murder ray guns

So my ongoing mission with XCOM: Enemy Within proceeds with gusto. Naturally by that I mean I'm repeatedly hitting the same wall albeit at new and exciting speeds. My aforementioned allusions to the difficulty curve very much apply here, my squad members are often to be found decorating the scenery with their insides.

Think I'm getting into the rhythm though, maybe even into the groove as this game refines my ability to plan ahead just enough to avoid utter and complete destruction. Useful life skill there. Sure my guys often miss some surely unmissable shots and the alien menace is pulling off infuriating feats of accuracy at my expense but incredibly I'm still very much enjoying this.

I previously completed Enemy Unknown on standard difficulty with only my wits, my skills and my repeated reloading of the save game. A cheap tactic yes but the only way I could play this game without it leaving me a hollow shell of myself doomed to spend eternity embittered by my inability to blast aliens in the face with my murder ray guns.

This time I'm taking on 'Classic' (read help me lord) difficulty with all the futility that entails. There is an Ironman mode that stops you exploiting the save game tactic I outlined above but I dare not use it lest I break my brain just thinking about what it takes to survive it. It saves automatically after every single move and doesn't allow you to do a take two or take three when your well considered moves result in immediate catastrophe.

No I can leave that right where it is. Me and my ridiculously customised squad members with their ridiculous action movie names will save the world or at least parts of it from total destruction. Yes maybe it won't be today, maybe not tomorrow or at any point in my foreseeable future but Sergeant Squarejaw and his gang will win, or maybe lose only for me to reload and lose again, then win, maybe.