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PLAY RETRO 152: X-COM - UFO Defense

X-Com: UFO Defense (or UFO: Enemy Unknown outside North America) and its terrifying underwater sequel, X-Com: Terror from the Deep. Developed by MicroProse and released in the 1990s, these games combined base-building, resource management, and squad-based tactical combat to create a genre-defining experience.

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  • PLAY RETRO 199: The Forgotten Realms Gold Box Series

    01:36:32|
    The Forgotten Realms Gold Box series is a set of AD&D computer role-playing games developed by SSI using the Gold Box engine. Beginning with Pool of Radiance in 1988, the series allowed players to carry a single party of characters across four connected adventures set in the Forgotten Realms. These games established many conventions of computer RPGs, including turn-based tactical combat, party management, and faithful implementations of tabletop Dungeons & Dragons rules. 
  • PLAY RETRO 198: Descent

    01:24:48|
    Descent (1995) and Descent II (1996) are six-degrees-of-freedom first-person shooters developed by Parallax Software for MS-DOS. Set entirely inside fully 3D mine complexes, the games emphasize free movement, spatial awareness, and objective-based level design. Known for their technical ambition, mouse-and-keyboard flight-style controls, and unforgiving enemy AI, the Descent series remains one of the most distinct FPS experiences of the DOS era.Uncut Video: https://youtube.com/live/iER-PDsesac?feature=share 
  • PLAY RETRO 197: Jagged Alliance

    01:09:24|
    A turn-based tactical strategy game developed by Sir-Tech Canada for MS-DOS. Players recruit mercenaries from the Association of International Mercenaries (A.I.M.) to liberate the fictional island nation of Metavira from enemy control. The game blends squad-based tactical combat with strategic planning, character relationships, and resource management. 
  • PLAY RETRO 196: Star Wars: Dark Forces

    01:21:37|
    A First-person shooter developed by LucasArts for MS-DOS using an in-house game engine. Introduces mercenary Kyle Katarn and the Imperial Dark Trooper project. Features mission-based FPS gameplay, environmental objectives, vertical level design using the Jedi Engine, and an arsenal of Star Wars weapons. Later ported to Macintosh and PlayStation.
  • PLAY RETRO 195: StarCraft & Broodwar

    01:45:54|
    Blizzard Entertainment’s real-time strategy game featuring three fully asymmetric factions: Terran, Zerg, and Protoss. Built around resource management, base construction, unit control, and a branching story told through three linked campaigns. Released for Windows and Mac OS. Expanded the same year with the official StarCraft: Brood War expansion and two licensed mission packs, Insurrection and Retribution.
  • PLAY RETRO 194: Beyond Good and Evil

    01:35:41|
    2003 Action-adventure from Ubisoft Montpellier combining stealth, melee combat, hovercraft exploration, and a photography-based investigation system. You play as Jade, a photojournalist uncovering a conspiracy on Hillys involving the DomZ and the Alpha Sections. Released on PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox, and Windows.
  • PLAY RETRO 193: Harvest Moon

    01:34:04|
    Taking our favorite retro Harvest Moon games on the road with our GameBoys for some cozy gameplay while riding in the backseat of the family car. With a look back at the console games that made it possible. Harvest Moon for the SNES and HARVEST MOON: BACK TO NATURE for the PS1 and their portable little siblings. 
  • PLAY RETRO 192: Max Payne

    01:11:55|
    Max Payne (2001) and Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne (2003) — Remedy Entertainment’s third-person neo-noir shooters that introduced bullet-time gunplay, graphic-novel storytelling, and hard-boiled narration to the early-2000s gaming landscape.
  • PLAY RETRO 191: Halo: Combat Evolved

    01:30:52|
    Halo: Combat Evolved (2001, Xbox / 2003, PC). A first-person shooter developed by Bungie Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios as the flagship launch title for the original Xbox. Its combination of open-ended combat, vehicles, and science-fiction storytelling helped define console FPS design for the following decade.