by Mark Dykeman

Created on: March 07, 2010   Last Updated: March 10, 2010

There was no other game quite like X-COM:  UFO Defense until it came out for the PC in 1993.  It combines strategy and action in a suspenseful and chilling setting.  Although the graphics and game play may seem dated these days, it was a revelation at the time.  This article is a video game review of X-Com:  UFO Defense for the PC.

X-Com:  UFO Defense starts with a simple premise:  aliens have begun to invade the Earth, with increasingly large, violent, and deadly attacks occurring in different places around the world.  A multi-national organization, X-COM (Extraterrestrial Combat Unit), is formed to repel the attacks while capturing and researching the alien invaders’ technology.  The long term goal is to take the battle back to the alien’s home base and defeat them completely.

You, the leader of X-COM, start with a single base, limited equipment, and a small crew with which to repel the invasion.  You are dependent upon government funding in the early days (and this funding can become unstable if the aliens start to conquer parts of the Earth) and then by selling equipment in the long term.  As you learn of alien attacks, you dispatch a team to defeat the aliens and hopefully capture their technology so you can use it against them.  When you find the aliens in action, the game shifts to turn based combat as you attempt to defeat them.

X-Com:  UFO Defense is, above all, a game of strategy that works on two levels.  At the lowest level, you engage in aerial or ground combat against alien forces, trying to prevent them from wrecking havoc wherever they showed up.  This is rarely an easy task.  For example, you rarely have the advantage of surprise when you confront the aliens.  More often than not, you have to find them and they are usually ready for you.  Therefore, combat is often slow and painstaking, where you have to carefully search an area to find the aliens.  They start out with more powerful weapons than the human forces and will frequently ambush you before you see them.  There are several different kinds of aliens, ranging from extremely weak to incredibly tough. 

Your soldiers aren't perfect, either:  some can be trained to be superb marksmen while others will likely blow up their entire squad if they get ahold of a hand grenade.  It never pays to become too attached to one soldier, who could easily die in battle or, worse still, be turned into a rampaging zombie that cannot be cured, only stopped.  The horror elements of the game – such as night time battles and being shot by unseen aliens – make a slow game very thrilling.

The larger strategic game is also fascinating.  As alien attacks increase and they begin to build bases on Earth, you desperately need to upgrade your equipment and fight back.  Skittish governments might cut their funding if you fail to protect them.  The aliens keep on coming with bigger ships, more powerful alien soldiers, and better weapons.

In short, X-COM:UFO Defense is a thrilling game (definitely 10/10 for the year when it was released) that needs a strong update and remake for today’s computer systems.  That would be a must-buy game.

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