XCOM: Enemy Within Reviews

We’ve rounded up the first reviews for XCOM: Enemy Unknown’s first and potentially last expansion, Enemy Within, which seems to be garnering some favorable scores and comments so far.

Shacknews, 7/10.

The PC version requires Enemy Unknown, and includes the previous Slingshot and Second Wave expansions for $30. On consoles, it’s sold as a separate product for $40 and includes the original. The cost may seem a little steep at first blush, but the core of the game has been drastically expanded upon. Equal parts frustration and elation, XCOM: Enemy Within is a bonafide fist-pump producer, taking players through the same emotional peaks and valleys of the original. Like most expansion packs, Enemy Within is targeted towards the experienced. But Firaxis once again manages to balance XCOM’s disparate elements, resulting in a challenging and satisfying experience.

GameInformer, 9.25/10.

Enemy Within’s minor flaws shouldn’t be enough to distract anyone from diving back into Firaxis’ well-tuned expansion. The game often throws you curveballs; you can easily have a rookie wander too deep into the battlefield and suddenly alert three units of enemies. However, dealing with the bad hands you’re dealt is what makes XCOM’s battles so exciting and often leads to creative problem solving. Enemy Within adds more troop customization options, fearsome enemy units, and new levels to explore. Anyone who loves an intense firefight should test their mettle on Enemy Within.

Destructoid, 9/10.

If you haven’t played the newest XCOM yet, now is a perfect time to do so with the Enemy Within package. For all the XCOM veterans out there, you’ll find a solid amount of new activities to engage in, as well as an unprecedented amount of squad customization. In other words, this is now the definiive Enemy experience.

Rock, Paper, Shotgun, scoreless.

Such a shame that the endgame remains such a damp squib, with all those exciting new toys and all those hours of planning and sacrifice still resulting in a fairly routine mission and a shrug of an ending. If there’s ever another expansion, that’s what it needs to address. Much as XCOM is a game about personal challenge and victory rather than a happy ending, you’ve got to have a worthwhile destination. This time around, the repeat journey was absolutely worth it, and I’m glad if surprised to end 2013 finding that XCOM was my greatest timesink for a second year running. It won’t, naturally, change the minds of anyone who felt XCOM was a betrayal of X-COM, but if like me you’re contented by the Gollop and Firaxis efforts co-existing and doing their own thing rather than replacing each other, this really is an excellent add-on despite a few pulled punches.

GamesRadar, 4.5/5.

But that’s part of the fun. Enemy Within’s new additions don’t make the experience any easier; the added benefit of having access to gene mods and MEC Troopers is offset by new alien types and a whole new faction of fanatical humans. If anything, saving the world is harder than ever. You might find yourself wishing for a few more new aliens, or guns, or story missions (I definitely did) but the additions are undeniably cool. While Enemy Within isn’t a huge makeover, it’s enough of a facelift to make the trauma of devastating loss worth enduring, be it for the first time or the fifth.

USGamer, 4/5.

I’ve always viewed XCOM: Enemy Unknown as a nearly “perfect” game, and one wholly thorough in its execution. Despite its predecessor’s completeness, though, the content of Enemy Within meshes well with the neat and reliable rules of XCOM and never feels superfluous, though it’s important to note that newcomers to the series may be a little overwhelmed with the many new demands of this expansion. If you spent a good chunk of 2012 parked in front of your PC and cursing the critical hits that wiped out some of your finest soldiers, Enemy Within provides a wealth of new opportunities to lament your poor planning.

Cheat Code Central, 4.5/5.

Upon first glance, you may think that the intent of XCOM: Enemy Within being more of an upgrade than an expansion makes it unworthy of a purchase. This is absolutely not the case. Nearly every feature of the game has something new, and when combined together with the original game, makes an already addictive experience that much more compelling. If you’ve already dumped countless hours into dozens of campaigns with XCOM: Enemy Unknown, this game is fresh enough to add countless more. If you’ve been on the fence about the XCOM reboot, there’s no better time to find your new obsession.

Eurogamer, 9/10.

Enemy Within is an improvement on an already excellent game. For every decision that must be made there are several factors to consider, rarely enough money to pay for everything, and uncomfortable consequences to be faced for failure. All of this is exacerbated still further when playing on Classic difficulty or with Ironman mode enabled, where you’re constantly worrying about what to do next or second guessing the action that you’ve just taken. Much like the genetic modifications that it champions, XCOM: Enemy Within is an experience that gets under your skin.