
Fantastic game, very smooth release (few bugs that I have encountered). I am now about a third through the campaign (classic difficulty); and find myself yelling at my soldiers on screen when they mess up (because I'd never miscalculate tactically, heh). I feel like, on classic, I am struggling to beat back the alien invasion and every move is vital. Being my first playthrough; if I didn't save often and then revert to said saves, I'd have already lost.
I've heard this game is not like the original X-Com; I never played them though. However it is extremely tactically based on missions and has very good strategic development/deployment in the 'Geospace.' The graphics are fantastic, the UI is a bit unresponsive (mouse).
The bad: some of the battle cutscenes are ridiculous. The shooter has no real LOS but still is able to fire and hit (although 2K says it's more of a graphic misrepresentation of what is really going on). When I have already broken a window/opened a door and go to shoot; it shows me breaking the window again before I fire; not very immersive. I am prior military and our tactics were to always engage with 3x the numbers, flanking, combined firepower and fields of fire. You only get to take 4 to 6 soldiers on a ground combat mission and only 1 aircraft on air intercept missions. The maps are also quite small so that you don't have to really hunt for the enemy. Also you only get one Strike Team (one Skyranger: troop air carrier) to manage per mission. I would prefer things to be bigger; maps 4x the size, multiple ships in air combat, and multiple Strike Teams. Squads in real life are about 10 men, with platoons being about 3 squads and companies being about 3 platoons (90 total men in a X-Com company). You would never send a Fire Team (half a squad) to clear a city block by themselves. Although I do understand adding more soldiers on a mission might weigh down the fast paced combat action; be a load on the computer; etc. Also, when hiring rookie soldiers you can't pick their gender or nationality but you can change their first, last, nick name, and appearance. But if a soldier goes down on a mission you can't pick up that critical medipak or stunner or grenade, etc. he was carrying and use it (no inventory system during combat).
All in all, a very well spent $50. I can't wait to see what they do with expansions, DLC, and mods.
men women nationalities ammo pick up items… Expand

Played at least 20 hours on the weekend, had to restart multiple times due to some really bad choices but I'm having a blast. Firaxis removed a lot of busywork like overblown inventory management of the original and thus streamlined this game but in a good way. My only real complaint is about the camera. It bugs frequently during the action scenes and fighting on multiple elevations is very frustrating because often there is something (roof) clipping and blocking your view.… Expand

An incredible reimagining of a classic. Firaxis have managed to identify all the things (with one exception) that made the old game great, while streamlining the tedious parts. What's particularly impressive is how they decided to make the tactical gameplay and soldier advancement DEEPER than the original game, rather than SHALLOWER, as is the tendency these days.

I'd love to be able to rate this game a 10 out of 10, but two major things prevent me from giving it that perfect score. For one, the maps aren't procedurally generated as they were in the original. Rather, the game draws maps randomly from a large pool. Fortunately randomization of spawn points and other things as well as a large map pool to begin with prevents it from becoming boring. The second issue with the game is a bug where in some of the more vertically complex map, the ceiling flickers in and out, making it difficult to see what you're doing.… Expand

Minor UI and lock up issues aside, this game has taken my interest away from other fantastic games due to its unique style and gameplay that we have not seen in years. Hard not to recommend. Every night becomes a battle with "one more game."

The only ones who rate this game with negative scores, are old folks that can only compare directly to what is taken out of the old XCOM games. I think that says enough. Pro's: + Very intense and exciting, backed up by a good usage of luck (might frustrate players who feel they aren't in control) + A lot of though choices to make, deep tactical elements, especially in battle + The combination of perma death of your soldiers, an excellent AI and a difficult setting, make up of a great experience
+ Allows for one of the best player-driven narrative I've ever seen.

- Some camera issues
- Strategic layer overarching the tactical missions are a bit thin, and don't live up to the complexity and realistic feel of the game

I recommend this to anyone who has some love for hard-knock, immersive strategic games.… Expand

Well done Firaxis! Amazing work. I would have rated with 95%, however rounding gives a 10. I have over 20hours of gameplay and haven't encountered a single bug. I don't know, since when I had to see something like this. 1990s or when? My only point of criticism or better nostalgia is the ability of the aliens to invade your base... Most of the concept has been reworked and overall improved e.g. no more insane macromanagement is needed. Micromanagement is a lot more tactical and action orientated and a lot less logistic. It is definitely the best turn based strategy of the decade. Keep up the good work Mr. Solomon! You managed to revive Microprose from its ashes. I gave you a 10, but now we are expecting to see XCOM: Terror from the Deep. ;-) Long live turn-based strategy games! Long live XCOM series!… Expand

Don't let the nostalgic grumps fool you. They beat off to reams of tables and pointless micromanagement and wouldn't know good, solid game design if it had its way with their cat. This game is extremely good and is head and shoulders better than the original. Only nostalgic people and toothpick-counting sperglords have reason to complain.

The only truly bad change is the weird "encounter script" where the aliens run for cover.… Collapse

O_O

Played XCom in every form since 1990/91.
This game is excellent.
Flaws limited unit tactics, and some very small maps (though some are big) most map sizes are fine.
Good things very nice graphics easy play for people new to the game. Kept very close to all the things I like about XCOM whilst I accept todays market is not the 20 year old market that had no problem with complicated and steep learning curves.
Accessable to all gamers which I like super multiplayer fun. Will be even better multiplayer when all the game formats let the game team create multi format - multiplayer.
Loving the game loving the fact its obvious that the coders played and liked the series.
Looking forward to completing it on the Ironman/impossible mode I am playing at the moment.
The AI is very challenging in the harder modes but that means you must accept your troops will die (often). I give it 9.3/10 in the hope future DLC or a second game improve unit tactic choices and increase the map size's throughout. Though as it stands from a stuanch XCOM fan thumbs up :)… Expand

Have always been a fan of turn based strategy games and this is clearly one the best I have seen in a long long time. As a commander, I prefer a clean and tactical UI that does not require to much micro-management. All controls are intuitive and easy to learn. This is important because it allows you to focus directly on the game rather than impeding your gaming experience with a steep UI learning curve. Tactical combat is fun and challenging that requires you to think ahead.

There are some minor glitches/bugs in the game but none of them are game-breaking or will affect your gaming experience in general. These can be fixed easily in later patches. Unlike other reviews where users have complained at not being able to 'shoot' at the ground, just ignore these hypocrites. I call them hypocrites because they want this game to be very real and yet they do not behave like 'real' commanders should i.e. Shooting at things that matter and NOT on the ground.… Expand

I grew up playing the original X-com. I tore through it, all of the sequels, all of the knock offs, and then played them all again. I spent month, not hours, MONTHS of my time on the computer playing that game (kind of sad, I know). Is this game just like the original... no. Of course not. It's it's own game. It's everything a reboot should be. The designers told their own story, their own way. But, they threw in so many ties to the old games that the only complainers are the ones that would never have been happy under any circumstances anyway. It's a great game! If you've never played X-Com, this game is a blast! If you an old fan, you get to relive the old memories in a new and interesting way!… Expand

XCOM: Enemy Unknown pays homage to the original by giving you what the original title couldn't. With updated graphics and physics engines, you don't feel like you're destroying the same space craft over and over like you did in the original. With character customization, all of your soldiers aren't clones of each other like the sectoids are. There were those that complained about the 1 base limit, but what they do not tell you is that one base is enough. You start out with 4 hangars world wide to store your aircraft, so strategic placement is still there. Research is still a must, and you have more development processes than the first one offered. This isn't dumbed down at all, it's revisited and they removed excessive micromanaging that was taking away from the player experience. Do yourself a favor and play this game. The complaints about bugs in the game are based on the initial release, and 2 days later they already had patches out for them (PC). Don't drag this game down based on reviews that are now obsolete.… Expand

I do miss some function that was in the original game, but I think Firaxis has made up for that with a few things I am really enjoying. They have somehow made me very protective of my few but effective soldiers. They made me actually WANT abductions to occur so I had a faster opportunity to obtain scientists, engineers, and money. The base interface is intuitive, looks great, and they nixed the need for multiple capture rooms (huzzah!). In the original game, I can't tell you how many times I have tried to get soldiers to a good position and ran out of points to move them there, so I think the move/rush feature is awesome. I want to create multiple bases, but being able to cover the same areas with satellites is not a bad trade. Maybe we'll see it in a DLC, who knows. The half-cover/full-cover dynamic is simple to pick up and hard to master. A fantastic addition to the game. Frankly, I couldn't be happier about my decision to play this game. Never been happier to drop $50.… Expand

As long you're not an anachronistic gamer, who dislike remakes and argue only in terms of his limited experience, and if you like turn-based tactical games, this might be the best game for you, for hundreds of hours. I'm probably a so called X-COM veteran, which means that I played all titles, even "Interceptor", I enjoyed the UFO series, and tons of open source remakes. I played every single turn-based game since 1990. Firaxis does not create too complex games, so most of their titles are not made for experienced players. So I was expecting not too much. But my current point of view is that it is one of the best turn-based tactical games I've ever played, but you need to give it 10+ h, until it gets harder and more interesting, after the enemies got grenades and better weapons, armor, and a tactical brain. After 15 h on "Classic" and "Iron Man" it got nice, finally, I'm losing 1-2 soldiers per battle, which was one of the first suprises to me, which will change soon, I hope. I like most of the changes, because it is nice to see a different approach, because this genre is so overused. This game here is more tactical than most X-COM titles, in my opinion, even if you see less statistics and have less opportunities to count on them, due to cover and "cliffhanger" mechanics. But I miss economic features, i.e. ammunition production, which can be costly. X-COM was about team and company management. This part is very stricted now I'm missing self-organisation features from X-COM, which means: I'm not sure if it depends if I shoot a big UFO or not. UFOs and missions appears erratic to me, at least it's unclear to me and is a big minus. So I just click on "scan" for new UFOs, 1-2 abuctions and 1 special mission per month? Seems scripted to me. In old X-COM you knew that there is a relation between your missions and new bases. They cancelled radars, but added satellites which appears as radars on the map, which is somehow funny, and not only this: satellites are connected to subterranean (!) uplinks. I miss the management of 2-3 bases, but I see that this overtax some people. The ant farm base look nice, on first glance, but seems redundant to me, because the buildings are too big for a clean view and user navigation, so you're using the top buttons most the time. But I like how cover is handled, how the graphics looks like (for a turn-based game), the story (most X-COM stories are great), and the similarity to the first X-COMs.… Expand

No, this is not XCOM: UFO defense. If you want to rehash history, play the original as it is available from several sources. This game while having similarities to the original, stands firmly on its own. They have done an excellent job with both the game play and modern graphics while retaining the essence of what the original was all about. I love it; hours and hours of turn based fun!

Love this game. I'm a long time fan and still a player of all the previous x-com titles (the real ones not the flight sim or 3rd person shooter rubbish). This iteration of the series is much more streamlined and easy to play while actually providing more options to players tactically. It removes some things some players such as excessive micro-management base supplies and other micromanagement details like that, but those changes actually makes you feel more like a commander of a base rather than someone filling the shoes of logistics, command, and every other role of a military base all at once, and lets face it logistics (buying supplies manually) is boring as hell. The Prone, crouched standing for your men has been replaced with full cover, half cover and no cover (also flanked) which makes movement and play feel more realistic and makes it easier to use. Tactically (which is where the fun is in these games) all tactical options from the previous games are still in there except for the some (non-tactical) tricks people used with time management such as creeping forwards really slowly while spamming overwatch which is just cheating really, the new time management system actually results in more believable gameplay without closing off tactical options and making your choices for what to do with your 2 actions per turn more important. The new class system for your troops while taking away the choice from you of how sort of class they will be still gives you the choice of how to make up your squad and with the unique skills each class provides this makes for more strategic choice than in the previous games when making up your squad. On the point of unique skills they open up more options for how you will use a turn than previous titles which only adds to the tactical depth. The only other major change from previous games is the shrinking of the squad size, this doesn't change gameplay or your tactical options all it changes is the time it takes to do a mission. The only negatives I've found are a few rare bugs with the menu system and occasionally the AI will take time (up to 1 min for me max so far) to process what it is going to do making you think it is frozen although graphics are still being rendered in realtime. Overall its a great title and the people making a fuss over changes really don't understand that the changes actually haven't changed the game much at all and have actually enhanced the tactical and strategic aspects, but some people just don't like change or enjoy jumping onto causes weather real or imagined.… Expand

I played the original X-Com UFO Defense, and Terror from the Deep. Firaxis has done a superb job in providing a game that is quite simply....just X-Com, there has been some polish in certain areas of the game of course and its moved up and met modern graphical and rendering standards but as someone that was a diehard fan of the originals as I play through the new one, I can't really see anything that stands out to me as a dire violation of the original games premise. Some might quibble about the lack of randomly generated encounter maps, but there seem to be plenty non-RNG ones that should keep people busy. Overall there is nothing about this game that is abusing my sensibilities as a fan of the original games, they didn't miss a hitch, anything they expanded on, or removed, from the original, is barely noticeable and has no impact whatsoever on the experience being just plain and simple XCOM for the current generation. Firaxis has done the one thing many "remake" developers have not been able to achieve, they've produced the exact same product I loved 20 or so years ago, they just made it prettier, more interactive and more exciting to play. All I can say is that the one reviewer that gave this game a 70 but said it was a great game and you should buy it is the ONLY reason this game's Metacritic rating didn't breach the 90 mark. If Firaxis releases an SDK, and considers some strong DLC offerings, I'll be quite happy to snap up both. Well done Firaxis, thanks for not screwing it up!… Expand

An awesome game - difficult (on classic at least), complex and demanding. After terribly disappointing CIV V Firaxis finally released deep and fun TBS. There is a lot of decisions to be made and different setups to try out, but beware: the game will punish your severely for your mistakes - an approach that is the heart of old games from '90 and that is seldom found in modern titles. It is more in line with last UFO serie (Afterlight, Aftermath, Aftershock) than with the original, but that is not necessary a bad thing. The game is great, although not ideal - camera does not work well sometimes and is overall rather unresponsive. On top of that the variety of maps is poor and they become repetitive quite fast. Also I have no idea how moddable the game is and in the long run it is up to the mods to keep this game alive. This does not change the fact that XCOM is the best game of this year so far for me.… Expand

A great attempt by Firaxis to modernize the X-COM franchise. While there are some bugs, i have not encountered any game-breaking bugs yet after 20+ hrs of playing. Game has being simplified from the original XCOM UFO Defense but in my opinion its still pretty fun. From conducting risky flanking maneuvers against powerful aliens behind cover, to breaching rooms not knowing what is behind the door, the tactical gameplay is very enjoyable. On the strategic level, the game challenges you to juggle your limited resources but the main thing i dislike is how fast the panic levels of the countries can fill up, forcing most players to rush for uplinks and satellite coverage early in the game (satellite coverage will prevent abduction missions from popping up in that country, which is important for controlling panic) I like the good graphics and ambient effects but dislike the limited no. of maps (although they are mostly quite well designed) This game's combat music is nothing short of amazing, and the aliens sound effects/audio prompts does a good job at keeping you in suspense on whats behind the next corner. Overall i think this game is worth the money and everyone who is interested in tactical games should give it a go.

For those who slam the game because it is not XCOM UFO Defence with updated graphics, please be mature and rate this game by its own merits and faults and not because it isn't what you want it to be.… Expand

Game is epicly Awesome!! It is a nice moderate RTS turn stylish game and I love it. It is new I have never played anything like it, an I an completely enjoying it! I can not wait till they do DLC or expansions or another one!

In one word: Fantastic! To begin with, anyone giving this game a rating of 5 or less is not giving it the credit it deserves. Reading throurgh the poor score ratings, it becomes clear to me that folks give a 0 rating because of spite and because it is not an exact clone of the original. Of course there are differences between the original Xcom and this one, simply due to the fact that we live in 2012 and not 1994. I am a big fan of the original but following the development team of the remake since it was first announced, I knew I had to keep an open mind towards a fresh and different design. And it turned out suprisingly positive! The devs succeded to keep true to the original spirit but created something fresh that works well with today's game standards. I have played around 16 hours by now and every minute I spend the game gets better. I actually stopped playing in Normal mode just after my first 3 hours and went into Classic Ironman. This is where the game really shines. You get the original feeling back, the suspense, the hope and frustration...but in a good way. You loose one of your well trained and nurtured troops, you make the wrong decision in helping a specific member state over another, you research something that should not have been a priority or you sepend the money in a project you should have spend somewhere else; all this might actually end up in you loosing the game and you will not be able to go back and undo it. You have to live with your decision and the feeling that you might actualy loose it is always present, from the very start to the finish. I can only say well done to the team of Firaxis. You have raised the bar once more after the already fantastic work with Civ V. You have given the turrn based startegy genre a fresh wind. Keep up the fantastic work!… Expand

The original XCOM was amazing, first game I played with a research tree (and you had to obtain certain alien artifacts before you could research them). Always meeting new aliens, no idea in advance what they could do. Got this remake Friday night. I'd logged 12 hours by Saturday evening. Loving it. While a few things (e.g. multiple XCOM bases) have been taken away, many new things added including RPG progression for each character, ability to customize soldier's appearance, great in-game cut-scenes when you send-out a mission or land at a mission site as well as longer voice-acted scenes. Just FUN.… Expand

Unfortunately, it looks like this game is slightly shadowed by a small number of 'comic book guy' types that are trying to compare this game to something made in 1995, that really can't be compared to. Not having played the old xcom games (face it, they are ugly, and if you disagree, then why are you even trying this), I can rate this game without previous bias. So far after only playing for a few days, this game is extremely addictive, and fun. It is hard for me to enjoy a single player game (usually get board within an hour), so it is rare and refreshing to play a game that takes me in, and this reminds me of the first time I played Civilization. I'm sure there are some bugs, but overall the game seems very well thought through, and I really like the design decisions on what you can build, customize, and choose. After a couple hours you'll feel like you're responsible with defending the earth from aliens, and that's pretty cool. If you're in doubt, wait a while and get it when it's cheaper.… Expand

The original X-COM updated and expanded to a level that will make you cry... If you are a fan of the original, sure this new version will satisfy all this years of waiting and bad clones...

I think I'm still a ways from beating the game, but being a fan of the original UFO: Enemy Unknown, I've been hooked on this game since its release. Some might think it's been simplified or "dumbed down" in comparison to the original, but I see it more as a sanding of rough edges for smoother gameplay. Admittedly, it would be nice if there were a way to sell more surplus supplies and have squad members pack more inventory, but aside from that, I find the new XCOM to be just as addictive, challenging, and engaging as the original. Considering today's game industry standards, Fireaxis did their best in remastering a classic that came out almost 20 years ago. And if you're gonna cry and complain that it's not "up to par" with the original, then go play with dolls.… Expand

I played the original x-com UFO defense like it was the only game that existed to the point I would mod my save game files (after beating the game time after time). There was little to nothing I didn't know about that game. When I heard the designer of this remake was cut from the same cloth I could barely contain my excitement. I still worried for this game after expecting so much from Diablo 3 (and yes I was disappointed in D3). I got the game early in the morning on release, installed and played all damn day long. No regrets, not 1. The amount of soldiers feels right for this game, the maps are nice even if not 100% generated randomly, ship raids are a blast and scary! I can honestly only nitpick 2 things at this point, and that is I don't seem to have the ability to shoot wherever I want with normal guns (so if a alien is behind a wall I can't aim at the wall to destroy it so another soldier will have a clear shot at that alien), and when you learn to make something new (like armor or weapons) you don't really see the stats or how much better it actually is until it is made and ready to be equipped. This game is totally worth it, It did not disappoint me in the least. Hats off to Jake and the whole team! well done sirs!… Expand

Love this game. True pinnacle of turn based gaming. Firaxis is to thank for that. Feel light and shallow at first until about 15 hours in. After that you are almost forced to restart on the basis that you've been playing the game all wrong. I felt the same way with Civ 5. Enough depth and entertainment to give me sleepless nights. Lots of ways to customize your play style. Great pacing. Sometimes wonky camera and movement , but that doesn't distract from the challenge the game offers even just playing on normal. It's a must play for any turn based fan.… Expand

Gran remake del original, pocas cosas le fallan. Es el XCOM de 1993 con mejores gráficos y unas mecánicas de juego mejoradas. Las batallas tácticas son geniales y con una profundidad estratégica que cumple perfectamente. Te enganchara desde el principio y te hará estar jugando turnos hasta altas horas de la madrugada. Si tiene algo negativo tal vez sea la rejugabilidad algunas misiones son iguales aunque hay 70 diferentes. Un juego de 9,9 si señor.… Expand

A wonder of a game and a wealth of surprises for the shrewd tactician. After dozens of hours, the player is met with an abundance of unpredictability in the nearly mind-wringing array of maps and possible outcomes that lay in wait. One can only be pleasantly confounded by the assortment to which the player can indulge in their tactical and strategic obsession. Furthermore, this energetic assortment is wrapped neatly in a graphical package that never ceases to amaze and leave one in awe. It's a game that can leave you twisted with its unflinching difficulty but have you coming back for more in order to perfect the skill it takes to be victorious on the battlefield. Also, somewhat gleefully, it teases you with neat crescendos of ease to lull you into thinking you've got it mastered until you lay wasted, once again, at the hands of a Muton or shimmering disc of instant death. The multiplayer is impeccable and leaves one thinking that it might just be the only game that can outshine some of the first person shooters so many are playing right now. The only glaring hiccup seems to come in the form of deceptive cover. You just never feel comfortable seeing your Squaddie ripped to bits while he stands confidently behind an abandoned tank or brick wall but, even this, could simply be attributed to not adapting to the "feel" of the game. Such a refreshing break away from the usual and a must-have for anyone fond of gaming. A true classic in its guile.… Expand

Wow ... Have only sky-high praise for this magnificent game! I have been involved back from the C64 days and have always had a high opinion of Sid Meier from I tried "Sid Meier's Railroad" for PC. This man knows how to develop games - period! He has only been a consultant at XCOM-EU, but Sid understands the art of mixing with only quality developers. Bravo and congratulations on a distinguished release Firaxis Games ... once again! Really nice to see there are still companies that take pride in publishing quality (just look how far down in quality, some companies have begun to publish games. Thinking here of sots II and Legends of Pegasus). I have never given a game a score but I have quite simply felt it necessary to create an account here just to give this excellent game 10 because I think it's directly is a mortal sin that some here gives a score below 6 But unfortunately there's some who apparently have been deeply disappointed XCOM-EU is not an exact COPY of the old just in new graphic packaging. Let me close by saying, if you're into strategy, thick and heavy atmosphere which just genuinely makes you forget the time in real life - then buy the game. If you do not buy ... well, then it's your loss!

Hey, I almost forgot to mention something about the amazing music in the game. I always shut down for the music in every game but one before ..... now it's two!… Expand

I am completely baffled by some of the low reviews. This game is great! It captures the essence of the original XCOM games but has been updated and polished. I hear some people say there are no tactics involved. Are they playing the same game?? What makes a great game is the ability to customize, to have autonomy and make meaningful choices. This game has all 3. Combat has been simplified to a degree but not to a point where it feels dumbed down. I am playing this on the PC and utterly enjoy it.… Expand

Easily one of the best games I've ever played. If you like turn-based strategy, XCOM: EU provides a level of depth and challenge that is unparalleled in gaming today. This is reminiscent of the Atari games we used to play when I was a child, hard as hell with a simple layout over a deep tactical simulator that allows one to get as deep or stay as shallow as one wants. One thing to get over early: Team members are going to die. This is a full-scale alien invasion by a species genetically and technologically superior. What did you expect? Just one token death? Save and Load if you want, hell when was the last time you actually had to use those features besides anything but logging on / off? If this makes you too sad difficulty can be changed at any time.

My favorite thing about XCOM: EU is that there is a HUGE noticeable difference in how badass your team is as you level up. What once started as four scrubs getting their asses handed to them by baby aliens with large heads and bigger guns, becomes a death squad that tears aliens to shreds on sight. That said: one wrong move on your part, one alien patrol stumbling upon your team at the wrong moment, one missed shot can be the difference between victory and utter failure. Just like real life.… Expand

Firstly, I am writing this review without having played the original XCOM, so I only have other turn based tactical games to compare this to.

Having got that out of the way XCOM: Enemy Unkown is a powerhouse of a game. I have already put over 15 hours into this it and still feel like I have only scratched the surface. This game lets you play the way that you would choose to lead, you are the Commander! It truly feels that way too, all the way down to the minute decisions, like, how your base is going to need to be positioned to give you optimal performance, what research you need to conduct, and what items, or facilities, need to be built. If you have any doubts about this game then subside them now because it is well worth the dollar amount for how much game you will be receiving. That is not to say that the game is perfect as it does have some minor flaws; these flaws however do not really detract from the overall performance.

Firaxis has proven that they are a force to be reckoned with and this title furthers that belief. They took, from what I have read, and heard, a beloved title and done it justice. They have developed an incredibly addictive game that forces you to make tough decision with repercussions that will either A) make missions more difficult, B) completely remove allied nations from your support system, thus, reducing the amount of money you have to spend, or, C) Risk the death of a veteran soldier who has ran through several mission. You will be surprised at how attached you will become with some of you XCOM soldiers. The game does a splendiferous job of making you feel in control as a Commander and that the fate of this entire project rests on your shoulders. You even get to choose which countries you should help, or which ones you will ultimately have to throw to the hounds, by which missions you choose.

The missions in the game are fantastic and each providing a different challenge based on map layout. I have yet to play a single mission that was similar. One detraction during missions though are the camera angles which for some reason do not allow you to zoom in on location yet allow you to zoom out and sometimes the angles can get a little frustrating but nothing that can not be gotten used to. The music can get a little repetitious, but that could also be a sign of needing to take a break as you will often forget how long you have actually been playing. It is really tough to close the game after each mission because you want to further upgrade your squad making them tougher and more bad ass. But when the music starts to get irritating that may be the sign to log off for a bit.

Overall this is a very solid game that yearns for the embrace of any user who fancies him/herself a strategist. It is deep, complex, and full of possibilities that require your choices to pave the way for humankind to endure the Alien occupation. Not everyone is safe while you play having found this out the hard way by losing one of my characters brothers that I had created to make it more deep and personal to me. It is a loss that shall forever be remembered via the memorial to the fallen. Not every country is safe and it is up to you to decide who shall prevail and who must make the biggest sacrifice to save Humanity, that is what makes this game awesome. Hopefully your choices lead you to victory and that your casualties stay minimum but that is up to you overall, Commander!

I have recently read some of the user reviews here that state it is "dumbed" down, or too "streamlined", and from a gamer who never played the original I have to say in defense that it really didn't feel that way to me. You can adjust the difficulty at any time, even mid-mission, and everything these days is getting streamlined because no game should be shut off to any gamer by being slated as unapproachable to a casual player. I thought they did a smashing job of making this a game that anyone can play while still giving the player the ultimate choice of how difficult they want to play the game.… Expand

This game is everything I expected from a modern day remake of a classic. The best parts have been kept such as research, resource management, engineering and base building. Combat at first glance may appear to have been dumbed down by reducing your squad size and taking away movement points, but obvious thought and detail has been put into it and frankly, it works better than the original! As many others have stated, the promotions and advancement of your soldiers is greatly satisfying and makes you care about your guys. Great, great game. Well worth the purchase price.… Expand

From what I thought was just another remake of an exceptional series actually turned out to become one of my favourite games for this year (if not forever). Sure it lacks minor abilities like controlling your spaceships and several hardcore tactics which you may find in the previous release, but still the newly designed XCOM will hook you up for several hours of intense gameplay, I actually quit playing FPSs because of this superbly made remake (or rather some what streamlined experience) and then on other hand you've that superbly made interface, aliens and an huge arsenal of fire-power, all developed by Jake Solomon's team at FirAxis themselves, thank you, I'll be looking forward for a lot more content such as DLCs or why not an expansion or two!?

Score: 9/10… Expand

I played all the x-com classic games and I was not dissapointed with this one. I do miss some tactical options, it seems they simplify the game but not to the point where it is not challeging. It has the terror feeling that you could expect from an xcom game.

Before Reading negative reviews and believing them, check that users past reviews - you will see they hate EVERY GAME.. not just this one. This is a great re-make, not perfect but for a first release with DLC coming, it's well worth it. Don't believe the negative reviews, they are just sore on everything.

Truly Firaxis has revived a genre and re-invented a style of gameplay I thought had long since died out! To be honest I would be giving this game a 10 were it not for (what I feel) what has becomes SOP for firaxis games which is glitchy UI performance and overall bugginess! And I fully expect things to level off and many patches later most of these bugs will be fixed.. but until then Congrats Firaxis on bringing it back and SHAME on firaxis QA for continuing to let the lackluster polish go on games that would otherwise be perfection!… Expand

It's natural to compare this to the original UFO:EU (X-Com: UFO Defence) because it's a reboot of the IP, but it's unfair to detract from the score because it's not the exact same game. The original was far from perfect and this title goes a long way to smoothing over the old issues. It's generally simpler all round but in a way which makes it more intuitive and gives better ease-of-use without making the game tactically easy to win. I'll go over some of the major differences: 1) Smaller range of weapons and equipment. This isn't necessarily a bad thing because you still have all the items you really need. Yes the original had a million and one items but let's be honest, how many of those did you really use? It was impractical to load your soldiers up with all that kit because they needed so much time to ever move anywhere, let alone fire. The reduction and simplification in equipment means you don't have to waste a load of time re-equipping your soldiers for 10 minutes at the beginning of every mission (though when they return from injury, sometimes you do need to do a quick re-fit) but it does mean less flexibility between soldiers. Ammo is gone, though reloading is not. This means you can't fire forever without a pause, but you don't have to manage ammo stocks and go back to previous weapon tiers when you run out. It also eliminates the bug in the original where you lost partially emptied magazines at the end of a mission. 2) Smaller research tree. A by-product of having fewer items means less research, but even so there's not an exhaustive amount for your scientists to do. I found them running out of options a few game days before I finished the game, though, so you could argue it was timed correctly. 3) Simpler statistics. Gone are the multiple, varied, stats you found in the first game in favour of a two-step action system where you can move twice, move then shoot, shoot twice (depending on skills) or use items. I personally welcomed this as it did away with the fiddly time unit management where you had to constantly keep track of how much time your soldiers had left for different types of shots. Shots themselves have been simplified, as have many of the items. It's a more streamlined experience, allowing you to move through missions more fluidly without getting bogged down in statistics. 4) Soldier classes. Like the UFO series did, this game has classes. I'm not sure how the game assigns each class to each soldier but it seems to be out of the player's control, which I found to be a little awkward. You might be trying to get another sniper but you keep getting support soldiers, for example. The classes give diversity to your team but they are, admittedly, restrictive due to the limited equipment options for each class. Snipers can only have sniper rifles and pistols; heavies can only have heavy weapons and a rocket launcher; assaults are the only ones that can use shotguns but both them and the supports can use assault rifles. It's restrictive, though you won't mind too much since they do work well together and you won't find your heavies having a significant movement or shooting penalty like you used to in the original, making them a viable choice. 5) Single base, worldwide scanning via satellites. Gone are the multiple bases and multiple squads in favour of a single one with worldwide scanning ability achieved through satellites instead of several bases. Interceptors are now limited to a continent instead of the old fuel limits, meaning you should still station them sensibly but you don't need to build a new base to accommodate them, you simply buy them and arm them. 6) Story. The original had a story but the game was more expansive and you could sort of ignore it and kill aliens forever. This title gives a linear storyline that you need to progress along by reaching certain world objectives. It's not a bad story at all, but it's short and a little too guided. It would be nicer if the game also included some sort of endless or free mode which gave a result more like the original, with less hand-holding. For me, this is the only disappointment of the game. 7) Enemies. They're back, they're good, but they're placed in groups rather than individuals. I like the new graphics, even though they're not amazing, and it's nice to see the old races re-imagined and re-designed. Environments tend to be smaller and easier to navigate, but that makes sense on the UFO crash maps. You follow the trail of broken trees and flaming wreckage to the downed craft, which is more realistic than a craft placed down on the map as if it fell directly down and made no impact, like the original game depicted. It's a great and it does many things right and better than the original but it could do with a few tweaks to make it more flexible and I dare say slightly more complicated but certainly it should have been longer, or have alternate game modes to give re-play value.… Expand

There's some minor issues, the most annoying of which being that sometimes moving people around inside a UFO is really a hassle due to the roof blocking your view, and other times people won't want to move to high or low ground. Some areas could also be beefed up in complexity (interception), but on the whole they really nailed this one. The game is addictively fun and brilliantly captures the "just one more turn" feeling. Fans of the 1993 version will be able to find things to complain about, as this is not a straight remake. It's a 2012 take on the game, and while not everything is the same the spirit of the classic version is alive and well here. If you're not familiar with the classic X-COM, then any strategy fan should go buy this right now.… Expand

This is a wonderful update of the old classic. While the old game had so many management options as to bog down the pace of the game, the new XCOM takes much of the tedium away. For example, in the old game, as you hired soldiers you would have to look at their randomly-generated stats individually to determine who should be carrying which weapons, and then work on increasing their best stats during missions; in the new XCOM, soldiers are automatically assigned weapons and classes, and as they gain experience on the battlefield, they level up, granting them a new class ability each time. Not everything is perfect, however. The camera can only turn in 90 degree increments; not a problem outside, but indoor missions can be hell. Also, you'll find yourself fighting with the scenery at some of the worst times, trying to get the camera to hide it. Despite such minor flaws, this is a truly great game and a worthy successor to the franchise.… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Ok, lets get it rolling...minor spoilers ahead. I'm a XCOM Veteran who played xcom, TFTD and Apocalypse pretty much at release. The original is (and probably always will be) the best game I've ever played. The new XCom comes quite close to that, albeit being quite different in many aspects. I'll quickly say how I feel about the game and then I'll address a few of the complaints some players have. Pro: - good feel of progression (research, foundry, officers school, skill tree, psi-lab)
- combat mechanics make for fast, yet tactical gameplay
- narrative much stronger than in the old game, though it's no "game of thrones"
- Action-Cam can look great and usually adds to the atmosphere
- new Mission types
- IronMan-Mode

Cons: - no randomly generated maps
- Interceptions have the appeal of an afterthought
- Graphics seem a little outdated
- Visual Bugs (Clipping)

I obviously love the game. I'm in my 3rd playthrough (which is usually a bit shorter than in the original game) and it just doesn't get boring. The new additions and the decisions to let go of some of the old mechanics were spot on, in my opinion. Many players dislike the fact, that you only have one base you can design for yourself. You still have a few more "bases" as the game progresses, but they're mere hangars for your interceptors. But that never bothered me, since that was one of the smarter approaches in the old game anyways and I think, the developers took that into account. I would always have just one main base (with 2 skyrangers max), since the skyranger had huge mileage. You could fly to a crash site on the other side of the planet and still hover and wait for daylight. I'd build small cheap bases early on, with the best radar available and 2 hangars for interceptors. So for me, nothing changed with the new XCOM in regards to my approach to basebuilding.
Also the new base-building mechanic allows for quite some depths itself, due to the adjacency bonus and rising costs as you dig deeper.

But many criticize the "dumbing down" of the tactical combat,mainly due to the removal of time units. I, on the other hand, think the new 2-move system is actually more challening at times. It makes for a quicker and more action-packed gameplay, yes, but it also forces you to make some difficult decisions. The new reaction shot mechanic (overwatch) also works much better and can now be a very reliable tool. The addition of a comprehensible cover-system (although it took some time to really get the hang of it) really worked
. At first, I was a little disappointed with the research tree, but if you take the foundry and the officers school into account it actually feels like there's more complexity than in the original (which, like TFTD, had some seriously game-breaking bugs .when it comes to research). The addition of complexity doesnt end there: The ability tree quickly blew away my initial concerns of what seemed like a rather limited array of abilites in the beginning. No aimed shot, no autofire? You will unlock similar abilites (though only with specific classes) and many more as you progress.

Yes, the class-system: what a good desicion to integrate that mechanic. I always love seeing that true and old RPG element being used in other genres. Don't get me wrong: XCOMs skilltrees don't have the same complexity like the ones of rpgs like dragon age, baldurs gate or diablo/titan quest, but they still allow for some synergy within the tree aswell as with other classes. So you can have different yet sensible approaches on how to skill your soldier. What still kinda sucks is intercepting UFOs. It wasn't spectacular in the old game and it didn'T really improve with the new version. Yes, just like in the old version, there can be some tension when your interceptor gets close to being shot down, but thats it when it comes to thrilling moments. There are some new additions, which quickly lost their appeal when I found out that instead of going with a cooldown system, the abilities were de facto consumables. But, and thats a another complaint, there are not many interceptions in the first place. It could get a little tedious in the old games, but they may have overcompensated a little in the 2012 version. On the other hand, there's no shortage of missions, just not many crash sites (maybe they aren't that satisfied with the arial combat themselves). The new mission types are a welcome addition, though not ground-breaking. But they force you to adjust your playingstyle which actually makes for a welcome change of pace once in a while. Which reminds of one more criticism: the lack of generated maps. I assume, that the coversystem called for some sort of consideration when it came to designing the maps, but I think this could have been solved. Overall a great game, simplified but not dumbed down, as many would have you belie… Expand

The gameplay of the new XCOM easily justifies a 10, more than a 10 in my book. Unfortunately, the superlative gameplay is the only thing keeping me from bumping my review down to a 6 or 7. I don't want to give the wrong impression, I'm loving the game, but I've experienced numerous issues, many of which have made my missions more difficult than they should have been. I really hope they do a post-release patch in the near future, and I can upgrade the game to one of my all-time favorites.… Expand

I played the original back in the 90's for hours and hours on end, though it had its bugs it was a great game overall.

This new version has its differences, but I still find it very enjoyable. I would like to see some more of the options and depth that the original had though. Inventory, less hand holding, multiple bases, etc. Maybe that will come in an expansion pack but with everything tailored to work with the weak consoles I'm not going to hold my breath.… Expand

I can't even begin to describe how good this game is. I'm not usually the type to go for the tactical RTS but Enemy Unknown is a wonder. This is the first ever XCOM game I've played, and although sometimes i lose pathetically, (started playing IronMan/Classic Mode) i can not stop playing. There's something mesmerizing in all those little driving mechanisms that comprise EU, that just keep me going, be it the story and setting (both of which are executed above par), the characters who are generic and expendable to the point when they get a promotion, and then suddenly, it's a whole new ballgame. The graphics and visual effects are satisfying, although some of the more "refined" players might take issue with that. The sound effects and music are great, and there's something about hearing a sectoid scream after being successfully shot, that makes me feel warm and giddy on the inside. I'm not too far ahead in the game but i strongly believe that this game is worth your money. I hope for a sequel or an expansion pack soon.… Expand

Before sharing my two coppers, I took some significant time to read through both good and not so good comments by the respected fellow gamers. And the truth is I agree with both points of view. You will notice either near-10 and near-0 scores, which is absolutely normal. For the guys expected to play the Xcom of the past with newly made graphics, I confirm this is not the case. For those judging the game as an effort to "translate" the concept with today's means and way the gamer has evolved (with all the pros and cons that this involves), I agree with your high scores.

To make a long story, short this is Xcom, with upgraded graphics and gameplay that (unfortunately) is not encountered today. Only the fact that a game focused on turn-based, non-10 year old-maniac-clicking way of playing deserves respect and should be supported if we want to see similar efforts in the future. This game is a proof that you can get gaming-satisfaction for using your head instead of your reflexes (and believe me, after 25 years of gaming, your reflexes are significantly reduced!), so a solid BRAVO with the relevant score by yours truly ;-)… Expand

It's been a long time since we got a good turn based game on the PC, brings a tear of happiness to my eyes.

Also, needs more different shades of pink, so i can rice out my squad.

Now this is what I'm talking about. A real game with real strategy and a real challenge. Very happy with this game - can't stop playing it. Don't want to stop. Get it right now.

One of the best strategy games I have played in the last few years. It's fun, addicting, and your choices have real consequences. Soldier deaths are permanent and wow is the game hard when you ratchet up the difficulty. Fireaxis made a brilliant game and I can't wait for further installments.

X-Com is back! After the dissapointment of hearing it will be rebooted as an FPS they made the right call and had Fireaxis the creators of Civilization make a strategy game. It's as fun and addicting as the original was. The graphics are very nice it runs great and the story is very interesting. The multiplayer is really fun as well just needs some more maps.

Could have been slightly more compelling as an heir to the X-Com legacy, but still one of the best Xbox 360 games of all time. Lots of fun, with a few glitches here and there.