XCOM: Enemy Unknown Plus Released on PSVita

A PlayStation Vita port of XCOM: Enemy Unknown, Firaxis’ re-imagining of Microprose’s 1994 turn-based strategy title that recently received a sequel, was released on the PlayStation Store under the name XCOM: Enemy Unknown Plus. The game didn’t receive any marketing whatsoever and was only mentioned in passing in a blog post on Sony’s official PlayStation blog, though it was previously leaked by an ESRB listing.

The game can be bought for $19.99/€19.99/£15.99 and is only compatible with the PlayStation Vita console, so owners of the unsuccessful PlayStation TV are out of luck. The release was so sudden that other outlets could seemingly do nothing more than acknowledge its existence, but some reports (see for example here and here) mention long loading times, reduced graphical fidelity (which was to be expected, considering the Vita’s lack of horsepower compared to PCs and consoles), unsatisfying framerates, and even an audio bug that makes some effects play only on the right channel. 

On the plus side, this version also includes the Enemy Within expansion, making it a fairly sizable package for a relatively low price. One just has to wonder what the audience for this port is, though, considering Sony’s handheld console is dead outside of Japan.

Thanks, TechnoBuffalo.