Pax Prime: Look at XCOM: Enemy Within

This weekend at Pax Prime, I got the opportunity to watch a demo of XCOM: Enemy Within a new expansion for the XCOM series. 

The demo was set on top of a dam. First they demonstrated the devastating effects of the alien characters on the basic army units, and then brought in the new heavy weaponry that comes with XCOM: Enemy Within. 

The two new modifications for soldiers in Enemy Within are G-Mod soldiers and Mech Troopers. Mech troopers have tank guns and can cause collateral damage to the surrounding area. Big and bold, they’re a new tank-style class that will certainly wow. The G-Mod soldiers are genetically engineered soldiers, who you can modify parts of them. The genetically modified soldier demonstrated was a sniper with genetically modified legs. This allowed her to jump to areas previously inaccessible due to lack of ladder, giving her greater range. 

Another genetic modification was neural feedback, which gives soldiers defense against neural assault by sectoids and alien species, and appeared to actually hit back. Genetic modifications can affect brain, eyes, legs, skin and chest, and each soldier is slotted with five options. If you choose to go the mech trooper route you open up a whole other tree of options, but unfortunately close off the genetic modication route. 

The demonstration showed the efficacy of the G-Mod troops and the Mech Troopers, and also introduced players to the power-suit wearing sectoids, a super strong enemy type that will be sure to be a game changer in certain conflicts. 

Firaxis, XCOM’s developer will be releasing the Enemy Within as a standalone DLC for PC and Mac for $30. Unfortunately for XCOM fans on the PS3 and Xbox 360, the DLC will have to be purchased as part of the Commander’s Edition of XCOM: Enemy Unknown. The Commander’s Edition will include the base game, all previous DLC, as well as Enemy Within.