We rarely see them today, but grey aliens infected pop culture in the ’90s; you probably remember them — the ones with the ovoid heads and giant eyes. They were everywhere: on the cover of bestselling books (Communion); blockbuster movies (Fire in the Sky); and hit TV shows from South Park to The X-Files. In the midst of this alien-mania Microprose released X-Com: UFO Defense, a game that seemed to tap into a cultural vein of paranoia and the obsession for secret government agencies, conspiracies, black helicopters, and alien invasion.
XCOM Enemy Unknown, from current Civilization makers Firaxis, embraces its ’90s roots. After sitting through a guided demo, we found a modern game that feels like a 20 year-old PC classic — not an upcoming downloadable title meant to be played with a controller. The art, music, and old-school mechanics — like permanent death for your squad members — all work together to create an atmosphere of tension that’s missing from modern games. You can and will fail at XCOM.
