It’s funny how quick time goes. It feels like only the other day that I sat down to write my first ever proper review; Xcom: Enemy Unknown. So as I sit here about to write a review of its main expansion, over a year later, it feels a little bit special, to me at least. Cue metaphorical party poppers and streamers!

But anyway, that’s not what you’re here for. You’re here to learn about new Xcom expansion Xcom: Enemy Within and whether it was worth the wait.

Too bloody right it was!

Xcom: Enemy Within is absolutely jam-packed with new features that enhance the core experience and add much-needed variety to proceedings. So numerous are the additions, we’ll get stuck right into detailing them:

Meld

Never mind any of this namby-pamby extra levels nonsense that other game expansions tend to offer, Enemy Within offers a whole new resource to gather! Woo-freaking-hoo right? Well actually yes, as it adds a new facet to gameplay, both at base/squad management level and at the down-and-dirty mission level too. The new resource can only be collected during missions, you see, and takes the form of two silos scattered around the mission map which the player can collect manually by placing a soldier beside it, in the same way as the nodes are activated in bomb-defusal missions. The fact the silos have a self-destruct timer on them adds a layer of tactical consideration to a mission, as the player has to choose whether to risk a soldier making a break to collect the resource mid-skirmish.

Meld isn’t just a pretty McGuffin though. No, it’s a resource used in the two new abilities you have at your disposal: Gene Modification and Cybernetics

Gene Modification

Gene modification translates to bio-enhancing your soldiers. In addition to the parent game’s psychic skills your soldiers can develop, Enemy Within allows you to research aspects of alien physiology and then apply them to you own squads. These range from the straightforward improved aim and survivability, to giving soldiers enhanced leg power to allow them to leap up any incline to reach higher ground (an enhancement I urge any player to give their snipers!). Not just perversely satisfying, it really adds a new level to the customisation and optimisation of your squad. No more is the maximum promotion rank a brick wall at which the soldier stops developing

MEC Troopers (Cybernetics)

Perhaps the most eye-catching of the new additions, the MEC Troopers are soldiers who have their body parts replaced with a robotic structure, allowing them to pilot the new Mechanized Exoskeleton Cybersuit. Essentially, your new MEC Troopers pilot Mechwarrior suits. While initially a bit underwhelming, capability wise, once you research and unlock more advanced technology for their suits and the troopers get promoted, they quickly become a powerhouse unit adept at acting as a vanguard for your attacks. Capable of wielding not only a primary weapon, but also a flamethrower, a grenade launcher and other extra weaponry, they pack a serious punch. While not quite as flexible as some of the other classes, for sheer durability and stopping power, not much beats them.

Exult

Perhaps the main addition in the expansion; Exult are a human terrorist organisation who pose a new threat to the player’s plans. While they don’t directly attack the player from the get-go, they still cause a massive headache if not taken seriously. Obviously included to address the issue of the challenge slowing down after all the satellites are in place; Exult act in a very different way to the aliens. They cause unrest around the world (including in sections covered by satellites) and can only be prevented by scanning for local cells. Once a cell is identified, you send one of your soldiers on an undercover operation to disrupt the cell. After a few days this unlocks a recovery mission, where you extract your operative and the information, which eliminates the cell and gives you a clue as to which continent the main base is located in. Eventually you establish where the main base is an assault it. The Exult missions present a very different challenge to those of the aliens, as the human operatives have similar weapons and abilities to your own soldiers and come in waves often greater than the aliens do. It poses a new tactical challenge and provides welcome mission variety.

Weapons and Technology

There are a raft of new weapons and items in the game, including a variety of grenade types not seen before, along with new MEC Trooper primary weapons such as the railgun. Along with these there are new Foundry projects, most notable of which are things like Tactical Rigging which allows all soldiers to equip two auxiliary items (such as medipacks, grenades etc.) and Sentinel Drones, which add close-combat abilities to the S.H.I.V units.

New Enemies

Other than the previously mentioned Exult operatives, the game includes two new alien enemies:

• Mechtoid – Essentially the alien equivalent of the MEC trooper, the Mechtoid is a Sectoid in a Mech suit. It is a robotic unit armed with twin Plasma Mini-Cannons and can fire twice in a turn if it doesn’t move. They don’t utilize cover but a lot of health (20 HP on normal). Sectoids can Mind Merge with a Mechtoid and give it a Psi Shield which grants a health boost and reduces damage against the Mechtoid by half; killing the Sectoid merger only cancels the shield and causes 3 feedback damage to the linked Mechtoid instead of killing it as with standard Sectoids.
• Seeker – The Seeker is a flying squid-like robotic unit. Capable of cloaking themselves, the Seekers utilize a brand new AI that seeks out isolated soldiers. Seekers will appear in pairs and when initially spotted almost always vanish ambush your squad. Despite being triggered in pairs, Seekers largely act individually. Individually they are best combatted by circling the wagons and overwatching until they attack a soldier, but as part of a larger firefight they can cause mayhem.

Maps

There are a grand total of 47 new maps, something hugely welcome to Xcom veterans. The endless repetition of maps was certainly one of the down sides of Enemy Unknown. The new maps are varied and well put together, making for some memorable encounters

 

All in all, I can’t fault Enemy Within. It’s an expansion in the truest sense of the word, adding-to and improving upon the game, while leaving the core experience intact.

This is the Xcom we all know and love, just bigger, better, faster, stronger.

The truth is out there; now let’s all go shoot it in the face with all new lasers!

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