I haven't played on normal yet, so this review is based on veteran mode only. I am a UFOD veteran, and have been playing it on and off on an annual basis for around a decade. Pros: - Updated loadout system. - Loving attention to detail expanding the roles of various weapons, rather than everyone carrying heavy plasma rifles. - Removal of the 'Be Tony Stark laser tech' merchandising of UFOD. - Beautiful graphics update, respecting the legacy of UFOD. - Suppression! Few things are more satisfying that suppressing aliens, flanking and killing them at close range or with grenades. - Stun grenades. No more entering dangerous UFOs. Blow open the door, lob in stun grenades, and wait for them to pass out, or stagger out of the smoke in which case you gun them down. :D Cons: - AI exploit: magically knows the location of all your soldiers, all the time. - AI exploit: visual range is greater than your soldiers. Con #2 is a complete game breaker for me. Aliens can engage from BEYOND visual range even in broad daylight. This is different from UFOD where one alien would spot, and the others use him as a spotter to open up on you. The latter technique you could counter by smart movement, and you could use the same tactic in return. In Xenonauts you will be constantly pushing forward while UNDER fire, simply so you can get eyes on your target. To me, this second exploit absolutely screams of lazy AI programming. Tactics count for nothing if you can't even see the enemy while they're chopping you to pieces. Rather than being 'smart', the AI just cheats. Unforgivable in this day and age. Being a hardcore UFOD fan, I am bitterly disappointed in Xenonauts. I will try normal mode and see if the visual range AI exploit is removed.
