XCOM: Enemy Within Review
- Thread starter Greg Tito
- Start date
Great review but Greg, could I say something? I just love your voice, it's so nice, could you maybe do a series of child-book readings? It'd be nice to listen to before bed time.
Been really looking forward to this expansion, but i've started playing dota2 recently so will hold out until the sales...
"The most interesting new way to improve your soldiers is through the medals you as the commander of XCOM can award in a little ceremony. After a few missions, you'll gain access to a medal, and you can pick one of two ways the recipient's stats will improve. You can even name your medal, just like you can your soldiers, and the medal perishes along with them if they meet their demise. The added customization options for new visuals and voices (...)"
....Is it too late to preorder? *checks steam* Nope, ok fine you heartless barstards, take my money.
All those troops you had at the base were mustered along with what weapons you could scrap (it was very possible to have so many recruits that you didn't have enough weapons for them all) as you desperately defended your turf, the conditions of which would vary greatly depending on the base (since you could build more then 1 back then) and the troops/gear you had stationed there.
This lead to some heroic last stands and chances for rookiers you cared little about to shine and prove themselves, aswell as making it feel like a real battle due to the massive amount of red shirts you field alongside your vets. Incidentally since I've mentioned base guards a fair bit..This is why maybe you'd keep around soldiers with crappy stats, expressly for the purpose of having them being red shirts and providing additional meatshields during base assaults
Those that "failed" to make it to the real xcom squads were restricted to just base guard duties until they proved themselves in situations like this.
Length wise though base missions weren't any longer then a terror mission or large ufo recovery, since you already know the layout of your base and it's more about setting up perimeters then hunting down the enemy, they will find you soon enough.
Thats why i've enjoyed those missions in the old xcom anyways, obviously this wouldn't work out so well in new xcom due to the changes they made.
"The most interesting new way to improve your soldiers is through the medals you as the commander of XCOM can award in a little ceremony. After a few missions, you'll gain access to a medal, and you can pick one of two ways the recipient's stats will improve. You can even name your medal, just like you can your soldiers, and the medal perishes along with them if they meet their demise. The added customization options for new visuals and voices (...)"
....Is it too late to preorder? *checks steam* Nope, ok fine you heartless barstards, take my money.
In the original game it represented the aliens making an effort to stamp you out by sending ships of various sizes loaded with troops.Unit72 said:
All those troops you had at the base were mustered along with what weapons you could scrap (it was very possible to have so many recruits that you didn't have enough weapons for them all) as you desperately defended your turf, the conditions of which would vary greatly depending on the base (since you could build more then 1 back then) and the troops/gear you had stationed there.
This lead to some heroic last stands and chances for rookiers you cared little about to shine and prove themselves, aswell as making it feel like a real battle due to the massive amount of red shirts you field alongside your vets. Incidentally since I've mentioned base guards a fair bit..This is why maybe you'd keep around soldiers with crappy stats, expressly for the purpose of having them being red shirts and providing additional meatshields during base assaults
Those that "failed" to make it to the real xcom squads were restricted to just base guard duties until they proved themselves in situations like this.
Length wise though base missions weren't any longer then a terror mission or large ufo recovery, since you already know the layout of your base and it's more about setting up perimeters then hunting down the enemy, they will find you soon enough.
Thats why i've enjoyed those missions in the old xcom anyways, obviously this wouldn't work out so well in new xcom due to the changes they made.
Ok, I finally downloaded and started playing "Enemy Within".
Am I going crazy, or does it MASSIVELY ramp up the game's difficulty from 'Enemy Unknown'?
I played through Enemy Unknown on Classic, and while it was certainly a challenge, it never felt ridiculous or unfair. Now that I'm playing through EW, it seems 10x faster. I remember having carapace armor and laser weapons when I encountered my first terror mission with the Chrysalids in EU, now I just hit my first terror mission while my guys are still sporting basic body armor and weapons,
Additionally, missions seem far more frequent: I remember frequently having 10-14 day periods in EU where I wouldn't have a UFO contact or abduction, now it seems if I'm lucky if I can make it 3 days, the game doesn't give you any chance to breathe, it's throwing missions at you constantly.
So is it just me, or is anyone else noticing this as well?
Am I going crazy, or does it MASSIVELY ramp up the game's difficulty from 'Enemy Unknown'?
I played through Enemy Unknown on Classic, and while it was certainly a challenge, it never felt ridiculous or unfair. Now that I'm playing through EW, it seems 10x faster. I remember having carapace armor and laser weapons when I encountered my first terror mission with the Chrysalids in EU, now I just hit my first terror mission while my guys are still sporting basic body armor and weapons,
Additionally, missions seem far more frequent: I remember frequently having 10-14 day periods in EU where I wouldn't have a UFO contact or abduction, now it seems if I'm lucky if I can make it 3 days, the game doesn't give you any chance to breathe, it's throwing missions at you constantly.
So is it just me, or is anyone else noticing this as well?
I like the new toys, maps, and sub-campaign that Enemy Within offers, so I can't fault it for what it brings to the table; only problem is that it does nothing to address the most frustrating parts of Enemy Unknown. Enemies still get a free move whenever you spot them, but your soldiers don't, soldiers still get two actions (I can move then shoot/reload/grenade, but I can't shoot/reload/grenade then shoot still, that's just stupid) instead of an action points system, and I can't hire engineers or scientists despite being able to pick up soldiers with impunity.
Still a better DLC than Burial at Sea, at least.
Still a better DLC than Burial at Sea, at least.