XCOM: Enemy Unknown is something I only noticed vicariously.  I got more excited about Starcraft II and the Tomb Raider reboots.  I also picked up Civilization V around 2012, another addiction of mine.  My husband-at-the-time kept trying to tell me how much I’d like the XCOM games but it wasn’t until I met Jerry at PAX this past September that I took any notice of the game.  The very next weekend it was on sale for a pittance and I indulged myself with a new vidyah game.  At this point I enjoy XCOM: Enemy Within more than Terraria… where I’ve logged 400+ hours with no regret. 

First time through, I played the original game (Unknown) with my own saving capabilities.  This is particularly important because in this game your characters are subject to permadeath, the most horrific of imaginary deaths.  And it’s not just that – these soldiers have names, faces, even voices.  They earn promotions and adopt specific roles in a small tactical squad.  The first time a soldier died and I discovered the reality of my situation, tears welled up.  I had played fast and loose with Jamila’s life and the look on her face will haunt me forever.

Fortunately I’m a Save Early, Save Often kind of girl so instead of get upset I just quit that mission and reloaded my game.  All that time spent nurturing my sniper wasn’t wasted.  I could learn from my mistake.  This might seem like an extreme reaction but there’s an unspoken rule in the video game world.  Customizable characters usually only fall unconscious.  Especially when medkits are nearby.  Either way, turns out my instincts were spot on.  Jamila possessed the psychic power necessary to save the world.  My emotional attachment to a fictional character was validated.

I’m on my second playthrough and I’ve launched a very specific quest.  With the addition of DLC content (Within) I’m playing at regular difficulty in Ironman mode.  That means I’ve only got one save.  All of my decisions are permanent.  This isn’t such a big deal for the soldiers lives as I’ve adopted a more conservative operational style.  However, what I didn’t bargain for was the multitude of new decisions I’d get out of the expansion content.  I’ve started creating ubersoldiers where all the men have mechanized weapon implants and the women are genetically altered to improve field combat.  It’s my only structural solace in a world of endless possibility.  So far, only 2 casualties.

There’s also a neat feature that enables soldier speech in different languages.  It adds some color to potentially tedious missions.  I did notice that for the Chinese character they substituted a bad Clint Eastwood voice over for Mandarin.  There are probably technical difficulties associated with pronunciations outside Romance Languages.  Or maybe one of the programmers has a dark, somewhat racist sense of humor?

I love the care that is put into this franchise.  My little Surface can barely run during the cut scenes but the gameplay is so well timed I barely notice.  If anything, my only problem so far is not enough time to play.  I bought the DLC for my ex-husband just because I should have listened to him in 2010.  If you haven’t, go play this game.  Then come talk to me about it.  XCOM 2 comes out soon!