Metascore

Generally favorable reviews - based on 20 Critics What's this?

User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 93 Ratings

  • Summary: Lead your troops in fierce battles to defeat the alien front, and rescue civilians in crowded cities and remote outlands around the world. Construct and expand your XCOM headquarters, recruit and coach up unique soldiers to thrust into battle, and research alien tech to enhance and multiply your weapons and capabilities. Mix and match aliens and soldiers and synthesize abilities to outwit and overpower your alien opponents. Expand
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 20
  3. Negative: 0 out of 20
  1. Oct 16, 2012
    100
    Extreme fastidiousness notwithstanding, it can take around 30 hours to see through the single-player campaign in XCOM: Enemy Unknown, though like Firaxis' Civilization series, there are so many different ways to prioritize the research, engineering, economic, and tactical elements of the game that it almost begs for multiple playthroughs.
  2. Oct 5, 2012
    95
    Defending against XCOM's mysterious alien invasion is one of the most challenging, intense gaming experiences of this generation.
  3. Oct 8, 2012
    95
    XCOM: Enemy Unknown is an expertly crafted strategy game that improves on the original in every way. It's a cinematic treat that is accessible enough for gamers of all experience. Best of all, it's not a bore. With more than 70 missions and a competitive two-player mode, XCOM is a high water mark for 2012!

See all 20 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 28
  2. Negative: 2 out of 28
  1. So happy to see a strategy game like XCOM to be on consoles too, they're usually just for PC only, you know, for the PC master race. It's an incredibly organic game: if you **** up, that's your own fault, not the games. Your tactics and strategies will effect your outcome. Also, winning isn't inevitable, you can put 20 hours in to it and lose to the aliens. The turn-based combat is very engaging, and the base management makes you feel like an actual commander. It's all very absorbing, and it's rather cheap now, so definitely pick it up when you can. Expand
  2. This game is good at giving the illusion of choice but in reality your choices are fairly limited or don't really matter. If you don't buy satellites and uplinks straight away you will start to lose nations and it will be game over. Also most items you research and develop often don't ever have much use like SHIV's which I tried to use once but just seemed pointless. Overall I enjoyed playing through the campaign but the game just feels like it's missing a layer or two of depths in certain areas. Expand
  3. First off, this is really not an X-Com game and if you go in looking at it as a new IP then you will be a lot better off. The game is heavily streamlined/dumbed-down from its origins and rather than a turn-based strategy game like the original X-Com games, you are buying a turn-based ACTION game, like a turn-based Gears of War. You are limited to 4 squad members to start, you cannot build or manage new bases, the maps are pre-done rather than random (and can repeat through a game), and virtually all of the strategic portions of the original X-Com have been deleted. I suspect this was done to "attract the CoD/GeoW audience" but it just makes the unsuitable for any true strategy gamer and its slow pace will certainly keep away the FPS fans. Now this is not specifically a "bad" game, and if you are the type of gamer who thought "wouldn't it be cool to command a Gears of War squadron (dressed in Mass Effect armor) in a turn-based game but without all those unnecessary strategic elements, new base building, and micro-managing" then this is the game for you. X-Com EU has loses the overall strategic gameplay, and is all turn-based action with Mass Effect armor and guns. Not for me, but who knows, there might be an big undiscovered market for this game type. Expand

See all 28 User Reviews