This is the kind of game that sucks you into ‘the zone’. I heard alot of
people critising the SAS (Simultaneous Action System, ala Baldurs Gate) but it
actually works in this game. The game will autopause everytime something happens
(it is configurable based on your preferences), which at the rate at things
happening means every few seconds giving it a turn based feel. Combat is a
little difficult at the early game but after a few rounds you will have the hang
of it, as far as squad level combat goes, this is the shizzle. The key here is
strategic play, you must move as a squad with and cover your soliders. The
addition of different types of humans (Cyborgs and Psionics) is a welcome
addition and increases the number of ways to play the game.
The ‘Geoscape’ veiw is very helpful and most of the displays are
repositionable, this makes it nice and easy to work with. The story is
interesting and the voice work is uniformally above average. Lip-synching is
abysmal though, it is just a set animation that loops with some extra animations
e.g. an arm waving or pointing to emphasise the point. Save and Load times are a
little long but managable. Overall this is a worthy succesor to the
XCOM series