Firaxis has just released a free DLC for their hit turn-based strategy game XCOM: Enemy Unknown which is set to make the game even more difficult than it already is.
The new update, called the Second Wave DLC, allows players to offer themselves a variety of new challenges with a host of options. After completing the game once, players will unlock new Second Wave options that will become available when starting up a new game.
Through these modes, you'll be able to modify and increase the difficulty of the base game. Here are the options you can select:
Damage Roulette: Weapons have a wider range of damage.
New Economy: Randomized council member funding.
Not Created Equally: Rookies will have random starting stats.
Hidden Potential: As a soldier is promoted, stats increase randomly.
Red Fog: Combat wounds will degrade the soldier's mission stats.
Absolutely Critical: A flanking shot guarantees a critical hit.
The Greater Good: Psionics can only be learned from interrogating a psionic alien.
Marathon: The game takes considerably longer to complete.
Results Driven: A country offers less funding as its panic level increases.
High Stakes: Random rewards for stopping alien abductions.
Diminishing Returns: Increased cost of satellite construction.
More Than Human: The psionic gift is extremely rare.
The Second Wave DLC is available for free to anyone who purchased the game for the PC on Steam, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. It'll download automatically when you start up the game. It's the second DLC available for the game, following the release of the Slingshot Pack a few months ago.