Just as we were promised, today we got an announcement for XCOM: Enemy Within, which is, as it turns out, an expansion to Firaxis’ 2012 turn-based title XCOM: Enemy Unknown. First of all, we start off with an announcement trailer for the title, though admittedly one that doesn’t contain actual gameplay footage:
Then we move on to this detailed write-up from IGN, which promises, among other things, 40 additional maps, a new soldier class, new genetic enhancements for soldiers, a comprehensive rebalance of the existing abilities to make our choices more difficult, new items, and even some new Second Wave options, though there’s no word of changes on the strategic side yet. Also, weirdly enough, this expansion will be a stand-alone release on consoles:
First and foremost, Firaxis is addressing a couple of XCOM fans’ most vocal complaints: you’ll now be able to have French soldiers speaking French (among others, courtesy of allowing us to access localized voice files), and we’ll see around 40 additional maps combined with Enemy Unknown’s 80. That number will include UFO crash maps in urban and rural environments, instead of just forest. Will there be an XCOM base-defense mission? Firaxis didn’t say no… which means almost certainly yes. We’re also getting a fifth class of soldier: the Mech trooper. But this isn’t a class you’re born into like the existing Assault, Support, Heavy, and Sniper – this is one that, after the proper facility is built, you can move any soldier into. He or she will lose all of their current class abilities, but gets to choose from a whole new ability tree up to their existing rank.
We don’t yet know the full extent of the Mech Trooper’s skill tree, but we do know that the first skill they unlock will be Collateral Damage, whcih will allow us to more easily target terrain (which Gupta says is designed to get us closer to the free-fire weapons of X-COM: UFO Defense). There will also be an upgrade that heals every XCOM soldier in a radius. They’ll also have an ability that allows them to serve as mobile cover for XCOM troops, making it easier to cross no-man’s-land stretches without being gunned down, a jumpjet system, and Damage Control, which reduces the damage taken for one turn.
Mechs won’t be able to equip standard guns and items, but they’ll have their own weapon upgrade tree that goes from mingun to rail gun to an energy weapon, and they’ll be the first XCOM units to feature a flamethrower.
Presumably, these upgrades will come from researching the one new enemy (of several promised) that Firaxis is prepared to reveal: the Mechtoid. These armored sectoids remind me a lot of the mechs from the TV show Falling Skies, and have the ability to fire twice in a turn (much like the Heavy’s Bulletstorm ability). If another sectoid mind-merges with him, he gains a damage-absorbing shield, but he doesn’t gain the vulnerability of dying if the caster is taken out. Killing that guy just disables the shield.
Mechs sound impressive, but there’s a reason to keep your best and brightest out of a set of metal pants: upgrading a soldier to Mech status disqualifies him or her from receiving genetic enhancements. Every trooper have five slots for upgrades: brain, eyes, skin, chest, and legs. Each will have two options to choose from (which can be swapped if you’re willing to pay) and we’ve gotten the details on two of those sets.
Judging by the trailers, we have to mark our calendars for a release on November 12th in North America and November 15th in Europe.
UPDATE: Here’s the official press release:
XCOM®: Enemy Within Expands Alien Invasion on 11/12/13
New maps, enemies, abilities, weapons, gameplay and more added to the Game of the Year* strategy title in upcoming expanded XCOM experience
NEW YORK – Aug. 21, 2013: 2K and Firaxis Games announced today that XCOM®: Enemy Within, the expanded experience of the Game of the Year* award-winning strategy title XCOM: Enemy Unknown, will be available in North America on November 12, 2013 and internationally on November 15, 2013 for Windows PC, Xbox 360 games and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Mac® (distributed by Feral Interactive).
XCOM: Enemy Within, the expanded experience of the award-winning strategy title XCOM: Enemy Unknown, will be available in North America on November 12, 2013 and internationally on November 15, 2013 for PC, Xbox 360, PS3, and Mac. (Photo: Business Wire)
XCOM: Enemy Within takes the incredible experience from XCOM: Enemy Unknown and adds an array of new abilities, upgrades, and weapons to combat new enemy threats. The expansion also provides players with all-new maps, tactical and strategic gameplay, and multiplayer content. There is no better way to experience XCOM than with the massive amount of new content added in XCOM: Enemy Within. Fans will experience an additional three to four playthroughs on average before encountering all of the new material included in XCOM: Enemy Within, providing nearly limitless replayability.
(The incredible critical and consumer response to XCOM: Enemy Unknown inspired us to offer new content that would deepen the strong bond that has been created for our XCOM brand,) said Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K. (Firaxis Games is renowned for delivering massive, highly immersive PC expansions in the Civilization series, and XCOM: Enemy Within builds on that lineage and expands the experience for console gamers as well.)
(We promised gamers that we would deliver the same Enemy Unknown experience on both PC and console last fall, and we’re doing it again with Enemy Within,) said Ananda Gupta, lead designer at Firaxis Games. (The Commander Edition of XCOM: Enemy Within expands the already amazing XCOM experience for our console fans who are looking forward to even more of the game they love. It’s also a great point of entry for new fans just joining the XCOM fight.)
XCOM: Enemy Within vastly improves upon the experience of XCOM: Enemy Unknown with an incredible amount of new content. On PC** and Mac**, XCOM: Enemy Within features additional content that can be enjoyed with previously purchased copies of XCOM: Enemy Unknown. XCOM: Enemy Within will also be available on Xbox 360 and PS3â„¢ system as the XCOM: Enemy Within Commander Edition** – a standalone pack that expands the XCOM: Enemy Unknown experience featuring the new XCOM: Enemy Within content and the add-on content that was previously released for XCOM: Enemy Unknown, including the Elite Soldier Pack and Slingshot Content Pack.
Key features for XCOM: Enemy Within will include:
- New Soldier Abilities: Research a new alien technology to advance the capabilities of operatives:
- Gene Mods: Construct the Genetics Lab to physically enhance operatives’ abilities, including augmentations to the chest, brain, eyes, skin and legs.
MECs: Build the Cybernetics Lab to enable the construction of the new Mechanized Exoskeletal Cybersuit, or MEC. The new MEC Trooper class has specialized abilities and each suit can be upgraded with new weapons including the flamethrower, grenade launcher and more.
- New Weapons and Equipment: Give operatives an extra tactical edge with new projects from the engineering team in the Foundry;
- New Enemy Threats: Adopt new tactics to counter the threats from a host of new enemies, including the Mechtoid;
- New Strategic Resource: A valuable new alien resource, known as Meld, has been discovered. Secure it on the battlefield and use it carefully back at base to unlock new research and upgrades;
- New Tactical Challenges and Maps: Face new tactical challenges, on nearly 50% more maps; New Multiplayer Maps, Units and Abilities: Create custom squad from a wider array of options and dominate opponents in intense, one-on-one, turn-based matches.
XCOM: Enemy Within is rated M for Mature by the ESRB and will be available in North America on November 12, 2013 and internationally on November 15, 2013. XCOM: Enemy Within will be available for Windows PC and Mac for $29.99, and will be available for Xbox 360 and PS3â„¢ system for $39.99 as the XCOM: Enemy Within Commander Edition.
