Col. Bertrand "Gunner" Dubois Col. Kavita "Hardcore" Das Maj. Carlos "Hazard" Vega These are just a few of the names that grace the memorial wall of my XCOM base. They represent the losses faced during my campaign, and in turn speak to the XCOM: Enemy Unknown experience as a whole.

Tension-filled campaign; Perfect mix of base operations and actual battles; Meaningful player progression

Lack of map variety

Firaxis' reboot of XCOM, Enemy Unknown, is one of the most logically sound alien invasion games you'll ever play. It accepts that if extraterrestrials were to invade the earth, it wouldn't be a single soldier in a suit of armor that fights them off by blasting his way through their defenses.

Satisfying; difficult tactical battles; The lengthy campaign and robust multiplayer; Incredibly deep customization

Camera and control problems; Random difficulty spikes; Watching your loved ones die to incredibly bad luck

(continued from previous page) ...style are good and very fitting, but consistent frame-rate drops are a nuisance. The music choice is great and very fitting as well, which correctly emphasize specific moments and achieve the desired emotional response.

Gameplay is fun and satisfying; great replay value; Very challenging and unpredictable; never allowing you to become too comfortable; All decisions made; whether in or out of battle; carry a heavy weight

Consistent frame-rate drops can hurt the experience; Lackluster story

XCOM: Enemy Unknown - Slingshot asks the question: is more of the same enough to satisfy you? If so, and if you don't mind starting a new game from scratch, then you already know what you need to know about the first major downloadable content for this great turn-based strategy game.

Three new fun; atmospheric missions; Enemy placement and timed objectives lead to tense strategizing

You have to start a new game to see the content; Adds too little; and is too unmemorable; to justify the cost

A hallmark of excellence. It may have some flaws, but they are negligible to what is otherwise a supreme title.

In XCOM: Enemy Unknown, victory is sweet--but it's so much sweeter when it arrives after a heart-wrenching standoff. With each turn, the newest entry in this beloved strategy series heightens the sense of tension, and each defeat of a hovering alien craft thus becomes cause for celebration.

Tension-filled turn-based matches Great sense of progression makes you feel increasingly powerful Complex interconnected economy makes each decision important Soldier perma-death gets you invested in the fate of your veterans

Map repetition Camera foibles; frame rate jitters; and other visual glitches

The original X-COM: UFO Defense is one of my favorite games of all time. For a game released back in 1994, it had more depth than any title I experienced before. It had the resource management and productivity of Civilization combined with the turn based tactical combat of Jagged Alliance.

XCOM Enemy Unknown is a turn-based strategy game made by Firaxis Games and published by 2K Games. Assuming control of the commander of XCOM, an elite force sanctioned by the world's governments to fight off an alien menace, the player participates in two different game modes; the battles against...

Real Time Strategy games have become somewhat of a rarity these days, seemingly put aside in favour of more action focused experiences. Take XCOM itself for instance, which was set to get a run and gun FPS re-imagining until an outpouring of complaints from fans resulted in the developer attempting...

Sure, it may have problems. There may be a lack of graphics options, the camera may be fiddly and customising your starting squad may involve lots of tedious menu back and forth...but these are small problems.