Oh boy, saying that this game is a priceless gem would be the understatement of the century, considering that this game is almost twenty-years-old and is still absorbing almost 400 hours of my time is an impressive feat, also this is only my time on this computer, as I have another 600 hours on other systems combined. I started playing the original X-COM when I was six and almost instantly fell in love with it, and with this game there is so much more content (and even more that was initially planned).

On the topic of the game, even compared to its predecessors it is outstanding the flexibility in things you can do with this game. As evidence of this, sometimes if I am feeling cheeky with a particular play-through, I'll forgo the entire 'saving the world' schtick and instead make the X-Com organization into an expansionist Crime Syndicate, selling Psiclone and Alien Electronics on the black market at an exorbitant price while simultaneously fire-bombing the Senate building...because as long as you make enough money to tread water, you can't really lose. That of course is a far harder way to play the game, but the very fact that you can play it that way speaks measures to the control and agency you have over your organization in this game more than any other in the series.

The thing is, I absolutely love this game, it is likely my favorite of all time, the only one competing with it is the original X-COM. If anyone from Firaxis sees this review, create a poll on your X-COM forums and ask about how many would like to see a remake (or even a HD remastering while adding the features planned for it) for X-COM Apocalypse, I promise you, it is worth an investment of both time and resources, as it will sell like hot-cakes. This is one of those few games that is so good its just begging for a remaster.

I would give 200$ for a remake of x-com: apocalypse.

Short version: This game is great. Buy it, play it.

X-Com Apoc is a strange, but completely lovable creation. It's certainly an overly-ambitious game, and not all of its features were fully implemented. But it's not broken.

The cityscape is, like fans observe, a working ant-farm. Organizations raid each other, they raid you, you raid them. Aliens are a big part of the game by they are not your only enemy.

Political and military decisions directly impact on the game and on the environment. If you are at odds with certain groups, there will be consequences. Some are obvious, like not being able to buy equipments from them. Some are more subtle. If you make an enemy of the corporation that runs the public transport system, your new recruits won't be able to reach your base. How great is that?

Forget about the limitations of the (surely great) new X-Com: you can have multiple bases, and stack them with troops and vehicles. You'll need them. Each real estate to build a base have a different price tag and different spacing accommodations. As always, you'll have to choose wisely.

This games feature a very advanced version of the turn-based game mode of the classic X-Com. If you want a good turn-based experience, this game does that.

But the real gem, in my opinion, is the real time combat engine. It's simply fantastic. It's every bit as tactical as the classic turn based, but with refinements and even limited responses from the units. They will not dumbly stick around under fire, but will, while respecting their orders, move in and out of cover to fire. They will behave like actual soldiers would, panic including. You can pause at any time to issue commands, and you can also create groups.

It's a sophisticated tactical real time engine that - make no mistake - have little to do with traditional RTS games. It's a real joy to blast aliens and enemies like that. The missions are more fluid, as well. This game feature some huge maps that are a core to go through on TB but are almost a breeze on RT.

The cityscape interception combat is fully realized on this game, and you can have huge air battles between your craft and the aliens. Sometimes the local police may even help you.

Difficulty is Adjustable. It can be set to easy, and on the hardest difficulty it can give any game a run for its money.

This game is a lot of fun, and I really recommend it.

Important!

In dosbox.conf

to change
output=surface
to
output=opengl

Equip a team of twelve dual-wielding commandos with power swords and mini-missile launchers, pack them all inside a bunch of hoverbikes and go raid a temple of alien worshipping cultists while yelling "XENOS LOVE IS HERESY".

Do you really need more of a recommendation?

This is more of a recommendation to buy it on Steam rather than an actual review of the game itself.

I was first introduced to this game as a kid and I spent many many hours playing it. However I probably didn't full understand the mechanics and I did eventually manage to complete it (the difficulty was on novice...). I have returned to this game many times in the last decade or so and more recently had difficulty to the operating systems no longer being compatible. I tried again when the latest X-COM game came out and used DosBox to get it to work. However, last week when I had an urge to replay it I couldn't remember for the life of me how I got it working or it wasn't working now. I did stumble upon it on Steam and bought it immediately. For the price of a couple of quid it's a bargain really! I've invested over 40 hours in the last week because it has to be one of my full time games.

On Steam, it's quick and easy to get running with no fussing around with DosBox and whatever. Steam does that all for you! The only complaint is that some PCs may get a funny resolution when running full screen but that is easily fixed. There's also the issue that if you tab out and then back in again, the game will default to a much smaller size (due to the game's orignal resolution). The final issue, and the more pressing one, is that the game tends to crash a lot with the error "Please insert X-COM disk". This is a common error and a simple fix is to save regulary (I do anyway so it wasn't an issue for me!) to return to points moments before the game crashes. The disk error always happens when the game has to load something so I make sure I always save before having to force the game to load a different part. A quick google reveals that many people have come up with a solution to this and if you have the time (I don't cos I have more X-COM to play!) you can easily fix all the above mentionned issues. So really, if you love this game and haven't already got it working, then I'd buy it if I was you!

X-COM: Apocalypse is certainly the best XCOM game to start with if you are new to the franchise. Earlier XCOMs are doubly confusing, (though Apocalypse is still just as strange to a new player), but this entry eases that pain. With less aliens to deal with, a concentrated area to defend, and an interesting array of human enemies to fight, there are many pluses as to why Apocalypse is a great title. This is why I enjoyed it so damn much.

-Internal intrigue amongst the human factions in the city are so, so fun. Building relationships with arms dealers, police, service providers and infastructure moguls makes for a very different play through every single time. Really cracking down on the alien cult? Well their weapon providers won't like you much. Blowing up a Diablo gang block? The police may just pat you on the back. Having an organization supporting you makes things easier, but not much

-Premade alien portals made stationing your defense just a little bit easier. Granted, further on the game your Hovercars are going to be taking a big alien ♥♥♥♥, so its a little stressful. You never truly know whats going to happen with alien assaults, and that does get a little bit annoying. I was taking out a UFO incursion, and a stray missile of mine took up an entire block. Needless to say, I had to deal with enemy Hovercars and UFOs (though it was humerous when a UFO destroyed the enemy fleet!).

-Actual alien incursions are fun, challenging, and very thrilling. Searching for your opponents in giant Hab blocks, shopping malls, and warehouses makes for an exciting chase, and once you get down to the firefight, a brutal battle ensues. What makes XCOM: Apocalypse so unique is its combination of face-paced turns, and really amazing physics (especially for the time). Other similiar titles, like Jagged Alliance 2 and Fallout, don't have gigantic, map changing explosions, massive destruction, and just so much death. Its also very balanced. Like the former two references, you can't take on a huge alien incursion with just 4 guys unless you really plan your ♥♥♥♥ out, while in JA2, if you have 4 high level Mercs, you can take out entire bases. Expect a challenge!

-Tech development and organization managment is really fun. Equipining and specializing your operatives makes for some fun team ups. I personally never tried PSI, but I do love putting heavy weapons on my androids. Nothing says 'burnt as ♥♥♥♥ alien' then an Android firing incendiary with his Megapol Autocannon! Different armours, jump packs, stun guns, and other fun items leaves for interesting tactical situations. You can take aliens alive to study, capture alien weapons, or just Duke Nukem everything not human. Vehicles are varied, with all sorts of different armaments, and can be equiped for many different roles. I like to have a hovercar with heavy anti-structure weaponry, just to give a big 'Screw you' to any cults that may try to attack my base.

In closing, XCOM is a great strategy game for a moderately experienced player who enjoys turn based games. It is challenging, but rewarding, and the memories I've had with this game are truly remarkable. A must buy for any fan of JA2, the Fallouts, or even more conventional RTS fans looking to branch out.

I have a unique perspective on the XCOM series, and that’s mainly because this was my first XCOM. I was too young to appreciate UFO Defense or Terror from the Deep when they came out, but the bright colors and detailed environments of Apocalypse were enough to draw my adolescent attentions. It certainly helped that I could skip the traditional turn-based action for real-time chaos, blasting aliens and burning down buildings on an unprecedented scale for the time. After more than two decades, I’ve finally notched a win in the war against trans-dimensional aliens, and I can say for sure now that as much as I love this hidden gem in the series, it can be a tough sell for newcomers.

It’s 2084, and humanity has predictably ♥♥♥♥♥♥ the Earth into a state of uninhabitability, save for a walled city called Mega Primus. The scrappy survivors have turned the city into a high-tech paradise, just in time for interdimensional invaders to drop out of the sky and ruin the party. In response, the government reinstates the XCOM organization, and tasks you with addressing the alien threat. This means hiring and training staff, sending out squads to sweep the city and respond to invader sightings, defend the city’s airspace against UFOs, and eventually learn enough about the aliens to strike back at the source. It’s a winding and bloody road to victory, but with a little luck and perseverance, you can ensure a future for those fortunate few who remain on this blighted Earth.

Apocalypse is the true successor to UFO Defense, with Terror from the Deep being made by a different team as a stopgap sequel. The ideas here were big, from the detailed and complex cityscape to the wealth of tactical options. The aliens are unlike anything seen elsewhere in the XCOM series, past or present, and the reveal of their true nature remains one of the best twists in the entire franchise. The art style is a bright, bombastic, and frankly insane art deco mess capped off with fleshy, horrific aliens. Most notable, however, is the presence of real-time combat. Of the main strategic XCOM games, Apocalypse is the only one with the option to play every mission in real-time as opposed to the traditional turn-based mode. It’s a dramatic design shift, and one that contributed mightily to Apocalypse’s troubled development, but it’s also a huge reason why I enjoy this one so much more than the others.

Real-time tactical missions on the scale that they are presented here, are harrowing, chaotic affairs. You can bring up to 36 heavily-armed agents, and the aliens have no compunctions about throwing dozens of dangerous beings at you. The maps themselves can be nine stories tall, with complex floors, overlooks, hallways, and structures like fuel tanks and entire spaceships. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, is destructible, so don’t be surprised if you set off a chain reaction that destroys an entire building with a single grenade. You have some helpful functions to manage your squads, such as behaviors and shot types and stances, but honestly everything is going to come down to positioning your agents and praying their reactions will be good enough to handle the horror that comes through the next door.

You can, of course, play missions in traditional turn-based mode. However, the sprawling maps and huge firefights of Apocalypse make this a time-consuming and tedious prospect. More importantly, real-time battles with XCOM’s signature brutality are just fun. They’re fun in a way that no other XCOM is, especially as the dynamic difficulty of the game shifts the tide against you in the midgame and has you facing seemingly impossible odds, only to come out bloody and battered on the other side. The tug-of-war between you and the aliens in this game is real, and it doesn’t come from missing 95% shot chances. Apocalypse gives you just enough time in the first week or two to find your feet, learn how to outfit agents and run missions, before slamming you with advanced alien tech and tactics in the midgame. Only by capturing live aliens and equipment can you turn the tide, and become a nigh-unstoppable juggernaut by the endgame.

This is both a blessing and a curse to this game, and probably my biggest complaint about it. Apocalypse has a very real pacing issue that doesn’t really become apparent until you’ve essentially beaten the aliens in the last quarter of the game. At that point, without spoiling anything, you still have a lot of missions to get through, despite being absolutely dominant with your tech. Additionally, these special endgame missions are absolute slogs, on painfully open maps where long sight lines are going to cost you agents, no matter how prepared you are. As much as I love this game and its quirks, the tedious finale kept me from ever completing a full playthrough for literal decades. Since we’re complaining, I might as well mention that this game definitely feels its age, and managing a large and sprawling organization like XCOM through an early 90s interface can be a real pain, especially with the complex logistics modeled into the game.

So, that leaves us with a very conditional recommendation. I love XCOM Apocalypse, and I fully believe any fan of any XCOM owes it to themselves to give it a try. Real-time strategy fans should also give it a look, or really anyone who enjoys tactical chaos. But it’s a dated game, and can be very, very painful to complete once you reach the endgame. Honestly, for the price there’s no reason not to pick it up, with the understanding that it might drag too much to finish. You’ll still get the exquisite experience of naming and outfitting agents, sending them into a cluttered arms factory, and accidentally leveling the entire building with a misplaced rocket. That’s the real magic of XCOM Apocalypse, the magic that got me into this series all those years ago, and the magic that deserves to be remembered by fans both new and old.



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This is the original game, just as awesome as I remember it. It works well and gives the same experience as when I played it when it first came out. The challenge with the game is that it runs in DOSBOX, which starts giving errors once you start expanding your bases and having large numbers of units. You then start experiencing what looks like memory errors in DOSBOX, which makes the game unplayable. The STEAM support option advises that you go to http://support.2kgames.com which for some reason does not exist or open on my PC. There ends my enjoyment of the game... :(
If the bug is fixed, I will recommend the game, but with the bug, the game is just not playable.

In my opinion, this is the by far the best XCOM game out to date. Super under-rated.

To the modern XCOM game remakes, PLEASE give us a remake of this game! With only few modern tweaks this game could be incredible in this generation