Yeah, I would agree with that.

My first game was maybe 25 hours or so. I think you're pretty close to the end of the game--you just have to build a Gollop Chamber and you can initiate the final mission.

Figured this thread needed a small bump and add my review that I finished on last Friday to the mix for anybody else who needs that small push.

http://upcomingdiscs.com/2012/11/02/...nown-xbox-360/

I never heard of XCOM until this was getting close to release. I have played Civilization (I-IV) in the past (and even Civilization: Revolution on PS3), but all the gameplay videos I've seen of XCOM didn't really look anything like Civ so I wasn't really sure what to expect with this. It was getting good reviews so I figured what the hell and picked it up with Target's B2G1F deal...

So glad I did. What a truly great game. It deserves every bit of praise that it's getting. And I agree with a previous post that you totally lose track of time while playing... it definitely has that "just one more turn" addiction that the Civ games had. Pop it in and suddenly 6 or 7 hours have gone by. Loving every second of it so far.

Just started playing this. Lots of fun.

Got this for Christmas, I've already sunk in about 5 or 6 hours into it. A ton of fun. Really addicting, and really miserable when one of your long time squad members bites it.

Yeah lol. I had to reload a few times. I know, I know, takes away the drama.

Just think of it as resurrection juice. . I perpetually save in that game all the time, especially since certain maps really just put the screws to you. So, I've noticed that if I save before the mission begins, sometimes I can get a much better map. It's the kind of game though where I just want to shut myself for a weekend so I can finish it up. Truly fascinating experience.

Gamefly had the download on sale for $22.50, so I finally got it. Hopefully will play soon.

Yeah I did this my first play through as well. Ended up with a team of 8 super soldiers. I think it's fine the first play through when you're still getting the hang of things, but the game is a lot more fun and engaging if you just let them die. You end up getting gifted high level charcters later in the game anyway, so it doesn't mess you up too bad in the long run. And micromanaging your bench can be a lot of fun when you're forced to make hard choices.

I've played through this game 2.5 times and then I got kind of tired of it. I do wish it was more open ended like the original, I think it would have added a lot more longevity. The mechanics feel too tight and obvious once you play for a short period of time. The battles themselves are really well done though. Although I wish there were more map variety.

Are there more games like this?

The ground portion is sort of similar to like a Final Fantasy Tactics type game.

So I think I've been doing it all wrong... I thought psi potential was fixed, so I've been testing recruits as soon as they came in. I guess I'm supposed to build them up a bit first because a higher will means a higher chance of having psi powers? Crap.

If you have a 3DS, the Ghost Recon game that came out at launch was made by one of the original X-com developers and plays very similar to this.

Its more like FFT is an X-Com type game since the original X-Com predates FFT by several years.

I'm so tempted to buy this from Green Man Gaming for $17.50, but I have so many other games to play first!

Been putting a ridiculous amount of time into this game over the last few weeks after grabbing it on Black Friday for $25. Tonight was a terribly glitchy night, but outside of that, still having a blast.

I like how my soldiers will smash the window open in their way before shooting... and then shoot through the wall

To further elaborate on that point, I like how the soldiers will always smash windows open, even when an open doorway is a square or two away. It's so much like, HERE I AM TO KILL YOU ALIEN. *alien makes indescribable sound and blows him away*. Sweet, sweet death. That's pretty much how it goes.

Kotaku just picked this as their Game of the Year.

I just finished my first Xcom game. I am a lifelong Civ fan but never played Xcom before. Yes I am weird.

I really liked this new Xcom game, but I don't think it has the replay value that Civ does, mostly because Xcom is more story-based with less open gameplay than Civ. I do still see myself replaying Xcom several times though, just not as often as I replay a Civ game.

My first Xcom game, I lost 56 soldiers.

I didn't reload when a soldier dies like many gamers probably do. I just dealt with the loss and moved on. There were several times I lost my entire six man squad. I lost a few majors and colonels too.

I did manage to keep all 16 countries on the Council. I took someone's earlier advice and got the satellites up as quickly as possible. I had full satellite coverage all over the world by the end of the third month.

Laboratories seemed to be useless. All they do is increase research speed, and I had the research tree completely done many months before I finished the game. So for the last approximate 3/4 of the game, the science department was doing literally nothing at all. Next game I will just ignore laboratories and just build workshops everywhere. Workshops give you more engineers and make things cheaper to buy, which is infinitely more useful than laboratories.