Imagine that aliens are invading the Earth and you’ve been put in charge of the defense of the entire planet. That daunting proposition is at the heart of XCOM Enemy Unknown, the latest strategy game from Firaxis and 2K. Players manage the paramilitary XCOM project, deciding what new projects to research and what new technology to produce so that the XCOM troopers go into battle with the best equipment possible. Do well and the funding nations will pour even more money into the XCOM project. Do poorly and the nations will pull out, leaving the project with even fewer resources to fight back the alien invasion.
The absolute best aspect of XCOM is the sense that there’s never enough time or resources to do everything that needs to be done. Do you pull a trooper off of active duty to undergo psionic training or do you keep him out in the field where he can get better at his core skills? Do you spend your budget producing satellites to help locate UFOs or do you spend that same money producing interceptors to be sure you can shoot down the few UFOs you do locate? Every moment of XCOM is defined by these either/or decisions where every move involves some sort of sacrifice or compromise. When you combine that with the overall tone of the game, which emphasizes a DEFCON style countdown to a complete alien takeover, the whole experience is fantastically tense and engaging.