Earth Under Siege Flashpoint

Mum, I want an X-COM!

But we have X-COM at home:

I invite you to a review of Earth Under Siege Flashpoint

Earth has been attacked by the Xethan. They are a race of aliens, most of whose representatives are bald and have not very pleasant facial expressions. We take on the role of agents of the equally mysterious AEGIS organisation, tasked with getting rid of these intruders. The fight against the aliens will take place on European soil, which contradicts most films in which the aliens see only the USA as the only country suitable for invasion.

Gameplay

In Earth Under Siege Flashpoint we’ll be sneaking around, sabotaging electrical systems, hacking cameras and doing John McClane by squeezing through ventilation shafts. Of course, we will also eliminate aliens. For this we will use rifles, katanas, grenades, and we can even use alien technologies. However, we must take into account that everything is worth doing quietly. Because when the enemies discover us, they will then launch a massive attack directed at us.

Earth Under Siege Flashpoint can be played as a campaign or single missions. Obviously, the continuous form is more interesting, because while passing successive scenarios we will level up our heroes, gain new equipment, improve our base and we will feel the progress in expelling aliens from Europe.

Dice or cards? Why not both?

EUSF combines dice rolling with card play. We will use the dice to perform all the tests in the game. Because we will have to roll for hit, for defence, for sabotaging various devices and other hacks. However, let’s not worry. Because this is not a stupid random game with dice where bad luck can spoil our fun.

Because we have many ways to increase our luck. I love that building up a pool of dice before each of my rolls. Let’s take the Scientist for example. She is not very good at shooting. However, our weapons add another die to hit, when we spend a focus token matching a test we gain a better red die, plus we play a card that affects our result.

We roll and we are one success short. Now we can discard a card to reroll any number of dice. We also have equipment that can turn science tokens into a successful result. Even some crew members can help us.

As you can see, we can help each other with tests and that’s what’s great about this game.

Each agent has its own deck of cards. Not only do they affect tests, but they also give us extra abilities that enhance our actions. We’ll add an area attack to our katana strike, increase stealth damage or help someone in need. These will allow us to make some truly epic plays.

This duo of cards and dice works very well here. However, it is not the only thing that mechanically impresses me in this game.

Smooth actions

The game has an interesting action execution system. Each hero has 3 order tokens and 3 movement tokens. By exhausting the movement token we will be able to move or sneak. Order tokens will allow us to shoot, sabotage electronic equipment, pick up loot, gain focus tokens, discover alien technology, exchange equipment, heal someone and pick up our teammates. There are plenty of options to choose from.

But the best part is that the heroes can activate in any order. We can even make it so that one player does one action, then someone else makes a move and we can go back to the first player. The order is literally up to us. With these manoeuvres we can coordinate our actions better. Because we can, for example, prepare for a massive attack on a stronger enemy. We can also make it so that, for example, one player sabotages the camera, another opens the door only for yet another member of our team to stuff someone with lead. We have literally hundreds of options to share responsibilities together. It just feels like we are real commandos in action.

However, to make it not too easy we can only refresh 3 action tokens during the refresh phase. There will be rounds where we can go ALL IN, and there will also be rounds where we have to wait for our capabilities to regenerate. Therefore, it is necessary to balance all this well. So that we can complete the mission objectives.

Assassins, medics and grandfathers from Vormacht

We have 6 different agents at our disposal. Each of them is good at something different. The Assassin is a master at stealth and can hit several enemies at once. The medic heals companions and gets them back on their feet with ease. The scientist has a knack for sabotaging various devices. The soldier is good at eliminating enemies. The sniper does what the soldier does, only at a distance and a little quieter. The team leader, which is my favourite character, assists the companions in tests and tries to make sure everyone has a good time.

Each character has their own pack of cards which provides them with an interesting asymmetry. In the course of the game we will develop our agents. We will add new cards to the deck and remove unwanted ones. Which will change the way we play the game. We will also change the action tokens for the better ones. We will equip ourselves with stronger equipment, etc. On top of that, we will develop our base, which will provide us with further options. Fans of RPG leveling will be pleased here.

EUSF will also satisfy our expectations for a diversity of opponents. Because we will face drones, Vormacht soldiers, spec aliens, psionics, dudes with big and small guns and bastards with even bigger guns.

This variety is more about the enemies’ stats, abilities and resistances. In terms of appearance, they are rather not particularly different. Our opponents can also be empowered, giving them a boost to everything I described above. There will also be boss fights waiting for us, but I haven’t gotten to that yet in the campaign.

Paths unfold

Another plus of Earth Under Siege Flashpoint is that each scenario has a lot of variety. Because it has different objectives, board layout and different enemies. In one mission I had to escort someone, in another I was downloading data from a computer, and some scenarios simply required me to eliminate a target.

After completing some missions, we will choose one of two new missions. This significantly affects the replayability of this game. Because I would have loved to see what I had missed. On top of that, there are also side missions that we have to unlock for ourselves while completing the main ones. This usually involves doing something extra and increases the risk of detection by enemies.

In addition, the mission’s replayability is affected by the fact that we always pick a complication card at the start of the game, which spoils our fun. However, we will return to this in a moment.

We can also change our approach to mission execution by choosing a different strategy card. This will provide us with a different set of equipment and a special ability. My favourite one is espionage. Because, in Mission Impossible style, we get a disguise that allows us to move freely among enemies.

There were four of them and may four of them remain

Earth Under Siege Flashpoint allows you to play from 1 to 4 characters. However, as it happens in such games, the bigger the team, the better off we will be. Because, as you know, each character class gives us something interesting and supports us in another aspect of the game. This is especially important during tests. That’s why I can’t imagine playing without the Scientist. In a larger group it is also easier to deal with enemies and distribute tasks so that we can do as much as possible in a round.

Handling solo 4 full agents is not an easy task. However developers of this game have used a sensational solution for solo players who want to play with a full squad.

Because we have the choice of whether we play full-fledged characters or regular squad members. As a squad member, we don’t have cards, but we gain passive abilities that we will also be able to develop. This made it much easier for me to play solo. It’s also nice that the game doesn’t require you to learn any special rules when playing alone. We just play as we normally would.

Playing time

EUSF is not a short game. It takes about 2 to 3 hours to complete one mission. On top of that we have to add the time to set up the game and put all the pieces back together. There is a lot of it. As it happens in such complex dungeon crawlers.

A pinch of minuses

Quality and components

There is a lot of stuff and we have to fit it in somewhere, right? The inserts included in the game will do their job half-heartedly. Because the figurines, tiles, dice and some of the cards will fit nicely in the box. On the other hand, no thought has been given at all to the tokens, of which there are hundreds. You have to stuff them somehow wherever you can in order to close the box at all. The box is also somehow strange. Because it is opened in the middle. At the top we have the figures, which are in a separate smaller box, and at the bottom all the rest, which, as I wrote above, I have to stuff up every time.

On the plus side, we have some really cool and atmospheric figures here. They may not be GW level, but they’re up to the job. Most importantly, they allow me to get into the atmosphere of this game.

A handful of rules

Of course, in addition to the lengthy set up, there are also many rules and micro rules to learn. The game may not be drowning in them but nevertheless in order to run the gameplay smoothly we need to play through a few times. At the beginning of my adventure, I had to go back to the manual many times to make sure I didn’t miss anything. I did not want to be surprised like my enemies. The manual is well written but it is worth reading all the examples it serves us.

Annoying variety

It’s nice that there are things to add variety to our gameplay. However, sometimes when we draw up a threat card, a look of sadness can appear on our face. Let’s imagine a situation like this: we’ve been collecting focus tokens to prepare for some big action. Suddenly, we look and there’s a threat that makes us discard them all. It was apparently some kind of psionic attack, but there is no defence against it. Sadness like no other.

The same happens with complications. There are those that are bad, and there are those that can beat the lying man and still ask if he feels well. They were able to hinder our fun in a really very unpleasant way.

Summary

My favourite thing about Earth Under Siege Flashpoint is the epic moments I look for in games. I’m walking into an outpost with my team. The assassin sneaks up behind the enemy lines through a ventilation shaft. The team leader gasses everyone in the room. The scientist sabotages the door. The sniper, in overwatch mode after opening the door, takes out target after target. We steal the secret plans and quietly leave the base full of aliens. Mission accomplished.

This is what the gameplay of Earth Under Siege Flashpoint is all about. Coordinating our movements and carrying out such epic actions.

Final Verdict: Metal Stealth Solid gameplay

Pros

• Smooth gameplay where we control the flow of the actions
• Dice pool building
• You can feel the tension as you play
• Asymmetrical heroes
• Level up everything
• Varied missions
• Epic moments
• Friendly to play solo

Cons

• Half-finished inset and box
• Long setup
• Threat of complications

[Game provided by Dark Horizon Games ]