XCOM Enemy Unknown (PS3)

When I found out that XCOM Enemy Unknown was being released I was both extremely excited and overly nervous.... that it would be terrible.....I loved UFO Enemy Unknown (my favourite game ever) and this had a lot to live up to.As I started playing I quickly realised that the developers (Firaxis) had not tried to drag it kicking and screaming into the FPS generation but had made a proper turn based strategy game! Turn based in 2012! Excellent! The action comes thick and fast, but it's always managed and overseen by the player. It looks really good too.It has the feel of an old fashioned sci-fi adventure (War of The Worlds...) and the story is pretty good. The supporting characters who take part are always engaging so the mission to save Earth flows nicely.The strategy layer is also intact - base management, resource handing, squad building are all there. It has been simplified from the original, but honestly, this is not a bad thing and does not take much away from the game.It also has a multiplayer mode to use over PSN - I have only played this once, but it was pretty good fun.I also have this on PC, and the user interface for the PS3 is really well developed for play with a controller. In fact, I can almost get around quicker with my Dual-Shock than with a mouse and keyboard.If you are looking for a challenging strategy game (and if you play on Classic mode it is extremely tough) then this is the one to go for. Highly recommended (and not a let down at all for old school ufo'ers).

Great strategy game.You have to plan your teams development of tech & weapons as well as what battles to fight & when.Political implications are in play regarding outcomes and what incidents you respond to.You can't be everywhere at once so pick wisely.Research takes time & resources. All of which can be built, bought sold & improved.... You just need to manage your stocks of materials & income to do so.Missions are loosely based on chess, each solider/aliens can move a set number of squares depending on types. Damage, range & abilities depend on the class of warrior.A good game which needs you to think... not a shoot em up frenzy.

I'm going to get this out of the way first, because it winds me up: My first PlayStation console died a couple of years ago. I lost my progress on a lot of games. I don't make that mistake anymore as I back up save games onto a USB stick. I also now have a second PS3 console upstairs for early morning gaming, and often like to copy Save Games to that device so that I can carry on upstairs where I left off downstairs. Sounds sensible so far, right? Well 2k Games apparently don't want me to have this assurance and convenience. They have disabled the ability to backup save games from Enemy Unknown. Apparently the reason for this is to prevent 'cheating' in the Ironman mode, but I don't really care about that mode as I am not brilliant at games and play quite casually. There is still the option to backup to PlayStation Plus, which would do the trick, but then I would have to pay for the PS+ subscription service which as a casual gamer I am not inclined to do. Rant over...Back to the game.I had not previously played any X-Com games, but was aware of them from my early 486 gaming years. More interested in other styles of gaming at the time, the franchise fell under my radar. But then on perusing the PS3 free demos, I thought I'd have a look at Enemy Unknown and I found it strangely compelling. So I decided to buy the full game and give it a shot. The mix of base strategy, political decision-making and turn-based pieces-on-a-board-that-you-can't-tell-is-a-board gameplay is very cleverly executed.You start to get familiar with some of your troops, knowing the likelihood of them shooting straight, or surviving an attack. You find yourself sending new recruits in as cannon fodder to protect your favourites. If I accidentally lose one of my better troops to the alien masses, I have been known to quit the game and re-load.One thing I am discovering - probably a bit late, is that satellites are pretty key to keeping things ticking over. As long as you have as many satellites up as possible, you will have income coming in and a reduced likelihood of countries abandoning your cause.I am progressing OK so far, but I imagine that there will come a time in the near future where my skill level will be insufficient to progress, at which point I'm not sure what I will do, but until that time, I am relishing in a game I would not otherwise have gone for.

In the first three months of the game you really are shoehorned into spending any and all available funds into satellites and completing missions for engineer rewards and buying workshops and i don't feel the game emphasizes this enough.The tutorial is really poor and many suggest not doing as it leaves you minus 3 squaddies anyways.Those that have completed the game in 30 hours simply haven't tried out "iron man" mode.Doesn't allow you to piggy back incapacitated squaddies/aliensIf you lose a mission your provided all the items of kit you lost. However you abandon a mission and leave anyone behind they are gone for good, still manage to retrieve all their equipment though.Game can only be saved on HDD/SSD will not allow to save on usb.Briefing room before mission doesn't provide map of layout prior to flying to destination which makes it hard for weapon selection.Game difficulty levels Easy is too easy, normal means the missions are v'easy, xcom classic is ideal though quite a shell shock for the vets. Impossible is simply sit and camp.