XCOM: Enemy Unknown was one of my favorite PC games of 2012, a masterful blend of turn-based combat, base-building and resource management. And somehow, it is about to get even better.
Later this month, developer Firaxis Games is going to completely change its masterpiece. Get ready for XCOM: Enemy Within, an expansion pack that is shaping up to be the standard by which all expansions are measured.
I’ve seen plenty of expansions that add missions and slightly change their base titles, but after hands-on time with Enemy Within, I can say this one is special. Enemy Within, which will release as a standalone pack on Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 and an expansion on PC, totally revamps the gaming experience.
Here are three key ways:
MELD
It is not just about money and the leftovers dropped by aliens anymore. MELD is a brand new and exciting resource that forces you to shift your attack strategy.
Unlike other resources, you have to work to acquire MELD in battle. Your troops first must find MELD canisters, and then they must recover it before the timer ticks down. It will be an adjustment for conservative players. To reach MELD, you must often venture into unseen areas of the field, and thanks to the countdown, you won’t always be able to do so while keeping your troops together.
But this is the game’s most limited resource, so you will want to - no, need - to chase it.
CUSTOMIZATION
If you thought you got attached to your soldiers before, you will have even more trouble with XCOM deaths now.
Enemy Within finally lets you make your soldiers your own, thanks to a blend of cosmetic options and unique ability upgrades. You can now change the colors and styles of soldier outfits, even change the languages they speak.
That is only the beginning. Enemy Within lets you turn all your soldiers into individuals. You can genetically enhance your troops, or you can mechanize them, allowing them to use powerful, upgradable battle armors called MECs. But it will all cost you valuable MELD, so soldiers must be risked to acquire the stuff, and you will want to upgrade your finest selectively.
And that will make their deaths that much more painful.
NEW ENEMIES
It was one thing to take on aliens. Now, you will face your own kind in EXALT, a nutty group of alien-lovers.
The human enemies bring with them a new brand of mission, the Covert Ops mission. Here, you send a trooper to investigate EXALT in various locations, but later, you must extract your soldier. So you send a full force in to save him, but it is not that simple; you will need to defend two items until you can escape. In another brand of Covert Op, you will have to keep your spy safe as he hacks data nodes.
EXALT, meanwhile, proves an interesting opponent, utilizing the same weapons that you wield.
It is all shaping up to be a special game. So if you loved XCOM last year, get ready to fall in love all over again.
TURBO BOOST
The next two weeks will bring to new consoles, but Nintendo won’t exactly have a quiet November, delivering a dynamic Wii U game in Super Mario 3D World and perhaps the year’s finest portable title in Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds on Nov. 22 . . . For Grand Theft Auto Online gamers, the online issues of October are about to prove worthwhile. GTA’s “stimulus package,” a reward for all those connection issues, is expected to launch next week, giving everyone who weathered last month extra in-game cash . . .
Twitter.com/ebenezersamuel
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