


The G-Mods and MECs are interesting new additions to the game, but are of limited utility. EXALT are a worthy new addition to the game, but also one that can be disposed of without too much trouble: in the course of the new 30-hour campaign I played for this review, EXALT were around for maybe 8 hours of it before I defeated them for good. They seem a bit more threatening as well, more likely to use Overwatch and their troop types includes heavy missile and sniper classes that the aliens lack. The Sectoids can also now use MECs themselves, which makes this fairly nonthreatening species dangerous again at an advanced stage of the game, but still fairly easy to defeat.Ī big difference is the introduction of EXALT, a sort-of anti-XCOM who use similar weapons and tactics to your own troops. Sadly, there aren't any new weapons (although there now more varieties of grenade) or armour, or new alien types beyond the Seeker, a flying squid-thing which can cloak and strangle soldiers without warning. This is for players who enjoyed the original game and want more of it. Rounding things off are more advanced options to make the game harder or easier, or expand its length dramatically.Īt its core, this is still the same XCOM experience as the original and if you didn't like that, Enemy Within doesn't do anything that will win you over.

In addition to this, you can now develop G-Mods (genetic enhancements to your troops) and MECs (massive robot battle-suits) to expand the fray. The difference is that as well as fighting the aliens, you are also battling EXALT, a group of humans who have sided with the aliens. The meat of the game remains the same: you command XCOM, researching new technologies, launching satellites to scan for alien ships and launching interceptors to shoot them down, and then deploying combat troops to fight the invaders through a turn-based battle system. It isn't a sequel to the original game, but instead completely expands and reworks it. XCOM: Enemy Within is a major expansion to the original XCOM: Enemy Unknown.
