I will preface this review thusly: If you are looking for a modern XCOM remake in the spirit of the original, look no further than Xenonauts. You won't find it in UFO: Aftermath. Or in the "official" XCOM: Enemy Uknown. Especially not there. Having said that, UFO is a pretty average "modernized" XCOM-type strategy game, by 2003's standards. It's a bit simplified, but retains much of the unforgiving nature that the original XCOM and Terror from the Deep were known for. There's fun to be had here, even if there are now newer games that do it better. Just be forewarned that, if you ARE a fan of the original XCOM game, there's just enough of XCOM in this game to frustrate you over the things that AREN'T in it.
Some of my fondest gaming memories stem from the countless hours I spend playing this game. I wandered the various systems of Gemini sector, plying wares in hopes of a big payoff, and indiscriminately vaporizing pirates with my nifty green alien gun. Sure, I knew there was a story arc. I'd get around to it, eventually. This is one of those games where you didn't NEED the story to enjoy the game, BUT, playing it did offer unique and tangible rewards. I would play through the story a little bit, and then find myself sidetracked by just how much I was enjoying blowing up pirates just to tractor them in and sell them off to the slavers. Sure, doing such things was risky... but that's kind of the fun in it. The speech pack always made me chuckle, too. Some of the lines are repetitive, sure, but the variation in delivery was often a bit of a laugh. I only hope that we some day get the Righteous Fire expansion, because I really long to hear a Retro yelling "DIE BY THE VERY WEAPONS YOU ADORE!" a split second before I reduce them to a cloud of atoms. The basic gist of the game is simple: You play the part of a spaceship captain, in a backwater region of space. You have a few paltry creds to your name, and the freedom to go more or less where you want and do what you want. Do you buy upgrades for your ship, and try to cash in some bounties on the bounty board? Do you buy some cargo and hope that you can sell it off for a good price elsewhere? Or, do you embrace the life of a pirate, and outfit your steadfast little ship with a tractor beam, and harass merchant Drayman in hopes that they'll dump their cargo for you to scoop up? The choices are yours, and you're free to change your tactics, and your lot in life, whenever you wish. I should note that the story, while great, can be relatively easy to accidentally lose track of. Then again, it can be relatively easy to accidentally fall back into. If we can get Righteous Fire, then my life will be complete!
