I first played XCOM at a games expo in Sydney and initially didn't like
it – the tutorial made me go down a path that I couldn't change and that
made me uncertain about the game.
However I kept reading good reviews about it and having been starved for a
good strategy game I decided to pick this up during Mighty
Ape's summer sale.
Firstly – this is a tough game – even the normal setting is hard –
the aliens always seem to be bigger and stronger than you and have some
surprises for the unwary. If you try and rush them they will mow you down –
if you keep all your team together they will toss a grenade or worse at you and
do multiple damage – if you try and separate they will pick you off one by
one – and once your soldiers are dead – they don't lie on the ground
unconscious waiting for a phoenix feather to revive them – they are dead and
enter your wall of shame – you now have to go and rehire new soldiers and get
them trained up.
If your soldiers are new they can get frightened and do some unexpected
things – you learn real quick to look after them.
I've found with this game I had to be in the right frame of mind to play
it – as it requires a bit of thought and can get quite tense depending on the
enemy you are facing – there is a good reason it is called ‘Enemy
unknown’ as each mission you can face different types of enemies.
If you like strategy and space games or just a tough challenge then this is
well worth buying. Once you get into the rhythm of the game it can be very hard
to put down.
If you are a Mass Effect fan then you get the added bonus of hearing the
voice actress who did her voice also voice some of the female soldiers.
I'm looking forward to my second play through on the hard difficulty – and
for me if I am wanting to replay a game then I know it was a good one.
I loaned this to my 18yr old son who loved it so much he went and bought his
own copy for his PS3.
So looking for something a bit different – try XCOM