Firaxis understands how to make a game feel brand new

Nov 26, 2013 01:11 GMT  ·  By

When Firaxis announced that Enemy Within was an expansion for XCOM: Enemy Unknown, some younger gamers probably scratched their heads in confusion, wondering exactly what the company was preparing.

The term is at the moment almost no longer used in the gaming industry because most developers who are looking to add extra levels or new weapons or modes to their games use the ubiquitous downloadable content pack.

An expansion is bigger than a DLC but smaller than a new game, ideally designed to make the old content feel fresh again while also delivering a significant chunk with entirely innovative ideas.

And Enemy Within for XCOM certainly meets these criteria and more teams should play it and try to create something similar for their own title.

MELD is the big new resource arriving as part of the expansion and it can be gathered and used in the first two hours of the game, fundamentally changing the way the battles happen and how the core base of the XCOM project is developed.

The aliens also get a set of new units, some of which show up very soon and can pose problems to a player who has not taken advantage of the MECs or of the gene modifications rather quickly.

Firaxis also adds the EXALT faction, staffed by humans who use laser weapons, some solid team-based tactics and gene enhancements.

They basically act as a second campaign in the game and players are free to pretty much overlook their action if they want to focus on the aliens or take them out to make sure that their sabotage actions are stopped.

But the changes introduced by Enemy Within to the XCOM formula really shine in the final third of the game when the battles that could be seen as a grind in Enemy Unknown become intelligent and engaging tactical dances that force players to use all their wit and tactical acumen.