Skip to main content
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ The Games, Movies, TV & Comics You Love
UK EditionUK US EditionUS CA EditionCanada AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Games
    • Game Insights
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
    • Genres
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
    • Franchises
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • Insights
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
    • Computing
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
    • Accessories & Tech
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
Total Film
  • home
  • Games
    • View Games
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • View Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • View Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • View TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • View Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • View Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • View Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • View Hardware
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • View Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • View Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
Total Film
Gaming Magazines
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe from just £3
  • Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12
Subscribe now
Don't miss these
A screenshot of strategy game Terra Invicta
Strategy Games Sci-fi grand strategy game from the devs behind beloved XCOM mod launches in 1.0 to 87% "Very Positive" Steam reviews
Escape from Tarkov review
FPS Games "We never planned the game to be for everyone": How Escape from Tarkov pioneered a new era of FPS
The Blood of Dawnwalker screenshot showing Coen in combat versus some armed guards
RPGs The Blood of Dawnwalker devs "were afraid that people wouldn't want to play as human Coen" so it set out to create "a combat system that can set a new standard for RPGs"
A character in Ontos' key art sits in a chair that merges purple, floral, biological design with high-tech cables - their face is blurred with multiple expressions showing inner turmoil while their eyes are closed - with the GamesRadar+ Big in 2026 frame
Survival Horror Games Soma successor Ontos is "like Shadow of the Colossus" says its creative director: The moon-set horror is "built around the looming excitement and dread of what the next big Experiment will be like"
Helldivers 2 screenshot of two soldiers cheering in the desert
Third Person Shooters After Helldivers 2 boss teased chaos in upcoming update, new Illuminate structures appear in Super Earth media
A player shooting at a robot enemy with no health bar in Arc Raiders
Third Person Shooters I love exploring in Arc Raiders, but there's so much I wish I'd known before I set out
A squad of space marines standing in a row and firing in Total War: Warhammer 40K
Total War Total War: Warhammer 40,000's crusade system sounds a lot like Helldivers 2: "Every campaign you play, there is meaning to it"
John Carpenter's Toxic Commando
FPS Games John Carpenter's Toxic Commando is the the Left 4 Dead-like horde shooter I've been waiting for since 2009
An RPG party strolls through a whimsically colorful fantasy landscape.
RPGs Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's new DLC bosses and nerfs are forcing players to retool their months-old endgame builds
A distant flare illuminates the sky in Arc Raiders
Third Person Shooters Arc Raiders review: "The most memorable multiplayer experiences I've had all year – this shooter is tense but wonderfully approachable"
An orc faction in Age of Wonders 4
Strategy Games The 25 best strategy games to play right now
Destroy All Humans!
Games "Instead of being 80% UFO and 20% on foot, we flipped it": How Destroy All Humans' sci-fi action oddity conquered all
The best 4X games to play in 2024
Games The best 4X games to play on PC and console right now
Arc Raiders raider in a pilot helmet looks at the camera in a sunlit forest
Third Person Shooters Arc Raiders left with a grand question after sacrificing their characters for light Expedition loot: "Was it worth it?"
Arc Raiders automaton medical vendor Lance
RPGs Arc Raiders and The Alters would have been my GOTY picks, until I discovered the depressing thing they have in common
Trending
  • New Games for 2026
  • CES 2026
  • 2026 Preview
  • The Forge codes
  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
CATEGORIES
PC Gaming PlayStation Xbox Platforms
PRODUCTS
XCOM: Enemy Unknown XCOM: Enemy Within
Ryan Taljonick
Ryan Taljonick
Social Links Navigation

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. 

Share by:
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Whatsapp
  • Pinterest
  • Flipboard
Share this article
Join the conversation
Follow us
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Read more
Menace
I never really vibed with XCOM 2, but this Steam Next Fest demo is a turn-based strategy RPG I can finally get behind
 
 
Helldivers 2 screenshot of two soldiers cheering in the desert
Helldivers 2 ramps up the authoritarian satire as High Command takes action against civilians who make too much eye contact, and fans think a new rebel faction is on the way
 
 
Helldivers 2 screenshot of two soldiers cheering in the desert
After Helldivers 2 boss teased chaos in upcoming update, new Illuminate structures appear in Super Earth media
 
 
A screenshot of strategy game Terra Invicta
Sci-fi grand strategy game from the devs behind beloved XCOM mod launches in 1.0 to 87% "Very Positive" Steam reviews
 
 
Helldivers 2 soldier in intro animation with shocked expression
Helldivers 2 studio Arrowhead has an entire "Meta" team internally, but they aren't in charge of the best guns: "They define the rules of the whole game, and you’ll find your beloved Game Masters in this"
 
 
Exodus
Mass Effect veteran's Mass Effect-style sci-fi RPG sure looks a lot like Mass Effect in its new trailer
 
 
Latest in Strategy
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance screenshot of blue-haired protagonist Ike
One of GameCube's rarest games is available on Switch 2 as Nintendo releases Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
 
 
Manor Lords bug
"If we're publishing the game, 'no f***ing AI assets'": Strategy and city builder powerhouse Hooded Horse bans AI art
 
 
Dwarf Fortress
"Mothers no longer seek ghostly babies," declare the latest Dwarf Fortress patch notes, starting 2026 in rare form
 
 
A screenshot of strategy game Terra Invicta
Sci-fi grand strategy game from the devs behind beloved XCOM mod launches in 1.0 to 87% "Very Positive" Steam reviews
 
 
Cropped header key art for Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles
OG Final Fantasy Tactics director says he "underestimated" how popular The Ivalice Chronicles would be
 
 
A squad of space marines standing in a row and firing in Total War: Warhammer 40K
Total War: Warhammer 40,000's crusade system sounds a lot like Helldivers 2: "Every campaign you play, there is meaning to it"
 
 
Latest in Features
Warhammer 40,000 Necron models on a blasted, rocky battlefield
My favorite Warhammer 40K army just got a whole lot better
 
 
Razer Blade 16 2025 gaming laptop on a wooden desk
CES is over... so where are the Razer Blades?
 
 
Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas, Sadie Sink as Max, Noah Schnapp as Will, and Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin in Stranger Things season 5
In the TikTok theory era, Conformity Gate is no surprise – but it's distracting from a fitting Stranger Things finale
 
 
Two Star Wars: Legion Starter Set boxes beside each other on a wooden table
How to choose the right Star Wars: Legion army for you
 
 
Big in 2026 hero image
Big in 2026: The ultimate guide to the video games that will shape 2026 and beyond
 
 
Kingsport Lighthouse settlement in Fallout 4
Fallout 4 is a great RPG, but it took 10 years and a radioactive lighthouse for me to see it
 
 
  1. Aaron Wei battles a bug monster in Trails Beyond the Horizon
    1
    Trails Beyond the Horizon review: "This JRPG's thrilling real-time and turn-based combat evolves Metaphor ReFantazio's hybrid battles, making up for a poorly paced adventure"
  2. 2
    This alt-history board game is still a gold standard for modern strategy
  3. 3
    Skate Story review: "A beautiful and unique skateboarding game with great, stylized visuals set in a grungy underworld"
  4. 4
    Octopath Traveler 0 review: "The strongest entry in this retro-styled JRPG series yet, I love the greater focus on tactical battles"
  5. 5
    Sleep Awake review: "An all-timer horror premise is let down by tired stealth that I feel like I'm sleepwalking through"
  1. Oona Chaplin as Varang in Avatar: Fire and Ash
    1
    Avatar: Fire and Ash review: "Still a technical marvel, with some of the year's best action filmmaking"
  2. 2
    Five Nights at Freddy's 2 review: "We have waited two years for a Five Nights at Freddy's 1.5"
  3. 3
    Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery review: "Brings Knives Out back to its roots for a sequel that's almost on a par with the original"
  4. 4
    Wicked: For Good review: "Builds to an incredibly cathartic conclusion, but isn't quite as captivating as Part 1"
  5. 5
    The Running Man review: "Some fun action and Glen Powell's star power aren't enough to energize this disappointing Stephen King adaptation"
  1. Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven in Stranger Things season 5 volume 2
    1
    Stranger Things season 5 finale review: “Shows off both the best and the worst of Hawkins”
  2. 2
    Stranger Things season 5, Volume 2 review: “All set up for a finale that has so much to deliver”
  3. 3
    Fallout season 2 review: "A hell of a lot of fun despite being overcrowded and convoluted"
  4. 4
    Stranger Things season 5 volume 1 review: “Can the Duffer brothers stick the landing? It’s sure looking like they will”
  5. 5
    Pluribus season 1 review: "Easily one of the year's best dramas"

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google
  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...