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Play as Sid Meier, Ken Levine in XCOM: Enemy Unknown
An XCOM: Enemy Unknown Easter egg allows players to bring in the heavy hitters when times are bleakest. PC Gamer points out that certain soldier names will activate "XCOM Heroes," who are pre-designed super soldiers.Name alterations for soldier unlocks that have worked so far are Sid Meier, Ken Levine, Joe Kelly and Otto Zander. The one caveat for this phenomenal cosmic super soldier creation power is that once these heroes are summoned the achievements for the game will be turned off.We also concur with PC Gamer's request that you make sure Levine lives, since after saving humanity from aliens we'd appreciate him finishing BioShock: Infinite.
XCOM demo out now on Xbox, PS3 later today
Commander, to the living room console. Commander, to the living room console.XCOM: Enemy Unknown's demo is available now on Xbox 360 to Xbox Live gold members. The demo will hit the PlayStation 3 following the regular PSN update later today, and be available tomorrow in Europe. The PC demo is already out there for discovery.XCOM: Enemy Unknown is available today at retail and will deliver close encounters of the awesome kind.
Metareview: XCOM: Enemy Unknown
XCOM: Enemy Unknown, a turn-based strategy game, is getting pretty high marks across the board. We'll let that "turn-based strategy" bit sink in before we continue.... Okay, so, it is a strategy game from Firaxis, the studio behind the accessible Civilization series, which we said in our review "deftly blended management, tactics and the sort of gut-level, throaty encounters usually reserved for fast-paced action games." Edge (90/100): "Charting a course through Earth's imminent destruction is as unashamedly difficult as it was in 1994's X-COM. It's possible, through bad planning and bad management, to doom the planet early on, making the game feel unfair. Get it right, however – survive the stresses of management, and the strains of aliens – and you'll feel like world's greatest hero." Eurogamer (90/100): "So much craft has gone into its atmosphere, into innumerable small details that together add enormous depth and flavour to the world: the occasional conversations overheard while fiddling around in the base; the mission loading screen, which gives you a view of the troops inside the carrier, fidgeting and tapping their feet in transit; the ridiculously cute touch of soldiers acquiring nicknames like 'Longshot' or 'Odin' after a few missions; the memorial room for fallen warriors, with a cork board of photos on the wall, which records their names - and the fact that visiting it triggers, after a few seconds, the sound of a bagpipe march. " Destructoid (90/100): "I was disappointed EU didn't have a great story, at first. But, somewhere along the way, my own story played out through the game's intense missions and grueling decision making back at the base. My story is about an unlikely group of space heroes. After months of waging a seemingly impossible war, my elite squad of XCOM soldiers died." Polygon (85/100): "While tactical, squad-based combat has never felt so effortless and rewarding, the strategy component takes just enough away to make the game as a whole feel like two slightly disjointed halves. One of those halves just so happens to be one of the best and most artfully-designed strategy games in recent memory." IGN (82/100): "Recently Firaxis has been very willing to try new things with its franchises, and it's great to see both the revival of the XCOM franchise and the extension of strategy games on the consoles. You're still likely to want a bit more depth and surprise in the tactical game, but the campaign is full of tense moments that are sure to keep you coming back for more."
XCOM rookies, listen up!
Joystiq's resident strategy game fan, Alexander Sliwinski, examines XCOM: Enemy Unknown from the perspective of someone unfamiliar with the series. How will other rookies react? Never played X-COM before? Cool, neither had I. Although the details are still hazy on how the hyphenated installments of the alien defense strategy series passed me by during the '90s, I am a turn-based strategy fan and I love me some sci-fi.XCOM: Enemy Unknown is one of the best and most accessible strategy games to come along in a long time, as evidenced by Joystiq's review. The game is split between the turn-based combat missions you'd see in a Final Fantasy Tactics, streamlined for a larger audience; and managing the resources and growth of XCOM's barracks, laboratories, workshops, satellite installations and more.I can assure you that starting a game at the "normal" difficulty is imperative your first time through. The "classic" difficulty, even after I've beaten the game on normal and know the abilities of each alien species, is still a challenge. It's not that the aliens are overpowered, it's just that they're out to kill you in the classic mode as much as you're after them to usurp their tech. The normal difficulty setting won't regularly activate the aliens until you find them at your own pace.%Gallery-162799%
XCOM: Enemy Unknown review: Close encounters
My squad touches down in a wooded area, somewhere in the continental United States. The Skyranger's ramp lowers and my soldiers shuffle out. Dead animals litter the ground under the tree cover. I inch my squad members forward, toward the crashed UFO. I'm the one who shot it down, and I expect its occupants are none too happy about it. As my squad slowly creeps forward, wary of ambush, I notice strange pods scattered about the terrain. I have just enough time to wonder what they are before my point man, Cameron "Shield" Robertson, discovers three Muton soldiers – ugly, hulking brutes with equally nasty plasma rifles.The Mutons scramble into cover, positioning themselves to fire. Before they have a chance, my heavy trooper readies a rocket launcher, sending its payload directly into the aliens, scorching their hides and blasting their cover to smithereens. Now fully exposed, the beasts make easy targets for my sniper, Sheng "Xeno" Lin. Thanks to some special training, he quickly settles into "the zone," taking out all three Mutons with three perfect shots in rapid succession.The entire exchange is exhilarating, and I pat myself on the back for a job well done. Little do I know that I have just wasted my only rocket, and that I'll really regret it later on. It's choices like these, and their repercussions, that define XCOM: Enemy Unknown.%Gallery-167636%
XCOM: Enemy Unknown launch trailer to the situation room
Here's the launch trailer for XCOM: Enemy Unknown, which invades retail next week. We will have our review prepped to launch on Monday at 8AM Eastern.
XCOM: Enemy Unknown demo out today on Steam
XCOM: Enemy Unknown will have a PC demo available today on Steam, with a console version "available soon." The demo covers two levels of the strategy game's single-player tutorial campaign, which also introduces the XCOM base, where all the training, research and alien autopsies happen.We've been impressed with how the game is shaping up so far, both its single-player campaign, seen in the video above, and multiplayer component. XCOM will admit new recruits on October 9.%Gallery-164464%
Sending rookies to die in XCOM: Enemy Unknown
We've been able to spend quite a few hours with the PC version of XCOM: Enemy Unknown, so we decided to put together a quick video walkthrough of one of its missions. Join us as we blast some Sectoids, snipe a few Floaters and just stand there and watch as our poor rookie gets murdered.
Pre-order XCOM: Enemy Unknown on Steam, unlock rewards
XCOM: Enemy Unknown is available now for pre-order on Steam and it includes a nifty Ni No Kuni-inspired reward system, based on how many people purchase it before launch.Tier one gives customers the Elite Soldier Pack, which includes the classic XCOM soldier, soldier deco packs and complete color customization option. Tier two unlocks three XCOM-related items for Team Fortress 2: crafty hair; the Pyro as a Badlands alien; and the Vigilant pin. Tier 3 is a free copy of Civilization 5.XCOM: Enemy Unknown is $50 on Steam.[Thanks, Ethan!]
Here, watch this hour of XCOM gameplay
Were you looking to watch an overabundance of new XCOM footage? 2K Games and Firaxis are sure hoping so, as the two companies took to Twitch.tv yesterday afternoon for just that – an entire hour of XCOM: Enemy Unknown hosted by Firaxis' Jake Solomon and Garth DeAngelis.What's that? You want even more XCOM coverage? We've got this handy, international-flavored podcast with the aforementioned Firaxis devs right here. You can almost taste the Gaffel Kölsch!
Citizens! Rise up against the alien scum by joining XCOM!
The time is now: war is upon us, and the alien invaders must be beaten back. Luckily for us, the aliens operate on a turn-by-turn basis, so there's plenty of time to decide how best to defend Earth. The XCOM awaits, soldier. The enemy, however, remains unknown.
Co-opinion: XCOM: Enemy Unknown multiplayer
.portal-left { padding: 10px; background: #CCC; margin: 20px 0; min-height: 85px; } .portal-right { padding: 10px; margin: 20px 0; min-height: 85px; } .portal-right img { padding-left: 5px; } .portal-left img { padding-right: 5px; } Richard Mitchell: So Alexander and I got a chance to try out the XCOM: Enemy Unknown multiplayer mode at Gamescom. Both of us played single-player before, so we had some idea of what we were getting into – but multiplayer is an entirely different beast. Using a pool of points, players "purchase" the units that will comprise their team: XCOM soldiers, aliens, or a mix of both. The standard match has a pool of 10,000 points and a turn time of 90 seconds. For this press demo, we had a whopping 20,000 points and 120 seconds. It sounds like a lot of time, but it wasn't – more on that in a bit. What units did you pick? (Keep in mind, folks, I had no idea what I was going to face on the field, and neither did Alexander.) Alexander Sliwinski: I believe in the power of humanity! Actually, no, it's mostly that I'd never played an XCOM game prior to the E3 demo, and I had no idea about each race's powers. So, I went with three human soldiers, two Thin Men and then spent a massive 7,300 points on an assault gunner with an alloy cannon. I figured I'd wipe out any alien scum you threw at me.%Gallery-162799%
XCOM: Enemy Unknown head-to-head multiplayer mode revealed
In the modern age of video games, multiplayer is king and XCOM: Enemy Unknown is going for the crown. Developer Firaxis Games has revealed details on the multiplayer portion of its upcoming reboot of the classic turn-based strategy game series.For the first time in the franchise's history, XCOM commanders will be able to go head-to-head in deathmatch. The two-player mode allows players to select a squad of six soldiers or aliens – or a combination of the two – to vie for battlefield superiority."With the multiplayer mode in XCOM: Enemy Unknown, gamers can finally find out what it's like to command alien units and unleash extraterrestrial destruction on Planet Earth or defend it with a squad of XCOM soldiers and alien allies," XCOM: Enemy Unknown lead designer Jake Solomon said. From a narrative perspective, the multiplayer mode has no link to the single-player campaign found in XCOM: Enemy Unknown. Players can "mix and match both alien and soldier units to comprise their squad, outfitting soldiers with dozens of armor types, weapons, items and class-based abilities for thousands of possible loadout combinations," a press release announcing the mode revealed. Pre-orders of XCOM: Enemy Unknown give players access to the 'Elite Solider Pack,' which includes a set of "top-of-the-line soldier customization features," such as the Soldier Deco packs and complete color customization," along with the (already known) classic XCOM soldier flat-top harido. PC players will also have a shot at a platform-exclusive special edition, featuring "a number of unique XCOM items, including an art book; fold-out poster of the XCOM headquarters; XCOM insignia patch; and a collection of digital bonus assets such as desktop wallpaper, soundtrack and more." XCOM: Enemy Unknown launches for the PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on October 9. And, spoiler alert, the unknown enemies are totally aliens. %Gallery-162196%
Civilization V: Gods & Kings demo now on Steam
Who can afford to blindly purchase games they think may be good? Not in this economy, buster – free demos are a necessity. Today, a demo for Civilization V: Gods & Kings is available for download on Steam.Gods & Kings launched earlier this month – we enjoyed it – and is currently available as a $29.99 expansion. Of course, you must already own Civilization V to play.
Learning religious proselytizing from Civ 5's 'Gods and Kings' expansion
Perhaps the biggest addition in Civilization 5's upcoming Gods & Kings expansion is religion. But don't go thinking it's some innocuous cultural addendum – as the Firaxis folks above explain, religion in Civ 5 is all about subjugation.
PSA: Civilization V Steam Workshop functionality now live
Steam Workshop functionality has been turned on in Civilization V. Whether you're pumped for the upcoming Gods & Kings expansion pack, or you merely want more modability out of your vanilla Civilization V experience, you can opt in to the expanded social features enabled by Steam Workshop functionality for free right now. ... Well, not now now. You have to open up Steam and do it in there. Go ahead – go do it. This is the end of the post anyway. Nothing more to see here.
Civilization 2 10-year-game predicts nuclear wasteland future, Sid Meier 'can't believe' it
A few days ago, a thread on Reddit revolving around a tense Civilization 2 match received quite a bit of attention. Within the thread, user Lycerius detailed a scenario within the game that has been in play for about ten years. The American, Viking, and Celtic nations in his decade long battle remain locked in a 1700-year-long war, fighting over what little resources remain following years of nuclear carnage; in-game the year is 3991 AD. Now Civilization's mastermind, Sid Meier, has weighed-in on the nearly two thousand (in-game) year conflict."My first thought was, 'Wow! I can't believe anyone has been playing Civ II for that long,'" Sid Meier told The Associated Press (via Yahoo) in an interview. "It's been more than 15 years since we released that game, and I don't think any of us expected a decade-long game would come out of it. It would be amazing if we could come back in 2025 and find out if someone's had a 10-year game of Civ V going."We note, for future generations, not to look to the global landscape in Lycerius' Civilization 2 match for hints into our own destiny. It's just a game. We wouldn't want this intense match to become the Mayan calendar equivalent for our family in the far-flung future.
Co-opinion: XCOM: Enemy Unknown
.portal-left { padding: 10px; background: #CCC; margin: 20px 0; min-height: 85px; } .portal-right { padding: 10px; margin: 20px 0; min-height: 85px; } .portal-right img { padding-left: 5px; } .portal-left img { padding-right: 5px; } Jess Conditt: First, I have to paint a picture for everyone: Mike Schramm, tall dude extraordinare, so giddy with anticipation that he resembled a puppy in a canine candy store -- that's how he entered the XCOM: Enemy Unknown preview room. I, on the other hand, had no previous experience with the franchise, yet by the end, my tail was wagging a bit as well. Mike Schramm: To be fair, I can look puppy-like at almost any time: Big ears, wet nose. But yes, I was excited to see XCOM, and as you may have already heard in all the hype from the show, the core turn-based gameplay did not disappoint. Turn-based strategy RPG scratches a core (flea-based?) itch in my soul, and between this game, Skulls of the Shogun, and iOS games like Outwitters and Hero Academy, this genre's on the cusp of a renaissance. XCOM's turns move easily and quickly, and the game's interface is great at getting out of the way and letting you make strong choices.%Gallery-157398%
XCOM: Enemy Unknown prepares for 'Last Stand'
Nothing helps humanity put aside its differences like a bunch of aliens trying to liquify, eviscerate or attempting to eat us. We fight back October 9.
Civilization 5 coming to Steam Workshop
Civilization 5 is hitting Steam Workshop soon, enhancing a bevy of modding features in the full game along with the coming Gods & Kings expansion pack. Civilization 5's current modding system is getting a facelift to include mod author pages complete with a "follow" option, the ability to create collections, favorite mods and comment on them directly.2K Games says it will update with more information on the official forums next week.
