Video-game aliens have gotten bigger, uglier and meaner over the years. Think of the Covenant warriors in “Halo” or the Locust Horde in “Gears of War”: huge, dumb, slobbering brutes who can soak up plenty of bullets before they pounce on you and crush your skull.
The extraterrestrial invaders in “XCOM: Enemy Unknown” (2K Games, for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, $59.99; PC, $49.99) aren’t exactly benevolent — they have come to Earth to enslave humanity — but their advantage is more technological than physical. Indeed, the first aliens you encounter, the Sectoids, are so scrawny they look like a stiff breeze could snap them. But their laser guns can disintegrate human flesh, and some of them can take over helpless Earthling minds.
Recommended Stories
Print subscriber? Click here to login/register your account
Digital subscriber? Click here to login/register your account.