The hobby of video games is a major part of the industry. It has been a big rise, but it isn’t the only thing that hasn’t changed in the last decade. It often happens that old games such as Fable or Perfect Dark will be revived after several years of inactivity; however, despite the re-release, the graphics and gameplay elements often change. Since there are many reboots, none have been as successful as XCOM: Enemy Unknown today, which turns 10 today.
In 2012 the XCOM series was far from reality, and the last part came out in 2001. More than a decade later, XCOM: Enemy Unknown became popular and quickly went on to become a successful actor. Almost 40 years ago, XCOM became mainstream with a spin-off and the beloved sequel with it, but it all started with XCOM: Enemy Unknown, which saved the franchise.
The XCOM franchise began the game in 1994 and developed as a strategy game with two distinct segments. In a different phase, called the Geoterrain phase, players explored the Earth, setting up a base and answering a phone call for help. After the mission is done, then the next step is known as the Combat Landscape. Players control a squad of XCOM operatives who fight aliens on the ground in an adaptive tactical system. This game is well-known for XCOM: Enemy Unknown.
Enemy Unknown was re-released in January 2012 and it became available in the same year. During its release, longtime fans were pretty skeptical at the launch. The XCOM franchise lasted a little more than a decade before it was completely invisible to the audience, and the idea of relaunching it seemed a little ridiculous. While not many people prayed for a reboot, Enemy Unknown seemed to be a very important gamble in the Firaxis and 2K games.
As soon as it released, I quickly spread that the game XCOM: Enemy Unknown was worth a try. What called Enemy Unknown, critics say is an instant classic. General audience reception was also phenomenal, with a noticeable rise in popularity in a somewhat obscure fashion.
One of the principal reasons for the success of XCOM: Enemy Unknown was its large availability. When the XCOM: Enemy Unknown release began, the turn-based tactics genre wasn’t popular in the videogame industry. XCOM: Enemy Unknown was an introduction to the genre for many gamers, and it helped to make it easy for newbies by introducing new mechanics throughout the game, so players don’t overwhelm themselves. It’s especially true for PS3 and Xbox 360 players, since strategy games weren’t common on consoles before XCOM.
XCOM: Enemy Unknown introduced many gamers to the turn-based strategy genre. And it started to bring change to the XCOM series, but also to the genre in general. Even if XCOM: Enemy Unknown rekindled the journey with the sequel, the theme of the sequel was to find out how much better it was than its predecessor. XCOM is still a relevant franchise, ten years later. Though XCOM 2 was released in 2016, it still sits top of best strategy games list, and the legacy of the sci-fi franchise continues to grow, and not into obscurity.
XCOM: Enemy Unknown available on PC, PS3, PS Vita and Xbox 360.
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