Customer Ratings & Reviews

XCOM was introduced in 1994 as an isometric view turn-based tactical/strategy game about defending the world against an alien invasion. It was surprisingly complex requiring the management of member nations, defense coverage, turn-based combat, and perma-death of soldiers killed in combat. Firaxis and 2K's reimagining of this iconic brand has managed to smooth the rough edges (through the tutorial and innovative user interface for consoles) while keeping the heart and sole of the franchise alive (through the classic and impossible modes and the ironman modifier which saves after every decision, preventing reloads). The player takes the role of the commander of XCOM, a government funded military group with the objective of defending the world against ailien invasion. The player must balance the good of varying member nations versus the good of the XCOM initiative by determinging which missions to take on, as they cannot do everything. If, for example, three countries need help, the player can only choose one. Surprisingly complex, the game uses a much-needed (but tedious for returning XCOM veterans) tutorial to ease the players in the first time they play. Even better, after you complete a game, the tutorial is automatically disabled, but can be played again by selecting a check box on the advanced options. The graphics are good, but not great. The biggest concern here is that there are constant bugs where your soldiers fire at an enemy, but the on-screen image of them is pointing in the wrong direction, or the enemy is absent from the rendering. This can be overlooked because of the sheer joy of the game. I believe Gameplay is King, and this game does not disappoint. There is always something to be doing and you never feel like you're ever sitting around and waiting for anything. Because your soldiers can die forever in the game, you're constantly leveling up new soldiers as some of your more experienced ones die (heartbreaking, but it becomes an endearing game quality as you learn to live with it). Because each game is different and random elements are interwoven, replay value is high with this game. The last thing I think I should mention is that the controle scheme for the console (I own an Xbox 360) is user friendly and works (most of the time). There will be times when one of your soldiers doesn't go into cover or changes terrain levels, but you can avoid this by just being careful before you press the button that sends them running to their new position. This is a turn-based game, so it does not benefit you to get into a hurry. There IS multiplayer, and I haven't played it so I am not qualified to review it. The basis is this: Two players duel with custom armies of soldiers and aliens. Each solder or alien has a point value and you, as a player, are given a maximum point value to use on your team. You then compete to kill all of the other player's soldiers to see who wins. I would strongly recommend this game to anyone who is interested in a challenging but fair tactical combat simulator with sci-fi and fantasy elements. So far, this is without a doubt, my game of the year. NOTE: I flagged this game for excessive violence for one reason: one of the aliens can impregnate your soldiers and civilians, turning them into zombies which then explode into new aliens if you don't kill them fast enough. The rest of the violence in this game is approximately on-par with a Call of Duty game, if that helps you make a decision about whether this is an appropriate purchase for a younger or more squeamish player.

Awesome story. Awesome gameplay. Awesome awesome awesome! I love the planning involved in strategy games so this is a game I had to get. Warning if you are a game addict, this will make your nights sleepless. On the critical side of things, the game has crashed on me once. And there are bugs involved like a ank with no useable weapon. Enemies that explode into seemingly never neverland. There will be bugs. I just enjoy the game so much that I have to look past it all.

Game is a blast, would recommend to anyone! Good strategy, but very complex, may take a few rounds to figure out what you are supposed to do, and as a result may require a complete restart, but that is part of the charm!

If you are a tactical game fan, this is a definite buy. Hours of fun can be had with this title. Leapfrogging through an enemy ship or hunting down E.T. and his psychopath buddies in the streets is tense and rewarding. Combine with base management and jet fighter mini games, thus a recipe for success is delivered. Fraxis and 2K games take the old classic and transport it with care to modern gamers. Keeping to the play style of old, slow and steady definitely will win the race on this game. On normal difficulty is where the title shines; balanced encounters and smart A.I. put up a tough fight. Virtually the biggest enemy of all is the players patience. Get ahead of yourself and your top soldier will be but a name on the memorial. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about the higher difficulties. Some will probably accuse me of being a noob or just lacking skill, and I wish that was the case. However, placing Xcom EU on classic difficulty presents the issue of shot percentage balancing. Enemies will move to flank your position at every turn; suffice they should on higher difficulty. But when none of your soldiers can hit them it becomes a problem. There also exist camera issues, but that and the difficulty can be overlooked. This game is worthy of checking out if you enjoy tactical games that reward smart playing and brutally punish you (in a good way) for getting anxious.

good game, good price, good pick up service. Good customer service

This isa great game and a great pick up to add to your collection of strategy games. It combines turn-based card strategy games something similar to Command & Conquer.

If you're into turn-based strategy, this is a good game.

The game picks up soon after the First and offers many new challenges .

XCOM: Enemy Unknown is a remake of a classic strategy game that is variably titled X-Com: UFO Defense and UFO: Enemy Unknown. While the original X-Com franchise was sunk by a couple of bad spin-offs and Hasbro, the rights were eventually acquired by 2K, who were planning on making a strategy shooter hybrid akin to Rainbow Six with aliens. Fan reactions were... well, horrific, spawning off into the infamous "BETRAYAL!" meme from internet celebrity The Spoony One. As if under duress, 2K drafted Firaxis, the people behind the Civilization franchise, to make a spin-off more in the vein of the original series. Turns out they inadvertently struck gold, because Firaxis did a great job. XCOM: Enemy Unknown is a hybrid base management and turn based strategy game where the goal is to lead a top secret military group seeking to save the world from an alien invasion. In base management you have to use money and resources scrounged from the battlefield to fund weapons research, advanced training for your soldiers, and build new facilities to allow for easier manufacturing of weapons and equipment, easier research, containing live alien subjects, and a few other important functions. In combat you lead a small squad of four or six men in a tactical battle against alien squads, using tactics like flanking, using explosives to destroy cover, or using special abilities of your soldier classes to give an edge against enemies who are from the beginning wielding superior weapons and in possession of abilities that can turn the tide in their favor if you're not careful. Missions vary from preventing alien abductions, rescuing civilians during alien terror attacks, capturing crashed UFOs or UFOs that have touched down, or special objectives given to you by the governments that fund your group. You encounter a wide variety of enemies with interesting capabilities, and the difficulty continuously ramps up, so if you don't play smart you can easily find yourself reaching a point where your weapons don't do enough damage and enemies can kill even highly experienced soldiers in one shot. Now there are some gripes. For some reason without special perks, your soldiers can only carry one item at a time and often have to choose between a grenade or a med-kit or aim assisting devices. There could be more variety to mission types, and it seems odd that there's no way to win back countries that have left XCOM. It also seems odd that you can only build one base, but that's just nitpicky. It's also worth noting that "Overwatch" mode has an odd bug where soldiers will sometimes be able to detect and shoot at enemies behind walls, but that's also minor. Overall, XCOM is very solidly built and definitely worth checking out. It was one of the best games released in 2012, and well worth the price. Check it out.

True to the original. Replay again and again. Very challenging

Great game to play with a good interface. If you like turn-based strategy/combat games, you won't want to miss this one. There are plenty of upgrade options. The only frustration is you won't have enough resources to buy or develop everything you would want. My only gripe is some of the combat options can be difficult to use (especially medkits). Game is well worth the money though.

I have already beaten the game on normal and found it to be fun, difficult and a satisfying strategy game. The game is for people who are tired of the same old games and this game provides a much needed strategy game in my collection. This game is diffiult on the easiest difficulty which makes it fun and has a high replay value.

This a great turned based game for anyone interested in that gametype. In response to the person that gave the game 1 star because of needing internet and steam to play.....i have the xbox 360 version and i can safely say you don't need either of these to play.....maybe you got confused with the PC version?

As someone who loved the original XCOM series by Microprose back in th 90s, I was more than stoked to hear that Firaxis, Sid Meier's team was taking on the re-make. They more than delivered and I attribute that to a dev team who also loved the original and wanted to do it justice. I'll admit, I was a little skeptical of the immersive 3D environment and graphics-style they went with from the trailers and screenshots but now, having played, it completely compliments the gameplay. Like the original, there is this inherent weightiness to every decision you make in XCOM, whether it is in your global UFO defense strategy or an in-mission squad direction. You could choose to pour your limited funds into researching a new technology only to later find out you don't have the funds to produce the newly discovered tech it uncovers. Perhaps most patent of XCOM, is the risk of in-mission "permadeath", meaning once your squad member dies, they aren't coming back. And with the level of customization per soldier, their untimely passing could be after you've given them a endearing name, hair style, and sweet armor coloration. It's odd but you grow attached to those virtual soldiers after they've been with you countless missions often landing that last-ditch shot and turning the mission into a success. I would recommend this game to anyone who likes Civilization (also made by Firaxis), Final Fantasy Tactics, Fallout (the isometric turn-based versions, not the FPS RPG), chess, and/or the movie Independence Day.

XCOM: Enemy Unknown is a turn based strategy game that can be quite challenging. You play as a group of soldiers tasked with protecting earth from a horde of alien invaders. As you progress your soldiers level up and gain new abilities and you construct your base while managing resources along the way. The game is quite punishing but that is what makes XCOM so addictive and the best strategy game to come out in years.

This game is pretty fun and very different from the games I usually play. It's a pretty difficult game also by the time you learned the game it gets extremely hard. Lol

Awesome game. The ability to put your friends' names in for your squad make the game a lot more fun. Definitely worth checking out!

I played the original "X:COM UFO Defense" back when I was in high school. #which, btw, is available on STEAM... i think that's what the other reviewer was playing on his computer instead of this on XBOX#. This is really an updated version of the original, with a little less control to the user. Still a lot of fun to play.

The game itself is great and enjoyable. The activitation requirement to have Steam is unacceptable and ridiculous. If you could activate without requiring an internet and steam connection, this would be a much more acceptable scenario.