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[Aavak]

Operation Fallen Calm
Much to the joy of everyone at XCOM HQ, and a city full of civilians, the bomb was disarmed this time without casualties. Though once again Boozlebub came terrifyingly close to death. It's as if he and Jester are competing for who can endure the most pain and still survive... I have sent both for additional psychiatric testing, but given their psionic abilities I don't imagine the psychiatrist will have a particularly easy job.

However, as with Jester, the moment Boozlebub was out of medbay it's back into action as XCOM HQ receives word of a landed supply barge. With the promise of significantly heavier resistance than we've encountered lately, and even the presence of a Sectopod, this will be a good test of how much our team has improved... and whether they're ready for what lies beyond the Gollop Chamber.

[Aavak]

Operation Fallen Calm, continued...
Despite an early glimpse of an Ethereal (which may suggest there are more than one, with others in the command module) our crew have managed to make surprisingly good progress though, as ever, one assumption is all it takes to place our soldiers in a dire situation...

So it is to a squad without injury we now return, but with many of our soldiers split up and separated from the group, will the aliens attempt to pick us off one at a time?

[Aavak]

Operation Fallen Calm, continued... and Operation Avenger
With Jester narrowly dodging another alien assassination attempt (there seem to be certain disadvantages to being known as the most dangerous soldier in XCOM) our squad managed to eliminate one of the greatest dangers in this mission. But even with the Ethereal down, that still leaves the Sectopod...

And as if it wanted to remind us that it was still there, it was the Sectopod who got the first shot off... or rather, artillery barrage. Let's hope it's the only time it gets to fire, or at least, gets to fire at one of us. Mind controlled aliens however, are fair game!

[Aavak]

Operation Avenger, continued...
Well, it's possible we could have held out a little longer, putting off the inevitable final confrontation as our troops gained combat experience. But that just didn't sit well with the crew, who worried about the cost in civilian lives any further delay would entail... and so, with great purpose, Jester entered the Gollop chamber...

And, much to our joy, actually emerged once gain! Though with slightly more purple eyes than normal. Never the less, he successfully managed to patch in to the Ethereal hive consciousness, and unsurprisingly, the only thing left to do was to take up on their invitation and assault the temple ship.

However, with two soldiers badly wounded due to a cyber disk attack, how will the rest of the squad respond? These aliens clearly don't believe in pulling their punches if this is the sort of escalation we can expect through the rest of the mission...

[Aavak]

Operation Avenger, continued...
In true XCOM fashion, our squad plucked victory from the jaws of defeat. Stepping over the smouldering wrecks of the cyber-disks, our troops made steady progress along the alien's temple ship, encountering one alien species after another, and for the most part, slaying them with little difficulty!

But now, what seems to be the midpoint of the alien's enormous base-like ship, our troops must deal with what remains of a squad of Mutons, while the threat of Elite Mutons and worse still, Sectopods, looms over their heads like a titanic artillery equipped sword of Damocles.

[Aavak]

Operation Avenger, continued...
I think it fair to say that no one thinks poorly of our squad, indeed, they quite likely represent the high-point of humanity. Still, even having said that, it comes as a surprise to me that they were able to deal with those Sectopods with such ease. It just goes to show how far they've all come!

That leaves us with the Ethereals, then, and at least one Elite Muton (who briefly served us as a loyal scout). It is with mounting nerves we rejoin our troops, in what is likely to be the end, one way or another...

[Aavak]

Operation XCOM, conclusion...
Well, as we have come to expect of Jester, and indeed of all of our A-Team, our squad exceeded all expectations. Even managing to overwhelm the mind of one of the Ethereals themselves, bending their will to serve our needs... but who could have expected what would come of our victory?

With the Ethereal's temple ship rapidly collapsing in on itself, forming a proto-black hole, there seemed to be no salvation for our race, or indeed, our solar-system. But with the same grim, sombre determination that has characterised him since the beginning of his journey, Dapper Jester refused to allow this to be Earth's fate.

Using his powers to cast his comrades clear of any danger, Jester turned his blooming psionic powers toward the temple ship itself. While Dr Vahlen and Central Officer Bradford watched in mounting alarm from XCOM HQ, Jester lifted the alien's unstable ship out of Earth's atmosphere before destroying it, and ending whatever reaction was taking place.

And so, with cheers and tears, XCOM finally achieved the goal they set out with all those months ago. The aliens threat has been brought to an end, and with it, Earth can begin to rebuild.

But is this the end of XCOM? I doubt it. Now that we know we are not alone, XCOM will continue to keep a watchful eye on the stars...

With that, my blind run on classic, ironman difficulty comes to an end. While I'm sure my familiarity with the original has had more than a small part to play in my eventual victroy, there were quite a few moments there where it seemed that all was lost!

Once again, I have to congratulate Firaxis for their bold decisions while re-imagining this game. Although I'm not the greatest fan of the limited troop number in missions, and the 'class' system which restricted the weapons and armour one could equip their soldiers with, on the whole, I feel that they've crafted an experience that both captures the feel of the original, while offering new challenges and a different way of playing.

And that ending! It did become obvious after a little while that the they were straying from some of the original's story, and I'll admit, I was a little concerned for a while... but I must admit, the ending brought it all together into an epic, heroic climax that I thoroughly enjoyed!

Overall, this has been a solid and highly enjoyable experience, and I would not hesitate to recommend it to fans of turn-based strategy games of this genre.

But with that all said, it's time to turn the final page and close this book, and yes, that makes me feel a little sad... until next time, do take care.