X-COM: First Alien Invasion review (PC)

There are five different settings, ranging from close urban terrain to more open areas around spaceships, and each setting has ten different maps. The number of units per side can be as few as four or as many as six, but the sides are always equal. Because the number of units and power-ups, as well as their placement on the map, varies with each mission, two missions should not play the same way twice. It just seems like they do.

Two other major differences from the original X-COM are that each mission takes place on a single full-screen map and that there are power-ups scattered about. Some of the power-ups provide grenades and mines, others can improve health or increase firepower, and others have negative effects, such as exploding when picked up, trapping a unit in place, or instantly teleporting a unit to another part of the map.

The power-ups are located in crates, boxes, and barrels that must be blasted open. Without moving a unit into the square with an item, there's no way to know whether it will have a positive or negative effect. Unfortunately, this trial-and-error approach can quickly unbalance a game when a powerful unit steps on a mine early in a mission.

To play by e-mail, one person gets online and starts a game by choosing a map and the side he wants to play. After giving orders, the player clicks on the "send" button, which automatically opens windows to provide information about each player's name and e-mail address. Once that information is filled in, the turn is automatically sent as a file attachment to an e-mail message, and then you see the results of the turn.

The player receiving the e-mail can either open the file attachment or find the directory where it's stored and double-click on the file to open it. This player then sees what happened during the first player's turn and gives his own orders. Once the player finishes, he clicks on the "send" button to send the turn back. This process is repeated until one side eliminates the other.

Those who enjoyed the original X-COM or its sequels probably won't find the e-mail version of the game interesting enough to hold their attention long. There's just too much missing to capture the mood and personality of the first game. However, for someone looking for a simple, tactical-level game to play online, email X-COM provides an easy, nonthreatening solution.