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Know Thy Enemy - The Aliens of XCOM: Enemy Unknown

breed of Alien, and it’s as deadly as it is weird.
The ominous manner of its movement, like a
small UFO, makes it an instantly distinguishable
threat. By the time it’s opened up the shell and
fired its weapon (or worse, thrown an unexpected
grenade), your man is probably already on the wall
of heroes. The Sectopod is another technology
focused Alien that provides the heavy armament
of the X-ray army. In a game focused on tense and
small combat situations, the Sectopod stands as
an unusual enemy that blasts open the battlefield.
It’s a terrifying prospect at first, but much like
the Berserker, it forces you to incorporate some
serious teamwork.
As if these creatures weren’t bad enough, let’s not
forget that most of them have upgraded versions.
The heavy floater is a real pain on first arrival, so
too is the Muton Elite, who sticks around for a lot
of the game. Then there’s the final, and possibly
most devastating opponent; the Ethereal. Their
mind controlling abilities are exceptional and they
typically wield the power to control one of your
squad members. Having to murder your own
XCOM: Enemy Within Special Edition 2013

man or woman is one of the most difficult parts of
Enemy Unknown. They often come with a heavily
armed entourage as well, so while they’re weak
themselves, it can be tricky to get up close and
personal.
XCOM: Enemy Unknown is an infamously tough
game, particularly on the harder difficulties. So
the last level was always going to be a tough one.
It features a deadly catwalk of all the creatures
you’ve battled up to this point: big, small, intelligent,
fearsome, unusual, mechanic. There’s a lot of
variety and therefore a lot of interesting gameplay.
The game closes with a battle against the Uber
Ethereal who can provide one of the most tricky
boss battles in gaming. But then again, if you’ve
got the right team and the right tactics, he can be
eliminated relatively quickly. In reality, he’s perhaps
a somewhat uninspired final boss for a game that
features so many awesome bad guys. They’re fun
to play against, interesting to discover and they all
look like a sci-fi dream come true, helping to make
XCOM the classic that it will always remain.
Ryan Davies
33 • GameOn Magazine