Info (EU2012)

Game Description

XCOM: Enemy Unknown (aka XCOM: EU or simply EU), released 9th Oct 2012 in the USA and 12th Oct2012 in Europe, is a video game (PC, XBox360 and PS3) wherein the player is in charge of an elite paramilitary organization called XCOM. XCOM: EU is a restart of the 'XCOM' series of games that started in 1994 with UFO: Enemy Unknown (aka XCOM: UFO Defense). Extraterrestrials are attacking Earth and it is your job to defend the planet. "Good luck Commander."

Like its predecessors, EU is a unique game because it blends a strategy layer with a turn-based tactical combat layer. In terms of overall strategy, you are tasked with building a base, researching technology, translating that into gear, equipping soldiers & aircraft, managing global politics to secure funding, choosing & planning missions, managing soldiers' abilities & 'perks', and more. In terms of tactical combat, you choose every move and action of each of your soldiers.

Having total control over every aspect of the XCOM agency is meaningfull; every success bolsters a sense of accomplishment, while every veteran's 'perma-death' and subsequent replacement by a minimally-skilled rookie feels like a gut punch from a Muton Berserker. Choose wisely, and you just might lay waste to the alien baddies. Choose poorly, and may not be able to protect the Funding Council nations or even survive a combat mission.

Lead Designer Jake Solomon is known for describing the 'one thing that is XCOM' as being consequences: no shot can be taken for granted and every choice you make in the game could have a significant impact. This speaks to XCOM's inherent replayability as well as it's infamous difficulty.

Difficulty Levels

• Easy - new to XCOM or tactical games
• Normal - for familiar players
• Classic - very challenging; for experience players
• Impossible - "For players who find joy in suffering." (Tutorial disabled)

Advanced Options

• Ironman Mode: While not a dedicated difficulty 'level', choosing Ironman Mode upon starting a campaign increases difficulty by allowing only one save slot that is determined by auto-save. Clicked on the wrong square and got your Colonel killed out of cover? Countries permanently left the Funding Council because you botched that mission? "That's XCOM."
• Tutorial: Provides a tutorial via practice combat(s) and some basic base management. Essentially the same as the Demo. Note: skipping the tutorial allows you to choose where you place your initial facilities (i.e., ###) in the Base.

Game Options

Audio

There are a couple audio options to customize how the game is experienced.

Audio Options

Option	Description
Master volume	Changes the overall volume of the game. (This seems to have the most relevance to cut-scene volume.)
Voice volume	Adjusts volume of soldiers' battlefield comments, incoming communication from Central, Dr. Shen, & Dr. Vahlen, as well as enemy vocals.
Sound effect volume	Adjusts volume of sound effects for gun-fire, explosions, doors & windows, footsteps, etc.
Music volume	Adjusts music volume, though some music is inherently soft (exploring) while some is loud (mid-battle).
Enable Soldier Speech	Toggles whether soldiers speak in combat (e.g., "I'm on it", panic cries, psionic smack talk).

Gameplay

There are a number of UI & gameplay options to customize how the game is experienced.

Gameplay Options

Option	Description
Show action cam	(?)
Enable 3rd-person cam	Toggles whether you see over-the-shoulder & 3rd-person (e.g., kicking in a door) animations.
Enable autosave	Allows the game to autosave for you, generally right before a combat mission or after an important event or objective. Ironman mode forces this.
Show enemy health	Toggles display of enemy health bars on and off.

Interface

There are a number of interface options to customize how the game is experienced.

Interface Options

Option	Description
Input device	Choose input (e.g., mouse, XBOX 360 controller)
Edit Keyboard Bindings	Edit which buttons correspond to combat actions & menus.
Show subtitles	Shows text subtitles during cut-scenes and mission briefings.
Edge scroll speed	Adjusts how quickly the screen scrolls across the map when moving the mouse to the edge.

Video

There are a number of video options to customize how the game is experienced.

Video Options

Option	Description
Mode	Choose between fullscreen, window, or borderless window.
Lock mouse to window	Toggles whether the mouse is bound to the window, requiring alt+tab to free the mouse.
Resolution
Gamma	Adjusts gamma with the aid of an icon guide. Note that according to the icon, the game will be quite dark and create some viewing grumbles, especially in well-lit areas or on glossy screens.
Enable v-sync	(?)
Enable framerate smoothing	(?)

Graphics

There are a number of graphics options to customize how the game is experienced.

Graphics Options

Option	Description
Shadows	Lo/Med/Hi - determines shadow detail
Texture Filtering	Lo/Med/Hi - (?)
Fog of War	Lo/Med/Hi - determines the detail of the fog bordering your soldiers' sight limit
Anti-Aliasing	Lo/Med/Hi - (?)
Texture Detail	Lo/Hi - determines the general detail of objects.
Effects	Lo/Hi - detail level of weapon fire, explosions, psionics, etc.

Second Wave

After you complete one game the 2nd Wave options are activated. Players may choose any of those options at the start of the game to increase difficulty and variety.

Second Wave Options

Option	Description
Damage Roulette	Weapons have a much wider range of damage.
Total Loss	Lose all gear from soldiers who die in combat.
Red Fog	Any wounds taken in combat will degrade a soldier's stats for that mission.
Hidden Potential	Rookies will have random starting stats.
Results Driven	As a soldier is promoted, their stats will increase randomly.
New Economy	A country will offer less funding as its panic increases.
War Weariness	Overall funding levels drop inexorably with every month that passes.
High Stakes	The rewards granted for stopping alien abductions are randomized.
Diminishing Returns	The cost of satellites increases with every one that is built.
E-115	Elerium stores will degrade over time.
The Blitz	The aliens will target a larger number of cities every time they launch an abduction attack.
Absolutely Critical	A flanking shot will guarantee a critical hit.
More Than Human	The psionic gift is extremely rare.
The Greater Good	The secret of psionics can only be learned by interrogating a psionic alien.
Marathon	The game takes considerably longer to complete.
Alternate Sources	The power requirements of all facilities are increased.

PC System Requirements

Minimum:

• OS: Windows Vista
• Processor: 2 GHz Dual Core
• Memory: 2 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT / ATI Radeon HD 2600XT or greater
• DirectX®: 9.0
• Hard Drive: 20 GB HD space
• Sound: DirectX Compatible

Recommended:

• OS: Windows 7
• Processor: 2 GHz Dual Core (Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz or Athlon X2 2.7 GHz)
• Memory: 4 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 9000 series / ATI Radeon HD 3000 series or greater
• DirectX®: 9.0
• Hard Drive: 20 GB HD space
• Sound: DirectX Compatible