Download XCOM: Enemy Unknown’s Second Wave DLC now

Free DLC adds new options to elongate gameplay

Go load up XCOM: Enemy Unknown today and grab your free title update. Titled “Second Wave,” this new DLC adds a heap of modifiers to the campaign, including anything from weapon buffs, to guaranteed crits. It’s the second piece of content to be on offer since the Slingshot Pack.

While these options seem fairly lame on the surface, there are a few gems that help extend the life of the game for pros. One of them is “Marathon,” which makes the game ever harder with higher costs, and longer time lapses for healing and research.

Others, like “High Stakes,” reward players for stopping alien abductions, adding more incentive to go on more missions. All in all, it’s enough for me to head back and finish my third playthrough.

In other news, XCOM: Enemy Unknown is now available on Xbox Live’s Games on Demand service.

• Damage Roulette: Weapons have a wider range of damage.
• New Economy: Randomized council member funding.
• Not Created Equally: Rookies will have random starting stats.
• Hidden Potential: As a soldier is promoted, stats increase randomly.
• Red Fog: Combat wounds will degrade the soldier’s mission stats.
• Absolutely Critical: A flanking shot guarantees a critical hit.
• The Greater Good: Psionics can only be learned from interrogating a psionic alien.
• Marathon: The game takes considerably longer to complete.
• Results Driven: A country offers less funding as its panic level increases.
• High Stakes: Random rewards for stopping alien abductions.
• Diminishing Returns: Increased cost of satellite construction.
• More Than Human: The psionic gift is extremely rare.