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  1. Games
  2. Strategy

Fight aliens and humans alike in XCOM: Enemy Within

Features
By Ryan Taljonick published 9 October 2013

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

A new enemy approaches

A new enemy approaches

Some people manage to find the good in even the bleakest of scenarios. Take, for example, the members of the Exalt, a covert organization new to XCOM: Enemy Within. Where normal people might view the attempted genocide of the entire human race by hostile aliens as problematic, the Exalt looks at it as the perfect opportunity to perfect mankind's evolution using alien tech. Unfortunately, their devotion to human experimentation is sort of at odds with XCOM's mission of preserving human life--so it's up to you, Commander, to shut them down.

The Exalt operate from hidden cells around the globe, which you'll have to spend XCOM funds to track down--funds you could've spent on satellites, equipment upgrades, or other crucial resources. The more Exalt missions you complete, the closer you'll get to discovering their headquarters and stopping them for good. Choose to ignore them for long, though, and they'll send entire nations into panic, causing them to back out of the XCOM project.

What Exalt forces lack in firepower (which isn't much, truth be told), they make up for in numbers. You'll want to send your most experienced units to take them on, as they're quick about surrounding and overwhelming you. You'll have to use everything at your disposal, including new items like gas grenades, which poison enemies, and ghost grenades, which provide a few turns of stealth on whomever they're used on, if you hope to survive their onslaught. As if facing a relentless army of murderous aliens wasn't already hard enough.

Page 1 of 6
Page 1 of 6
Gas grenades, a new addition to Enemy Within, are an AOE poison that damage enemies each turn.

Gas grenades, a new addition to Enemy Within, are an AOE poison that damage enemies each turn.

Page 2 of 6
Page 2 of 6
Ghost grenades, on the other hand, will temporarily stealth your allies.

Ghost grenades, on the other hand, will temporarily stealth your allies.

Page 3 of 6
Page 3 of 6
You'll start each Exalt operation by sending in a covert operative. Some missions hinge on that soldier's survival.

You'll start each Exalt operation by sending in a covert operative. Some missions hinge on that soldier's survival.

Page 4 of 6
Page 4 of 6
Exalt troops tend to swarm in huge numbers and will overwhelm your squad if you're not careful.

Exalt troops tend to swarm in huge numbers and will overwhelm your squad if you're not careful.

Page 5 of 6
Page 5 of 6
You can hack these little comm towers to interrupt the Exalt's communications, thus paralyzing them for an entire turn.

You can hack these little comm towers to interrupt the Exalt's communications, thus paralyzing them for an entire turn.

Page 6 of 6
Page 6 of 6
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XCOM: Enemy Unknown XCOM: Enemy Within
Ryan Taljonick
Ryan Taljonick
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Ryan was once the Executive Editor of GamesRadar, before moving into the world of games development. He worked as a Brand Manager at EA, and then at Bethesda Softworks, before moving to 2K. He briefly went back to EA and is now the Director of Global Marketing Strategy at 2K. 

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