10:16AM EDT October 21. 2012 - Earth is under attack by aliens and it's up to you to protect the planet.
Such is the campy premise to X-COM: Enemy Unknown, an action-heavy strategy game for Windows PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
Fortunately, the challenging gameplay is much better than its silly story, which it shares with the original X-COM: UFO Defense sci-fi computer game from 1993.
The vicious extraterrestrial attack prompts the Earth's governments to form a paramilitary organization, known as X-COM. You're in control of this elite squad of super soldiers. You must select the right units for the job â€" each with different skills â€"
and then defend and manage an operational base (a huge part of the game), research alien technologies (through autopsies) and execute power counterattacks to ward off the enemy on fairly large maps.
Played from an angled top-down ("isometric") perspective, all the action takes place in a turn-based manner â€"
as opposed to in real-time. For example, one turn might be instructing your fighter to move across the map of the area, but you'll be limited as to how far you can go toward the enemy. After you find a good place to crouch, usually behind obstacles, your next move might be aiming and firing a specific weapon to damage the ETs or calling in an air strike.
The turn-based tactical gameplay is intense and exciting. Not only do the aliens get tougher after a few missions, but you'll get access to new characters, all of whom grow stronger with new skills and weapons. You'll also lose some soldiers during battle â€"
unless a fellow teammate can revive him or her with a medkit in time. While each squad member only gets two actions per turn, some of your soldiers will earn ways of extending this to more moves per turn.
In total, there are 70-odd missions in the single-player campaign and some multiplayer maps, too, for those who like to play against human opponents (one-on-one matches over the Internet). Online games are tied to combat only and not the base- management side of the game.
X-COM: Enemy Unknown isn't perfect â€" the graphics can sometimes be a bit glitchy and the game serves up a few bland maps that are sometimes overused â€" but it doesn't detract much from the overall experience. Between intense gameplay, thoughtful pacing and progression, and many challenging single and multiplayer missions, this sci-fi strategy game is worthy of your time, attention and money.
Quite simply, those looking for a new digital diversion that requires some brains and patience will no doubt be satisfied with this engrossing adventure.
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X-COM: Enemy Unknown
Platform: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Windows PC
Genre: Strategy
Developer: Firaxis Games
Publisher: 2K Games
Web site: xcom.com
Price: $59.99
Rating: Mature
Score: 3.5 stars (out of 4)
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Contact Saltzman at techcomments@usatoday.com.
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