XCOM: ENEMY UNKNOWN

FROM THE MAKERS OF CIVILIZATION, COMES A GAME ABOUT CIVILIZATION'S 

LAST STAND

 

You are our last hope, as the commander of an elite paramilitary organization known as XCOM, you control Earth's defenses against a terrifying alien invasion.

I think most people have heard at one point or another in there life time, about the "UFO" crash in Roswell New Mexico in 1947. Well if you have... This may be what's really going on.

An ultra top secret program to defend the planet from alien invasion, consisting of a council of nations to operate and conceal from the public the existence of the XCOM project, it's technologies, missions and the existence of the threat that looms over our very skies.

Recovery of alien artifacts is paramount to the success of the XCOM operation, and backwards engineering of recovered technologies to advance humanity's chances of surviving a rising wave of terror, from the dark, coldness of space.

Choice will be the most potent weapon you can use against insurmountable odds from a smarter, more powerful and unrelenting enemy. You'll have to create items in your manufacturing lines that are hot off the research labs press. From advanced body armor, to more advanced weapons to take the fight to the enemy, such as; hyper advanced aircraft, heavy armor for your troops in the field and advanced laser weaponry.

Careful management of your monthly income from the council of nations is needed, as the more money you receive each month, will impact your ability to fight the enemy and whether or not you will be fit for command. This is judged by your successes and failures. Be warned, nations can and do leave the XCOM project, and no longer fund your resistance effort if you neglect them.

Your base is subterranean, and to expand to accommodate more facilities, you need to build down. This takes time, money and costs maintenance every month. Basically, the further down you tunnel, the more it costs. As you progress through the battle, you will be able to hire new units, able to deploy from your arsenal at any given time. Some units will be wounded and whilst they are in recovery, it's best to obtain some experience for the newbies, in the event of the death of one or more top level soldiers. It wont hurt the war effort as much in this event.
 

 

Obviously, this is not ideal, as it leaves you vulnerable financially. The best and easiest way to combat this, is to get as many satellites above each region as possible, because if you loose one nation in that region, the bonus from that region goes with it. Unless your base is in that region.

The enemies could be considered as a near copy of the grey aliens people are said to have encountered, they appear in the game as the Sectoid and the Muton. The Sectoid is the front line soldier of the invasion force. They are relativity smart, and can out-flank you if you don't cover your sectors properly. The Muton however, is typically as dumb as a flaming paper bag full of dog crap on your doorstep, but is tough, and will take out your entire squad unless you rain a hailstorm of lead down upon the raging behemoth. As your weapons and attachments progress to higher levels, it will become easier to kill these mountains of flesh. However, I always prioritise this particular enemy upon contact. A combination of flanking and suppression maneuvers will aid you in defeating them.

Autopsies and interrogations also play a pivotal role, as very valuable intel can be learned this way. These are performed as a part of the research branch of your facility.

  
The turn base strategy, gives you time to calculate the best path of action to take to kill the enemy with as little damage to the alien craft or technology possible. Overwatch will always slow down the advance of your squad, but wont put them at undue risk. Being able to react to the enemies movement by opening fire upon them, or reactive shots, is a massive advantage to your forces. But beware, the enemy can employ the same tactics against you.

There will be ways of making money on the side on the "Grey Market", selling excessive stocked items like dead Sectoid corpses, weapon fragments and navigation computers, just to name a few resources. 

Graphics are what is expected from a famed developer such as FIRAXIS and 2K Games. Flawless, whilst functional, it leaves an impression on you, wanting just one more turn without fail every time. Gameplay is easy to grasp, you will be picking up expert battle tactics in no time. 

This game is very addictive and will provide almost endless entertainment, as the enemies spawn randomly each time. Their tactics vary, and if you're not careful, your men will die and the fate of the Earth will be sealed forever. Now is the time to stand together and unite against a common foe, for united we stand... Divided we will fall. Rise up and fight to your last breath Commander, this may be the last fight of our civilization. 

I Rate This Game 9.5 / 10

Remember, Commander We Will Be Watching

All Images and video Courtesy of FIRAXIS and 2K Games all rights reserved

Operation Flashpoint: Red River

Stand Together

Tajikistan 2013, between Afghanistan and China, insurgent guerrilla fighters, the PLA (Peoples Liberation Army) and US expeditionary force face off in a deadly military flashpoint.

You and your fireteam can make a difference. How much is up to you, it's not the guy with the most expensive gun or the biggest heart who wins on the battlefield. It's the smartest SEMPER FI, MARINE.

 
In this edition of the acclaimed Flashpoint series, we take a short road trip from FOB Copperhead in the north of Afghanistan, into Tajikistan. The scenery looks much the same as most of the middle east, desert... Rocks... Towering mountains with snow caps. The graphics are awesome, and almost cinematic in appearance. I personally love playing the Flashpoint series as it's an extremely hardcore shooter, where there is no being pumped full of lead and walking away. Yeah, that's right, twelve year old C.O.D addicts wont like this one, it'll be too hard. Well, it's actually realistic in terms of how you can be killed and tactics employed by modern day forces. There's no indicator from where your being shot, so basically it's nothing like C.O.D or Battlefield. That alone is worth the purchase, the realism is refreshing from the crappy outputting of the same old crap that COD and Battlefield are renowned for. I especially enjoy this game because one bullet can kill you, and usually does.

From calling in JDAM strikes, Howitzer scatter pattern strikes or to call in the Wings of Death to unleash a deadly torrent of fire and brimstone upon the PLA or insurgents, you'll find these weapons at your disposal throughout the campaign. Weapons fire as they should, with bullet drop, jamming even employing damage effects and range effects for attachments, as well as environmental conditions. These can also affect how far your kill range will be. 

As the fireteam leader, it will be your orders that make or break the mission, and consequences lie in your hands. You'll be able to order your team to flank, rush, suppress and take control of mounted weapons, even to protect a certain target, just to name a few of the combat orders. You wont have access to combat support in every mission, but when you do have access to it, unleash a living hell on your enemy. If you're ever in doubt, pop smoke, retreat and re-group, then flank and attack.    

Sargent Knox is the Platoon Sargent of Outlaw 2 One, and is your direct commanding officer. You will find out about Sgt. Knox's 10 rules for survival within the game. He does display colorful language, so this game isn't for the kiddies, it only adds to the realism. The Sgt. also cracks a few funny jokes throughout the campaign. You will receive your orders from him directly, then it will be up to you to work out how you will achieve the goals of the mission. 

Gameplay is excellent with good replay ability. With firing mechanics that would leave most people awe struck, and some complaining its too hard, but if you're in the market for something more real, then this is a game for you. Also. it boasts kick ass graphics throughout the entire vista. Whether up close, or off in the distance, the graphics hold up to the havok engines beefy abilities, this includes the star filled night sky. 

My personal favorite part of this game is that it is more realistic than anything else on consoles. The ability to call in combat supports is a great advantage, being able to get access to theses isn't based on how many kills you get in a row either, which is good because the last time I checked, this isn't how the real military's around the world operate. It's a breath of fresh air into a stale genre, especially for someone who gets bored with multiplayer trash talking about darn K/D ratios.

  
In summary, this game is great value for money, with a high chance of being played over and over and over. There is a great campaign, extra missions in the following modes; CSAR, Rolling Thunder, Combat Sweep and Last stand missions. You can also download extra maps in "The Valley of Death" map pack. Being one of very few Operation Flashpoint games available on consoles, it's worth buying, just for a break from the mindless close quarters battles that feature in the dominating FPS games on consoles.

I Rate This Game 9 / 10