12th Feb
The ultimate squad based strategy game of all time. I am still yet to see a squad based game come close. This game has stood the test of time. I looked for this everywhere. $5 is dog cheap for a game of this quality. Highly recommended for anyone who likes strategy games. Its hard to find any fault with it.
19th Oct 2009
There are several reasons why I really love this game, the main one being it features a deep turn based combat system, with tactical and strategic decisions that really affect your performance. The fog of war and line of view are really cool, as they apply to you and the enemy as well. Each character only sees what's in their line of view. The action points based combat let's you save time and use it as reaction during the enemy's turn. Beware, though, they do the same.
The management side it's extremelly cool, as you depend not only on countries financing you each month, you can also manufacture and sell to the world the technologies you research.
In the main non combat view there's a really good time management system that lets you quicly pass time while nothing happens and stop to a crawl when you need finer control.
While in base view, the time is stopped, so you can spend as much time as you want fine tuning.
In combat view you can adjust movement and weapon's fire speeds, so you can regulate how much time you'll spend in combat, balancing between quickness and details.
The integration with the GPL program DosBox (which come complete with cource code as to comply with the GPL) is superb, although you might want to edit the configuration file and change mousse sensitivity from 100 to 80 for better results.
1st Aug 2009
This game is a famous classic for a reason. It is one of those games that grabs you and doesn't let go easily. You always want to finish just one more mission, or research just one more piece of technology before stopping for the night.
In my opinion, this is a game which has aged just fine. The gameplay is just about perfect. The game offers several different challenges to overcome to be successful. Of course, there are the squad-level tactical battles that are the heart of the game but there is also a fair amount of resource management to be aware of. You may often find your budget constraining and decisions on what to research with your scientists as well as what to produce with your engineers can have a great impact on your success.
Another great part of the game is the feeling of discovery you get as your learn more and more about the alien menace threatening the earth.
Nothings perfect of course and a couple of the negatives of this game would be the sometimes difficult early going and the fact that your soldiers, while they have names and stats, are pretty much just interchangeable tools. You're unlikely to grow attached to or interested in the men under your command.
Really though, those are just minor flaws in an otherwise great game. It's addictive, interesting, challenging and can be played again and again without loosing its enjoyment. One of the best games ever.
1st Jul 2009
UFO Defense is a fantastic mix of strategy and squad-based battles. The atmosphere is amazing and even with colorful graphics it's really scary. The european name ("Enemy Unknown") really fits the game here: battles, especially during the night, will get you to move your soldiers slowly while trying to find the enemy, as just a single wrong step may cause a loss. The strong strategic component features intelligent base management and research of new weaponry and alien technology. Although the battle interface is clunky (it's from 1993!), the game is perfectly playable and even the low resolution it's easy on the eyes. Absolutely recommended!
23rd Jun 2009
I think this is the best PC game ever. I used to play it when it was released in the early 90s. There hasn't been a game to out do it. You take your squad to the crash site of a ufo that you shot down. You have to search out the aliens and it is really intense depending on the size of the ufo. As the game progresses the aliens build bases and intimidate countries so they stop funding you. You have to research alien technologies and then use them against the aliens. I don't know if my description makes it sound good, but you have to buy this game. Make sure you change the cpu in dosbox to dynamic, then it will work perfectly. Get the game, it is the best game ever.
18th Dec 2008
Awesome!! I have purchased many games over the years, looking for a game that came close to this original masterpiece. Some have come close but never gave me back that original rush. It is nice to be able to finally play this game again on a modern PC. Wish they had made it higher os compatible long ago.
More reviews >>