XCOM: Enemy Unknown Preview

Enemy unknown.. unless, y'know, you played the original games.

X-COM: Enemy Unknown is the game that X-COM fans collectively wished would be made when X-COM first person shooter was announced: a turn-based, tactical squad-based strategy game with deep ties to the X-COM PC legacy. Ironically, a 2K P.R. representative told me that Firaxis' Enemy Unknown had been in development for several years before the FPS X-COM game being developed by 2K Marin was announced. At E3, 2K has been showing the game in a theatrical setting, showcasing the enemies and high-end abilities of the available squad members near the end of the game.

The presentation begins with the careful movement of a tactical squad already in position. Then the enemies are introduced, starting with the nefarious chryssalid, whose one-hit-kill starts the bloodbath that drops a team of five or six down to one in a single turn, and the soldier downed by the chryssalid is turned into one after dying. When the surviving member of the squad calls for evac, control sends in a Reaper Squad, who over the course of the war with the aliens have become more than human.

As a great joke, the Firaxis development team made the Reaper Squad commander Sid Meier, with a detailed character model. The Meier-commander uses mind control to take control of one of the enemy units to force him to drop an armed grenade at his feet, exploding himself. A jet-packed Sniper floats high above the scene to take out one chryssalid, and then with a bonus shot for delivering a critical hit, takes out the second. The final Reaper uses Ghost Armor to make himself invisible, zip up to the top of a building to take out the last alien, a Berserker, finishing the fight. Tit-for-tat, a turn later the enemies have been reduced to nothing by a tight tactical offensive.

The presentation highlighted how the game's turn-based tactical gameplay and careful use of character roles can lead to success, as well as showing off just how cool your squad can become in rising from a lowly band of humans on the run from the invading aliens to hunters themselves.

X-COM: Enemy Unknown looks like a great refocusing of the brand on the series' roots. It's slated to be released on PC, Xbox 360, and PS3 on October 9th, 2012.

Upcoming Releases
No content yet. Check back later!

Reviews