The most hardcore game I've ever played. Ever.

The short version would be:
If you like fair but rather challenging games with meaningful and rather complex plethora of game mechanics and one of the best soundtracks that fits the theme and the mood of the game like a glove, then this hardcore turn/squad-based strategy game is most likely for you.

A little bit longer version would sound somewhat like this:
I'm not someone who plays or even particularly likes strategy or turn-based games but XCOM: Enemy Within as well as few other games have found their way into my library.
My lack of familiarity and experience with the similar titles could be and possibly is partially responsible for the way I feel about this game. In other words, I'm a super- noob when it comes to strategy games and have a really big problem managing more than a single unit during the battles in RTS games however, XCOM being turn based I was able to beat the game... On Normal difficulty :|

I would like to stress out that for the past 15 years or so I've never (or perhaps maybe once or twice but I honestly don't think I have) played a game on a difficulty lower than the highest one unless it's a game that removes certain aspects of the game when you crank the difficulty up (like Hitman: Absolution for instance).
This game made me play it on Normal! I tried Impossible, failed immediately. Switched to Classic and failed times and times again. Even though on my first run I managed to last for an astounding 24 hours of real life time, eventually my mission failed because of the poor base management even though my soldiers kicked a lot of xeno a s s.

Eventually I started another playthrough, admitting that the game is just too much for me and lowered the difficulty to Normal this time. In my defense, I did play and finish with the Ironman mode enabled.

During the playthrough I had an absolute blast! The game kept me on top of my toes making me think twice before every single move which lead to some encounters lasting around an hour or so. I was actually motivated to plan my moves in advance and consider a couple of steps up ahead, not just during the combat encounters but during the base building sequences and when upgrading and researching new technologies as well. XCOM did an excellent job of making you feel the consequences of your decisions simply by removing the option to save and load as you please.

The feeling of victory that I've felt after beating XCOM is something I haven't felt in a very, very long time when it comes to video games and I honestly hope that more games take this approach to saving and loading and build their game around the idea of "Ironman" playthrough.


All in all, the game as an overall experience was absolutelly amazing. Even though the storyline wasn't the best I've ever heard or even close to my personal "top 10", everything else from visuals and audio to overall presentation was absolutely amazing. After all, XCOM is not something you play primarily for the story and you can clearly see that during the first couple of hours in. It has insane repeatability and more than enough gameplay mechanics and playstyles to keep you occupied for a couple of hundred of hours if you really like it, without even touching the multiplayer (or so it seemed to me).

I absolutely recommend this one to strategy, turn-based, squad-based fans and every gamer in general looking for a fresh, well-made, challenging experience!

The most hardcore game I've ever played. Ever. [u]The short version would be:[/u] If you like [I]fair but rather challenging games with meaningful and rather complex plethora of game mechanics[/I] and one of the best soundtracks that fits the theme and the mood of the game like a glove, then this hardcore turn/squad-based strategy game is most likely for you. [u]A little bit longer version would sound somewhat like this:[/u] I'm not someone who plays or even particularly likes strategy or turn-based games but [I]XCOM: Enemy Within[/I] as well as few other games have found their way into my library. My lack of familiarity and experience with the similar titles could be and possibly is partially responsible for the way I feel about this game. In other words, [b]I'm a super- noob when it comes to strategy games[/b] and have a really big problem managing more than a single unit during the battles in RTS games however, XCOM being turn based I was able to beat the game... On Normal difficulty :| I would like to stress out that for the past 15 years or so I've never (or perhaps maybe once or twice but I honestly don't think I have) played a game on a difficulty lower than the highest one unless it's a game that removes certain aspects of the game when you crank the difficulty up (like Hitman: Absolution for instance). [b]This game made me play it on Normal![/b] I tried [I]Impossible[/I], failed immediately. Switched to [I]Classic[/I] and failed times and times again. Even though on my first run I managed to last for an astounding 24 hours of real life time, eventually my mission failed because of the poor base management even though my soldiers kicked a lot of xeno a s s. Eventually I started another playthrough, admitting that the game is just too much for me and lowered the difficulty to Normal this time. In my defense, I did play and finish with the Ironman mode enabled. During the playthrough I had an absolute blast! The game kept me on top of my toes making me think twice before every single move which lead to some encounters lasting around an hour or so. I was actually motivated to plan my moves in advance and consider a couple of steps up ahead, not just during the combat encounters but during the base building sequences and when upgrading and researching new technologies as well. [b]XCOM did an excellent job of making you feel the consequences of your decisions simply by removing the option to save and load as you please.[/b] The feeling of victory that I've felt after beating XCOM is something I haven't felt in a very, very long time when it comes to video games and I honestly hope that more games take this approach to saving and loading and build their game around the idea of [I]"Ironman"[/I] playthrough. All in all, the game as an overall experience was absolutelly amazing. Even though the storyline wasn't the best I've ever heard or even close to my personal "top 10", everything else from visuals and audio to overall presentation was absolutely amazing. After all, XCOM is not something you play primarily for the story and you can clearly see that during the first couple of hours in. It has insane repeatability and more than enough gameplay mechanics and playstyles to keep you occupied for a couple of hundred of hours if you really like it, without even touching the multiplayer (or so it seemed to me). I absolutely recommend this one to strategy, turn-based, squad-based fans and every gamer in general looking for a fresh, well-made, challenging experience!