Long-time reviewer Niko Nirvi, a strong admirer of the original UFO: Enemy Unknown, described the original UFO: Extraterrestrials as a pleasant but visibly rushed substitute. He focused on "Bman's Ease of Use Mod 4.07 (fixed by Coasty)" as the prevailing merger of minor modifications, and pronounced it "the true successor of UFO: Enemy Unknown" that "genuinely achieves some of its predecessor's magic."
According to the magazine, the more visible features of Bman's mod are added weaponry, incorporation of the original Enemy Unknown enemies (although graphically by copying and enlarging the older game's sprites), improving AI and rebalancing the game mechanics by changing them towards those of Enemy Unknown.
