Skip to main content
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ The Games, Movies, TV & Comics You Love
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
flag of UK
UK
flag of US
US
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of Australia
Australia
  • Games
  • TV
  • Movies
  • Hardware
  • Video
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Guides
  • Deals
  • More
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series X
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch 2
    • PC
    • Platforms
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • SFX
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsletters
    • About us
    • Features
Total Film
Gaming Magazines
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe from just £3
  • Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12
View
Trending
  • Summer Game Fest
  • New games for 2025
  • Upcoming Switch 2 games
  • Switch 2 stock
Recommended reading
A woman turns to look at an unseen person while standing in front of crew mates behind a glass screen in Directive 8020
Horror Games Until Dawn studio's first sci-fi game is a body horror fest inspired by John Carpenter with tons of Lethal Company tension, and I've never been so excited to turn into a pile of sludge
Infinitesimals
Third Person Shooters Infinitesimals is a Honey I Shrunk the Kids take on Halo with a very good jetpack, and its vibrant combat sandbox reminds me of one of the most underrated Xbox 360 cult classics
Expanse Osiris Reborn appearing in the Future Games Show Summer Showcase 2025
RPGs The Expanse: Osiris Reborn is basically Mass Effect: Expanse edition
Six characters pose heroically in art for Star Wars: Zero Company
Strategy Games XCOM veterans' Star Wars: Zero Company revealed 5 days early as "a single-player turn-based tactics game" with clone troopers and Mandalorians
A boxy green cubey enemy attacks Remi in Hell is Us
Action Games With "multi-map spanning secrets" and "phantasmagorical" horrors, Hell is Us wages a brutal civil war that already has me on edge
Helldivers 2 board game demo models and cards
Board Games The Helldivers 2 board game leans into "the cooperative chaos of the video game," the designers promise
Deep Sleep: Labyrinth of the Forsaken screenshot
Survival Horror Games Deep Sleep: Labyrinth of the Forsaken puts an Inception spin on PS1-era survival horror games, and I totally get why it's winning pre-launch awards
  1. Games
  2. Strategy
  3. XCOM: Enemy Unknown

XCOM: Enemy Unknown - 9 reasons were excited to tactically frag some aliens

Features
By Lucas Sullivan published 2 October 2012

Turn-based tacticians versus little grey men

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

XCOM: Excitement Known

XCOM: Excitement Known

Well put it simply: This game has us more excited than any other turn-based strategy title in recent memory. XCOM: Enemy Unknown takes the spirit of a classic DOS-based strategy game, injects it with big production values and vibrant graphics, and infuses it with accessible mechanics to create quite the tactical package. In other words, were really looking forward to killing aliens when the game launches less than two weeks from now.

To express our excitement more eloquently, weve settled on the nine things about Enemy Unknown that were looking forward to most. Catch the Chryssalid fever (which you might want to get checked out, by the way) as we delve into the most enlivening of XCOM: Enemy Unknowns new features

Page 1 of 11
Page 1 of 11
We get to take back Earth one territory at a time

We get to take back Earth one territory at a time

When those no-good aliens invade the entire planet, youve got to fight back with attrition. The lengthy single-player campaign lets you plot out your tactical advance around the globe, offering up the choice of mission selection with a wide variety of objectives and complexities. That means that the battleground settings, enemy types, and goals will constantly keep you on your toes. On top of the calculated reclamation of humanity's turf, youll be treated to various in- and out-of-match cutscenes, giving the ruthless alien aggression real context.

Page 2 of 11
Page 2 of 11
Customization lets us get attached to our personalized squads

Customization lets us get attached to our personalized squads

Tactical strategy games are at their best when you really care, from a self-invented narrative standpoint, whether your soldiers live or die. What better way to do that than having full control over their specialties, appearances, and names? The names part is key: Christening your squadmates after family and friends will have you screaming in agony over their untimely (and nigh inevitable) deaths, while keeping the labels within a theme will spice up each round with some unintentional humor, thanks to randomly generated nicknames. The best thing to come from our elite team of presidentially named warriors says it all: The valiant deeds of Thomas Werewolf Jefferson will forever be remembered in our hearts.

Page 3 of 11
Page 3 of 11
The one-on-one multiplayer is seriously tense

The one-on-one multiplayer is seriously tense

Head-to-head strategic multiplayer makes you think, but rarely will it make you this anxious. At the beginning of each round of multiplayer XCOM, your squad of humans (or aliens, but more on that in a moment) will be plunked down into a totally fog-of-warred territory, with no idea which direction the enemy will come bearing down on you. Funnily enough, some of the best multiplayer moments happen before youve even engaged the enemy, when you're nervously bolting from cover to cover in the hopes that you get the jump on your foe before they spot you.

Page 4 of 11
Page 4 of 11
We get to take a walk in the space invaders shoes

We get to take a walk in the space invaders shoes

Multiplayer also opens up the floor to those extraterrestrial buggers, letting you combine humans and aliens into any configuration that the adjustable point tally will allow. Getting to play as the story modes sworn enemies is a hoot--you havent lived until youve battered in a Sectoids face with the mauling fists of a Muton, or zipped around the map as the unfortunately named, jetpack-toting Floater. The pice de rsistance: Impregnating a hapless, near-death soldier with Chryssalid larvae, then cringing in horrified delight as he bursts into a spiny, alien newborn.

Page 5 of 11
Page 5 of 11
Well be melting minds thanks to our psychic powers

Well be melting minds thanks to our psychic powers

Mind over matter, as they say--or in this case, psyche-severing brain powers over ordinary bullets. As previous XCOM: Enemy Unknown trailers have so gloriously demonstrated, psionic soldiers will be a huge boon to the human forces over the course of XCOMs campaign (and multiplayer modes, at that). Hypnotizing an alien into stunned shock, taking over the feeble intellect of a Sectoid, or using mind control to force a high-ranking officer to idiotically drop a grenade at his feet--all of these wonderful, wonderful things are possible (and probable) when youve got psychic powers on your side.

Page 6 of 11
Page 6 of 11
Overwatch makes the game infinitely more accessible

Overwatch makes the game infinitely more accessible

Weve said it before in our previous XCOM: Enemy Unknown hands-on preview, but it bears repeating: Overwatch stands to change tiled, turn-based strategy games as we now know them. If youre unsure of what to do next, or you want to prepare for whatever comes your way without going on the complete defensive, simply activate Overwatch. This tells your soldier to sit tight; if they see any movement from their current position, theyll automatically blast the enemy moving target with reduced accuracy. Its the perfect way to hedge your strategic bets, and when you want to hunker down without wasting a turn, Overwatch will be your best friend.

Page 7 of 11
Page 7 of 11
The difficulty shows no mercy

The difficulty shows no mercy

Too many games these days coddle you with lengthy tutorials, endless tooltips, and braindead enemies early on. Enemy Unknown says screw that: Lets make the player earn every last kill. Even on the Normal setting, XCOM pulls nary a single Muton Beserker punch, slaying your soldiers without mercy if you send them into the fray willy-nilly. Only the most masterful of alien-killing tacticians can even dream of taking on the Insane difficulty level--perfect for gamers who want to test their mental mettle and could care less about their twitch reflexes.

Page 8 of 11
Page 8 of 11
The rebirth of a cult-classic franchise

The rebirth of a cult-classic franchise

It mightve been before your time (and hey, some of us are right there with you)--but those that remember the original X-COM: UFO Defense hold it in incredibly high esteem. We can think of no better developer to helm a strategy revival than Firaxis Games, which worked wonders with the Civilization franchise. It turned this 1994 DOS franchise into an accessible (and sleek) sci-fi wargame, and thats about as great a reboot as we can ask for.

Page 9 of 11
Page 9 of 11
Wide-open research trees enable exciting experimentation

Wide-open research trees enable exciting experimentation

One of the standout segments of the original UFO Defense actually took place outside of the battles, where alien autopsies and world travel enabled better weapons and enemy intelligence. That kind of tactical research is back in a big way for Enemy Unknown, which has you in command of an entire compound of soldiers and scientists ready to investigate whatever you so wish. Deciding whether we want to cut up an imprisoned alien specimen or upgrade our weaponry using extraterrestrial tech is truly the roleplaying spice of XCOM life.

Page 10 of 11
Page 10 of 11
Suit up, soldier

Suit up, soldier

Those are the reasons were pumped for the aliens arrival--but theres plenty more to XCOM: Enemy Unknown that weve still to uncover. If youre also excited for this tactical turn-based shooter, let us know in the comments what about it has you riled up--just dont say youre looking forward to getting probed.

To kick off this week-long parade of excitement for 2012 games, we humbly request that you read the the Top 7... most incredibly exciting games still coming out this holiday season and the Top 7... most badass game characters of the generation.

Page 11 of 11
Page 11 of 11
CATEGORIES
PC Gaming PlayStation Xbox Platforms
Lucas Sullivan
Lucas Sullivan
Social Links Navigation

Lucas Sullivan is the former US Managing Editor of GamesRadar+. Lucas spent seven years working for GR, starting as an Associate Editor in 2012 before climbing the ranks. He left us in 2019 to pursue a career path on the other side of the fence, joining 2K Games as a Global Content Manager. Lucas doesn't get to write about games like Borderlands and Mafia anymore, but he does get to help make and market them. 

See more PC Gaming Features
Read more
A woman turns to look at an unseen person while standing in front of crew mates behind a glass screen in Directive 8020
Until Dawn studio's first sci-fi game is a body horror fest inspired by John Carpenter with tons of Lethal Company tension, and I've never been so excited to turn into a pile of sludge
Infinitesimals
Infinitesimals is a Honey I Shrunk the Kids take on Halo with a very good jetpack, and its vibrant combat sandbox reminds me of one of the most underrated Xbox 360 cult classics
Expanse Osiris Reborn appearing in the Future Games Show Summer Showcase 2025
The Expanse: Osiris Reborn is basically Mass Effect: Expanse edition
Six characters pose heroically in art for Star Wars: Zero Company
XCOM veterans' Star Wars: Zero Company revealed 5 days early as "a single-player turn-based tactics game" with clone troopers and Mandalorians
A boxy green cubey enemy attacks Remi in Hell is Us
With "multi-map spanning secrets" and "phantasmagorical" horrors, Hell is Us wages a brutal civil war that already has me on edge
Helldivers 2 board game demo models and cards
The Helldivers 2 board game leans into "the cooperative chaos of the video game," the designers promise
Latest in Strategy
Heroes of Might and Magic
Strategy game expert behind Manor Lords partners with Ubisoft for Heroes of Might and Magic prequel with 600,000 Steam wishlists
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope
After 2 underrated tactical RPGs on Switch, Mario + Rabbids developer Ubisoft Milan's pitch for another game was apparently turned down, which may explain why it's now working on Rayman
Pikmin 3 Deluxe
Switch 2 broke Pikmin 3 Deluxe with visual glitches and crashes, but Nintendo has swiftly patched it up so you can enjoy the Wii U banger once more
Pikmin 3 Deluxe
No Pikmin games got Switch 2 upgrades, and fans say Pikmin 3 Deluxe is "borderline broken" thanks to crashes, bizarre visual bugs, and screen flickering
a knight in a helmet with iron crosses decorating the cheeks
New strategy game Chronicles Medieval has you fight third-person battles with Tom Hardy narrating in a surprisingly normal accent for once
Lords Mobile x Pacific Rim
Lords Mobile launches Pacific Rim collaboration and celebrates 19th anniversary of developer IGG
Latest in Features
Guy Gardner, Hawkgirl, and Mister Miracle as the Justice Gang in Superman
The Justice Gang explained - The non-Justice League in James Gunn's Superman may be influenced by team of classic DC supervillains
Team Fortress 2 characters looking at a map
I have 464 games on my Steam wishlist, 23 games in my Steam Summer Sale shopping cart, and I can feel my already overstuffed library giving me the side-eye
Heavy Metal Death Can demo screenshot
I got a nicotine rush and set zombies on fire in this PS1-style survival horror demo, and it's basically Resident Evil on a submarine
A PSVR 2 review image next to the marketing reveal image of the Meta Quest 3S, separated by an orange line
Xbox finally has a VR headset, but it's not the PSVR 2 rival I was hoping for
Ironheart
Ironheart casually reveals the Marvel villain everyone has been waiting for – and it makes perfect sense
Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Remaster image showing a giant city built upon a hill by the sea
Bravely Default's remaster is secretly the Switch 2's must-play RPG, but it's still flying under the radar
  1. Sam fires at the ghost mech squid boss in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
    1
    Death Stranding 2: On the Beach review: "This tarpunk delivery epic is more Metal Gear Solid than ever, for better and worse"
  2. 2
    Rematch review: "As with Rocket League, the just-one-more-game pull is magnetic"
  3. 3
    Tron: Catalyst review: "Disc slinging is a thrill in this gorgeous rendition of the series, but I'm let down by a time-loop story that falls flat"
  4. 4
    FBC: Firebreak review: "A disappointingly bland multiplayer FPS that's missing far too much of what made Control special"
  5. 5
    Dune: Awakening review: "Both extremely compelling and extraordinarily boring, sometimes at the same time – yet still a true Dune love letter"
  1. A T-rex in Jurassic World Rebirth
    1
    Jurassic World Rebirth Review: "An unscary sequel that needed a little more time in amber"
  2. 2
    M3GAN 2.0 review: "A bold sequel with a slightly underwhelming conclusion"
  3. 3
    28 Years Later Review: "Enough terror, splatter and suspense to satisfy”
  4. 4
    Predator: Killer of Killers review: "Great characters, thrilling action, and gorgeous Arcane-esque animation"
  5. 5
    From the World of John Wick: Ballerina review: "Brilliant action, even if the plot gives you a sense of déjà vu"
  1. Lee Jung-jae as Gi-hun in Squid Game season 3
    1
    Squid Game season 3 review: "A staggeringly excellent final season wraps up one of the greatest Netflix shows ever"
  2. 2
    Ironheart review: "A relic of Marvel's content-at-all-costs era"
  3. 3
    Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 review: "The show's most assured run of episodes to date"
  4. 4
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 8 spoiler review: 'The Reality War' is "a mix of the good, the bad, and the truly baffling"
  5. 5
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 7 spoiler review: 'Wish World' is "an exciting and ambitious" start to the season finale, with hints of WandaVision

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...