Best X-COM in the series
Mentioned in ~1 in 4 positive reviews
“out of every single x-com, new and old, this is the best one, hands down.”
Steam review · 23.7 h played ↗
X-COM: Apocalypse
Worth buying? What 230 Steam reviews say.Worth buying? Here’s what 230 Steam reviews actually say.
Very Positive · 90%Very Positive · 90%MicroProse Software, Inc2008Turn-Based Strategy · Base Building · Strategy
$4.99
Open on Steam ↗US Steam price, checked 47 min ago
The verdict
A deeply ambitious 1997 hybrid of city sim, faction politics and real-time or turn-based tactics, run via DOSBox. Skip it if you want polish, a tutorial or crash-free play.
Great for
Veteran X-COM fans and patient strategy players who love deep simulation, destructible environments and faction politics
Main risk
Random "insert CD" and DOSBox crashes, plus a steep learning curve with no tutorial
What players love
Deep living city with factions
Mentioned in ~1 in 5 positive reviews
“This game is systems upon systems upon systems. All of them working in the background, and in perfect harmony with each other.”
Steam review · 141.3 h played ↗
Real-time or turn-based combat choice
Mentioned in ~1 in 5 positive reviews
“the tactical layer even has a choice between real-time or turn-based, both giving a completely different style of playing.”
Steam review · 95.1 h played ↗
Freedom, depth and replayability
Mentioned in ~1 in 5 positive reviews
“the very fact that you can play it that way speaks measures to the contro”
Steam review · 245.5 h played ↗
Great price and nostalgic classic
Mentioned in ~1 in 5 positive reviews
“Would easily have paid 20$ for this game. A 6$ it's a STEAL.”
Steam review · 29.4 h played ↗
Fully destructible environments
Mentioned in ~1 in 9 positive reviews
“Multi-level fully destructable terrain and a broad range of interesting weapons open up a realistic and interesting range of sci-fi battle tactics the following games failed to capture.”
Steam review · 41.8 h played ↗
What players complain about
Frequent crashes and "insert CD" bug
Mentioned in ~1 in 3 negative reviews
“The 'insert CD' crash is the reason I have down voted this.”
Steam review · 31.4 h played ↗
No tutorial and confusing interface
Mentioned in ~1 in 4 negative reviews
“There's no tutorial, you have to scavenge the internet to learn the most basic tasks.”
Steam review · 0.4 h played ↗
Poor DOSBox port and setup issues
Mentioned in ~1 in 4 negative reviews
“dosbox creates so many glitches and graphic errors its unplayable”
Steam review · 3.3 h played ↗
Clunky, unbalanced real-time combat and AI
Mentioned in ~1 in 7 negative reviews
“Biggest problem is the hybrid real-time/turn-based system. Having to cater to both versions unfortunately means both systems suffer as a result, leaving neither particularly fun.”
Steam review · 9.3 h played ↗
Ugly graphics and dated feel
Mentioned in ~1 in 9 negative reviews
“The character art is truly atrocious, and the aliens sprites look laughably bad”
Steam review · 0.5 h played ↗
Unfinished systems and game-breaking bugs
Mentioned in ~1 in 13 negative reviews
“development was rushed, the game was never patched, and there are just too many bugs to make it an enjoyable experience”
Steam review · 152.1 h played ↗
System requirements
From the Steam store page
Steam Deck: Unsupported60 MB
Minimum
ProcessorPentium 90MHz or better
Memory16Mb RAM
GraphicsSupported 32Mb Graphics Card
Storage60 MB Hard Disk Space
ProcessorPentium 90MHz or better
Memory16Mb RAM
GraphicsSupported 32Mb Graphics Card
Storage60 MB Hard Disk Space
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