Ah, UFO:Aftermath, a spiritual successor to the X-Com games, yet lacking much of the atmosphere that made the original games so good. Like the original games, you play the part of an organisation that is fighting to rid the Earth of an alien menace. The aliens want to take over the planet and kill us all, as Aliens tend to want to when they run out of decent sport on their own home worlds, and they've resorted to bio warfare! Over the course of a 100 or more real time battles (with semi-turn based elements) you must build up a team of elite troopers, capture territories, uncover hidden caches of supplies, rescue downed pilots, assault UFOs, capture technology etc etc much like the old games. Only it has all been simplified. Too much.
Base building has been removed. Instead of building up a base gradually over time with different facilities for different tasks - eg laboratories, workshops etc, each territory is allocated one task, eg: military, science or manufacturing, and later anti-bio mass. The more territories allocated in a certain field, the more efficient that task will be. So that is one part of the original game removed and simplified.
Next, we have the military aspect. You no longer recruit and fire men when you like. You gradually receive new recruits, and it's in your best interest to keep them alive as you won't be receiving many more! After successful missions your troops gain experience and you skill points you can spend in improving their stats. You can turn them into specialised troops such as medics or snipers etc which is an interesting feature, but it makes your experienced troops even less expendable and you’ll be even more loath to lose one in a battle so you’ll reload if they die. You can only take a handful of troops on a mission and you only have one troop transport which automatically launches from the nearest military station. You don't even have to buy Interceptors to take down the UFOs as each military base has their own detachment to use.
Regarding the battles, well they are a bit disappointing, especially the visuals. Originally Mythos games (the original creators of the X-Com games) were making a 3D turned based game called the Dreamland Chronicles, which was a bit like an unofficial follow-up to X-Com, however, it looked amazing. When the project folded due to lack of funding, it was bought up by Altar and reworked until we ended up with UFO Aftermath. Seemingly during development, someone erased the original code and what was left was a game that was severely beaten over the head with an ugly stick. The 3D textures are bland and the design of the levels uninspiring, especially the UFOs themselves which are shockingly bad, not just in look, but in design, with corridors almost impossible to navigate. What makes the battlescape worse, is that despite this being the first proper 3D game in the franchise, it is probably the least '3 Dimensional' of all the games. Everything takes place on one level so there's no sniping from buildings etc. The only exception is the entrance to the UFO bases which are partially 3D but it's a nightmare to work out what is going on. The landscapes are also indestructible compared to the glorious fun of levelling entire buildings in say X-Com Apocalypse.
The mission types are limited in number and soon repeat over and over with very little variation. Each time you send your plucky band of Alien killers out with a variety of weapons and seek to wipe out the alien menace. It plays as a real time game, with pause mode to issue new orders which is a must. Early on you are limited to a handful of short range weapons which requires you to use hit and run tactics, but as you capture more territories, you'll scavenge better equipment which is probably the most fun part of the game. You'll find sniper rifles, assault rifles, heavy machine guns etc which increase your firepower no end. However, regardless of the equipment you capture, 90% of the missions end up with you clustering your men together and all firing at the enemy at once to wipe them out as soon as they appear. This is the least tactical UFO/X-Com game by FAR. There are no actual projectiles so you don't need to worry about hitting your other men, so you can all burst fire in tight corridors and never hit your fellow trooper (unless it's an explosive weapon).
I should focus on some of the good points. The music, although limited, is incredibly atmospheric, especially during the geoscape screens etc. I could listen to it for ages. Having to scavenge weapons and having a limited amount of ammo is great. The first time you equip a Gatling gun is a moment to treasure! Taking on the Reticulans for the first time with their advanced alien weaponry with just a bunch of shotguns and M-16s makes for tense moments. And there is still something satisfying about gradually taking back the Earth, one region of a time whilst researching the alien technology to turn it against their creators.
Sadly after a time, you'll find any enjoyment you are having with UFO Aftermath reaches a critical moment where the game becomes painfully difficult, and very, very repetitive. The Reticulans, the masterminds behind the alien attacks show up more and more frequently with a collection of incredibly advanced and powerful weapons that can take out your entire team in the space of a couple of seconds. This is not fun, nor clever. Having to reload constantly becomes a necessity and an annoyance. There is, however, a solution to the problem which involves the deployment of a specific type of weapon, which once you've sussed out what it is, makes every mission a piece of cake, and it's then you realise just how limited the game is and how nearly every map looks and plays the same.
In conclusion, UFO is a good attempt to reinvigorate people's interest in the whole UFO/X-Com genre, but it fails on many levels to be a truly great game like the original X-Com games. It is ultimately shallow and repetitive, and yet, amongst the mess, there is a playable game in there which occasionally draws me back for another play. There are also a number of mods out there that improve the game further so if UFO style games are your thing, it’s worth a look. It’s just a shame Aftermath feels somewhat unpolished and incomplete, as if a few more months of development could have made this a classic.