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.
Back in my day, tabletop gaming wasn’t ‘cool’. They were played by kids, families, and nerds that I thought were far more nerdy than I. At the very least, that’s how I saw it. Even as late as my first experience at Fan Expo in 2010, I went into the tabletop gaming section and passed judgment with extreme prejudice.
What a difference a year makes. After being tricked by my girlfriend to partake in her friend’s Dominion night, I’ve actively partaken in many tabletop gaming nights and am slowly expanding my horizons in the genre. Apparently, I’m late to the party, because I get the sense that this scene has been in the midst of a resurgence for quite some time.
Reports out of PAX East indicate that XCOM: Enemy Unknown is getting directly ported to iOS. Because it is being ported in full, expect this one to be a premium price when it launches in the iTunes store.
My love affair with the turn-based strategy games began after the original XCOM faded into obscurity. Advance Wars and Fire Emblem were my introduction to the genre, and for the most part, the only games in the genre I play. Not for a lack of desire, but for a lack of options. Sure, there are a lot of indie strategy games on PC/iOS, but when the big-budget strategy game market shrunk to nothing, the only real standout to me was Nintendo. Even then, neither of their strategy titles have lit up the sales charts or help revive the genre.
I’m not sure what compelled 2K Games to push ahead with a new XCOM now, but I truly appreciate the fact that they did. XCOM: Enemy Unknown is not only a fantastic turn-based strategy game, but easily one of the best games I played that came out in 2012.
As a Canadian, Boxing Day is one of the most wonderful times of the year for video game shopping. This year was highly eventful, as a bunch of games I’ve been itching to get my hands on went on sale. Below is my list of gaming related purchases. What did you get this Boxing Day?
In Third Person 