The turn-based strategy genre has been largely stagnant for ages. Sure, I greatly enjoy the semi-regular Fire Emblem entries, though there’s surely room in the market for more, right? 2K Games agrees, as they took a huge risk with XCOM: Enemy Unknown. I’m so glad that they did, as its earned a slot in my top 10 games of this generation.
I can’t speak to how well this game pays tribute to the original, but I can gush about how well this reboot plays now. It does so many smart things with the mechanics to allow for newcomers to quickly pick it up and strategic geniuses to really push their skills to the limit. I really love how organic the experience felt, even if you’re playing a game with a complex rule set. Even though it’s turn based, every move I made gave me the same adrenaline rush as an action in an action game. For a good few weeks, my girlfriend was an “XCOM widow”, as I was hell bent on playing it to completion.
XCOM: Enemy Unknown represents more than just a blast from the past. It’s an intelligent evolution for the genre that makes it as fresh and relevant as anything else out there today. Even if you haven’t played a turn-based strategy game before, this is a great place to start.
In Third Person 
Couldn’t agree more. XCOM definitely is one of the best recent games. It’s more or less completely saved a genre in my opinion.