Hey guys,

I know that XCOM: Enemy Unknown certainly isn’t a new release, but I just discovered it, so I had to share my thoughts. First of all, you may be wondering why such a gamer took years to discover XCOM. The answer is simple, my fiance has loved the series since the ’90s, and while he’s mentioned it in passing before, “turn based shooter” never really struck me as something that sounded all that fun.

But this last weekend, on a nice brisk walk (sweating for the wedding, y’all!), he went further into detail, and the more he told me, the more I was sold. Researching aliens, upgrading armor and weapons, building up your base, etc. all really struck a chord with me. And so I had to take advantage of the current Steam summer sale, and bit the bullet.

I tried it out as soon as the download finished, and I have to say: I’ve fallen in love. Ever since the mid-late ’90s (thanks to X-Files and Independence Day) I have been fascinated with aliens. This game quenches that thirst for little grey men and UFOs landing in wooded areas. Massive alien attacks in large metropolitan cities. Governments across the globe banding together in hopes of saving the human race.

Aside from that, I LOVE the squad mechanics. I love how the game makes you really stop and think. Do we go in together in a joint head-on attack? Do we all flank from one side or do we split up in twos? When to stun, to bring valuable research to your scientists, and when to just let your heavy launch some rockets. I love that you can sit back and take your time, and yet… it grabs your attention. It’s hard to step away from this game. I’m not ashamed to admit that I’ve ignored the need to take a pee break for way too long. You have all the time to step away. The game waits for you, and yet you can’t look away. Every move is critical, and that is so gripping.

That brings me to what is possibly the greatest part of this game: your squad has your heart. These little fictional characters are completely customizable, you can pick and choose how to equip them based on your play style. As your squad members rank up, they get assigned their own nicknames such as Boomer, Specter, and Doc. I swear, more often than not, the nicknames perfectly match how you’ve been using them. My favorite female squad member has been a Canadian woman with a kickass hairstyle. I gave her the perk to have 3 med kits equipped instead of the standard 1, and right then and there she became my medic. Her nickname, quite poetically so, was assigned as Doc. Suddenly I loved her even more.

It’s important to note that for customization sake, you can edit their accent, name, nickname, nationality, and appearance. Whether you take the time to do so or not, you find yourself getting punched in the gut whenever one of your squad gets killed in action. You care. XCOM manages to grab my feels in a way that few games ever have, especially when you consider there isn’t some deep storyline involving these characters. When one begins to panic, you desperately want to run in and save them. You throw in a lower ranking squad member as bait to try and protect your higher-ranking officer.

You’ve no doubt read XCOM: Enemy Unknown reviews before, so I won’t bother going into story details. The point is this: if you haven’t played this game yet, do yourself a favor and try it. Even if “turn-based” doesn’t sound like it’s for you, still give it a try. You won’t regret it.

xoxo,

Dark Princess