X-COM: Interceptor
X-COM: Interceptor
Game
Game2008
X-COM: Apocalypse
Developer MicroProse Software, Inc
X-COM: Apocalypse is a 1997 science fiction tactical strategy video game developed by Mythos Games and published by MicroProse for DOS. It is the third installment in the X-COM series, following Terror from the Deep. Set 50 years after the second campaign, the game takes place primarily within the futuristic megalopolis of Mega-Primus. Unlike its predecessors, Apocalypse introduced real-time tactical combat… From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
318 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon) · newest Nov 5, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
89
LovedLoved
155 positive · 19 negative
95% range 84–93%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 155 | 19 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 6 | 3 | 123 |
| Mastodon * | 3 | 0 | 9 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
619 of 690 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
89% recommend · 155 yes, 19 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 174 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (855 of 964 positive).
Some reviewers note the game has a steep learning curve and dated graphics, but still find it compelling. [1][2]
Liked
Representative posts
- [1]
General Thoughts/Overview: Xcom Apocalypse has a lot of potential. I think a remake with modern QoL improvements and an ingame tutorial might make for a really compelling piece. As it is, however? I suspect it’s unplayable without a significant volume of time spent working out what the hell is going on. Please note that this non-recommendation comes after less than an hour of play, and over 2 hours spent in the …
- [10]
I have a unique perspective on the XCOM series, and that’s mainly because this was my first XCOM. I was too young to appreciate UFO Defense or Terror from the Deep when they came out, but the bright colors and detailed environments of Apocalypse were enough to draw my adolescent attentions. It certainly helped that I could skip the traditional turn-based action for real-time chaos, blasting aliens and burning down …
- [3]
UFO: X-COM Apocalypse combines tactical gameplay with real-time combat and the ability to pause. For me, it is undoubtedly the best installment among the first three titles in the series. Of course, I played UFO 1 and UFO 2 extensively, but the groundbreaking part, in my opinion, turned out to be X-COM Apocalypse. This is largely due to the game’s physics, the real-time-with-pause mechanic, and innovative …
- [6]
The last true X-COM game before it got cartoony & lighthearted this is even more the case with XCOM Chimera which I pretend doesn't exist. I still appreciate both XCOM EU & XCOM & I know they are still considered serious/dark but I can tell you the atmosphere is heavy in Apocalypse and it simply isn't matched in the reboot XCOMS. To give further context the design of enemies are not truly revolting you don't …
- [4]
X-COM Apocalypse is one of those strategy games you should have at least played once if you are a fan of strategy games. The biggest difference with the two previous X-COM games, is that battles can be played not only in turns but also in real-time. The battles with the ships against the aliens is also very entertaining. Again, you build a base, investigate based on what you find in the battlefield and battle in …
Summarised from 34 of the 301 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 10, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
89% of the 174 Steam reviewers we collected recommend X-COM: Apocalypse. The complaint that keeps coming up: steep learning curve makes it hard to get into. Deal-breaker or nitpick?
Critics, per Wikipedia
The game received favorable reviews. Next Generation said, "In the end, Apocalypse is a step in the right direction, but a step with a wobble. With better control over the cityscape, and more distinct atmosphere and character, it would have been a smash. As it is, it's enjoyable, and well-worth the investment in money and time, but not what it could have been." Despite the troubled development, Apocalypse was well received. GameSpot included it on their 2000 list of the most disappointing endings, criticizing the game for its "colorful, almost humorous tone," but added that otherwise the designers "did a great job." The game debuted at No. 6 on PC Data's computer game sales chart for the…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 318 · most liked firstthis is pretty cool. the original X-Com was a 2D isometric game but the collision system itself was 3D. objects in the world would have collisions defined by vertical stacks of predefined patterns. this allowed the game to do accurate line of sight and hit detection. very cool!
positive · AI labelView post →I'm kind of disappointed this new turn-based tactics Star Wars game we're getting looks to be set in the Clone Wars. Small-squad tactics on the X-Com model is a pretty perfect pick for, like, rebel commandos. But I guess heaven forefend we get to play as actual straight-up rebels, huh?
neutral · AI labelView post →anyway if anyone wants to profile me I'm going to need you to acknowledge just how highly tuned the difficulty on my modded X-COM 2 game is.
neutral · AI labelView post →Seconding this. The OG X-Com has seen an ENORMOUS modding renaissance in the past few years thanks to the OpenXCom engine. The best way to play it vanilla, as it fixes a ton of bugs and improves the UI. Some of the biggest mods dwarf the original game by a factor of ten times the content or more.
neutral · AI labelView post →4) Battle Brothers. The second greatest squad level tactics game of all time, after X-Com 2. You lead a merry band of scum around a randomly generated map, fighting intense battles against everything from peasants to giant wyrms. Ideally played Ironman, like all such games, once you’re good.
neutral · AI labelView post →Daydreaming about a hero-based X-COM style turn-based strategy game with a cyberpunk setting and the characters are all furry hybrids a la TMNT/Elephantmen and they're all hot and you can kiss them.
neutral · AI labelView post →Star Wars Zero Company by @bitreactor.com will be available in a few hours, but I've already read several very positive reviews. A tactical SW game has always been my dream, ever since the days of UFO/X-COM. So if it's a great one on top of that...
neutral · AI labelView post →A snazzy installer for X-COM Apocalypse, the third game in the original series, which seems to have been a dreadful experience for all involved to have worked on. Has some cool ideas and vibes with its sprawling post-apocalyptic megacity setting that followed the events of Terror From The Deep.
neutral · AI labelView post →This was the first computer game I ever played and it has prior art for “summon creatures who will fight for you” *and* “summoning creatures you can ride”. It’s a direct ancestor to the X-COM games.
neutral · AI labelView post →“Hey, dork: would you like a Star Wars squad tactics game created by the makers of the X-COM reboot, using the social mechanics of Jaded Alliance, set in the dark underbelly of the Clone Wars?” “Fuck me up, please.”
neutral · AI labelView post →I’m just gonna assume that X-Com is a AAA game and suggest that.
neutral · AI labelView post →@mikedrucker.bsky.social wrote about the X-Com video game novelization. It's your typical office romance, but with way more aliens. 1900hotdog.com/2025/08/nerd...
neutral · AI labelView post →It’s kind of fucked up that they have these big game shows every year and all the games aren’t X-Com or some type of game where Shrek must make moral choices
neutral · AI labelView post →Been replaying Dread dude I forgot that this game is kind of hard, especially when you're mostly playing unc games like total war and X-COM and other turn based stuff like me these days. Some of those boss fights need you to be LOCKED IN.
neutral · AI labelView post →Quasimorph (2026, PC) Enjoying this game quite a bit! Cool mix of X-Com and traditional Roguelike (DoomRL in particular).
neutral · AI labelView post →By the way if you're enjoying Star Wars Zero Company or X-COM, I gotta remind people about Marvel's Midnight Suns. This was a turn based strategy game in the Marvel universe. You play a customizable hero named Hunter, & get to have hours and hours of dialogue with Spider-Man/Blade etc. T'was fun!
neutral · AI labelView post →Decided to play X-Com 2 after many years away. Shit, it's brutal. I'd forgotten how unforgiving the early game is. Two hits and dead. Mind control that can only be broken by killing a tough enemy. It's certainly challenging.
neutral · AI labelView post →Some more fun trivia: Chris Eck who worked on Harebrained’s BATTLETECH game has also worked on this new Star Wars X-Com game that’s getting rave reviews right now - congrats to Chris and the whole team!
neutral · AI labelView post →Dammit Zero Company, now I wanna play X-COM again. I have no time for X-COM! Why can't I have a Hyperbolic Time Chamber to play every game in my backlog?!
neutral · AI labelView post →After a leak last week, EA officially announced the name of Bit Reactor and Respawns next X-Com like Star Wars game 'Star Wars Zero Company'. www.ign.com/articles/sta...
neutral · AI labelView post →Wasn't the X-COM reboot just made to drum up excitement for the FPS game, but ended up massively overshadowing it? I feel like I heard that somewhere, long ago.
neutral · AI labelView post →Remembering the Mario vs Rabbids X-Com game where Luigi was the dedicated sniper. Unprecedented foresight.
neutral · AI labelView post →I need an X-Com like game set in a fantasy setting where you run a guild and send parties out for missions and shit while using the gold and monster drops to expand and improve the guild.
neutral · AI labelView post →"I was baptised in a fire, these are merely hot coals" Sartha speaking on X-Com and X-com 2 after having been raised on the MS-DOS X-Com UFO defence game
neutral · AI labelView post →I have a unique perspective on the XCOM series, and that’s mainly because this was my first XCOM. I was too young to appreciate UFO Defense or Terror from the Deep when they came out, but the bright colors and detailed environments of Apocalypse were enough to draw my adolescent attentions. It certainly helped that I could skip the traditional turn-based action for real-time chaos, blasting aliens and burning down buildings on an unprecedented scale for the time. After more than two decades,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really, really liked Xenonauts 2 despite bouncing off of the first one. Everyone who told me old X-COM was better was right, actually. www.pcgamer.com/games/strate...
neutral · AI labelView post →Hi gamers If you see this GIF then I probably will most likely be arrested by X-com or something IDK We are live with X-COM: UFO defense (1994) cause I have never played an old xcom game before and I wanna try it out and die horribly. moogle.tv
neutral · AI labelView post →The board game Frosthaven is getting a video game with the designer of X-COM #Frosthaven #Gaming #PCGaming
neutral · AI labelView post →their new tactics game really does look great, haven't snagged it yet but it's very much a game made by people who obviously loved X-Com and Jagged Alliance 2
neutral · AI labelView post →🛸🛸🛸 🦀🦀🦀 🟥LIVE🟥 Im playing Phoenix Point! A tactical turn based Game like X-COM, but with WAY better Mechanics! Come Check me out, this game Needs more eyes on it! Viewers Get to Name Soldiers!! 👉 altstream.online/pank 👈 #vtuber #altstream #phoenixpoint #tactical
neutral · AI labelView post →Thanks for hosting #turnbasedthursday, @norsegame.bsky.social ! War on Wheels is a turn-based, physics-controlled car combat game. Think: X-Com meets Mad Max. store.steampowered.com/app/3768750/...
neutral · AI labelView post →Best x-com. Even in 2025. They should made a remaster of this one
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This and its predecessor, Rebelstar Raiders, are where Julian Gollop cut his tactical game teeth, going on to design X-COM. You'll see many of the mechanics familiar to X-COM players being introduced here. It's still a solid game with an absolute banger of an in-mission tune.
neutral · AI labelView post →Discovered new PC game: Cyber Knights Flashpoint, kinda cyberpunk X-Com, slightly reminiscent of the Shadowrun PC games Missions are all heists of some sort, with an emphasis on balancing stealth vs combat, and hacking that integrates really well with core gameplay. Recommended. Could be a TTRPG.
neutral · AI labelView post →there is nobody in the history of the world that has hit by more 20% flinch chances and missed 80% hit chances than me and I've played this game for like 8 fucking hours, I am not kidding about having the X-Com copy of the game
negative · AI labelView post →If they really wanted to make a good Evangelion game, they'd rip X-COM off, and then have the other part be a management sim like the PS2 game, except for child soldiers who slowly wear out if they don't get immediately annihilated in the tac-sim part.
neutral · AI labelView post →the description "Star Wars But X-Com" is a real "there but for the grace of God go I" of video game addiction potential
neutral · AI labelView post →I was just looking for something else, but... the retro game world had XCOM in basement xD
neutral · AI labelView post →X-COM: Apocalypse, developed by MicroProse Software and published by 2K, stands as one of the most ambitious yet polarizing installments in the legendary X-COM series. Released in 1997, it marked a dramatic evolution from its predecessors, shifting the alien conflict from a global battlefield to the sprawling futuristic city of Mega Primus. Set decades after the events of the original games, humanity now lives in massive domed metropolises following the ecological collapse of Earth. It is…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →UFO: X-COM Apocalypse combines tactical gameplay with real-time combat and the ability to pause. For me, it is undoubtedly the best installment among the first three titles in the series. Of course, I played UFO 1 and UFO 2 extensively, but the groundbreaking part, in my opinion, turned out to be X-COM Apocalypse. This is largely due to the game’s physics, the real-time-with-pause mechanic, and innovative ideas—particularly regarding the city and the various organizations whose favor you…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Thank you for hosting #TurnBasedThursday, @dotage.bsky.social ! ZodiacLegion is a game of tactical dungeon crawling with X-COM-like strategic elements: bsky.app/profile/gald...
neutral · AI labelView post →I played a bit of Zero Company and this game is scratching that feeling that X-Com2 unfortunately couldn't for me. Which is just removing turn limits in most of the missions. I think that ultimately killed my enjoyment of X-Com so fucking bad that I just couldn't play it anymore.
negative · AI labelView post →Phoenix Point is the best X-Com game
positive · AI labelView post →🚨BREAKING: Zohran Mamdani once savescummed a game of X-Com so he wouldn't lose his best sniper. Must credit the New York Times and Twitter Account: @CallofDutyBooty69. 🚨
neutral · AI labelView post →39 hours on Steam, and thousands of hours when it was released. Love this game, tonnes of fun!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →petition to replace X-COM style game hit percentages with words like, "no chance in hell, i mean if you squint a bit, oh definitely but ... maybe?"
neutral · AI labelView post →Ghost in the Shell action game or X-Com like. I would do terrible things for the specific vibes of it.
neutral · AI labelView post →Impossible not to mention my lifelong love of the X-Com games, from the original series, the reboot, The Long War, and its imitators, boy I sure do love building bases, researching laser guns, deploying cool drop ships and such like. HELLPIERCERS, if I was being Like That, is very much X-Com In Hell
positive · AI labelView post →X-COM 2 was made insanely hard due to fans complaining the first game was too easy. What the devs hadn’t realised was that the first game had a bug that kept reverting difficulty settings to beginner.
neutral · AI labelView post →We need a Lego X-Com game
neutral · AI labelView post →Played X-Com the Board Game boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/16...
neutral · AI labelView post →90% of you have no idea what this game even is.... Well, let me tell you. IT IS THE KING OF ALL GAMES EVER MADE. Sadly it is very old, LMAO, and isn't even close to my play time as I played this game thousands of hours before steam was even a thought. No offence to steam of course. Anyone ever heard of a 3 1/2" diskette? Heheheehe, that's how old it, and I am, but the concept and coding put behind this title was pretty much untouchable by any other gaming company. Sadly MicroProse doesn't…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →New post: dev.to/retrorom/x-c... X-COM: UFO Defense — the 1994 strategy classic that turned losing into a design system #retrogaming #gaming #retro #strategy #gamedev
neutral · AI labelView post →X-Com UFO Defence 1994. What an experience it was to play that game when it came out.
positive · AI labelView post →Hey X-COM (2012) friends. Some of you may remember what *really* made this game amazing was the "Long War" mod, from Pavonis Interactive, with the X-COM creators themselves stating¹ "We're basically a 20-hour tutorial for Long War, and that's okay." It was that good. Pavonis went on to create the incredible game Terra Invicta², but did you know that Long War continued to be improved upon by Ucross, as the Long War Rebalance project? It's good, like really *really* good, and continues to see…
positive · AI labelView post →Breaking hiatus to shout about Tactical Breach Wizards, the turn-based strat game featuring, yes, tactical breach wizards, that has more than scratched the itch for a fresh X-Com. Did you love X-Com 2? Do you love hilariously sarcastic banter and a game that encourages defenestration? Buy this.
neutral · AI labelView post →The challenge is to choose 20 games that greatly influenced you. One game per day, for 20 days. No explanations, no reviews, no particular order. #GameChallenge #Games #GameDev #PromoSky --- Day 6: X-COM: UFO Defense (PC)
neutral · AI labelView post →Classic game. I would drop $60 right now for a remake.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Early thoughts on Star Wars: Zero Company after an hour of playtime. - This is my first X-COM style strategy game, so there’s a bit of a learning curve for me - I like how there’s little battle animations even when it’s not a character’s turn
neutral · AI labelView post →Gameplay wise, I was hooked. Felt like a nice middle ground between the relatively simple Mario x Rabbids games and the crunchier X-COM games? I'm going to do an expert run now that I know how to exploit the game systems better.
neutral · AI labelView post →
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