XCOM: Enemy Unknown

[Jarmam]

Just a quick heads-up for those that waver on whether to give this game a chance - it is currently on Steam Sale. 15 euro for the game, the expansion and a couple of merh'ish DLCs (they come with hats).

I'm on Month 3 in my current Long War (beta 9a) campaign, and it's getting better and better. I really like the new, smoothened-out difficulty curve, and the large amount of missions you get, making it quite possible to have 2.5-3 teams cycling. The medal system has been scrapped (sadly, I wish I could at least award symbolic medals for soldiers risking it all) - instead there is an officer system through the Officer Training School, which lets you select a squad leader who brings bonuses to the team if this person doesn't get noscoped by a Thin Man. It's pretty interesting and I'm looking forward to unlocking more of it in the OTS.

There is one major complaint that I do have to bring for those interested in trying out Long War: The Interceptor system is enfuriating. UFOs do not mess around, there are swathes and swathes of them and your poor paper planes are out for weeks at a time after taking a bit of hurt to their paint job. And they also cost 200 spacebucks per plane, with a solid 40 upkeep to boot. Have less than 4 of them over a continent? Good luck keeping satellites alive. When/If (when) I lose this campaign I'll take to prioritize teching straight for better Interceptors, since this is the area you cannot influence via tactics. The missions can be done with vanilla gear for quite a while, if you're ok with sacrificing some MELD, and I believe that's the best path to take for now. There is a lot to re-learn, it really is a new game. To weigh some positive input in: I really like the base management now. Both Workshops and Labs are worth it, and you need some careful base planning and a willingness to tear down structures to optimize the adjacency bonuses.

Edit: Yup, lost to a moderate Abduction mission, wiping the floor with all of my good soldiers. Cyberdisks - be afraid!