UFO: Aftermath Critic Reviews

An interesting mix of RTS, turn-based and straight strategic gameplay and varied mission designs. However, the turn-based/RTS system may seem a bit convoluted for some gamers who expect a more simplistic action-oriented approach to squad-based strategy.

The only flaw is the difficulty curve - it's steeper than trying to jump into Counter-Strike online play as an FPS newbie.

It may be a little tough for folks new to the genre as the tutorial is a little sketchy but the manual does offer quite a bit of help. If you're looking for a good squad based, tactical strategy game UFO: Aftermath is definitely worthplaying.

A great squad based title that sparks enough nostalgia to pay homage, but strikes out in new territory to possibly restablish the original mismanaged franchise. UFO: Aftermath has some of the best combat and control systems seen in games of this type over the last year.

I will say this: those who love “X-Com” will like this game. Those who love strategy will like this game. But no one will ever love this game.

If you’ve ever been excited by Sculder and Mully, or terrified by hydrocephalic children, there’s a game for you. It’s not pretty and it’s not perfect, but we’re so glad it’s there.

A decent rehash of the X-COM oldies. Its gameplay is complex, fun, and engaging... Unfortunately, weak sounds, sub par story presentation and certain aspects like crashes and occasional flops in the AI might put off some gamers looking for a more immersive cinematic experience.

I wanted a great deal to love this game. X-Com, after all, owned me. UFOA throws few surprises your way, resulting in monotony...The game is good, but with a little more depth and clarity it could have achieved greatness.

While Aftermath isn't a bad game, and certainly has some wonderful and fun ideas, it just doesn't compare to other squad based tactical games I've played lately like "Silent Storm" (turn-based) or "Commandos 3" (real-time).

Underneath the stubble is a game rife with good tactical elements and enough developmental depth to occupy the martial mind for hours.

While it is a very serviceable try, Altar isn't going to be convincing anyone this is the second coming of X-Com.

UFO: Aftermath will give you about 15 hours of solid gameplay, at which stage you may choose to go again and take a different path to victory.

It is a refreshing change to play a game that makes you sit up and take notice, makes you really think about every move, and punishes you if you make a false step.

Despite some bright spots, this isn't a fitting sequel to X-COM, and, on its own merits, it just isn't a good tactical combat simulator.

It took me lengthy experimentation before I learned how to even throw a grenade or use a med-kit - the game's manual offered little help.

They seem to have removed much of the delicate strategic balancing which made the original so much more than a squad-based tactical game, and many of the tactical elements which made it stand head and shoulders above resource-management games.

Unpatched, UFO will drag, stutter, and ultimately die a repeated death while a weird save-game bug devours hard-drive space. It's a profound shame, too, because lurking under the seven layers of ugly is an otherwise very good game.

You could, of course, look at UFO: Aftermath in a vacuum, as if "X-Com" never existed. Even then, however, you're just left with a series of weak real-time tactical battles loosely connected by a shallow strategic shell.

The game should probably better have been dubbed "UFO: Afterbirth" – it’s ugly and sloppy and imposes itself on the heels of what you really wanted to see.

Something went terribly, horribly wrong here. UFO: Aftermath isn’t a good tactical strategy game, and it’s not even a good action game by mistake. It’s a game you should avoid, even if you liked the X-COM series.