X-COM 2 puts you in control of humanity’s last hope, 20 years after the events of Enemy Unknown. The world is stranger and scarier, but the strategy game mechanics remain the same.
New alien weapons, missions, and abilities add variety to gameplay. New soldier classes such as the sniper and the mind-controlling Sectoid make your squads feel distinct.
It’s a good game.
The game is not without flaws. It can be frustrating to watch your soldiers die and you can’t just revert to the last save, but that’s a necessary part of the experience. It adds to the tension of the missions and makes every victory feel all the sweeter for knowing that you pushed back against the alien invasion with everything you had.
Combat still plays out in turn-based, isometric turns, and the strategy game staple of fog-of-war means that you can’t always see enemies coming until it’s too late. But there’s a freshness to it all thanks to the different tactics you can take, and that’s bolstered by smart design choices like having your troops level up into different classes with unique abilities.
For example, bringing a Grenadier into a mission can give you a chance to ambush enemy units with grenades rather than having to shoot them all down on sight. Even with the new zip mode, XCOM 2 sometimes suffers from slowdown and long wait times for enemy turns or to update the camera view.
It’s a great game.
The world of XCOM 2 is more compelling than ever. It’s the kind of game that you can spend hours on, reliving the adventures of your soldiers and the decisions you made in each mission. This time, your mobile command center is the Avenger, and you need to use it wisely in order to be successful.
XCOM 2 takes place 20 years after the events of Enemy Unknown, in a world where aliens now rule the global government under their puppet ADVENT administration. The ADVENT propaganda campaign has convinced most of humanity that the aliens came in peace, while a small resistance movement remains.
The new gameplay mechanics introduced in XCOM 2 are a great way to make the game feel fresh and exciting. Managing the Avenger’s limited resources is more challenging than before, and combat is still exhilarating as you lob grenades into groups of enemies or shoot machine gun rounds into stragglers in the distance.
It’s a good strategy game.
The turn-based combat in XCOM 2 is better than its predecessor’s, thanks to smart design choices like reaction shots and the ability to flank enemies. Moreover, the game puts its players on edge by making decisions that have huge consequences – it’s not hard to see how a single wrong choice can lead to defeat.
Moreover, the aliens are more formidable in XCOM 2, and the missions have a sense of forward momentum that the original’s did not have. The fact that the game has a Black Market that sells different pieces of alien tech is another welcome addition, and it’s even more important since resources are so scarce.
Despite all the new gameplay changes, the base building is still the best part of the game. It’s a joy to build up the eponymous organization, and it feels devastating to miss that easy shot with a 95% chance of hitting that would have gotten you a win in any other strategy game.
It’s a great turn-based strategy game.
The sequel to 2012’s Enemy Unknown sets things 20 years after the end of the first game, with aliens assuming global control over a pacified populace convinced that they’re benevolent saviors from the stars. Your mission is to lead a small team of operatives and their mobile Helicarrier-style base in a guerrilla war against the invaders.
XCOM 2 takes the series’ classic strategy gameplay and adds to it in smart ways. The isometric combat has new depth thanks to reaction shots and the ability to flank enemies. Troop customisation is much deeper too, with the capability to recruit renegades and oddballs with unique abilities and personalities.
The strategic layer is just as compelling, with a tight balance between rewards and consequences for each action you take. This is a game that can be lost as easily as it can be won, putting a premium on adaptation and forethought. The procedurally generated maps and time-based missions add an extra dimension of tension.
