History YMMV / XComEnemyUnknown

* DamnYouMuscleMemory: If you're coming into this game from the old {{X-COM}}, good luck breaking old tactical habits!

* NothingIsScarier: On some missions, either because of a larger than usual map or placement of enemies, it can take you a while to actually find the aliens if you're advancing slowly. This only makes you more nervous as you continue to worry about stumbling into a horde of Mutons or a swarm of Thin Men.
** Or worse, when you've moved forward so quickly that you wind up with aliens behind you - but you aren't sure where they are, and you're standing in the middle of an alien base with Mutons and Chryssalids coming from god-knows-where. You have two options - split the party, or wander around hunting for the last enemies on the map.
*** Or pull a six-way BackToBackBadasses LastStand, because twenty turns in, the aliens have their fog of war removed so you don't wind up chasing the last alien all over the map. Bonus points if they all make it out alive.

* UnfortunateImplications: Unintentional - Otto Zander, one of the four hero units, is an entirely innocent reference to a Let's Play of the original game. However, he happens to share a name with a prominent Nazi from the 1930s, provoking some consternation for those (mostly in German circles) familiar with the historical figure but not the internet one.

*** Woe betide the player though who incautiously moves their troops into Rift range and fails to kill him, though - he (and his goons) are more than capable of dishing out a {{Total Party Kill}}. He's really more a {{Glass Cannon}} than anything.

** The purists who hate the game because they feel it's nothing like the original X-COM.

* DamnYouMuscleMemory: If you're coming into this game from the old X-Com, good luck breaking old tactical habits!

** Chryssalids are this early-game. Them looking like GiantSpiders doesn't help.
*** Between the absurd movement range they get per turn and the ungodly powerful attack, it's like they were designed to be annoying.

* GameBreaker: You can now use the CreatorCameo soldiers with game breaking stats. Also Otto Zander, the hero from [=GuavaMoment=]'s X-COM Let's Play / Fanfiction.
** A sniper with Double Tap, Squad Sight, and a Plasma Sniper Rifle is going to pretty much slaughter the opposition. In The Zone is also pretty broken, but relies on your sniper being in position to flank everyone, or all enemies being out of cover.

** Units firing may bug out and be shown shooting while facing in a completely different direction... and the rounds still go right into their target.

* MostAnnoyingSound: Vahlen's requests to preserve the aliens' equipment can get rather annoying on harder difficulty modes, where fighting without extreme prejudice (read: [[StuffBlowingUp explosives]]) is generally out of the question.

** The Run and Gun sound effect (optionally followed by "Moving at the speed of death"). Well, except for the times when your Assault charges in to give one hapless alien a faceful of shotgun [[OhCrap only to aggro six nearby Mutons]].
*** Of course, later on it's a [[WeHaveReserves somewhat-viable tactic]] to just lob a rocket or a couple grenades in after a [[NewMeat squaddie-level soldier]] that you're using to scout out areas, especially when you've expanded your squad to it's full size and have the upgrade that automatically levels new soldiers to the squaddie level and gives them their class.

*** Or pull a six-way BackToBackBadasses LastStand, because twenty turns in the aliens have their fog of war removed so you don't wind up chasing the last alien all over the map. Bonus points if they all make it out alive.
* TheScrappy: Central Officer Bradford is not popular with some fans, probably because the first thing he does in game is command the very first XCOM squad to their death leaving only one survivor, and from then on seems to make it a point to act in complete GenreBlindness.

** Doesn't help that Bradford is yammering in your ear every turn. Yes, I know this is urgent, now get off the line!

** The Sectopods have a long range, and it's possible that [[ParanoiaFuel it can hit you without you being aware of its existence.]] Your first encounter with a Sectopod would most likely involve a ''giant fucking laser coming out of nowhere.''

** You can also ghost in some heavies and rocket-spam him. He can't handle more than two rockets anyway.

*** Woe betide the player though who incautiously moves their troops into Rift range and fails to kill the final boss- he (and his goons) are more than capable of dishing out a {{Total Party Kill}}. He's really more a {{Glass Cannon}} than anything.

* CreepyAwesome: The chryssalids mostly but some of the other aliens can qualify for this.

* DemonicSpiders: Sectopods. Enough health to require almost your entire squad's damage output to put down, high enough armor to ensure a good portion of your squad will miss anyway, multiple attacks per turn AND a free overwatch shot, the ability to unleash (after one turn) a devastating area attack which, if you're unlucky, you might not see coming. And as a mechanical unit, it is impervious to most psionic abilities.

* GeniusBonus:
** The [[spoiler:Blaster Launcher]] research project is codenamed "Tunguska", no doubt after the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunguska_event Tunguska event]].
* GoodBadBugs: Units firing may bug out and be shown shooting while facing in a completely different direction... and the rounds still go right into their target.

* GoddamnBats: Floaters; unlike the original game, many players actually hate them now. Thin Men as well, as they're highly mobile like Floaters, and pack the same amount of firepower. Sure they die in one shot (unless you shoot them with your basic sidearm or are playing on Impossible difficulty), but they have the annoying poison attack (which reduces a soldier's Aim) and they explode into a cloud of poison when killed.
* HellIsThatNoise: In terror missions, there are the constant sounds of air raid sirens and people screaming during the mission. The death cries of killed civilians are also this, ''especially'' if they are killed by a Chryssalid.
** In-game, too. Sometimes your soldiers will hear the aliens (accompanied by a visible wave of sound from the direction of the alien).
* MostWonderfulSound: Alien death cries, especially Chryssalids when they let out a loud painful shriek when you shoot the last life out of them. Each one you hear means you have successfully taken out something that was trying to kill you.
** Also, your advisers' compliments when you complete a mission with no injuries or deaths. Feel proud, you deserve to.

* {{Narm}}: There are times when the randomly generated operation names can be rather silly. WordSaladTitle is the most common form of this, but you'll occasionally see RedundantDepartmentOfRedundancy as well.
* NightmareFuel: The Terror missions. You hear screams and panicking in the background while you're attempting to rescue an isolated group of civilians, who are being picked off one by one by aliens. The terror missions are also probably going to be the first time you'll meet the [[DemonicSpiders Chryssalids]]. Huh? They killed a civilian, you say? What!? THE CIVILIAN IT KILLED [[CameBackWrong CAME BACK TO LIFE!?]]

** Or worse, when you've moved forward so quickly that you wind up with aliens behind you - but you aren't sure where they are, and you're standing in the middle of an alien base with Mutons and Cryssalids coming from god-knows-where. You have two options - split the party, or wander around hunting for the last enemies on the map.

* ThatOneLevel: Confounding Light from the Slingshot DLC. You have only ''ten turns'' to find and activate four beacons, all of which are heavily guarded by poisonous Thin Men and hard hitting Mutons.
** Vahlen's requests to preserve the aliens' equipment may get rather annoying on harder difficulty modes when for a lot of the game the player will find fighting without extreme prejudice to be out of the question.

* TheScrappy: [[http://i.imgur.com/XZS0U.jpg Not a lot of people like Central Officer Bradford]]. Probably because the first thing he does in game is command the very first XCOM squad to their death leaving only one survivor, and from then on seems to make it a point to act in complete GenreBlindness.

*** Woe betide the player though who incautiously moves their troops into Rift range and fails to kill the final boss- he (and his goons) are more than capable of dishing out a {{TotalPartyKill}}. He's really more a {{GlassCanon}}than anything.

*** Woe betide the player though who incautiously moves their troops into Rift range and fails to kill the final boss- he (and his goons) are more than capable of dishing out a [[TotalPartyKill]]. He's really more a [[GlassCanon]] than anything.

* TheScrappy: [[http://i.imgur.com/XZS0U.jpg Not a lot of people like Central Officer Bradford]]. Probably because the first thing he does in game is command the very first XCOM squad to their death leaving only one survivor, and from then on seems to make it a point to act in complete GenreBlindness.
** Bradford's problem, of course, is that he's [[WrongGenreSavvy reading from the wrong playbook]]: he would be ''exactly right'' about his predictions (such as after the alien base is destroyed) in most other contexts. To his credit, when he's proven wrong or shown that he's not considering the value of the discussion (such as during the discussion about capturing the aliens), he quickly reverses his position and comes around to the right way of thinking.

* HellIsThatNoise: In terror missions, there are the constant sounds of air raid sirens and people screaming during the mission. The death cries of killed civilians are also this, ''especially'' is they are killed by a Chryssalid.

* HellIsThatNoise: In terror missions, there are the constant sounds of air raid sirens and people screaming during the mission. The death cry's of killed civilians are also this, ''especially'' is they are killed by a Chryssalid.

EnsembleDarkhorse: Dr. Vahlen, due to her actions and thinking well reflecting that of many XCOM players. While she may get excited at the sight of new technologies, she does show empathy for the soldiers and fear for humanity.

* EightPointEight: 8.2 from IGN, igniting a mass of muttering and furrowed brows from dedicated fans. Metacritic gives it a solid-ish 89/100, brought down by ''one'' 70% review. Even ''[[ZeroPunctuation Yahtzee]]'' liked the game.