
X-COM: UFO Defense stands out as one of the best Strategy titles in recent memory.
91
Verdict
95%
Steam
85
IGDB
Verdict score based on confidence-adjusted Steam reviews?
Very Positive on Steam (95% positive from 3.9K reviews)
Critically acclaimed (85/100 critic average)
Steep difficulty curve may not appeal to casual players
X-COM: UFO Defense is a strategy game that combines tactical combat with base management and global defense. Players lead an international organization tasked with defending Earth from an alien invasion. The game unfolds on two levels: a global view where players manage resources, research alien technology, and intercept UFOs, and a tactical combat mode where squad-based battles occur. Players recruit and train soldiers, build bases, and develop new weapons and equipment based on recovered alien technology. Missions involve turn-based combat against aliens in various environments, with permadeath adding tension to each engagement. As the alien threat escalates, players must balance research, defense, and offensive operations to protect Earth's nations from panic and alien infiltration. X-COM: UFO Defense's blend of strategic depth, tactical combat, and atmospheric tension creates a compelling gameplay experience in the face of a global alien threat.

Runs well on modern hardware.
Last updated 18d ago
I bought this game on FLOPPY disk back in the mid-1990's to play on my Amiga A1200 back in the day... multiple disk swaps even with 2 floppy drives (I think it came on 6 or 7 disks... plus your save disk). It was awesome then, and it is JUST as awesome now... BUT... I can't get this to work on my Win11 PC at all... it just crashes or works briefly and dies... so... I actually play this on my Mint Linux desktop... in WINE... using the openxcom mods... which are awesome. The creators get a couple of bucks for a game they made more then 30 years ago.. and I get to use the modding community to enjoy this awesome masterpiece..
This was one of the first games I bought as a kid. It game on a dvd and had big fat awesome manual. It was awesome and I played it for hours and hours on an old 486 with like 4 megs of ram. I'm happy to say this is the same gamne.
Still holds up incredibly well. Tactical action, save frequently, the game is punishingly unfair at times. Ahhhh just like you remembered in the 90s.
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