UFO: Extraterrestrials Review
Short Version: UFO: Extraterrestrials IS the spiritual successor to the Best Strategy game of its time, X-COM: Enemy Unknown. The “updated” sequel that everyone has been screaming for after 2k Games announced an X-COM FPS. Unfortunately it does very little aside from Tweaks to the A.I., Graphics, and Micromanagement, even reusing/remixing some of the same sounds & music tracks – adding nothing significantly new. Only some repetitive missions and environments take away from an otherwise faithful modern X-COM recreation. Great fun for a formula that’s 14 years old!
What you’ll Like:
• Its a very faithful recreation of the BEST X-COM game, Enemy Unknown.
• New Alien types mixed in with some old recognizable favorites.
• Micromanagement of “Storage space” has been thankfully removed, Re-equipping squads has an auto-option based on last loadout.
• Alien A.I. has been tweaked to be more aggressive, no more hunting for stragglers for hours. The game is hard as a consequence, I recommend playing on easy to fully enjoy it – and even then its still a challenge!
• Best Part: Renaming all my Troops to Channel Awesome Video Producers and getting slaughtered my first time out, only lordkat survived who ran back to the ship and left us to die! Until we win my ass! LOL.
What you’ll Hate:
• Adds absolutely Nothing New! Seriously not even different mission types? Its the same game (aside from new aliens and graphics).
• The Intro and Outro FMV’s are painfully bad, with very little story and fluff aside from the excellent UFO encyclopedia.
• No Tutorial might have newbies to X-COM confused.
• As was released by a smaller company back in 2007, some graphics and design aesthetics are below average, but not game breaking.
Final Verdict:
Great Game! (*in that it copies original)
7/10
X-COM Fan? BUY IT.
The Game can be Purchased on Steam Here!
Looks like it went back up to $20 after July the 4th weekend (2010), however steam always has sales so keep an eye on it.
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60 thoughts on “UFO: Extraterrestrials Review”
The opening part of this video (the slow-mo) was so awesome. I also like the Children of Dune music.
Since i played Xcom unknown i’ve been looking for a good Xcom game, Apocalypse though interesting felt kinda stiff to me. I didn’t finish it because i basicly got bored of it. Terror from the deep was to damn hard and i couldn’t find a reliable and stable version. then theres interceptor that i dabbled a bit in and well… that 3d thing im to afraid to touch. I found extraterrestrials to be a fun lookalike with alot more weapon research. Though i refused to use the aliens weapons to kinda make it feel like a typical Human resistance thing
. (i found this review way later btw) and lets never mention the after**** series. Now im waiting for the remake of unknown. But i think the original will still be one of the best Turn based strategy games ive ever played 
Looking forward to the final release of OpenXcom
Nothing can beat the original and this being easily moddable and bug-free, it’ll be a flawless PC game!!
I never knew this existed. I have been waiting for XCOM Enemy Unknown going to be released sometime this year. WOW, thanks… I’m definitely going to buy this.
Thanks for the review.
I’m looking forward to the release of Xenonauts!
Hi
http://ufoai.org/wiki/index.php/News
Give this one a try, its very good
My biggest frustration with the original was the cruel economy:
1) Some countries would arbitrarily start paying me less as time went on. What, are you fining me for shooting down those alien ships on your lovely countryside or something!? Maybe next time I’ll just let them abduct you!
2) The maintenance cost for the soldiers and base expansions was downright unfair; there was absolutely NO WAY to prevent my budget going into negative figures and all I could do after that was watch it get worse and worse while the aliens kept sending more and more ships!!
That’s it, as far as I can remember but the aforementioned made the game unplayable for me. Does the Gold Edition fix those issues?
Thanks for opening my eyes to this game I had never heard of it! I liked X-com but found it a bit annoying having to do the clean-up work every mission, I will try this though.
Hopefully this year we’ll see Xenonauts (X-com during cold war). Game looks very promising.
i hate x-com so much
and i love it
WHY
The idea sure is definitely interestng, I hope I know it sooner.
xcom is dead
I’d be inclined to concede with you one this subject. Which is not something I usually do! I enjoy reading a post that will make people think. Also, thanks for allowing me to speak my mind!
Wait a second in that video where spoony was yelling betrayal weren’t you the one saying that the game looked awesome? when did you turn a 180 and decided the only TBS game was better?
Those friggen Larva piss me the hell off. Anyway, thanks for pointing this game out and Sparking my curiousity to it, Joe. I’ve played the sequals and I’ve gotta say…they suck…big time…
As you already pointed out in the video that did some weird mix with turn based and real time strategy that really just didn’t work out at all.
Anyway, thanks for the review, thanks for helping me consider buying this game and keep up the great work!
P.S. you’ve probubly already played these games, but if you haven’t i recommend looking up the “Front Mission” titles for the PSX and PS2 systems. Think you might like those.
Hay Joe,
I think i have a game you might like and you know what IT’S FREE! Here take alook all of you please do it’s a X-COM clone i know but it’s fun and it’s free so why not? (did i also mention it’s free?) http://www.moddb.com/games/ufo-alien-invasion
I think I’ll check this one out sence I can’t find the origional X-Com, and about this new X-com I don’t know it might work or not that’s all I know.
Hey Joe I can’t belive that you are kinda depressing the game because of it’s graphics , the graphics are good, what you expected some full 3d cel shading, or some Just Cause 2 like graphics, come on, you are bitching just like spoony, oh oh, the graphics oh oh, this is so gay. High detailed 3d graphics take years to be done, and a lot of people and money, you should be thankful for what you got.
and i love you man you are so humble, thats why i like u
I wonder if this would be a good game to try for someone like me who hasn’t played any of the XCom games?
Well I just ordered the new version, but if this game is – as Joe said – basically an updated perfect clone of the original then I can say this:
If you like the topic of alien invasions, squad focus turn based strategy, very good physic models (you can shoot through walls if your weapon is powerful enough…or one of your squaddies may get hit in the leg and move slower), pretty unique options like designing and custom building your own bases, huge research trees, a pretty clichee but interesting story (it will take you a long time until you found out the aliens true agenda and origin), then this game is a no brainer for you.
If you have doubts and don’t mind dated graphics, just get the original from Steam for $5!
X-Com is a game that gets two thumbs up.
I got the game now and here is an update on my post: Buy the original X-Com!!! This UFO game is basically just a stripped down version of the classic it tries to copy. The graphics are updated, yes, but everything looks really goofy. The gameplay itself feels very static. The original offers a far better gameplay experience than this thing and is available for only half the price.
hey joe wats ur steam id ?
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Thanks so much!
All the best,
Dino Vedo
hey joe, did you see Vanquish in te E3, the new shinji mikami’s game ( creator of the resident evil series) that game looks pretty badass, i think you should take a look at it, another thing, when the review of Borderlands joe???!!! please!
Have you seen Ufo: Alien Invasion?!?
http://ufoai.ninex.info/wiki/index.php/News
It’s a pretty good, free open-source game…Personally I liked it much more than ufo:extraterestials…
[...] Day three of the heat wave at the Palais. I finally got around to installing my AC units, but I’m still too sweaty and beat to write anything thoughtful or time-consuming. Besides, it’s Friday! Every blogger in the world phones it in on Friday. And my cup runneth over at the news that there’s a spiritual successor to one of the best games ever made, X-COM: UFO Defense (or UFO: Enemy Unknown for you European wankers). See AngryJoe’s review for the full skinny: [...]
Thanks Joe, now I have to buy that game! Looks like something I could have a lot of fun with.
But X-COM Interceptor, was a first person flight simulation shooter. I got that game a long time ago and I usually only played through the quick battle mode, because the campaign mode was a tad confusing to me. I should say that it was a tad confusing for me at the time. I was just getting into gaming and wasn’t familiar with anything that wasn’t a side scroller like Sonic the Hedgehog, Contra or Super Mario Brothers.
Now not really being a fan of the series, since I’ve only played Interceptor, I may need some explanation why fans are pissed. Since they’ve already made the and FPS for the series.
I think the fans are pissed, because X-Com UFO Defense was a cult game that almost everyone loved. The new X-Com claims to be the spiritual successor without having seemingly much in common with the original….so most think that this is just a marketing strategy to reel the old fans in while delivering a generic shooter.
you should revew transformers war for cybertron, it looks awsome but avoid the wii version it’s a let down
Ads are WAY TOO LOUD Joe
There is going to be a SEQUEL!?
Hell yeah!
Everyone buy it now so they have lots of moneyz for sequel!!! NOW!!!
lolololol spoony is crazy
Thanks Joe, now you made me all excited about the UfoET sequel, i didnt even know they were working on one O.O
And Bman is working with them, yay! ^^
Nice review, though i would have added the advice that you really need to use mods to fully enjoy this game
(and completly OT: though i mourn for Vane, he still had it coming at that point ^^ dont be mad at me
)
I thought he did recommend mods. Atleast Joe did mention that the Gold edition has best mods already included.
Yeah you are right, he mentioned that the Gold Edition has the mods included, my bad, though i think he didnt explicitly recommend to actually use them
Man, I love Joe’s reaction to Spoony at E3 when he shouts.
Hi Joe. A lurker fan here. I have to say that you are bit misunderstanding what problems we oldschool X-Com fans have against this new XCom, or atleast some of us. Problem is not that it is a FPS. Hell, X-Com would kick ass as an strategic FPS in my opinion… Squad-based Strategic FPS a’la Rainbow Six on Snakemen night-terror mission would be badass I believe…
What problems I have with this new Xcom is that it seems to piss on original X-Com and its lore. From what I have seen so far this game has NOTHING to do with X-Com. There is nothing familiar other than name. And the ’50s setting is so wrong too. And not to mention retarded design choices: Photos for doing research!? What good are they for!? Dont you think good old fashioned autopsies tell us quite a bit more what makes those aliens tick, not to mention dissecting their completely alien-to-us technology and figuring how to use it against them.
If I am completely wrong with my points, then please tell me. My opinion is based only on what I have seen so far and you have probaply seen much more than I. But so far I am not impressed… Spoony’s “BETRAYAL!” scream is quite fitting to what I feel…
Oh, and I should mention that I do believe that this game will probaply be a very good game and I will probaply buy it myself. Its the supposed connections to X-Com world that I have a problems with.
Greets
Matti
My problem is EXACTLY that it’s a first person shooter.
We have millions of them, and to me now they are all “meh!”
I can’t see one years worth of gameplay advance over Quake1 made in the last 15 years.
The world needs the 324,765th first person shooter like it needs a hole in the head.
X-Com is a turn based strategy. I LOVE turn based strategy – always have – always will.
I used to like first person shooters and “tank rush” realt time strategy as well…but ENOUGH ALREADY. Let’s use some imagination and move on. Let’s have PC games with DEPTH.
Man – is that too much to ask?
Nice review, I think i’m going to have to take a look at it, the only thing is im more of a console gamer than a PC one, I need to pick up Xcom again too since I lost it when I moved house a few years back, I spent hours on that game
I always wonder if the original Xcom could work as a xbox live arcade game but thats just me, I will take a look at this game though, thanks for the review Joe
I also got that X-com pack but i got it as a present.
Shame is its really hard and i dont know how it works, i dissapointed the saint giving me the present.
I really have no clue how it works
Thanks for giving this game the attention it deserves Joe! I’ve been playing this gem on and off since it was released and it is still fun. Hopefully this new attention will get the developers to post some updates on the sequel. It’s going to be a combination from Enemy Unknown and Terror from the Deep.
Damn, I hadn’t heard of this game at all! Thanks, Joe; I’ma go plunk down my $10 and snag it off Steam right now.
So, uh…ya started watching Avatar: The Last Airbender yet?
Ack, it’s $20 again. Maybe they’ll put it on sale when this review goes up on TGWTG. I’ve noticed that they tend to do that whenever people start talking about them.
Whoa thanks a lot. I never heard of this Eastern European gem before, must have been buried under a rock of terrible sequels, ripoffs and opensource remakes.
This certainly beats trying to get the original to run with DOSbox and the conflicting loaders/extenders.
C’mon, a little more love for the UFO:After* series. Those were also made by a some Czech company with a limited budget and their “Simultaneous Action System” was great way to blend the old school tactical combat of XCOM with the micromanagement killing techniques of the RTS genre. Given that the series had its flaws, the games always seemed unfinished and the balance was never right, but the underlying technology was sound.
On UFO:Extra… Do you even remember the ship terror missions from TYTD? Goddamn those took like 2 hours a piece. You spent almost an hour sweeping every last bathroom on the freaking ship to find a chrysalid in the last one who nommed half your team. That was a limitation of the hardware and gaming in 1995, but to remake that hell in 2007, you’d have to be masochistic to subject yourself to that these days.
Im not sure If i mentioned it but the AI comes after you, no more searching for hiding alien bullshit.
That’s good to hear, but that can have it’s own problems if the AI stupidly rushes your lines without fail. I’ll give it a look. Any estimate on the amount of time to clear a UFO / terror site / other repetitive mission and the ratio of repeat missions to special missions?
Actually, looks like no Linux version and modest success at best with Wine…
Looks like I’m sticking with UFO: Alien Invasion for now.
If they are still available you need to play Altar’s UFO After* games with the Shadowarrior Weapon rebalance mod. It couldn’t fix all the problems but it made a huge improvement to the game.
Why is it that no one EVER mentions the Gollop brothers the brains behind the real X-Com?
WHY?
Because we regularly mention the game X-COM itself. its not just gallop brothers who contributed to it. Then id be leading out the truly little guys. =P
when did you buy UFO – Extraterrestrials because its $20 again
During 4th of july. Steam has regular sales, just keep your eye on it.
This is really a refreshing review. I’m looking forward to the new Xcom but sometimes it’s nice to tap into the games I played when I was younger. This really makes me nostalgic too. Alright, I’m sold. Thanks Joe!
Thanks man, I think I’ll check this one out. X-COM seems a bit too hardcore for me to start out with.
Wow man, now I want this game badly! I probably won’t get it right this minute, but as I was watching this I jumped onto Amazon and it’s like 30 dollars so I learned to watch your video first. I knew of Steam before and was going to order X-COM: UFO Defense, but then eh, I still have the PSX version laying around (which is great but I can’t explain how many times the game with load for an eternity and never actually load the game. Still, I have to say, I started off liking Spoony when he mentioned this was one of his favorites and I’m glad to see you like this game too. Now I know I’m in good company.
good job! I really like how they put in mods from their community.
Thanks for this review. I’m czech and I didn’t know this game was made in this country, nobody really talks about this game here. Gonna check on the guys to see how they’re doing with the sequel.