XCOM: Enemy Unknown Xbox 360
User Score
8.5 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 271 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 242 out of 271
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 271
  3. Negative: 19 out of 271

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  1. ransom34
    Oct 17, 2012
    3
    First off, this is really not an X-Com game and if you go in looking at it as a new IP then you will be a lot better off. The game is heavily streamlined/dumbed-down from its origins and rather than a turn-based strategy game like the original X-Com games, you are buying a turn-based ACTION game, like a turn-based Gears of War. You are limited to 4 squad members to start, you cannot build or manage new bases, the maps are pre-done rather than random (and can repeat through a game), and virtually all of the strategic portions of the original X-Com have been deleted. I suspect this was done to "attract the CoD/GeoW audience" but it just makes the unsuitable for any true strategy gamer and its slow pace will certainly keep away the FPS fans. Now this is not specifically a "bad" game, and if you are the type of gamer who thought "wouldn't it be cool to command a Gears of War squadron (dressed in Mass Effect armor) in a turn-based game but without all those unnecessary strategic elements, new base building, and micro-managing" then this is the game for you. X-Com EU has loses the overall strategic gameplay, and is all turn-based action with Mass Effect armor and guns. Not for me, but who knows, there might be an big undiscovered market for this game type.… Expand
  2. TheCowWentMooo
    Oct 10, 2012
    10
    Firaxis has definitely delivered with XCOM: Enemy Unknown, as it's as polished as you could ever want it to be across all three platforms.

    New players to the game will soon find themselves becoming indulged in the decision making process of the game. Should I invest in better armor? Should I help China or USA? Each decision comes with it's own rewards, which greatly benefit your fight     against the alien menace.

    The control scheme on all systems is excellent, even though the original XCOM was a PC game, they fit on both consoles too.

    The story of XCOM is long and rewarding, and the loss of teammates only spurs you on to fight harder.

    Overall, a superb game, I have yet to find anything bad about it.    … Expand
  3. Turk15
    Oct 31, 2012
    9
    XCOM is a beautiful game that has taken elements of two distinct genres. First there is a fluid turn-based shooter that is seamless in its frame rate and that delivers both integrated cinematic and large degree of creativity in the strategy it allows players to explore. Then behind the scenes is an in-depth management system that provides users with the ability to tailor their experience to fit their desired strategy. There is incredible depth in this management system. You can decide to spend money and man power in building new facilities, or focus on upgrading your field units in order to best utilize the different classes available, or you can focus on trying to mitigate the outcries of nations who you are not able to help. XCOM even allows you to trade on the black market and provides an easy to understand balance sheet that tracks your revenue and expenses (Yes I Know those are Income Statement Items). On top of that level of management XCOM has added a small yet incredibly effective element in that you can personalize your squad. This adds a level of emotion rarely brought to games. Being able to tell your friends they have been promoted or killed in action is a unique conversation point that drives word-of-mouth exposure for XCOM. Overall addictive, strategic, unsympathetic, and worth your money.… Expand
  4. Yurez
    Oct 9, 2012
    10
    Having spent a day playing it all doubts are gone that it might not match the classic x-com feel. This game is great and the extra care they put in to make it great on PC as well shows. More than enough depth for a re-introduction of the series to get people hooked, good difficulty level options, ability to fail, plenty of "oh no" and "damnit!" moments, cleans graphics work well.

    My o    nly criticisms so far (haven't beaten it yet) are they could make base navigation a bit easier and faster, same for managing troop equipment.… Expand
  5. Shaman327
    Oct 10, 2012
    7
    I eagerly awaited the release of XCOM: Enemy Unknown and have been playing it for about 10hrs so far and I have mixed feelings. First, let me give you the positive aspects. - Great graphics and audio. Everything you would expect from an updated XCOM game. - The AI seems to be pretty good so far. - If you're new to the XCOM games or prefer a less complex system then your in luck. - Good customization of your characters - A much better 3D environment were height has more influence on strategy and tactics.

    Now the cons: - If you're a previous enthusiast of XCOM and like all the control over your characters
    you're going to be disappointed. Like several others have stated in their reviews its a dumbed down version of XCOM. - TUs have been replaced with two action moves so you can only move so far and then shoot or you can dash for twice the distance. The real big issue I have here is that if you move 1 tile or 10 tiles in your first move, you've burned half your actions. - No crouching, changing directions (FOV), backpacks for carrying extra ammo (oh yeah, no ammo!), No single fire vs auto, No aiming. etc - Character leveling and load outs are a joke. Your character get assigned a class type (Assault, Support, Heavy, Sniper) after (I think) their first mission. I'm not sure if there is some method to this or not but than only certain characters can carry certain weapon types. Strength, Dexterity, etc have no bearing on this. Leveling your characters means choosing from two choices of advanced abilities at that rank and you can't pick two from the same rank. - Base building has been totally revamped and although I like the ant farm style layout, building, manufacturing and research are really dumbed down. The new system will have you scrounging for cash and trying to keep every nation happy which is nearly impossible.

    Even with all its flaws its still a good game to play and I am enjoying it. It was NOT the XCOM game I was hoping for though. I think a lot of people who gave it really high scores are just trying to make themselves feel better after realizing its not the game they were expecting. Its still pretty fun though and for that I'll give it the 7 rating.    … Expand
  6. SuRathanil
    Oct 21, 2012
    6
    The game has a fun factor, but it gets repetitive after a few hours. I have stopped playing it because of the repetitive nature of the game. When I first opened the game I THOUGHT WOW! Its look awesome, then after putting countless hours into the game, I found its lacking. I wanted a sandbox style hunter where I felt in control of EVERYTHING! Instead the game has a scripted feel to it and it has a story! So every time you play, you must do the same story over and over, and the story begins and end in the same way every time, which sucks. So 1 playthough and you will have your fill, I probably made it 60% of the way through the story, but its so boring now I can't bring myself to beat the game.

    I didn't give the game a lower rating because its still a decent game, worth $50? No. Worth $25? Yes. Worth a try? Yes. However after a few hours I am sure you will feel as I do, the game becomes repetitive, and the missions become drawn out to challenging on higher difficulty levels. The game allows you to name your character and customize them fairly well... the bad, your characters die often, so its worth to get the feeling of attachment to them or have a ultimate plan for each character, which ruins the mood. The game has good qualities but I feel the bad outweigh the good slightly, and the game quickly becomes boring.    … Expand
  7. SmallFurry
    Oct 15, 2012
    5
    There once was a game that ONE sequel which felt like a reskin/expansion pack, a sequal that totally divided the user base and the rest is better not spoken about in polite company. And so, now we get the 2012 re-imagining of the classic. Does it live op to the original. Short anwer: No. Long answer: It is UFO: Light Edition. Really long answer: The game is a true turn-based game, with a bit of flash during re-action of your soldiers, where all soldier react at once for some nice action. So far so good, at least it is not a FPS or space-sim, that would be a terrible idea that no sane person would entertain for more then a second.

    The game has some nice moments, like when my entire team grappled up two buildings, blocked the ladders for the aliens and had a deadly cross-fire on two berserker's raging impotently on the ground floor.

    On its own, the game is decent... but it does NOT stand on its own. The original gave you full control over your soldiers. Here you don't even get to decide their role. The original have you a full inventory. Here you get 1 inventory slot. The original saw you blow buildings up, here you have to make do with blowing some walls away, with the upper floors supported by magic. The original saw flame and smoke be a hazard and strategic asset, smoke could knock you and aliens out. Flames could kill you and aliens.

    Flames still exist but seem harmless, they are to small I never saw them as anything more then set dressing. Compared to their strategic use in the original games, this is just weak.

    Inventory is another big issue, you got max six soldiers and unless you play perfectly, you are going to need med packs. I like to equip three soldiers because just with just 1 medic, you know who is going to get it first. And it is not like you can take medpacks of fallen soldiers.

    The original left you space, for grenades, demolition packs, types of missles, ammo. Your soldier carried a lot and needed a lot in 1994. Not so in 2012, your xbox silly overmuscled goon only carries 1 grenade and 1 missle reload.

    Worse are the static maps. In 1994 the game mixed and matched various terrain elements to create large maps where you both knew the terrain, and didn't. In 2012, rather small maps are used that are always the same. The 3D engine frequently has trouble when you try to target a destination, making it more of a choir in maps with complex height differences then fun. Missle and grenade targetting frequently results in wild swaying of the camera for no apparent reason. All this for a 3D engine that betrays it console roots far to strongly, the grahics are nothing to write home about in 2012. Decent for consoles perhaps but on the PC, more is expected.

    The real issue is that games like Jagged Alliance and Silent Storm have been the true successors to Ufo: Enemy Unknown and pushed the genre ahead. XCOM: Enemy Unknown doesn't push the genre, it dumbs it down and expects to get away with calling it a re-imaging. But in 2012, I expect more. It has been 18 years. Some players today won't even have been alive when the original launched but that doesn't mean you can do a dumbed down copy and get away with it.

    The most damning of all? 1 weekend is all it took me to finish the game. 1 weekend on Impossible. And no, I am not that good a player. This is Ufo: Enemy Unknown for console players. PC gamers should expect more.    … Expand
  8. Ryanosaur2000
    Jan 1, 2013
    8
    I came into this game with very few expectations after getting it as a Christmas gift and was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed it. It had been years since I last played a turn-based game such as this one and playing XCOM reminded me how rewarding such games can be. I have a few gripes with it, but most of those are related to wanting more customisation options or yearning for a wider variety of missions (or accents!). There are also a few bugs in the game that can scupper your mission and/or lead to the death of a soldier - so save often to be on the safe side. Overall, XCOM is a very satisfying game and one that I would recommend to anyone looking for something a bit more strategic than your average shooter, but not wanting an RTS.… Expand
  9. Obbi
    Oct 10, 2012
    8
    A very solid game for the tactical RPG fan, definitely recommended. Combat's fast, controls are natural, and the overarching mission control setup can make this game very worthwhile.

    Couple of downsides. One is a lack of autosave, which gets really annoying when the game runs into a showstopper bug. The other is the actual strategy behind the game seems to be a bit bottlenecked, emphasi    zing cover and being lucky about what your position is when you've discovered the enemy.

    Overall, solid game.    … Expand
  10. Mike_M
    Oct 21, 2012
    1
    This is a fake strategy game with about all the complexity of tic-tac-toe. Firaxis tries to make up for this by obscuring the rules and details from the player, which only makes the game more annoying. The replay value is zero, unless you have OCD.
  11. deathsquishy
    Oct 30, 2012
    9
    XCOM: Enemy Unknown is a challenging sci-fi, turn-based, tactical game that assigns you as the commander of a military operation, and the first line of defense against an invading alien menace. With most 'Tactics' style games that release these days being typically medieval, XCOM is a breath of fresh air in the genre. Fans of the original XCOM games released back in the 90's may find this new addition to the franchise a little dumbed down, but that doesn't stop it from being an excellent, solid strategy to challenge all who will bravely defend our wonderful planet.

    Even on the lowest difficulty, XCOM can certainly provide some challenge to those who may be newer to this type of video game. You start off in command of four soldiers, who each have two moves they can make per turn. Each move can be used for either moving a certain amount of tiles, firing one of two equipped weapons, using one of the soldiers abilities, or simply ducking for cover. The greatest foe in the game is the luck of the roll, as the farther your unit is from an enemy, the lower the chance to hit, but moving in closer will put the soldier at greater risk, and may alert more hidden aliens. Taking cover behind objects on the map can provide you either half cover or full cover, and being smart about when and where you position your troops is necessary, as the game is very unforgiving to your mistakes. The combat can get tense when you fire a shot with an 85% hit chance and it still misses, but with each enemy kill comes a sigh of relief, and with each mission victory, the joy of accomplishment. The easier difficulty settings can help, but later on the difficulty may turn of some strategy noobs. Nonetheless, it's a great system, if a bit more simplified from the original XCOM.

    Troops that survive more missions and get more kills will level up, allowing you to give them addition perks and abilities. In addition to leveling up, researching and buying new armors, weapons, and other various tools in your base gives the game much customization. You can also build more labs and workshops in your base to decrease research and build times, as well as other faculties for more researching more advanced upgrades.

    Every in-game month a council with review everything you have done in that time, and provide you with further credits. You can earn more credits by sending up satellites to monitor specific parts of the world. When one of these satellites picks up an alien UFO, a short mini-game will begin, where you send out a Reaver jet to attack and, hopefully, destroy it. Once destroyed, you can explore the crash site, kill any remaining alien survivors, and reclaim further resources for studying back at HQ.

    In previous XCOM games, the story was deep, long, and memorable. Sadly however, Enemy Unknown's story is very short and simple. The dialog throughout the game is generic and uninteresting, and completing it ends the game, making you either reload an old save or start a new game. The story missions and objectives can be fun, but thankfully you can just keep playing the random missions and shooting down UFOs, extending the game to whatever length fits your fancy.

    The graphics aren't totally phenomenal, but many of the animations and designs look excellent. Each of your soldiers are fully customizable in appearance, but designing and coloring your units armor requires you to spend extra cash on dlc. Each alien is memorable in both their looks, and the tactics required to take down each one, and each time a new alien is introduced, comes an interesting mix of fear and curiosity. XCOM isn't without it's bugs however, and seeing people shooting through walls, or textures disappear when they're not supposed to can be sadly frequent.

    For those of you who can appreciate a challenge, XCOM is a decent purchase. It may be simplified in some ways compared to the originals, and the odd graphics hiccup will occur, but it remains a very solid and tense strategy game.

    Overall score:
    8.7/10    … Expand
  12. Monstr92
    Nov 2, 2012
    8
    X-Com is just like Chess. Think a move ahead and hope that, that move you made will do you justice. If not, face the consequences. X-Com, is a seamless RTS that plays well and feels well on the Xbox 360. It may take a little to get used to, but afterwards it plays amazing. The game itself runs well, and plays well. While, the visual thematic component may fall lackluster in some eyes, the style of art X-Com offers is something games rarely do. Making it stand out. The art style feels like Code Lyoko, and a mix between Cartoon Networks the Star Wars : The Clone Wars series. Beside the gripe on the aspect of art. X-Com's is a fun game of "chess". It's for die hard RTS lovers, and it's welcoming to new comers who are new to RTS's. The Gameplay, story, and visuals of X-Com truly make it a wonderful experience.… Expand
  13. GamePlayTalk
    Nov 3, 2012
    8
    • XCOM is a turn base strategy combat game where you lead a squad of soldiers into battle against an invading alien force while between missions researching new technology and building a base all while struggling to keep your soldiers alive.
    • Balancing between the needs of your combat squad, research projects and the need to keep countries safe provides a tense balance that for    ces you to make real choices on how to spend your time and money and decide what is or is not an acceptable sacrifice (including the lives of your squad).
    • While good at making the game feel more action packed than other turn based strategy games, the camera does some strange things whenever it gets into a building or tries to track special character actions or line of site. Seeing your character look like they are shooting at a wall only to hit the target behind it is not uncommon.
    • While cripplingly hard, forced saving permanent death is an option, it is not forced upon you. On my cowardly save and re-load run through for example I did not loose a single character (though there were a few bleeding out by the end of the last mission).    … Expand
  14. Oxcart
    Nov 4, 2012
    9
    Once again, Firaxis deserves a major pat on the back. As with the rest of the X-Com loving world, we looked at 2K Marin's upcoming FPS with horror and disgust; they were going to take a good franchise and turn it into idiot chow. Then in comes Firaxis and rescues it. For those who were either not yet gamers in the 1990s or just didn't play X-COM, you ran a team of international military experts tasked with saving the world from alien invasion. It took tactical genius, strategic foresight, preparedness, and a sort of cunning on your part to excel. Given the limitations of today's gaming crowd who, let's be honest here, are more twitch gamers than long-term players (which is why 4X, civilization and city builders are on the endangered species list), Firaxis did a great job adapting the grand old warhorse of X-COM to today. The features that were trimmed off weren't too critical (building out multiple bases on multiple continents was a pain, admit it), and what remains is not only a faithful reproduction of the game, but also highly polished and sporting a refined and efficient control mechanic. It's easy to say that a turn-based tactical squad game couldn't survive on a console, and in 99% of cases, you'd be right. X-COM is the exception to the rule; the control interface is powerful yet simple, intuitive, flexible, and provides the player with all of the tools necessary to run a tactical squad through a controller. I'd never believed that it was possible to run a tactical game without a mouse, but Firaxis' X-COM proved me wrong. Gameplay is engaging, missions varied and, with their random-generation mechanic, never repetitive. Soldiers are customizable (mostly), and options for outfitting your squad are powerful enough to allow for great tactical flexibility. This is not a perfect game, though; so the hero-worship ends here and the griping begins. One, the limited squad size in the beginning of the game creates some difficult situations, even on easy difficulty. Two, making money is extremely difficult in the game, which will slow your expansion and improvement of capabilities. And three, there is an aspect of grinding in the game as you just plow through days hoping for either a payday or some magical breakthrough. (Griping ends now.) Overall, I'm quite pleased with X-COM and whether you're an old fan of the franchise or are just thirsting for a game that requires a little more brainpower than aim-and-fire, go ahead and get yourself a copy of X-COM: Enemy Unknown; you should enjoy it.… Expand
  15. fartcraggle
    Nov 13, 2012
    10
    XCOM high fives the genitals of your favorite wishes. Some may find internal bleeding, yet others a blood pinata. Aliens with boom boom huck jams make your friends cry. You will climb towards the stars on the bodies that fall before you.
  16. BlondeMcGuinn
    Dec 2, 2012
    8
    An enjoyable game, but it could've been better. I am a huge fan of the original, so the trimming of much of the intricate base building, micro-managed inventory, expansive research, and varied troop base skills killed much of XCOM: Enemy Unknown's charm. There is also confusion during battle in relation to the Overwatch option (a soldier's line-of-sight is actually through walls?) and there are graphical hiccups galore. I wish there were more customization features for troop management, aircraft creation, and more objects to research. More than fifty percent of my play-through my scientists were getting a paycheck for sitting on their asses because there was nothing for them to do.
    It's damn fun though. Building a dependable core of troops is as rewarding as gaming gets; situations in which injuries often knock your best troops out of action make you feel like a football coach: you've gotta have a good bench. This gives the game a depth missing from all other gaming, and your attachment to your crew is stressful, heartbreaking, but ultimately, it's just fun as hell.
    I bought this game being a fan of the original (well, the Playstation version based on the original) and I don't regret it. It's fun, very tough, but could've been more. Thumbs up from me.    … Expand
  17. Warprime
    Oct 10, 2012
    10
    I have been waiting for this game to be made for a very long time. I am a huge fan of the original and consider it to be my #1 game of all time. Xcom is not 100% perfect, but Metacritic doesn't allow for 9.5 so I rounded up. =)

    First....the bad bits: minor technical issues like cameras giving you a fantastic view of the action from behind a wall. It happens a bit more frequently th    an I would like, but it doesn't get in the way of gameplay so this is a very minor annoyance.

    A bit over simplified from the original. You no longer have the ability to over load your soldiers with every piece of gear you want. You have a main weapon, a back up (pistol), and one addition utility item. This could be a grenade, med kit, stunner, or some added armor. But you only get one. This feels very frustrating to a hard core fan of the original. Setting this aside, and as much as I wish it was the old way, I think it was the right choice. It makes the game much more accessible to less experienced players and heavily reduces the complexities this game already has an over abundance of.

    There is one last issue and this again is a fairly minor one. The sounds and music of the original game were so memorable and iconic they stuck with me these last twenty years....so far the audio of this game is not grabbing me. This doesn't affect gameplay so its a very minor issue, but still worth mentioning.

    The good: Everything else. The smooth and intuitive controls. The streamlined actions where units will crouch and take cover automatically when next to cover. The tension you feel when you see a Crysilisk skulking a little to close to your soldiers. I love the new base and how they cleaned up the mess of managing all of your equipment.

    Even with all they have streamlined, there is a ton of strategy and choice. I could see playing this game for a long time. It makes me so happy to have a modernized version of my favorite game of all time.

    Thank you Firaxis!    … Expand
  18. netcoder
    Oct 10, 2012
    9
    To be honest, UFO Defense being my favorite game of all time, I've been awaiting this game for nearly 20 years. While no game is perfect and every game has its shortcomings and frustrating moments, the new XCOM comes close to perfection, in my honest opinion. For starters, turn-based strategy has been lacking on our shelves in the last decade, especially the squad-based mixed with managerial gameplay this game has to offer (and that UFO Defense pioneered back in 1994). So I downloaded the demo from Steam, and I could see that the game had potential, but the demo fell short because it ended very quickly for the XCOM veteran that I am. I was disappointed when I read the entries for this game before it came out, because it seemed toned down a lot from the original. While this is somewhat true, I think it's also for the best. The elements from the original are still there, although they removed some annoying ones like disembarking, per example. To begin, on the managerial side of things, research is still there (you bet) with a lot of options unlocked depending on your mission results; you have to manage your bases and buildings, you level up your soldiers as they gain more experience and specialize them; you can sell equipment and artifacts for some extra cash; you have to keep the nations happy about your progress by deploying satellites and responding to abductions; you still manufacture weapons and equipment for your soldiers. Manufacturing is now instant but costs money on the spot, as to prevent you to mass manufacture and sell your stuff like the original did (which seriously was too easy and needed gotten rid of). Instead of play, fast and fast-forward, now the game is paused as long as you're in management view, with the possibility to fast-forward from the Mission Control view. Interceptors are returning and still trigger missions for downed UFOs, and have the possibility to get destroyed if not outfitted with the latest and greatest (and still do even then). There is a whole lot to manage, just like in the first one, and the tutorial covers the basics, but you'll still have to be curious and check out the menus for the extra options like soldier training. Speaking of the tutorial, it is painfully long for veterans, although I can understand that the newcomers will need it as not to be overwhelmed with the sheer amount of management required by this game. It's scripted, it's frustrating, because you can't do what you want to do when you want it during the tutorial (e.g.: can't rotate the camera until you get told how to, even if you already know). It's quite lengthy and spans a few missions (the Steam demo covers about a sixth of it), obviously because the game is somewhat complex, but gives you a great idea of what to expect from this game. On the tactical side of things, things have been simplified a lot. Instead of managing AP, your characters now get two moves at start, improved depending on the abilities you get for each soldier as they gain XP. You can move once and shoot, or move twice, or move once and use reaction fire or defense, or just shoot once, or use a special ability, etc. It gives a good pace to it. Veterans will most likely move once each of their soldier to spot enemies then react, or just use reaction fire after the first move to make sure not to get stabbed in the back. Also, you can't gear up your soldiers with 5 grenades or 2 grenades and medkits, etc. You basically choose a primary weapon, a secondary, an armor and an item to carry for each soldier (you ought to use the items relevant to each soldier's class), making the game a lot more challenging. Carrying a stun gun instead of a grenade may mean a soldier will die, but there's nothing like bringing a X-Ray alive for questioning. The whole system works well, it really does. The game give you hints by having soldiers and crew telling you about enemy behavior or events, like VIPs dying or enemies retreating. You still have to listen for these, and they come in handy, but don't make it too easy or too annoying, even when obvious, because they don't use popups or explicitly require you to react to them. Hit probabilities are actually important, meaning that you can still hit enemies quite often even with less of 50% hit chance. Aliens can destroy cover or blow up stuff to kill you quickly or force you to revise your strategy, and so can you. Just like the managerial aspect, tactical gameplay feels very well balanced and engaging. To add to the engagement, camera events following your soldier in third person occur often when moving or shooting, giving a certain tension to it, never knowing if your soldier will get blasted in the face when turning around that corner. Voice acting and sound effects leave something to be desired, but aren't annoying or too repetitive, although pretty generic. But in the end, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do, and will.… Collapse
  19. ZeppelinBlues
    Oct 12, 2012
    10
    One of the best squad base strategy games I have ever played. Difficult but fair and immensely engaging. If you are a "gamer" than you owe it to yourself to play this little masterpiece.
  20. ColCakes
    Oct 16, 2012
    10
    This game is phenomenal. It is unlike I have every played on my consoles before. I was getting tired of the same style of shooters, and this makes you play in a completely unique way. Even though I haven't played this style of game before, I don't see how I can go back. The gameplay is very deep and gives you insane options. I loved going back to base and making new weapons to then later use on the battlefield. The visuals are solid, and the music is magnificent. I already beat it once, and can't wait to start a new game, which I haven't said for many games before!… Expand
  21. skinny_mean_man
    Oct 17, 2012
    9
    great overall game experience. similar enough to the original that it should satisfy an nostalgic fan however don't listen to the spoiled fans who no matter what look for things to pick apart in this game because its a remake. this is a great strategy based combat game and i would recommend it to anyone who's tired of playing first person shooters that may require less strategy and more brawn. loved it and am hoping to see another installment in the franchise in this style.… Expand
  22. ISSGOD
    Oct 20, 2012
    9
    For me XCOM: Enemy Unknown takes the best of the original XCOM and refines the rest into a better game in almost every way. I like to start with the negatives which are... 1. The LOS (Line of Sight) can be a bit unrealistic and lead to a frustrating death of a squad member from time to time. For example, I had two soldiers behind a huge metal shipping container, and an alien killed them both in 2 moves from an impossible angle, shooting thru the solid container without damaging it but killing my men... plus the alien had no LOS of my soldiers... frustrating. On the up side, this happens rarely. Because of the randomly rare LOS issue I save my game at the starting of each turn. 2. A minor gripe, but it is annoying to have to use the R & L bumper to switch between team members. Allowing me to just move the cursor over a soldier and selecting them would have been nice. OK, on to the good stuff. There are basically three parts to this game, building a base, putting up satellites and shooting down UFO's, and lastly the turn based tactical assaults with your squad. All this is tied together with a financial system. You have to balance research of new tech, with building your base up, while buying fighter aircraft and launching satellites, while arming and gearing up your squad... and the order in which you do this will make or break you. It can be a difficult to choose a priority, when so many pressing issues present themselves at any given moment... but this is what makes the game great. In the tactical combat part of the game, then alien enemy are as varied as the tactics to take them down. Your squad starts out as a bunch or peons, but if they can survive 10+ missions, they will become elite warriors and the bane of the aliens. It takes time to level your soldiers and resources to arm and armor them. Because of this, you do not want to go Rambo in a mission and get them all killed. Always think a move ahead, when in doubt send up a scout (Assault troop is good at this). And remember, always use cover and Overwatch. My favorite tactic is Rope-a-dope... being, set up an ambush, send my assault solder out as bait, when he makes contact, have him retreat towards the rest of the squad, then blunt the aliens attack with Overwatch fire... then just kill the remaining aliens and watch the rest of them run for their lives. Rinse & repeat. This works in most but not all situations. Some enemies take some creative tactics to defeat. Minor gripes aside, XCOM; Enemy Unknown is an excellent and in-depth tactical game with countless hours of fun to be had. I give it a 9 out of 10… Expand
  23. GKS
    Dec 26, 2012
    8
    This being my first review, I am going to point out what you need to know about this game. Note that this beginning is as objective as I can be; the score is completely subjective.
    You'll enjoy this game if you want to:
    +try something other than FPS
    +see how a game can make you care for things that aren't real
    +talk about that particular time when your Sgt "Shadow" killed the infiltrat    or alien with a 10% shot

    You won't enjoy it if you:
    -go into it thinking that it is more of the old X-COM
    - prefer random maps that feel differently rather than go through the same maps in the same playthrough
    -find action over strategy hard to swallow


    This part is totally my opinion and therefore totally something that I alone agree. Right. Now if you're an old X-COM player, you will hate this game for being simpler, more action- oriented than strategy- oriented, less diverse in terms of maps and an assortment of other things that even you have to admit just don't get made anymore by developers of tactical games. You will also hate it because you will look at the score and, provided you are a user, you will write down how stupid people like us are for liking these games. However, if you play games with an open mind, I assure you, the only bad thing you'll feel is the absurdly long amount of time you spend on this game, how much attached you get to your psionic sniper, Col "Demon" and how you genuinely feel the pain when your Col "Sheriff" gets killed by missing a 95% shot and getting bombarded with the damn disk robot, especially on the hardest setting, where you've got one save file and reloading it means having to fight the aliens all over again. But that's the point. You'll want to do that just so you save some more of your operatives. Look, chances are that, judging by the score, you may still write things like how this game is bad because it becomes difficult no matter how many UFOs show up or how they just don't find it compelling or acceptable as an X-COM game. To them I'd like to say, yes, you are right, in a sense. However, you are not doing full justice to the game or to those who read your reviews by not acknowledging the fact that this is 2012. A large portion of us haven't played X-COM and those of us who did found it hard to get into given the graphics and interface were dated. We want a game to be fun. We want it tense. We don't want it to be something that you can't enjoy if it isn't exactly like the old games. Yes, X-COM has always been innovative in terms of settings and base-building parts. So why can't this iteration innovate in terms of accessibility and a better base management and tactical blend? In the end, I would say that this game is a must buy for anyone looking for something new and must be avoided by anyone who wants more of the old X-COM.    … Expand
  24. Deleran
    Oct 10, 2012
    7
    This game is fun... when it works. Encountered multiple serious bugs that require a mission restart or worse within the first 5 hours of gameplay. Might want to wait for a patch on this one.
  25. broskiier
    Oct 10, 2012
    8
    Overall, an excellent game. The voice acting (lack of country-specific accents and overall variety of dialogue) is bad enough to dock this game two points.
  26. lawofpower48
    Oct 12, 2012
    10
    Sfc1971 has alternate motives for giving this game a 1. His reasons have nothing to do with the game itself and metacritic should protect its site from people who do reviews like that. I put a 10 to offset his 1 but I feel its an 8.5. If you want a challenge a game where you have to earn the ending and have fun doing it this is your game. This is not a shooter. Its a gamers version of risk but more detailed. Issues with the graphics and aiming like thinking u have an open shot at an opponent when u don't hurt the game but not badly enough to kill experience. Could also use more stuff in multiplayer… Expand
  27. sherbz
    Oct 12, 2012
    10
    PLEASE IGNORE ALL THE IDIOTS GIVING IT ZERO! THIS IS A GOOD GAME! Seriously though, if you want to give it zero, go and crawl under a rock and die. Because you obviously have no idea how bad games can be. Just because it may not be what you thought it should does not mean you should give it a 0. And if im brutally honest, the fact that you cant customize their hair cuts, or you have to endure endless micromanaging, doesnt really bother me. Im happy with the game. It is good, it is great, and all you weirdo's who vote 0 can go join a club and call it "club anonymous".… Expand
  28. Yield11
    Oct 12, 2012
    10
    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.
  29. faint0fhearts
    Oct 12, 2012
    10
    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.
  30. PlanByHero
    Oct 26, 2012
    10
    No, its not as in-depth as the original. No, its not as tense. No, its not as big. Yes, it is one of the best games (in my opinion THE best) of 2012. If you approach this game as a spiritual successor or re-imagining of the original then you will be pleasantly surprise; Just don't go into it expecting the UFO/XCOM of the 90s with updated graphics. Its tense, enthralling, intelligent, in-depth and the turn-based combat will have you chewing your fingernails out with anxiety. I'm not normally a fan of strategy games but XCOM gets the mixture of action, management, and strategy just right so as to make the game approachable for simpletons like myself. GET IT. ITS EFFING FANTASTIC.… Expand
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Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
90 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 35 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 34 out of 35
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 35
  3. Negative: 0 out of 35
  1. Toronto Sun
    Mar 6, 2013
    100
    By virtue of how it stokes more parts of my brain than any game of the past decade, I’m inclined to consider XCOM: Enemy Unknown one of the most important titles of this generation. This game will test your disaster-management skills, levy you with suffocatingly difficult choices on how to spend your resources and cause you to grow so fond of your chess pieces that each skirmish takes on the flavour of a Whedonesque drama.
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  2. X360 Magazine UK
    Dec 1, 2012
    90
    It's like The Sims, but with much shorter life expectancies. [Issue#91, p.66]
  3. Telegraph
    Nov 12, 2012
    100
    It's [a] tough and punishing game, but in the best way possible. Every loss compels you onward in the war and the story. Where most games are frustratingly punishing, XCOM delivers a masterclass in challenge and escalation.
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