History Awesome / XCOMEnemyUnknown

** Another on the LP front, but for the player himself: [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvqxe4XbcSiEzrZm28NjsLXmHkffCJmBY Zemalf]] beat Enemy Within on [[{{Unwinnable}} Impossible]]-[[FinalDeathMode Ironman]], with the Not Created Equal and Hidden Potential Second Wave options on, and had both Operation Slingshot and Operation Progeny active. Made it through Site Recon blind. Beating the game in Impossible-Ironman is hard enough. And what did he do? He beat the game with '''''zero soldier KIA's and no lost nations. He finished the game with a perfect run.'''''

** Alternatively, with careful use of high ground and positioning, a Snapshot[[labelnote:1]](Allows Snipers to shoot post-move with a -20 accuracy penalty)[[/labelnote]] Sniper with In The Zone, Damn Good Ground, and a suit of Ghost Armor or Archangel Armor can snipe an exposed enemy for a free action with ITZ, move into another position, ''then'' snipe several now-flanked enemies with more ITZ snapshots, ''then'' move again, reload, or take one last potshot at any enemy still in cover and alive.

** Another LP example: From [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0aJoILmg3Y TheStalinator's XCOM playthrough,]] we had the MemeticBadass [[AwesomeMcCoolName William "Viking" Wilson]] of the UK. He started as something of a ButtMonkey, as he always took a lot of hits. But he would simply ''refuse to die.'' Poisoned by Thin Men? He would walk it off. Trapped behind an exploding car? Pshaw. Plasma to the face? He would stay up and kill a few aliens for good measure. He would oten limp back tot he Skyranger, hanging on by one HP. By the time he got his nickname, his badassery had caught Stalinator's notice, and he started growing a massive fandom in the comments section, along with the Argentine Heavy, "Tank," and Russian sniper "Hex" Ivanov. He usually wasn't the first in everything; "Hex" got a lot of the first kills (including the Sectoid Commander, the first Ethereal, and the Uber-Ethereal), and the "Italian Stallion" Riccardo Marino was the first psyker, but Will Wilson made up for it by being MadeOfIron and being an awesomely powerful psionic trooper. His CrowningMomentOfAwesome, however, was when he, of course, became the Volunteer, and made his HeroicSacrifice to save the Earth. Stalinator himself responded with a BigNo himself, followed by [[FunnyMoments clips of the "WILSON!" scene]] from CastAway. And after all that, fans of the XCOM LP posted memorials and shed ManlyTears to Will Wilson, the greatest hero humanity had ever known (at least in this playthrough). It shows you how good of a game this is, that an essentially randomly-generated soldier can become so beloved by the player and those watching.
*** Most games will have some real bad asses that crop up through the halfway point. Big protective MEC trooper that runs headlong, rocket punching enemies while taking lots of fire? Call him "Big Daddy." Mission reward sniper with a nickname of "Zero?" Defies statistics and NEVER MISSES. An assault named "Havoc" where the best thing to do is plant him in the path of the aliens and watch the destruction. The game is awesome just for the individual soldier stories that come out of it.

* Final level, Team S.H.I.V (Volunteer and 5 hovertanks). Not even the leader could withstand a barrage of 5 plasma guns bearing down from above.

*** At least until Enemy Within came along and buffed Sectopods with 50% damage reduction from all sources.

---> "Not so different from killing a man."

** Another on the LP front, but for the player himself: [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvqxe4XbcSiEzrZm28NjsLXmHkffCJmBY Zemalf]] beat Enemy Within on [[{{Unwinnable}} Impossible]]-[[FinalDeathMode Ironman]], with the Not Created Equal and Hidden Potential Second Wave options on, and had both Operation Slingshot and Operation Progeny active. Beating the game in Impossible-Ironman is hard enough. And what did he do? He beat the game with '''''zero soldier KIA's and no lost nations. He finished the game with a perfect run.'''''

*** If you ''really'' go for shock-and-awe, have a freaking ''MEC Trooper'' drop in on 'em this way,

* There's an Abduction mission in Egypt, just before the Alien Base Assault. So the map's a highway one, meaning there's little but cars for cover. The squad deploys, moving up and carefully looking for the aliens. A pair of Mutons appear, and one is quickly taken down by the team sniper, while the other takes cover after taking a few wounds from a Heavy on Overwatch. The Assault moves up to take the other one out, and in the process triggers the other Mutons. So now, eight Mutons are bearing down on the team from the side, they're all but caught with their pants down, and to boot, the one in cover just initiated Blood Call. Thanks to several lucky shots, a well-placed rocket from a Heavy, and generally an excellent performance, the squad manages to kill the Mutons and complete their mission, albeit with everyone wounded and the squad medic dead.

* What can be more awesome than killing a Sectoid ? Killing a Sectoïd that was buffing one alien, thus making the second alien's brain seemingly explose and kill it too.

* Some maps in the game can have music playing in stores or resturaunts. Often, this music sounds like it was taken straight out of BlackDynamite. The best time to hear it is ordering a Heavy with a spare rocket to move just behind a closed door with something to shoot behind it.

* Sometimes, you have to [[SadisticChoice decide between killing one of your own soldiers who's been mind controlled and letting them live and potentially killing another of your soldiers]]. Should you order one of your soldiers to attack them, however, they may choose to TakeAThirdOption and [[ImprobableAmingSkills hit them with a critical hit that allows them to be stabilized and carried back to base]]. Sure, they'll be out of commission for a while, but it's one less picture for the memorial wall.

* Creating the Firestorm. ''"I think we've just leveled the playing field,"'' indeed. The entire cutscene is pure awesome.

** Another on the LP front, but for the player himself: [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvqxe4XbcSiEzrZm28NjsLXmHkffCJmBY Zemalf]] beat the game on [[{{Unwinnable}} Impossible]]-[[FinalDeathMode Ironman]], with the Not Created Equal and Hidden Potential Second Wave options on, and had both Operation Slingshot and Operation Progeny active. Beating the game in Impossible-Ironman is hard enough. And what did he do? He beat the game with '''''zero deaths. He finished the game with a perfect run.'''''

* Assuming they survive, seeing your squad go from a ragtag bunch of rookies with standard armaments to a force of alien curb-stompers with advanced weapons and armor feels great. You really get to see the transformation of humanity going from comparative helplessness to equality or even superiority to the aliens.

* In the Alien Base mission, two sets of three Chrysallids were helpful enough to ''line up'' in front of a MEC Heavy. Chrysallids, meet flamethrower.

** There's also something awesome about using them to kill Sectoid Commanders. Especially the first one. He's just mind-controlled one of your soldiers, and Dr. Vahlen says that all your technology is useless against such power. Then a MEC Trooper stomps up and takes the damn thing out with one punch.

** Even better is ''defying'' the name. [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Operation: Bloody Hero]]. Yeah, that sounds ominous. Then it turns out to be a daylight mission where your team curb-stomps the aliens without taking a scratch.

** Or deliberately invoking this sort of thing in the name of DynamicEntry. Have a bunch of aliens cornered in a small building? Have one of your heavies get the door...with a [[StuffBlowingUp shredder rocket,]] then have your assault troops rush in with alloy cannons blazing as your snipers mop up the rest before the aliens even know what happened. SingleStrokeBattle at its finest.

** "Operation [[Literature/TheHobbit Lone Mountain]]" - Generated name for [[BattleshipRaid Gangplank]], the final mission in the Slingshot Pack. Taking down a dragon, indeed...on foot, no less.

* One Terror mission, up against an alien squad entirely comprised of Chryssalids. First turn, a Psi-capable Heavy took control of one, gathering the attention of ''[[ZergRush every other Chryssalid]]''. Next squad member was a Sniper with [[OneHitKill Squadsight, In The Zone and a Plasma Sniper Rifle]]. By the time he was done, only the controlled Chryssalid was left. One rocket later, and job done. [[CurbStompBattle The best mission rating one could get from a Terror mission]], and all on ''[[SingleStrokeBattle the first turn]]''.

** A MEC with a [[KillItWithFire flamethrower]] invokes some deliciously grim satisfaction when you cut down Chryssalids, Mutons, or EXALT terrorists with a wave of fiery death, causing any ([[OneHitKO if there are any]]) survivors to ''panic'' and scramble away. On top of that, it's a ''special'' panic state that also precludes them firing randomly or hunkering down. Turns out that despite all the advanced armor, plasma weaponry, psionic might, and genetic tinkering, lighting them on fire will still yield panicked screams of their analogue for "OH FUCK! OH ''FUCK''!"

** A MEC with a [[KillItWithFire flamethrower]] invokes some deliciously grim satisfaction when you cut down Chryssalids, Mutons, or EXALT terrorists with a wave of fiery death, causing any survivors to ''panic'' and scramble away. On top of that, it's a ''special'' panic state that also precludes them firing randomly or hunkering down. Turns out that despite all the advanced armor, plasma weaponry, psionic might, and genetic tinkering, lighting them on fire will still yield panicked screams of their analogue for "OH FUCK! OH ''FUCK''!"

** Even more awesome if said Assault has [[{{BFG}}an Alloy Cannon]]. No softening up needed there.

** Even more awesome if said Assault has an [[BFG Alloy Cannon]]. No softening up needed there.

* From the LetsPlay series ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIPXN2vEJbE Iskandar's Travels in XCOM EU]]'', a character who, at least in some circles, is becoming a MemeticBadass - or perhaps the ChuckNorris - of XCOM, Colonel Crossblade. Starting out as just one soldier of many, he becomes an Assault, and from there...well, he Assaults his way through aliens like a hot knife through butter. Alien Grenade to the face? You just made him angry. Muton plasma blast to his center of mass? All you did was piss him off. Panicked teammate sending plasma his way? A dodge and a calm report of being under fire. His player normally gave all his soldiers helmets, but as he passed Major he decided Crossblade was badass enough to go without, and gave him the Guile hair. Then comes the psionics lab...and guess who the first soldier out with the gift is? Even when his player decided to try and ''not'' have him hog all the XP, using him to shoot to wound a Muton so another soldier can finish it off, Crossblade shoots the alien stone dead. It's reached the point where even the AI seems to recognise how scary he is; in one case a pack of three Mutons ''all shot at targets further away in better cover'', as if afraid of drawing his attention. Writing IC as The Commander, his player states that he's considering retiring him due to the effect on morale his possible loss would cause, but he can't due to his sheer brute competence at killing aliens.