This game went by a whole host of different names, some people called it UFO, some called it XCOM, some called it Enemy Unknown. No matter what you called it, this was the single best game I've ever played and it is nothing like anything I've played since (minus some of the sequels).

This game is a turn based squad simulation game, with RPG aspects to it. It was developed by Mythos Games and Micropose in 1993.

Basically, you set up a base of operations and a radar system and went after incoming alien UFO's. First you had to equip an interceptor, if your ship was powerful enough to shoot down the enemy UFO, you had to bring another ship that had a landing party on it and defeat the aliens, collect artifacts, and then take your soldiers back to base to do research. Each mission you went on, your soldiers leveled up a little bit depending on how they performed.

There were so many different facets to this game. You had to choose different technologies to research, then you had to produce those technologies, finally you had to equip your soldiers with newer and better weapons to compete with the different alien races you met. Perhaps the best part about this game was the ability to rename your soldiers (it even became possible to get attached to some of them). The end of the game involved you researching enough technology so you could take it to the alien's homeworld.

However, things could go wrong, if you didn't go after UFO's then governments could pull funding from you. If you didn't have good enough defenses in your base, you could find Aliens attacking you.

But hey, if you lost, you could just start over. Each time you played the game play was a little bit different and it made for a game that didn't lose its replay value.

They have since tried to remake this game, but aside from the original sequel, the rest seem to fall short, being more interested in good graphics than good gameplay.

Every once in a while I'll still play this game today and it is just as amazing as the first time I played.