OurColony.net

I didn't grow up with this game

Customer Rating:
I recently bought the entire X-Com series off of Steam and I have to say that this one is the best of the series. Its graphics are quite primitive and its sequels did introduce some nice features to make the gameplay a bit better (like 3D explosions in Apocalypse), but I couldn't help but play this one the most. Though, don't get me wrong the other games in the X-com series are good too.

Gameplay seems simple at first, but there is alot of depth to it. The set-up is that you (the player character) are running an agency to protect Earth from an alien invasion. To succeed in this, your going to need to recruit a squad of soldiers (don't worry too much about them dying, they can always be replaced if you have the money, but it is also good to have experienced soldiers) to combat the aliens, scientists to research alien tech, engineers to build better and stronger weapons and vehicles, and a lot of cash to fund it all . When I first tried out the game, I focused on combating the aliens and didn't explore the other options I had at the base (like research) and it bite me hard. Let me be frank here, if your new to strategy games, start on a low difficulty setting because this game can be hard. But don't let that scare you because, once you get your ball-bearings, it is a world of fun. Shooting down saucers and finishing them off with your battalion of lethal alien killers is a blast once you learn to understand things like time units. A little tip, focus on protecting America as they will fund you more than any other nation in the game.

Like mentioned before, the graphics are a product of their time and look dated by our standards, but their not ugly so it shouldn't affect your enjoyment too much; they even have a sort of charm. The story of the game is pretty much absent for 90% of the game so this might not be the kind of game for people who love games with engrossing stories (when I said it was about running an agency to stop an alien invasion, that was pretty much all there was to the story). However, despite myself liking games with stories, I didn't really mind the mostly absent plot (I kind of made up my own one, yeah I know that sounds childish, but it is fun). The music is neither bad nor great, no memorable tracks here, but I did find some of the death screams pretty interesting.

On the whole, X-Com UFO Defense (or Enemy Unknown if your from Europe) is a classic title that any strategy game fan will enjoy. If your not a strategy game fan, but are interested in the genre, trust me, there is no better game to introduce you. However, I would not purchase this off amazon.com unless you are a collector of some sort who wants the original packaging and the such. You can buy the entire franchise (UFO Defense, Terror from the Deep, Apocalypse, Interceptor, Enforcer) off of Steam for 14.00 American dollars.

To those who decide to buy this game from amazon.com, you might have to use dos box to get it to run on your computer as many of these old games don't work well on newer computers. Dos Box is freeware.

Legendary

Customer Rating:
I picked up X-Com after reading a magazine review (back then we read things in magazines). I was not disappointed: The game pulled me in and never let go. There was so much to do, so many different ways to play and such a long campaign that I spent many late late nights just taking down one more alien ufo before going to bed. The only shame about it is that today's faster processors make game unplayable, and its almost primitive graphics will turn off most newcomers.

How I would love to see a new version.

Alien Invasion at its best!

Customer Rating:
I first played this on the playstation1 back in the day. I was hooked from the opening view of the globe.

I recently picked up the PC version off of Steam and while the graphics are dated, I can honestly say that after 15 minutes of playing, I hardly even notice. This is one of those games that I just keep going back to every few years to see what other things I can do.

I spent the last week going through remakes and "Homages" to this game, none of them can touch it.

I have read that the team from Bioshock is looking to do a faithful remake of this game so I am looking forward to that. But until it comes out, I will be playing the original game that came out 10 years ago.

One of the best you'll ever play

Customer Rating:
This is an old game --- a real old game (as far as computer games go), but it is still played by many. This inof itself speaks volumes. This is one game that got it all right.

At the time of its release, it was a sleeper -- little advertisement preceeded it. I bought it off the shelf with one other game (because of the pictures on the box) when I bought my first computer. Once I played it, I was hooked. The game took the computer world by storm and made a name for MicroProse

The basic premise is that the earth has been invaded. You are to set up and operate x-com, a world-wide defense operation to locate and destroy the enemy craft and aliens.

You begin with a few sorry, slow interceptors and earth type weapons -- and generally get your butt kicked by the aliens. Not only that, but after a short time, your funding begins to fall off.

But never fear. As you capture your first aliens or bring em back dead, your scientists begin to learn what makes them tick. Same with their weapons and craft. Soon you can start producing their technology and put up a decent fight. You also learn that your organization can be made to be self-supporting (to hell with the world governments) by selling items made using alien technology (and you wondered where all those microwave toasters came from).

Basic play is on two maps. The first is a map of the world in which your detectors spot an alien craft making its way to earth. Once your interceptors have shot it down and marked the location, the fun part begins. You send out your military/scientific team to see what's left and if there are any aliens about. Although stiff by today's standards, the graphic are still not bad. The game play is good even tho the game is turn based (actually, this is not a bad thing). Combat with the aliens takes anywhere from a few minutes for a scout ship, to well over an hour for a discovered installation or large cruiser. Sometimes the aliens will raid your cities ... and occassionally, they will hit your bases if you don't guard them properly.

This game is truly a gem and is as playable today as it was in the mid 90's when it first came out. They only problems you'll likely encounter is that the game was set up to run under DOS and may have a problem with todays Window's environment. But if you can run a DOS window, you should be able to run the game.

It had a follow-on game as well -- taking place under water (X-Com: Terror From the Deep). That, too, is an excellent game. Both will provide endless hours of enjoyment as you try to beat back the alien hordes. Look past the dated graphics and you'll find the gameplay is what made this one great.

Highly recommended.

~P~

Awesome, but look for the abandonware version!

Customer Rating:
This game is one of the all time greats, but there's really no need to pay $[...] for it:

[...]

This site, as well as others I'm sure, will set you up with the same game but titled UFO: Enemy Unknown as it was released in Europe/Australia. The only difference is the name and price (it's free).