Having spent a few intense hours with a PC preview, I can reasonably nod my head and say yes; there’s something here for fans and noobs alike. It should also be noted that this is very much a hardcore return to the original’s style, however, so anyone who’s a bit averse to turn-based gameplay – whether an XCOM aficionado or not – is hereby warned.
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| Stealth is an important tactic to learn if you want to get the first shots in. |
XCOM, in case you’re one of those retro rookies I previously mentioned, is Earth’s last line of defence against alien invasion. And in the future, Earth gets invaded a lot. Sometimes it’s a single flying saucer buzzing backwater America, and at other times it’s an all-out attack that resembles the Persian landings at Thermopylae. But whatever the occasion for the extraterrestrial visit, you’re on the frontline ready to send them home in radioactive body bags.
The gameplay is primarily turn-based, though XCOM: Enemy Unknown throws a very clever twist into the action by employing real-time management elements. At first glance, these two mechanics would seem to contradict each other too harshly to allow for smooth gameplay, but it quickly reveals itself to be a surprisingly effective system.
It’s this strategic management side of XCOM: Enemy Unknown that kicks the game off, as you decide where to establish your base of command. You can choose from different continents for your HQ, and then gradually grow your base and its observational platform from there. There’s little else in the way of base building after this initial setup, which is a divergence from the original that purists might grimace at, but the combat is intensive and close quarters, so there’s really no call for establishing locations within the battlefield. It’s a compromise, perhaps, but one that’s very hard to disagree with once you take to the warzone.
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| Your Berserker looks mean, but the aliens often look laughable. A bad contrast in a game like this. |
Your satellite network, which must be evolved and expanded as the game progresses, is used to detect alien presence around the planet. Once you’ve pinpointed a potential invasion, you do your best to either destroy the attackers in orbit or, more often (and more entertainingly), bring them down and send in the troops to finish them off. Later you’ll find them making their own landings or being sent to investigate possible alien attack sites, and a fast deployment is essential.
You’ve a good selection of units that build up your defensive teams. A better strategist than myself would probably know just which situations and environments demand particular types of units, but being more of a draughts player than a chess champion, I fared better by regularly deploying a squad with an even mixture of available human and robotic troops.
A team of four or six troops are sent in to the landing, crash or invasion points, and the turn-based gameplay immediately kicks in. What’s very interesting here is that just because you’re now using turn-based movements, you’re not necessarily thrown straight into the action. The game makes heavy use of fog of war and line of sight environments, so initially you might be required to move stealthily through the environment following a trail of smoke, for instance, that could indicate a downed spacecraft.
Movement and firing depends entirely on the type of unit. Snipers, for example, need to be still to shoot accurately, and that means you can’t move them if you want to take out an alien with a headshot. You’ve also to give a lot of consideration to the terrain, and to providing cover so your team works as a well oiled machine, rather than individuals who are more easily picked off by the better-equipped invaders. Line of sight works beautifully in XCOM: Enemy Unknown, with obstacles blocking your view and shots, but infinitely destructible scenery changing your advantages and disadvantages continuously.
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| Helping your buddies when they’re under fire keeps the team fighting stronger, for longer. |
There have been massive improvements in visuals and audio since 1994, giving the game an eye-watering level of detail, with particular note going to the most realistic explosions I’ve ever seen in a game. And yet, there’s something of a dichotomy in XCOM: Enemy Unknown’s style.
On the one hand it’s very realistic and mature in its approach. Blood flies during the quick, hard-hitting cut scenes, and your doomed soldiers cry pitifully for help with their last breath. Then the aliens pop up with big, bulbous, clichéd heads with throbbing brains and spindly arms, suggesting more of a light-hearted pastiche on the genre than a serious combat game. This schizophrenia is rather jarring, and makes you wonder just what sort of attitude you’re supposed to take toward the gameplay.
Still, we’re very interested to see what the multiplayer maps will bring, and there’s an infinite amount of room for expansions, DLC and add-ons, which should keep the game alive and kicking for a long time to come. The XCOM franchise, it seems, is reborn and very healthy.
Top Game Moment: The stealth aspects add tangible intensity when you’re sneaking around a fallen spacecraft, waiting for the battle to begin.
