X-COM: UFO Defense

Discount Price: $31.99

Customer Reviews:

Best Computer Game ever made. [Posted on 2007-12-09]
This is considered to be the best computer game ever made by many experts. Still to be recreated it is in desperate need of a revamp. The dept and the difficulty and the addictiveness can't be matched.

Awesome, but look for the abandonware version! [Posted on 2007-12-15]
This game is one of the all time greats, but there's really no need to pay $[...] for it:

[...]

This site, as well as others I'm sure, will set you up with the same game but titled UFO: Enemy Unknown as it was released in Europe/Australia. The only difference is the name and price (it's free).

One of the best you'll ever play [Posted on 2008-07-14]
This is an old game --- a real old game (as far as computer games go), but it is still played by many. This inof itself speaks volumes. This is one game that got it all right.

At the time of its release, it was a sleeper -- little advertisement preceeded it. I bought it off the shelf with one other game (because of the pictures on the box) when I bought my first computer. Once I played it, I was hooked. The game took the computer world by storm and made a name for MicroProse

The basic premise is that the earth has been invaded. You are to set up and operate x-com, a world-wide defense operation to locate and destroy the enemy craft and aliens.

You begin with a few sorry, slow interceptors and earth type weapons -- and generally get your butt kicked by the aliens. Not only that, but after a short time, your funding begins to fall off.

But never fear. As you capture your first aliens or bring em back dead, your scientists begin to learn what makes them tick. Same with their weapons and craft. Soon you can start producing their technology and put up a decent fight. You also learn that your organization can be made to be self-supporting (to hell with the world governments) by selling items made using alien technology (and you wondered where all those microwave toasters came from).

Basic play is on two maps. The first is a map of the world in which your detectors spot an alien craft making its way to earth. Once your interceptors have shot it down and marked the location, the fun part begins. You send out your military/scientific team to see what's left and if there are any aliens about. Although stiff by today's standards, the graphic are still not bad. The game play is good even tho the game is turn based (actually, this is not a bad thing). Combat with the aliens takes anywhere from a few minutes for a scout ship, to well over an hour for a discovered installation or large cruiser. Sometimes the aliens will raid your cities ... and occassionally, they will hit your bases if you don't guard them properly.

This game is truly a gem and is as playable today as it was in the mid 90's when it first came out. They only problems you'll likely encounter is that the game was set up to run under DOS and may have a problem with todays Window's environment. But if you can run a DOS window, you should be able to run the game.

It had a follow-on game as well -- taking place under water (X-Com: Terror From the Deep). That, too, is an excellent game. Both will provide endless hours of enjoyment as you try to beat back the alien hordes. Look past the dated graphics and you'll find the gameplay is what made this one great.

Highly recommended.

~P~

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