Reviving a dying genre with flying colors...
I have to specify that this is the first XCOM game I've played so far.
The very good:
Phenomenally great gameplay.
Really interesting and nice story line - it keeps you glued to the screen, wanting for more.
Underground base management is a dream, it's something new and immersive.
The good:
Firing high explosive weapons at enemies is awesome and effective. (see the bad)
The music is quite good, and doesn't seem repetitive even though you will be glued to your monitor hours upon hours at a time.
Time flies while you're playing it.
Your soldiers leveling up is gives you a nice feeling of achievement.
Finally a hurt soldier will spend weeks in a hospital for recovery.
In the beginning you will sit breathless hoping that no one will attack you while you upgrade armor/etc... you have a lot to do, and it keeps you busy in a nice way :))
The alright:
The game could have been a little more complex (for example Jagged Alliance 2 style), but I can't say that it's annoyingly simple.
Could have been more diversity in weapons, and the classification of weapons/armor could have been a little clearer (you don't know what armor is best until you've bought them all and tried them, same goes for the weapons).
Some unusual choice of game mechanics (you can't attack mind controlled enemies before they turn on you, you can't get enemy weapons from the battlefield at the end of a mission, and other stuff I can't remember right now)
I would have liked to move the camera wherever i wanted.
The not so good:
You don't really know from what positions your soldiers will be able to shoot at an enemy. (trial and error)
The ending - I felt a bit empathetic for my greatest "asset".
After a while missions seem repetitive.
Equipment management... weapons are expensive, armor is expensive... if you equip a soldier with a weapon, and decide to take another soldier with you in a mission, you will not have access to that weapon/armor until you have selected the previous soldier and unequipped it from him - then ... you have a lot to do and you do it in an unpleasant way... especially if you have more than 20 soldiers.
The bad:
Firing high explosive weapons at enemies is awesome and effective but the game scolds you for using them.
The "delete saved game" menu button positioning.
The very bad:
A lot of bugs creep up when you're least expecting it. Graphical glitches.
All in all, this is a MUST PLAY game for anyone who likes to play something other than FPS's for a change. The only reason I gave it a 9.5 are the bugs, because the gameplay is absolutely phenomenal.