Do I Need to Play XCOM: Enemy Unknown Before Enemy Within?
The short answer is a bit nuanced: you don’t technically need to play XCOM: Enemy Unknown before XCOM: Enemy Within, but you absolutely should. While Enemy Within is an expansion pack and not a standalone game, meaning it requires the base game (Enemy Unknown) to function, skipping directly to Enemy Within is a disservice to your overall experience. Let’s delve into why that is the case and provide a comprehensive breakdown of the situation.
The Technical Requirements vs. The Optimal Experience
The first thing to understand is that XCOM: Enemy Within is explicitly designed as an expansion pack. This means that it builds upon the foundation of XCOM: Enemy Unknown. It doesn’t rewrite the core mechanics or fundamental story. Instead, it enhances and expands upon it. The Enemy Within install requires that XCOM: Enemy Unknown is already installed. Think of it like a significant, transformative DLC rather than a completely new game. So yes, you must own Enemy Unknown to play Enemy Within.
However, just because you can jump straight into Enemy Within doesn’t mean you should. There are compelling reasons to experience Enemy Unknown first, which greatly enhance your enjoyment of Enemy Within.
Why You Should Play Enemy Unknown First
Grasping the Basics
XCOM: Enemy Unknown serves as a perfect introduction to the complex and demanding world of XCOM. It slowly introduces you to the game’s core mechanics, including:
- Base Management: Researching new technologies, constructing facilities, and managing your resources.
- Tactical Combat: Learning the intricacies of turn-based combat, including utilizing cover, flanking enemies, and using different soldier abilities.
- Soldier Customization: Developing your squad, promoting soldiers, and equipping them with new gear.
- Strategic Layer: Interpreting the geopolitical situation, choosing your next missions, and managing panic levels in various countries.
Starting with Enemy Unknown allows you to gradually learn these systems without the added complexity of Enemy Within’s additional features. You’ll have a chance to make mistakes, experiment, and truly understand the base game mechanics without being overwhelmed. Jumping directly to Enemy Within throws a lot more at you at once and the learning curve becomes much steeper and less forgiving.
A More Rewarding Experience
Once you have a handle on Enemy Unknown, the enhancements introduced by Enemy Within become even more impactful. These upgrades will have more meaning for you. When you understand how Enemy Unknown works you will have the experience to truly appreciate additions like:
- MEC Troopers: The introduction of these powerful mechanical units and their new tech tree has more impact and strategic value after a vanilla playthrough.
- Gene Mods: The new transhumanism elements are more engaging when you have a base understanding of normal soldier progression.
- New Missions: The addition of new mission types will feel more diverse and meaningful.
When these are thrown at you all at once, your first experience might just leave you confused as well as overwhelmed.
Avoiding Overwhelm
Enemy Within layers a host of new content onto an already intricate game. This includes not just new abilities and units but also new resources, new enemies, and a whole new narrative thread concerning the EXALT group. If you try to manage all of this from the very start, you’re likely to find the game overly complex and frustrating. Enemy Unknown provides the foundational understanding required to properly enjoy the expanded content of Enemy Within.
Story and Narrative
While Enemy Within doesn’t alter the main story progression of Enemy Unknown, it does add to it. Having played Enemy Unknown first gives the EXALT story arc more weight and context, allowing for a more comprehensive understanding of the XCOM universe. When you understand the basic alien threat and the initial challenges to XCOM, the extra layer of human based threat in EXALT adds to your strategic thinking and overall narrative understanding.
The Recommended Order
While not required, playing Enemy Unknown first is overwhelmingly recommended in both the XCOM community, but also through general game play advice from critics. Playing Enemy Unknown and then moving to Enemy Within will give you a more satisfying and holistic experience of the game. You get the chance to master the basics of the game, and then you can enjoy everything the expansion pack has to offer. This will make your entire XCOM experience more enjoyable, rewarding, and engaging.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What exactly is XCOM: Enemy Within?
XCOM: Enemy Within is a standalone expansion pack for the turn-based tactical video game XCOM: Enemy Unknown. It adds significant new content, including new units, enemies, missions, and narrative elements, with a particular emphasis on transhumanism through gene modifications and MEC troopers.
2. Do I need to own XCOM: Enemy Unknown to play Enemy Within?
Yes, absolutely. Enemy Within requires XCOM: Enemy Unknown to be installed. It is not a standalone game.
3. Does Enemy Within change the main story of Enemy Unknown?
No, it does not alter the core narrative of Enemy Unknown. Instead, it adds a new narrative arc through the EXALT organization and new gameplay elements that enhance the experience.
4. Is it okay to start with Enemy Within if I am new to XCOM games?
While technically possible, it is strongly advised against. Starting with Enemy Unknown provides a smoother learning curve to master the basics before tackling the added complexities of Enemy Within.
5. What are the main differences between Enemy Unknown and Enemy Within?
- Enemy Unknown is the base game, focusing on core combat and base management mechanics.
- Enemy Within adds new units (MEC troopers), gene modifications, new mission types, new enemy types, and an additional narrative layer focused on the EXALT organization.
6. What are MEC troopers and gene mods in Enemy Within?
MEC troopers are powerful robotic units that can be upgraded and customized. Gene mods allow you to enhance your soldiers’ abilities by using alien DNA. These provide new gameplay options but add complexity to the original system.
7. Will I miss anything if I skip Enemy Unknown and play just Enemy Within?
Yes, you will potentially miss out on the satisfaction of learning the base game’s mechanics gradually, along with the narrative impact of the expansion content.
8. Does playing Enemy Unknown before Enemy Within make Enemy Within easier?
It does not make the game easier as such, but it makes it less challenging by preparing you for the added complexity. Mastering the base game will enable you to handle the new challenges with better understanding and preparation.
9. Is XCOM: Enemy Within a full game?
Enemy Within is considered a standalone expansion and not a full game. It requires the base game, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, to function.
10. What order should I play the XCOM games?
A recommended play order is: XCOM: Enemy Unknown, XCOM: Enemy Within, and then XCOM 2. Some people also include XCOM: Chimera Squad which is a spin-off that takes place after the events of XCOM 2
11. Is XCOM 2 much harder than XCOM: Enemy Unknown and Enemy Within?
Yes, XCOM 2 is often considered more challenging than both Enemy Unknown and Enemy Within. It introduces new mechanics and an overall more demanding strategic and tactical experience.
12. Should I play XCOM 1 before XCOM 2?
It is not required, but it is recommended. Playing Enemy Unknown and Enemy Within will give you a greater appreciation for the narrative of XCOM 2 as well as getting you used to the XCOM playstyle and overall game mechanic and strategic thinking.
13. What is XCOM: War of the Chosen?
War of the Chosen is the expansion pack for XCOM 2, which adds significantly more content and new gameplay mechanics, akin to how Enemy Within enhanced Enemy Unknown.
14. If I only have time for one, should I pick Enemy Unknown or Enemy Within?
If you had the choice between these two and didn’t own either: You would need to choose Enemy Unknown to be able to play Enemy Within as it is an expansion pack. If time was of the essence however, it is still recommended that you try to play Enemy Unknown first, but it can be done on easy mode just to give you a feel for the game. You will get more from a full Enemy Within experience with a basic grasp of Enemy Unknown.
15. Are XCOM and Xenonauts similar?
Both are turn-based tactical games based around aliens. However Xenonauts is set in the 1970s and uses the weapons and technology of that era. It also has a much stricter approach with less forgiving mechanics than the XCOM series.
In conclusion, while you can technically jump into XCOM: Enemy Within without playing XCOM: Enemy Unknown, doing so will likely result in a more challenging and less rewarding experience. Start with the base game, learn its intricacies, and then enjoy the enhancements that Enemy Within provides. This approach will give you the best possible XCOM experience.