UFO: Aftermath

The Good
It's a real pleasure to have a game so reminiscent of the classic original XCOM, with a brand-new storyline and some nice production values. The strategic-level game flows nicely, and many of the simplifications in this area work quite well.

The Bad
At the tactical level, the game is very disappointing. There are many small usability issues that could be addressed in a patch, but there are some design elements (like the more realistic weapon ranges, which force you to play at an emotionally-distant maximum zoom out) that seriously undermine the wonderful tension and immersion of the original classic.

Between the interface flaws and the lack of emotional connection, the tactical battles become little more than annoying obstacles which must be overcome to keep the story going, instead of the heart and soul of the game's appeal.

In the long run, the overall lower complexity combined with the lack of fun value in the battles themselves will make this game infinitely less replayable than the classic. In XCOM, you might finish one game and immediately start another to try out a different strategy, or just to get more time playing the fun tactical battles and reliving the slow curve from massive inferiority to eventual dominance on the battlefield. Aftermath simply does not have these things, and that's unfortunate.

The Bottom Line
To mangle a cliche, I would allow this game to hold a candle for XCOM. After 15 or so hours of play, I do plan to continue playing at least once through the story, with judicious use of cheat functions to circumvent the most annoying battles and to rebalance around the way the UI makes it nigh-impossible to use terrain to your advantage.