History WMG / XComEnemyUnknown

Both ''VideoGame/X-COM'' and ''VideoGame/SidMeiersAlphaCentauri'' are highly beloved classics without a worthy successor until Firaxis stepped in, this happening for the former in our universe, and for the latter in XCOM:EU's.

Taking from the WordOfGod that Sectoids are intrinsically cruel and cowardly and that they're actually clones of the same individual Sectoid, it is very likely the Etherals merely chose a single Sectoid who had the gift and either did not know about its murderous tendencies after they starting clones it and/or purposely chose it [[AssholeVictim to make it suffer as a one man disposable army]]. Either way, the Sectoids seen in the game may not be actually indictive of the species as a whole.

[[WMG: Soldiers recruited from the greater United Kingdom are former {{Torchwood}} members.]]

** Likely; this troper once got a Trooper named "Jack O'Neil"...

*** Seems pretty obvious that they made it out...they got shoved telekinetically and were possibly pushed psionically back to the Skyranger, it took off with everyone on board...

* Another possiblity is that the pump iteself generates the charge for the next shot.

He wasn't colluding with the aliens, he was colluding with the group that was colluding with the aliens. XCOM simply got a few details wrong with their intel.

* What XCOM refers to as "Meld" is actually the Firaxite that allows for the BrainUploading of Supremacist civilizations, and Purist factions believe they are following in the footsteps of the XCOM project.

Or what lies ahead is Beyond Earth. The Ethereals were preparing us to go Beyond Earth. If the "Ascension" Victory Option from Alpha Centauri makes a return, then the new Ascension will be performing what the Ethereals themselves failed to do. Considering that X-COM squads make an appearance in BNW...

Why would EXALT weapons need a "reload" action to be usable after you take down their communication network temporarily. Then I realized it works as [[TakeThat a jab at always on DRM.]] You lose the signal and it happens at the worst possible time in the middle of the action and need to restart. In this case apply it to the actual weapons. Bonus points: this inconveniences the users but never effects the people who actually steal it. Used by the very corporate EXALT despite the fact they should know better. DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything?

As with the S.C.O.P.E, the game never tells us what it means. A guess would be "'''EX'''tremist '''A'''lien-'''L'''oving '''T'''errorists".

* This Troper finds it unlikely that MEC troopers speak like that when wearing their Base Augments while off duty. Everyone seems to have forgotten that [[Franchise/STARCRAFT Goliaths]] spoke in exactly the same way back in 1998 as MEC Troopers in XCOM do today, and yet Goliaths were a piloted mech suit with a normal human inside of it. In both cases, the out-of-universe reason for it is [[RuleofCool Rule of Cool]] and the in-universe reason probably has something to do with ease of unit identification or a need to amplify the voice to compensate for the human being stuck inside a walking metal coffin that will tend to retain sound.

* This Troper finds it unlikely that MEC troopers speak like that when wearing their Base Augments while off duty. Everyone seems to have forgotten that [[Starcraft Goliaths]] spoke in exactly the same way back in 1998 as MEC Troopers in XCOM do today, and yet Goliaths were a piloted mech suit with a normal human inside of it. In both cases, the out-of-universe reason for it is [[RuleofCool Rule of Cool]] and the in-universe reason probably has something to do with ease of unit identification or a need to amplify the voice to compensate for the human being stuck inside a walking metal coffin that will tend to retain sound.

[[Gene-modded soldiers will pass on the mods to any offspring they have]]

The sequel will justify developing new weapons and technology, the sequel will introduce SequelEscalation. The new aliens will be so heavily armed that even the technology from the first game is useless against them. This will likely be demonstrated by them destroying the base from ''Enemy Unknown''.

* The war against the Ethereals took place all the way back during the Age of Terra, with the the hostile first contact with alien life [[AbsoluteXenophobe forever cemented humanity's distrust of xenos]]. The reverse engineered alien technology jump stating humanity's scientific knowledge and allowing for rapid technological advancement that eventually became the basis for the Dark Age of Technology and the creation of the Standard Template Construct (with laser and plasma weapons being some of the few designs that survived into the 41st Millennium). While X-COM eventually inspiring Malcador to create the Inquisition (The organization's ability to serve as the guardians of humanity operating outside the law, and the Ordo Xenos inspired by [[JackBauerInterrogationTechnique Dr. Vahlen's alien interrogations]]) and Emperor to create the Adeptus Astartes (A [[EliteArmy small, elite]], [[PoweredArmor power armor wearing]], [[{{Transhuman}} genetically engineered]], {{Super Soldier}}s that serves as the spear tip for the rest of the military during conflicts).

[[WMG: EXALT'S weapons going down with communication is satirizing always on DRM]

An elite organization dedicated to specific strikes, which employs technology far beyond the scope of any other army, and eventually uses incredible psionic powers which manifest via [[PurpleIsPowerful purple]] energy? Sound familiar?

[[WMG: [[GoodEats Alton Brown]] is a Thin Man]]

[[WMG: The Ethereals are preparing mankind for the coming of the Reapers]]
* There really is no bigger threat to life on earth, or alien life for that matter, then an ancient machine race dedicated to the destruction of organic life. Perhaps the aliens originally tried to fight the Reapers from the previous cycle, but ran into the problem indoctrination posed. They tried cyborgs to counter this problem and that didn't work. They then tried synthetics, but that didn't work either. As the Reapers tightened the noose, the Prothean Empire or alliance of races or what have you tried one last ditch defense: developing psionic soldiers. Ethereals and Sectoid Commanders were the results of the development, but their physical frailty made an army of them impractical given dwindling resources. After the Reapers left, survivors from that cycle banded together and are trying to forcefully jump start humanity's development so they can be adequately prepared with a large army of versatile and physically hardy Psionic troops. This also explains why the Aliens don't send in an enormous army (even without orbital bombardment) and quickly cow mankind to make the whole uplifting thing easier: they don't have the manpower to do so. 1,000 aliens at most is a generous estimate, given how many soldiers they commit to individual engagements at a time and how many of those engagements you're going to win (and therefore butchering the entire enemy team).
** XCOM's success against the invaders would also make an excellent springboard for creating the Systems Alliance.
** Exalt jumping to Cerberus doesn't seem like much of a stretch either.

* It's already been shown the Civilization franchise exists in the same universe as XCOM, and SMAC picks up where a Science Victory ends in Civilization. The Ethereals know the Usurpers are trying to achieve godhood through exploiting Manifold Six, and fear they will conquer all other races if not stopped. They've chosen to fight fire with fire and combat transcendence with psychic powers.