Expansion XCOM: Enemy Within launching in November

Video game 'XCOM: Enemy Within' is developed by Firaxis and published by 2K Games.

Brace for a whole new set of tactics when the expansion to hit strategy game XCOM: Enemy Unknown arrives.

Video game studio Firaxis announced it will launch XCOM: Enemy Within on November 12. The game features new maps, weapons and combat upgrades as players follow a story told during the events of the 2012 game.

"This is the same alien invasion that you confronted in XCOM: EU, but you have a whole bunch of new stuff," says Ananda Gupta, executive producer of Enemy Within.

The expansion introduces a new class, the MEC trooper, that boasts a Mechanized Exoskeleton Cybersuit with enhancements from grenade launchers to flamethrowers. "It's a very dominating, powerful unit on the battlefield," says Gupta.

Traditional classes such as snipers or heavy troopers won't be left flat-footed. Players can create Genetics labs to physically augment their capabilities to make them faster or more accurate.

However, enemies will have similar access to MECs, highlighted by the Mechtoid, a Sectoid alien foe that "comes back with huge firepower and survivability increase," Gupta says. "He's very dangerous."

Players can also acquire a new alien resource called Meld, which appears on the battlefield in canisters with self-destruct timers. The Meld will detonate if players don't pick up the canister before time expires.

Multiplayer receives an upgrade, with new tactical challenges and 47 additional maps.

Enemy Within will be available for PC, Mac, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Its predecessor, Enemy Unknown, has been a surprise hit for publisher 2K Games. The series features the undercover XCOM unit that protects Earth from an alien invasion. Portrayed from a top-down view, players guide their squad of soldiers in a series of turn-based battles to collect resources and weaken the aliens' presence.

by Brett Molina, USA Today (Twitter: @bam923)

USA TODAY

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