sorry to say: i'm a ufo/x-com fan but i just can't stand this game
the thing is: i really really dislike the graphical style in this game. it just feels like i'm staring at some poor pencil drawings instead of playing a pc game ... and the sad thing is: i'm saying this while i enjoyed early dos games with (quantitative) less graphical details :s
the combat style is equally horrible. i've never seen bullets 'fall' out of a gun like in this game. furthermore things go over the top when rookies either seem to play with a gun like a child and suddenly convert into excellent marksmen in the next shot while the chance was the same.
mind you things like that did also happen in the original x-com ... maybe it's meant to be a form of nostalgia because sure the original did have it's flaws ... but why copy those while not giving the options to deal with them like in the original? there's no option here to save some of the movement points automatically ... just one of those tons of things which did exist back then which lifted the original to the level of a classic game.
on the positive: the aliens seem to be a lot 'smarter' here and i'm sure that a whole range of tactics and new races opens up besides a whole research, manufacturing, base building etc.... which allows the game to be recognizable and play a part in the x-com series ...
unfortunately like i said before the visuals just kill the game for me from the start so let's say my actual score would even be lower but it is one for the benefit of the doubt... it'll be an eternal doubt for me unfortunately because i'm dumping this game.
ps: after reading other reviews i can't help but wonder: mods are not reviewed here (neither are patches in fact) so why bother grading games based on that?