XCOM: Enemy Unknown
Secret hero units
Go to the Barracks, and select the “View Soldiers” option. Choose a soldier, then select the “Customize” option. This can also be done from the “Customize” menu at the “Deploy” screen. Change the name of the soldier to one of the following names to unlock the corresponding hero. These new heroes will dramatically improve the unit’s stats, and they also have a unique nickname. Note: Using these special heroes will prevent achievements from being earned.
Chris Kluwe: Enter ” Chris Kluwe ” as a name. Chris Kluwe is a punter for the Minnesota Vikings and a World Of Warcraft fan. He won hero unit privileges after defeating Firaxis’ Garth DeAngelis in an online match.
Joe Kelly (Heavy): Enter ” Joe Kelly ” as a name. Joe Kelly is a popular comics author that has worked on Spider-Man, Superman, and many other famous characters.
Ken Levine (Sniper): Enter ” Ken Levine ” as a name. Ken Levine is the co-founder of Irrational Games, the developer of BioShock , Freedom Force , and System Shock 2 .
Otto Zander (Assault): Enter ” Otto Zander ” as a name. Otto Zander is the hero and survivor of GuavaMoment’s XCOM Let’s Play series from the Something Awful Forumes.
Sid Meier (Support): Enter ” Sid Meier ” as a name. Sid Meier is the co-founder of Firaxis and creator of the Civilization series, Pirates series, and more.
Getting UFOs to appear in different countries
If a UFO is spotted in a country you do not have much defense in or you want to lower panic somewhere else (by completing the mission to clear it), reload a previous saved game. The UFO should still appear, but it will usually be in a different location. You can keep reloading it until it is in a desired country.
Evil Crysalid terrorists mission
During Terror missions that have evil Crysalid terrorists, you do not actually need to kill the Zombie Civilians to complete the mission. As long as all Alien forces have been defeated, the mission will end successfully.
Steam achievements
Successfully complete the indicated task to unlock the corresponding achievement. To view your achievements and stats in Steam, select “Community”, “My profile”, “View all my games”, then the game and view stats.
- …and Practice.: Build a Workshop.
- A Continental Fellow: Win the game from each of the 5 starting locations.
- Ain’t No Cavalry Comin’: Have a soldier survive every mission in a full game.
- All Aboard: Complete Confounding Light with more than 3 turns left on the timer.
- All Employees Must Wash Hands…: In a single game, complete every Autopsy.
- All Together Now: Get satellite coverage over every country on one continent.
- And Hell’s Coming With Me: Successfully assault an Overseer UFO.
- And So It Begins…: Complete the tutorial mission.
- Angel of Death: Kill an alien while flying. Single player only.
- As A Scalpel: Earn the “Excellent” rating in every performance category on a terror mission.
- Bada Boom: Kill 50 aliens with explosive weapons.
- Bait the Hook: Complete Confounding Light.
- Beyond the Veil: Find a soldier with the Gift.
- Bubonic: Play a multiplayer match against someone with this achievement.
- Combat Ready: Build an item.
- Disaster Averted: Complete Deluge.
- Drums in the Deep: Gain access to the lowest level in your base.
- Earth First: Beat the game on Classic difficulty.
- Edison: In a single game, complete every Research Project.
- Eye in the Sky: Launch a Satellite.
- Flight of the Valkyries: Win a mission with an all-female squad. Single player only.
- Great Minds Think Alike: Complete Furies.
- Happy to Oblige: Fulfill a Council request.
- Humanity’s Savior: Beat the game on any difficulty.
- Hunter/Killer: In a single game, shoot down one of each alien craft.
- Lone Wolf: Clear a UFO crash site with one soldier on Classic or Impossible difficulty.
- Man No More: Build a suit of powered armor.
- Meet New People. Then Kill Them.: Win a multiplayer match.
- New Friend: Complete Friends in Low Places.
- No Looking Back: Beat the game in Ironman mode on Classic or Impossible Difficulty.
- No Sweat: Complete Deluge without activating more than 2 valves.
- Off My Planet: Recover the Hyperwave Beacon.
- On the Shoulders of Giants: Build the Gollop Chamber.
- One Gun at a Time: Staff the Engineering Department with 80 engineers.
- Oppenheimer: Staff the Research Labs with 80 scientists.
- Our Finest Hour: Beat the game on Impossible difficulty.
- Pale Horse: Kill 500 aliens.
- Prisoner of War: Capture a live alien.
- Ride the Lightning: Build a Firestorm.
- Rising Dragon: Take your new ally into the final challenge.
- Saved to Savior: Have your newest ally volunteer for the most difficult duty.
- See All, Know All: Build the Hyperwave Relay.
- Shooting Stars: Shoot down 40 UFOs.
- Skunkworks: In a single game, complete every Foundry project.
- Tables Turned: Shoot down a UFO.
- The Bigger They Are: Complete Gangplank.
- The Chase Is On: Complete Portent.
- The Gatekeeper: Stun an Outsider.
- The Hardest Road: Advance one of your soldiers to Colonel rank.
- The Volunteer: Make contact with the Ethereal hive mind.
- Theory…: Build a Laboratory.
- Up and Running: Build a base facility.
- We Happy Few: Complete a mission without losing a soldier.
- Welcoming Committee: Kill 150 aliens.
- Wet Work: Complete a Very Hard abduction mission in five turns or less on Classic or Impossible difficulty.
- What Wonders Await: Complete a Research Project.
- Worth Every Penny: Acquire 1000 credits in one month.
- X Marks the Spot: Uncover the alien base’s location.
- Xavier: Mind Control an Ethereal. Single player only.
- You Have 5 Seconds to Comply: Build a S.H.I.V.
The image featured at the top of this post is ©Square Enix.