ALF Must Die!

What have I done? By buying XCom: Enemy Unknown have I just thrown away at vague vestiges at any kind of real "life"? Probably.

Already, its received rave reviews from just about everywhere. Which isn't surprising, as I expect a lot of video game journalists are around the same age as me. Thus, they remember the original UFO: Enemy Unknown in 1994 as a high watermark of the drama you can get from being sat at a computer. So I was very keen to sample an updated version of this, with the added bonus of being old enough to (hopefully) be better at the resource management side of the games that is as equally vital as killing aliens.

The basic gist isn't hard to work out: nasty things from space are coming to get us, and they obviously need stopping. To do this, we (the player) have been charged with leading XCOM, the squad formed to get the job done. Cut scenes add a sense of drama as we're introduced to the backroom bods developing new weapons and cutting up aliens on the autopsy table. A handy tutorial eases you into the battle scenes, which I imagine will be very handy for younger players.

Because, XCOM works on a turn based system, which in an age of 100mph racers and frantic first person shooters, may seem a little quaint. You also can't just go wading into the field guns ablazin', hoping to kick some ET arse. Patience, forward planning and using your whole squad are order of the day, making the scraps more like a game of chess.

For me, so far, having only bought the game on Monday, it has created moments of incredible high tension: a solider hiding in cover - do I risk them running across open ground or play safe? The aliens punish bad moves without no mercy, and the fact you can name your troops just makes it worse when you fool yourself it's a good friend of yours under fire: Captain Simon "Crash" (the games provides nicknames for those that last long enough to gain the experience) Vint has managed to hold the line for me so far, though, so top work Si!

XCOM Enemy Unknown is one of the most compelling video game experiences of my life, even only this early into the game. I'm faintly aware that tradition dictates a whole heap of shite from another universe is about to fall on my lap (they can't keep throwing mooks at me, surely), but that adds to the drama. Around every corner could be some huge fucker like Predator waiting to munch on my poor troop's lower intestine. If you don't hear from me a while, I'll be hunched over my control pad, worrying about just that...