Enemy Within’s diabolical plot to get you to play more XCOM

Based on spending a little time with Enemy Within, the new add-on to XCOM, I can totally see through 2K’s evil scheme. They must think they’re pretty clever. By adding mech suits, cybernetic implants, new upgrades, medals with selectable perks, and scads more options for customization, the goal here seems to be giving you more ways to upgrade and therefore care about your soldiers. But by tying a lot of this stuff to a new resource that expires if you don’t rush headlong into battle to claim it, the other goal here seems to be giving you more opportunities to get your soldiers killed. In other words, more risk for more rewards. Pretty sneaky, 2K. Pretty sneaky.

Enemy Within is available today either as a full-priced standalone release for console systems or a relatively pricey add-on for the PC version.