X-Com: UFO Defense

This is the game that started it all and in terms of the main mechanics is probably still the deepest, most rounded and balanced game not only from the x-com series itself but also from the other attempts to make games in the genre. It has had me coming back every few years since way, way back. Everything is really tied together here - base design affects not only what you can fit in, the bases capabilities and how long it takes to build, but also the layout that you will have to defend if the aliens find it and invade. The terrain you shoot down a UFO over is the (generated) terrain you fight in, the time your troops land affects the light in the battle. Multiple fighters can engage a UFO simultaneously which opens up a lot more strategy, both in how you line them up and how you equip and order them to engage. Likewise downing a tiny UFO with a massive missile is more likely to result only in wreckage, not salvage, but unlike the newest games, blowing some of them up is often a solid outcome as the nations are just happy to see the threats all seen off. Ground combat isn't easy, but with a lot of options in squad setup, equipment and the approach you take, it is often more forgiving than it tends to be portrayed as and the generated terrain and many options create some emergent gameplay which can make it quite interesting. Salvage is also a more important element, with the surviving UFO components and equipment directly relating to what you receive at the end of the mission, which makes for intuitive, implicit sub-objectives. There are of course some niggles, the graphics and sound are ancient but highly atmospheric and some of the conveniences we take for granted in new games aren't there - taking a mix of weapons and having to hand them to the right soldiers at the start of each mission may annoy some and managing base inventories can be tedious for a main base with a lot of salvage. Still, if you like strategy games, you owe it to yourself to play this

Alien sightings, alien abductions, they are all real. More than real, they are an every day occurrence and it is clear to everyone, they are here and they mean us plenty of harm. The governments of this planet decide to create a special force to deal with the threat. They are going to have to defend human population, investigate sightings and in the end, defeat this alien threat. You are the leader of this human elite force. The X-Com team. The game has two main parts. One is the global view where you see the planet. Here the time runs in real time, or faster, or paused, depending on your setting. From here you can build bases, equip soldiers. Research new weapons, techs and whatever you find during your time as the commander of X-Com. You will need to make sure to pay closer attention to the governments which actively support your operation. If one of them gets infiltrated enough, or is disappointed with your protection of their country, they will withdrawn from the project. Too much of that will mean both you risking running out of funds and losing the war (game). Build fighter planes to go after enemy UFOs. If you manage to take them down, send troops to investigate and deal with any remaining aliens. At any point you will get aliens attacking cities, villages, going on abduction missions, etc. It is up to you to protect humanity. During land battles the game turns into a pure turn based game. Every soldier has action points which can be used for a variety of actions, moving, firing are but two of them. When you finish with all your troops actions, or just want to end your turn after having an ambush ready, click end turn and let the enemy AI play. You will die. You will lose. You will curse the game. You will love it and come back for more. This is one of the best strategy games ever created. Suggestions 1) Turn off the lights and play at night. 2) Make sure the music is on. 3) Get ready to become a masochist as you will lose and want more

Title says it all. This is the best strategy game ever made. Challenging, yes, but very rewarding. With practice you will overcome the alien threat - and who said battling extraterrestrials should've been easy? Fighting tactical battles between your squad and the aliens while struggling with the invasion on a global scale in a strategical manner, ist just an awesome combination! Musty buy.

This is one of best strategy games of all times. If you enjoy the turn-based combats, where you have to calculate in detail the action points (Time units in here) for all your units, this is your game. Also the development of alien technologies, creation of new guns and equipment, the progression and equipation of your squads (it hurts A LOT when a captain or coronel is defetaed in combat), the terror missions... all in this game is amazing and is extremely well balanced. In result lots of fun playing it with some random events as well, the game is sooooo replayable. The ost is just a marterpiece. Played with Openxcom (truly recommended) the game supports lots of mods and makes the game infinite, along with the improvements in the UI, graphics and more. Have waited a lot to buy this on gog (didn't want to purchase steam release) and now finally the wait is over. Prepare to reduce your social life to minimal expression with this game. "Just one more turn", "just one more day"