Firaxis and 2K Games' turn-based tactical role-playing video game, XCOM: Enemy Unknown was one of 2012's surprise hits. The re-imagined remake of the 1994 strategy game UFO: Enemy Unknown puts players in control of an elite multinational military organization tasked with defending Earth against hostile alien forces.
XCOM: Enemy Unknown has received positive reviews from critics, but some fans have criticized the game's final mission for not staying true to the game's overall level of difficulty.
In a recent interview with Game Informer, Firaxis lead designer Jake Solomon said that the last mission was his fault and that it is fair for fans to criticize the game's final operation.
"Yeah, that's totally fair," Solomon told Game informer. " I whiffed a little on the design, to be honest with you. I think the level design is great, the art is wonderful, but for some people the combat fell a little flat."
Solomon said that he wanted the final mission to serve as a victory lap for the player where the gamers could just "plow" through all of the invading forces. But that isn't what gamers wanted, according to Solomon.
"Turns out some people wanted a final challenge worthy of the XCOM experience, and the resultant sense of accomplishment that brings," Solomon told Game Informer. "A totally fair point, as I see it. Also we probably should have celebrated the individual soldiers a little bit more than we did, but I honestly didn't realize how attached players were going to become to their squads. That's on me."
XCOM: Enemy Unknown released on Oct. 9 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows PC. The game recently received Slingshot expansion that adds three static council missions that are set in China, a new playable squad member and additional character customization options.
Slingshot cost $6.99 on the PlayStation Network and PC and cost 560 Microsoft Points on Xbox Live. You can check out the DLC's official trailer from 2K Games after the jump.
What do you think of the lead designer taking responsibility for the game's final mission? Did you dislike the final mission? Tell us what you think of the game's last mission and its ending in the section below.