XCOM: Enemy Unknown/Enemy Within [2012/2013 - Fireaxis Game]

[Starfox]

Originally published on January 27, 2015

March 2015. Germany is suffering an attack by unknown forces, unknown to most but a few. XCOM, a secret international organization funded by several governments, directed by a council of their representatives and regrouping the best of the military, scientific and technical minds of the planet was created exactly for this purpose, investigating unknown events and if needed take any step to preserve humanity and the Earth. The unnamed avatar of the player just known as "Commander" was chosen to direct the effort of XCOM in defeating what is rapidly identified as an alien invasion. The very first mission (which is also the basic tutorial for the combat part of the game, tutorial over which the player has very little control) goes badly and of the team of four XCOM operatives, only one survive. However that mission allows XCOM to recover some alien corpses to autopsy and some pieces of technology to start assessing the threat.

Even if it went in development after the game The Bureau: XCOM declassified, XCOM: Enemy Unknown was released first as part of the reboot of the old 90s X-COM franchise.

As you will have noticed in the title of this review, I indicated the original game released in 2012 XCOM: Enemy Unknown and what is officially considered as its DLC XCOM: Enemy Within released in 2013. The reason for that is simple. When you play Enemy Within you play a better Enemy Unknown with more options and tools to play with. Unfortunately, you can't play Enemy Within without buying Enemy Unknown as (and this is why it is termed a DLC) Enemy within adds elements to the basic gameplay and story but need the basic game to work. My advice: stay put until some sales (that happens regularly enough) and buy the bundle Enemy Unknown + Enemy Within. Then forget about Enemy Unknown and just play Enemy Within (one can even play the tutorials if needed so playing the basic game is not required). You'll have everything the basic game have plus much more. What is mainly featured in Enemy Within in addition to the features of Enemy Unknown:

- A new subplot to the main story: at some point you'll have to defend XCOM HQ against some of your own personnel that turned unexpectedly against you and allowed aliens to gain access to the base (this event does not happen before reaching a certain point in the main story). After successfully defending the base, you'll have to find why your guys turned on you and how the aliens were able to breach the base. That will leads XCOM on the track of another human organization called EXALT, that you'll have to track down to their main base through a series of infiltration/extraction missions learning more on the way about the purpose and goals of this organization. Completing this subplot however is not a requirement in completing the main game. BUT, if you choose to ignore the EXALT menace, periodically EXALT will steal money and resources from you or trigger some events that will increase the panic level in some part of the planet or even delay some of your research by wiping the HQ computer network, so in general EXALT will be a pain in the ass until you deal with them. Unfortunately while based on engaging premises and containing some interesting special missions, the whole EXALT thing turn rapidly into a tedious venture where you send an operative, wait a few days, then send an extraction team for a mission that follows only two schemes -- either some kind of tower defense or some kind of tower assault -- even though it generally happens in different locales.

- A new component called MELD that can be retrieved during missions, this component opening two whole new development branches: genetic enhancement for your soldiers and the creation of MEC warriors (your soldiers can be "enhanced"  with cybernetics so they can "drive" a suit of mechanized battle armor). A soldier can be genetically enhanced or become a MEC trooper, not both. The genetic enhancements bring things as varied as better resistance, automatic healing, advanced targeting, the ability to jump on the rooftops without needing a ladder. The availability of these enhancements, both for genetic and MEC, depends on the autopsies and researches you conduct on aliens. You'll have also to construct to new facilities, a genetic lab and a cybernetic lab. The heavy modifications to the human body brought by these technologies also put forward moral concerns (but acknowledging them or not is up to you; either you do everything it takes to win or you may even decide to do the extreme opposite and to not modify any of your soldiers so they remain 100% human). Myself I generally choose genetics because MEC warriors well... suck. They are barely capable to hit an elephant in a corridor and that makes them waste shots much more than the normal soldiers. Sure their weapon deliver a punch superior to the normal ones but since they miss more than half the time one doesn't really understand the point. Only advantage of the MEC is that they are tanks and that they can deliver quite a punch when they hit. They also possess some strong area attacks that can take out several enemies in one go but there again, it's only useful if you can position your MEC without having it obliterated.

- In general missions are conducted in more varied locations (at least in regards to urban areas and as compared to Enemy Unknown) so you don't have the feeling to replay the same mission again and again. There's no miracle however, after a while (a long enough one in this case) missions start to get repetitive, especially the ones of the "go and secure the UFO" type because they mostly features forested areas and there's nothing that resembles more to a forested area as another forested area.

On the topic of the gameplay, XCOM: Enemy Unknown/Within is a strategy management game and tactical turned-based 3D isometric shooter. It is accessible to most people, even with low or no knowledge of how RTS or turned-based shooters are played. That doesn't mean that the game is not tough but the tutorials are extensive and occupy the 5 or 6 first missions of the game during which the player will have little choice but to follow the advices of his subordinates (fortunately this tedious part can be skipped if you replay the game). A bit of curiosity for this kind of game, it can be played with an Xbox controller with no problem at all (somehow I found more relaxing to play it this way) but of course one can play it the normal way with a keyboard and a mouse or between both with a touchscreen -- here's a game ready for almost all the input devices available today.

The strategy part of the game happens at XCOM HQ. This is were the player or "Commander" have to decide with limited resources what must be prioritized to accomplish the objectives at short and long terms. Researches and constructions take time and often the player finds themselves with a range of subject of research and a choice to make on what should be researched first. For example one can decide to research armament or armors first but if one chooses armament that means the troopers will have to do on the field for a certain while with better weapons but less protection (the time needed for the research team to catch up with the armor part).

The turn-based shooter part obviously involves your soldiers sent in the field with the equipment developed by your team of scientists and engineers. Your soldiers gain XP during mission and for each kill. That XP allows them to earn rank which translate in new abilities gained for the 4 classes available, heavy, support, assault and sniper (the MECs being in a class of their own). Your soldiers start as rookies, pick-up their specialty (at random, players have no choice in that part) as squaddies then go through the ranks from Corporal up to Colonel if they are lucky enough to be still alive. The system is nice, however as in every game of this type I have played that features a ranking system, there is a drawback. You're going to loose people and the game will become tougher and tougher and you certainly don't want to end up going through the end of the game with a squad full of rookies. My advice would be to never bring the same people on mission especially early in the game. Beef up your crew, bring rookies up to speed and make sure there are replacements before things become too tough. Indeed you have some control on that aspect of the game as you'll find a number of researches, construction projects and missions inconspicuously labeled as "Priority". Taking those missions guarantee that you have access to new technologies but they also guarantee that you'll be confronted to tougher challenges. Delaying taking some of those assignments will allow you to beef up your crew without too much hassle.

All in all, XCOM: Enemy unknown/Within was one of the strategy games I had the most fun with (much more fun than with the UFO series with which it shares several principles), it comes with a real background and each alien researched or technology developed comes with a brief that let you know what it's about. The story and the ending are OK but not particularly stellar but maybe that's just me; I have the most fun in the strategy genre building and strengthening my forces and I never played a game of this type not feeling underwhelmed by the ending. Nevertheless, I don't know what the XCOM franchise has in store for the future but I'm not opposed to play another XCOM game down the road.