User Reviews (11 - 21 of 23)

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THIS GAME WILL TAKE OVER YOUR LIFE

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: June 23, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This is one of the best games of it's kind. Without a doubt! I recently built an old computer just to play this game. It's got some compatability issues here and there, but the game play is great. 5 Stars, Must try. (This game almost made me fail my first semster of college - beware!!)

REPEAT- BEST GAME EVER

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: October 17, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I was once a promising student in college... That was, until I discovered my roommate's X-COM. Since that day I have been searching in vein for anything that even closely resembles X-COM. STILL LOOKING! This game is not only the best ever made, but by far the best ever not to be duplicated! I blame and thank my future on this game. BEST GAME EVER!!!

The best of gaming - even to this day.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: December 14, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Original x-com (ufo defense / enemy unknown) is perhaps the best computer game ever created. Back in the day (round abouts '93), the graphics were pretty good, but that was not what made it great. The struggle that game developers face in a turn-based, tactics & strategy game is pace. If you move too slow that game is boring. If you move to fast, the game is frustrating. In addition, people have their own preferred pace. How can any company overcome this challenge?

X-COM did it - and few have done it again. It is the most additive and fun game imaginable. Just read the other reviews - they all say the same thing. To add my 2 cents, I once spent 24 hours straight playing the game. I even ordered pizza and brought cereal to the desk. Frightening.

Tactical level combat is slow and eerie, you must use your head and unsure your troops always cover each other. Finding a reliable strategy for weaker troops often works well. Once strategy is to clear the area around a ship, position your troops outside the entrance, then wait for the enemy to rush the door. We all know it - we all did it. Eventually you need to take some alive. Getting close enough to use that stun rod (which takes a lot of TU's on it own) can be tricky - and dangerous. Sometimes one use won't be enough. Then you don't have enough for a second OR a burst from your rifle. You had better hope that little sectoid is a very poor shot.

Strategic level organization is just as important. I never relied on base defense facilities - they have to be very powerful to have any chance at all. Rather, just make sure you always have troops and weapons available in every base - even if the base does not have 'mission' capability (i.e., a skyranger).

You will find that you end up paying for much of your stuff through alien loot. This you want both the missions AND the global interface. In this game they actually support each other.

Even 13 years later, I still play once in a while.

Best idea - Buy a good vintage PC, such as a 486 or Pentium I, format the disk, install DOS 6.22 (windows 3.11 if you like), install a KVM switch with your new machine and viola, you have a true DOS machine that uses your new monitor, keyboard, and mouse (AKA KVM). I did it and it is great. I have all my old favorites installed and never have to worry about 'DOSboxes' or such nonsense.

Terror from the deep is essentially the same game. However, I find it to be less addicitve. They messed up the pacing. The missions are painfully long. This is where the failure came. It just got boring. To tell the truth, I eventually installed a soldier editor to give me more TU's just so I could get through the missions before I lost consciousness. I also did not like the color schemes as much. he original game had vibrant contrasty colors, TFTD's are muted and a little boring. I think they would have done better to give some add-ons to the original.

Apocalypse: I actually like the game. The interface has a steep learning curve, which has put-off a friend or two of mine, to the extant that they stopped playing. However, when you get used to it (a long time) it works very well. I think missions and strategy are well-paced, like the original. However, the AI is much, much better. The aliens are very clever and seem to have a lot more TU's than doe your troops (at the beginning). Playing in turn-based mode is fun, but only for the x-com veteran. Real-time play seems easier, but for me it is not as fun. Suggestion - stay dedicated to learning for a while and it will pay off. It is a good game.

About this collection: This collection is prepped for 95-ME. My suggestion is just buy the originals in pure DOS format. If you have that old DOS machine (maybe 30 bucks) and a KVM (cheap these days too) you can solve all of your DOS game problems in one fell swoop.

Enjoy.

its X-Com what more could you ask for?

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: July 16, 2001
Author: Amazon User

this is the perfect culmination of the original trilogy and i must say it is a must buy for any X-commer or strategy fan. X-com will go in my book as a game with one goal but infinite possibilities. next to master of orion 2 this is the meaning of replay value. thank the heavens for microprose.

One of the best, least known, strategy games

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: February 25, 2002
Author: Amazon User

X-Com UFO Defense was one of the best games I've ever played. In depth story lines, good control of players and strategy. Very much a good, basic game.

Best turn-based action strategy in history!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: February 25, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Unfortunately they are not making any more "cool" games like the X-Com Series. The games in this package were built with yesterday's so-called graphics technology and they would probably look funny for most of us. However this does not change the fact that THEY ROCK!

Well, if you are one of those guys who think that turn based strategy games are not capable of turning the action smothered fun on, then purchase this incredible game and see that you were wrong all over!

These games are awsome!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 8
Date: September 29, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I love the X-Com series. They are the best. They are easy to learn and easy to master. I've enjoyed them and i hope you will, too.

Definately a collectors item

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: April 24, 2002
Author: Amazon User

X-Com is one of the most emersive and playable games ever. Any PC Gamer would be remiss not to have this game in their collection.

Mixed Review

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 3 / 21
Date: May 05, 2000
Author: Amazon User

While the storyline and overall idea of the game is a good one, a difficult user interface and weak instruction manual make this game difficult to manage. You are often stuck trying to move troops or units while aliens pick off your men with ease. In addition, it often seems impossible to develop technologies fast enough to combat the aliens in some missions. I was very interested in this game initially, but eventually gave it up as too much of a hassle for what it's worth.

The Best Game Ever

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: March 30, 2001
Author: Amazon User

When I first played Xcom, I was at my friends house. Even though I had a Mac then and could not play the game at home, I still would hang out at my friend's house just to watch him play that game. The suspense was awesome, and the story played itself out briliantly. We were pretty young at the time and we would both get pretty jumpy at 2am. I loved the game, even though I did not get to play it untill later on. For anyone who is searching for a classic all around great game, Xcom is the way to go. There is no other game that I have played that has sucessfully combined the components that are in Xcom.

Ufo Defense (the first Xcom) was my all time favorite. Terror of the Deep was a good sequal to Ufo Defense by combining the same ideas and graphics. This game is awesome! Dont miss out!

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