XCOM 2

 PC
User Score
7.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 1694 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,117 out of 1694
  2. Mixed: 275 out of 1694
  3. Negative: 302 out of 1694
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  1. eefeef
    Aug 31, 2023
    8
    This game is about battles for the sake of battles, and those battles are fun every time, until you get tired of them and then the game is over.
  2. PR9Gaming
    Aug 12, 2023
    8
    XCOM turned up to 12, but on amps that should really be at 10 max. It gets way crazier, but still follows the formula of being a strugglebus in the beginning to being a cakewalk without any challenge at late game.
  3. BladeWise
    Dec 31, 2022
    10
    A great game, both visually and in terms of gameplay. Even after 6 years, it is still one of the best in its genere.
  4. Soullex
    Nov 29, 2022
    9
    Mükemmel bir taktiksel savaş oyunu. %100'de ıskalamasa daha iyi ama........
  5. Hyperfailure
    Nov 27, 2022
    8
    (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻
    ┻━┻ ︵ ヽ(°□°ヽ)

    ┻━┻ ︵ ＼( °□° )／ ︵ ┻━┻

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    (╯°Д°）╯︵ /(.□ . )

    ʕノ•ᴥ•ʔノ ︵ ┻━┻
  6. Talibamn
    Aug 15, 2022
    10
    An instant classic that refines, evolves, and redefines the ideas that came before. Strategy perfection
  7. DeathReis
    Jul 5, 2022
    8
    GİRİŞ

    Şunu belirterek giriş yapmak istiyorum ilk oyun olan Xcom Enemy Unknown'u oynamadım yani her hangi bir karşılaştırma yapamayacağım Xcom 2 nedendir bilmem ilk gördüğüm anda beni kendisine çekmişti uygun bir fiyatı olmasından dolayıda direk aldım oyunu (full paketi 45tl) ve şunu söyleyebilirim oyunu modsuz oynamak kesinlikle işkence, gelin inceleyelim ARTILARI +Harika    GİRİŞ

    Şunu belirterek giriş yapmak istiyorum ilk oyun olan Xcom Enemy Unknown'u oynamadım yani her hangi bir karşılaştırma yapamayacağım

    Xcom 2 nedendir bilmem ilk gördüğüm anda beni kendisine çekmişti uygun bir fiyatı olmasından dolayıda direk aldım oyunu (full paketi 45tl) ve şunu söyleyebilirim oyunu modsuz oynamak kesinlikle işkence, gelin inceleyelim

    ARTILARI

    +Harika grafikleri

    +Güzel optimizasyon

    +Sağlam yapay zeka

    +Binbir çeşit upgrade seçeneği

    +Askerlerin "bio" kısımları oldukça detaylı ve bu sayede bazı askerlerle bağ kurmanıza sebep oluyor(cidden bazı askerlerim öldüğü için neredeyse yas tutacaktım)

    +Bölüm tasarımları şahane

    +Scriptli eventler fena değil

    +Hikaye tırt olsada nadiren "wow" dedirtiyor

    +Silah ve Sınıf çeşitliliği yeterli düzeyde

    +Düşman çeşitliliği ise çok iyi

    +Oyun süresi gayet iyi(dlcler ile uzatabilirsiniz tabiki)

    +Steam atölye desteği

    +Görevler öncesi doğru planlama yapmanızı gerektiren dizayn seçimi

    EKSİLERİ

    -Tırt hikayesi

    -Tırt karakterleri

    -Çoğunlukla tahmin edilebilir olay örgüsü

    -Silahlar ve Sınıf çeşitliliği "yeterli" düzeyde olsa da maalesef oyunun oynanış süresi göz önünde bulundurursak yetersiz kalabiliyor

    -Sonlara doğru tekrara düşüyor

    -Oyunun düşmanı vurmanızı hesaplayan sistem çok gaddar(bununla ilgili modlar var kullanmanızı tavsiye ederim)

    PUANLAMA

    82/100 100: Mükemmel(Kusursuz) 99-90: Harika(Kusursuz Değil ama yakın) 89-80: Çok iyi 79-75: İyi 74-70: Ortalama Üstü 69-65: Ortalama 64-60: Ortalama Altı 59-55: Kötü 54-50: Çok Kötü 49    … Expand
  8. AliceGross
    May 6, 2022
    10
    Харашо Харашо Харашо Харашо Харашо Харашо Харашо Харашо Харашо Харашо Харашо
  9. S3XU4LH34L1NG
    May 5, 2022
    8
    A great game if you are into the genre. In my opinion its leaning a bit too heavy into the overworld / basebuilding management wich is janky and tedious. Be warned there are quite a few bugs (gameplay / audio / visual). Also the combat could be sped up just a tiny bit. The optimazation is also quite horrible. I liked the high difficulty of each mission.
  10. Woolee
    Sep 29, 2021
    10
    I fell in love with this game when I first started playing it, but then something went horribly wrong. If you only intend on playing the game once or maybe twice then this game is a fantastic gem; a great experience. If you want to play more than that then it has some surprises in store. First of all the UI and controls are ok but they could be so much better on the PC. Every once in a
  11. Axilley
    Jul 22, 2021
    8
    good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good X2
  12. ultimat3
    Jul 14, 2021
    10
    good game with great combat, dk why the reviews are so bad ...

    xcom foreverrrrrr
  13. Durgrim
    Jun 3, 2021
    10
    One of the best (if not the best) strategy games of this decade. If you like turn based strategy / tactics games you need to try this.
  14. sparkdiamonds2
    May 12, 2021
    8
    One of my favorite games! I always have a good time with XCOM. Love the combat especially
  15. Zski
    May 2, 2021
    10
    This is what a strategy game should be. Multiple layers of decision making, consequences that ripple across all layers of the game, and the feeling that you’re constantly fighting a losing battle against an enemy stronger than you. It’s pretty much an arms race against the aliens, and you are at a disadvantage. I think iron man should be the default mode in the game, otherwise it takesThis is what a strategy game should be. Multiple layers of decision making, consequences that ripple across all layers of the game, and the feeling that you’re constantly fighting a losing battle against an enemy stronger than you. It’s pretty much an arms race against the aliens, and you are at a disadvantage. I think iron man should be the default mode in the game, otherwise it takes away the huge sense of risk vs reward. This is easily one of my favorite strategy games - I have finished it for the fifth time now across three different platforms. I always come back to it.… Expand
  16. X-comfan18
    Apr 27, 2021
    10
    The best turn based UFO Defence game that I've played.

    XCOM was Great. XCOM has further built up on it's strengths and created an even better product with Updated Graphics and Campaign. Every single DLC had a profound impact on gameplay and refined it even further.

    Grab the complete XCOM2 bungle for best experience.
  17. OldManGamerOMG
    Dec 7, 2020
    8
    While the game is leaps and bounds better than the previous XCOM, I would be amiss to not recommend that you play the previous XCOM to get the full amount of enjoyment out of this game, as well as back story.

    The previous XCOM was badly designed around RNG, but this game has fixed much of that, allowing for strategy to be stronger than the ridiculous RNG missed shots. There is still    While the game is leaps and bounds better than the previous XCOM, I would be amiss to not recommend that you play the previous XCOM to get the full amount of enjoyment out of this game, as well as back story.

    The previous XCOM was badly designed around RNG, but this game has fixed much of that, allowing for strategy to be stronger than the ridiculous RNG missed shots. There is still times that you will miss that 99 percent success shot, but it isn't game breaking as it was in XCOM Enemy Within. The game is also far more inclusive to the tempo that you take the game, as opposed to feeling rushed in every sense of the way.

    The layout of the base is not make or break based on the layout that RNG gave you at the start as well. This makes it less stressful in starting the game, and wondering where a steam vent is, or if you can get that Sat link without the Steam Vent being in the way.

    The engineers and scientists are far more interesting and fun. I wish there was more we could do with them, but they are vastly better than just getting a number higher.

    In short, I enjoyed XCOM 2 vastly more than XCOM EU and EW. I definitely recommend this game, though wait to get the DLC/Expansions until they are on sale. They are quite overpriced currently.    … Expand
  18. DexEngineer
    Aug 14, 2020
    9
    Love playing this game. One of my favorite games. Great graphics. Intriguing story. Very good continuation of Enemy Unknown.
  19. Sean-M
    Jul 24, 2020
    8
    Really liked this game, it follows the great gameplay of the previous game but it also adds the character customisation that is amazing, especially when you add multiple mods on top of it.
  20. Gonzaked
    Jul 10, 2020
    8
    Hey... Do you remember when Donald Trump, Darth Vader, Hatsune Miku and the Ultramarines saved the World ? Yeah... Me too...

    Coded with the feet and optimised with knees, this game didn't get any real update to solved it issues. Like an other game who likes to shoot you in the knee, you HAVE to install mods to get an acceptable experience : Balancing the game, Getting new    Hey... Do you remember when Donald Trump, Darth Vader, Hatsune Miku and the Ultramarines saved the World ? Yeah... Me too...

    Coded with the feet and optimised with knees, this game didn't get any real update to solved it issues.

    Like an other game who likes to shoot you in the knee, you HAVE to install mods to get an acceptable experience :

    Balancing the game,
    Getting new classes, new weapons, new foes, new everything.

    The campaign is cool, the gameplay is okay... but it has some stupidities like stealth being misexploited.

    Soundtrack is great
    Graphism are mediocre.

    But hey, even Archer and his crew are joining the party !
    Thanks 2K games, but a bigger thanks to the modders !    … Expand
  21. DoctorDeath
    Jun 29, 2020
    8
    Continued and, in fact, a repetition of the first part. Few new ideas. But still good gameplay. For fans of the strategy and tactics genre.
  22. SilverOrlov
    Jun 17, 2020
    9
    I decided to write a separate reviews on the game in general and an DLC about the chosen ones.
    So about the game... Very good graphics worthy of 2016. Very interesting story and atmosphere through all company missions. New interesting idea with soldier's skill relationship, and with stress debuffs. Adding new fraction soldiers with their own specific skills. As usual, interesting text    I decided to write a separate reviews on the game in general and an DLC about the chosen ones.
    So about the game... Very good graphics worthy of 2016. Very interesting story and atmosphere through all company missions. New interesting idea with soldier's skill relationship, and with stress debuffs. Adding new fraction soldiers with their own specific skills. As usual, interesting text articles about laboratory projects.
    Some people complained on timers, but at first, it's a part of game-play and it's well described by game-play. And at second, you can alter them in option menu before starting new game. The avatar timer, what a surprise, was in the original game as "panic bar" and you can shorten it in some missions.
    What I actually didn't like in this game: Curved camera(the global map periodically runs from place to place, activation of some skills is not visible because the camera shows a completely different part of the location). Sometimes AI of aliens reacts slowly or even make foolish steps. When you step on the green square of the mission task - you can no longer leave it, even if you need to do that, only reload saved moment. The lack of a line of experience is a very bad decision, because it does not allow to evaluate when a soldier will receive a promotion(this is very inconvenient, at least because in covert operations it is possible to quickly raise a soldier).
    And of course, the most delicious: stupid and blind chance's random of hits. Honestly I like the idea, but after the finished experience with the first game, in 2016 you can already more responsibly approach this issue. Take into account any context in that percentage, because it is very stupid when the shotgun shoots close with a 80% chance but miss, it is very stupid when the Colonel sniper misses a huge berserk body that stands still, it is very stupid when a ranger with a sword and a hacking skill lower than average, hacks better than a specialist with a high level of this skill. And it is very stupid when you stand near the alien and put the rifle into it's face, and receive 60%... 50%... even 40%?! ...WTF?!
    But howbeit it is very interesting game and I want to give it a good rating.    … Expand
  23. Kotofon
    Jun 6, 2020
    8
    XCOM2 - это продолжение признанной игроками и критиками стратегии XCOM: Enemy Unknown. Двадцать лет минуло с тех пор, как человечество проиграло войну с захватчиками из другого мира, и на Земле теперь царит новый порядок
  24. ChesterField
    May 1, 2020
    9
    Strategy game that has made its name a genre. Personally, I don't understand the bad reviews. For me it is at the level of its first game, it even exceeds it. Mandatory for fans of the genre.
  25. Haltsmaul
    Apr 28, 2020
    9
    It now runs with only minor bugs and apart from that is unfair sometimes (oh come on how could he miss that!???) its an awesome turn based rpg and strategy game
    Tip: If you like the game, you have to buy the DLC "War of the Chosen"! it adds new characters and classes and enemies and even a new game mode. Makes the awesome game even better
  26. Mazisky
    Apr 25, 2020
    10
    One of the best strategy games ever created for PC.

    -Awesome tactical layer
    -Procedural maps and a lot of environments
    -Character creation and personalization
    -Many different enemies
    -Intriguing Narrative and cool main characters
    -Lot of meaningful strategictactical decisions to make
  27. Sanghelic
    Apr 11, 2020
    9
    para mi es sin lugar a duda el mejor juego de estrategia por turnos que existe, muy buenas mecanicas y sistema de progresion impecable, inteligente y muy bien pensado, XCOM 2 es un juego totalmente tactico que te hara tomar decisiones dificiles con consecuencias reales, debes administrar bien tus recursos y saber tomar decisiones a corto y largo plazo, a pesar de estar mal optimizadopara mi es sin lugar a duda el mejor juego de estrategia por turnos que existe, muy buenas mecanicas y sistema de progresion impecable, inteligente y muy bien pensado, XCOM 2 es un juego totalmente tactico que te hara tomar decisiones dificiles con consecuencias reales, debes administrar bien tus recursos y saber tomar decisiones a corto y largo plazo, a pesar de estar mal optimizado recomiendo mucho jugarlo en pc, he jugado la version de pc y la de xbox one y puedo decir que la de xbox one sufria de bastantes mas errores, ademas, esta clase de juegos se juega con mas precision en pc y su comunidad es tambien mas grande en pc. sin embargo, si esto no es posible, los desarrolladores supieron crear un esquema de controles muy bueno para poder jugar este juego con mando.… Expand
  28. ComandanteCobra
    Mar 4, 2020
    8
    Good.
    It's a little different from first Xcom in terms of game-play.
    Here there are some sort of mini-bosses and a good amount of story driven missions that limit replay value but create a decent (if predictable) story. Most of the random missions (at normal ) are time related so you must complete them in a fixed numbers of turn or you'll loose the mission....but rarely this represent a    Good.
    It's a little different from first Xcom in terms of game-play.
    Here there are some sort of mini-bosses and a good amount of story driven missions that limit replay value but create a decent (if predictable) story.
    Most of the random missions (at normal ) are time related so you must complete them in a fixed numbers of turn or you'll loose the mission....but rarely this represent a real problem
    It feel a little speed up compared to previous title in the franchise.
    Lots of user-generated content can be found online for free and lots of bugs have been fixed.
    I played also XCOM 2012 and X-COM: UFO Defense 1993.    … Expand
  29. RogueV
    Dec 5, 2019
    9
    How can I do justice to a game responsible for some of the most treasured gaming moments in my whole life? The fact of the matter is that XCOM is more than anything you try and describe it with. It's a strategy game, but it's a lot more than that. It's a turn based combat game, but it's so so much more than that. It's a single player campaign, but it's the most unique and fascinatingHow can I do justice to a game responsible for some of the most treasured gaming moments in my whole life? The fact of the matter is that XCOM is more than anything you try and describe it with. It's a strategy game, but it's a lot more than that. It's a turn based combat game, but it's so so much more than that. It's a single player campaign, but it's the most unique and fascinating single player campaign I've ever come across. It's more than all of these things put together, it's a complete game polished on all ends and a truly legendary experience.

    Perhaps the most amazing thing in this game is what I call organic storytelling. What I mean by that is that in your campaign only you, the commander and main character, and the supporting cast are fixed. The true heroes, the soldiers, are randomly generated, and grow an identity through their experiences and through leveling up. So when a soldier is really powerful and a leader of your squad, there is such a feeling of personal involvement and a stake in the matter. You saw them grow from a rookie into what they are. And the best part of this: perma-death. The main soldier who has been with you from the very first mission, the hero of the story, they could die once in a low stakes side mission and that's it. They're gone. There is something so magical about this, it creates so much tension and raises the stakes so high for every single mission. Sure, you can just reload the save from when the soldier was alive, but I advise against that. I don't think I have ever felt as much anguish from a video game as the time I lost my best soldier because of MY error in judgment and positioning, but it is that anguish that makes the experience sweeter and more profound, and what makes this game so special.

    The gameplay itself is phenomenal and unique. There is some RNG, no denying that, but it stops short of feeling completely unfair, and skill makes a huge difference. Reading the battlefield, the enemies, and making good tactical decisions is a skill very heavily rewarded in gameplay, and lack of good decisionmaking is punished as well. It really is as close to a "shooter chess" as I can imagine. Parallels can also be drawn to to Firaxis other big game: Civilization, with it's tile based gameplay. Here instead of one tile being a region in a country, it's a small piece of the floor where a soldier can stand. There are other similarities to Civ like the research system. I'd go as far as to say the turn-based, tile-based gameplay works even better for XCOM than it does for Civ.

    My one criticism of the gameplay is that I do not appreciate the turn timer missions because they promote one way of playing very heavily and make the whole thing feel rushed, in a way that doesn't even feel right for the story. Luckily the War of the Chosen expansion resolves all these faults perfectly.    … Expand
  30. Genek13
    Nov 19, 2019
    8
    Great sequel to one of the best tactical games.
    Campaign is enjoyable and long enough.
    Visuals and sound effects are outstanding - especially comparing to the previous one.
    During playtrough had some technical problems, but not gamebreaking ones.
  31. Cougargames
    Nov 5, 2019
    8
    Now please dont mind my seven just beacuse metacritic gives 7s a yellow colour doesnt men i hate the game its quite good in fact it does almost everything that xcom did right besides the fact that they have timed missions. One of the most satisfying feeling (atleast for me) is that i could creat the perfect stealth attack and suprise my enemies. You can still do that but its all veryNow please dont mind my seven just beacuse metacritic gives 7s a yellow colour doesnt men i hate the game its quite good in fact it does almost everything that xcom did right besides the fact that they have timed missions. One of the most satisfying feeling (atleast for me) is that i could creat the perfect stealth attack and suprise my enemies. You can still do that but its all very limited beacuse you almost dont have the option to take your time. Now Im not gonna spoil xcoms ending but what i can tell you is that everything you did in Xcom 1 basically dosent matter, wich fel like a big f*** you to the players.… Expand
  32. PeetApiwat
    Nov 3, 2019
    8
    "Save scumming because I love all my soldiers"

    The Good: presentation, challenge gameplay, graphic, ability to customize soldier.
    The Okay: some camera angle problem.
    The Bad: some situation seems unfair where you just have to lose (or save-scumming :D)
  33. Vectis99
    May 31, 2019
    9
    XCOM 2 is not only a brilliant game in its own right, but also improves over XCOM 1 in every form- graphically, mechanically, and thematically. Sweeping quality of life changes, such as the ability to press the tab key to move to the next unit while the previous's animation is completing, make up for the games occasional trivial turn cycles. XCOM 2 is unique in that the campaign can beXCOM 2 is not only a brilliant game in its own right, but also improves over XCOM 1 in every form- graphically, mechanically, and thematically. Sweeping quality of life changes, such as the ability to press the tab key to move to the next unit while the previous's animation is completing, make up for the games occasional trivial turn cycles. XCOM 2 is unique in that the campaign can be "lost"- and it is a very real threat on the "Veteran" difficulty, adding a degree of substance to decision making. Consequentially, due to the length of the campaign, the total amount of time I expect to spend with this game is wholly unpredictable.
    I have only played this with the "War of the Chosen" DLC, which I got on sale; so I cannot speak to the value of the base game. However, I can testify that the experience currently feels complete and engaging.
    There are a few things in XCOM 2 which don't quite work. "Lost" elements of missions do not work well with the tactical strategy genre compared to missions with fewer, more complex enemies. The exact mechanics of the grand strategy campaign are not immediately intuitive. Lastly, the maps which missions take place on are far bigger than they need to be, often making the game feel like a sort of walking chore.
    On the other hand, some things XCOM 2 did especially well make it a deeply engaging experience. The strategy layer's Avatar project provides a solid baseline for reading the general state of the player in terms of where the game expects you to be. On a tactical level, the idea that a mission's outcome is very analogue (with a wide range of outcomes based on the soldiers being wounded and killed), which negates the grind of easier missions; they can still be handled with care with meaningful incentives. Mission design is overall improved to be significantly more engaging with a wider variety of mission objectives, constraints, and challenges. Per-unit tactical options are greatly expanded on from the first game, yet do not feel overwhelming.    … Expand
  34. Rock3nh3im
    Mar 22, 2019
    10
    Geniales Strategiespiel. Da stimmt fast alles, bis auf paar Bugs. Abwechslung hat man zu 100%, Kämpfe sind fordernd, auch ist das eins von den Spielen wo man gerne Stirbt oder die Mission nochmal spielt oder Neustartet um einen anderen Weg zu versuchen.
    Auf jedenfall, ist das Spiel jedes Geld wert und noch so viel mehr...
    Viel Spass an denjenigen wo sich das Kauft. Du wirst es sicher    Geniales Strategiespiel. Da stimmt fast alles, bis auf paar Bugs. Abwechslung hat man zu 100%, Kämpfe sind fordernd, auch ist das eins von den Spielen wo man gerne Stirbt oder die Mission nochmal spielt oder Neustartet um einen anderen Weg zu versuchen.
    Auf jedenfall, ist das Spiel jedes Geld wert und noch so viel mehr...
    Viel Spass an denjenigen wo sich das Kauft. Du wirst es sicher nicht bereuen.    … Expand
  35. ChoicestGames
    Feb 15, 2019
    8
    XCOM 2 brings with it many welcome new features such as better customisation options, the ability to conduct guerrilla warfare against an alien threat and even a Memorial Wall. However, what it also brings are the usual flaws that infuriate players including bugs and RNGesus; XCOM 2 is also more difficult than its predecessor thanks to a combination of turning previous winning strategiesXCOM 2 brings with it many welcome new features such as better customisation options, the ability to conduct guerrilla warfare against an alien threat and even a Memorial Wall. However, what it also brings are the usual flaws that infuriate players including bugs and RNGesus; XCOM 2 is also more difficult than its predecessor thanks to a combination of turning previous winning strategies on their heads and having time limits placed on just about everything that you do.… Expand
  36. LuisHQ
    Jan 26, 2019
    9
    XCOM 2 é um excelente game tático, que consegue pegar todos os elementos que funcionaram no game anterior e melhora-los, ao mesmo tempo que adiciona uma boa dose de novidade. Um game extremamente reconhecível, mas mesmo assim prazeroso de se jogar, que frustra na medida certa, ao mesmo tempo que recompensa o jogador a cada vitória. Se curtiu Enemy Unknown, sem duvida irá gostar de XCOM 2 eXCOM 2 é um excelente game tático, que consegue pegar todos os elementos que funcionaram no game anterior e melhora-los, ao mesmo tempo que adiciona uma boa dose de novidade. Um game extremamente reconhecível, mas mesmo assim prazeroso de se jogar, que frustra na medida certa, ao mesmo tempo que recompensa o jogador a cada vitória. Se curtiu Enemy Unknown, sem duvida irá gostar de XCOM 2 e que venha XCOM 3, já estamos aguardando!

    Análise completa no Blog PortoHQ.    … Expand
  37. GarethB
    Nov 2, 2018
    8
    An excellent turned base game full of action and plenty of customisation. There are a huge host of mods available to tailor the game further to your needs!
  38. Acronymous
    Aug 14, 2018
    10
    What can i say, i love the tactical, turn-based games. After playing a lot of XCOM with my friends i just had to try XCOM2 and was not disappointed. Everything is better in this installment (except for a Chance to hit) although i'm not a big fan of forcing player to rush with the turns-left counter.

    All in all it's a great game and i simply love it.
  39. RMDsilva
    Jun 28, 2018
    8
    Solid game. Good kind of addiction, with enough variation and tactics to play with.
    Only played standard version at Commander difficulty: good challenge at the beginning (actually let soldiers die instead of save scumming), a bit too easy from mid to end game.
  40. ave
    May 22, 2018
    9
    Among the several changes in the design, XCOM 2 introduced time constraint, and even if I initially found it punishing, it actually forced my to play "by the rules" of the game, and develop tactics to overcome this new challenge.

    IMHO, the solution (sort of) of time constraint, is to have in your team, at any time, a long range sniper and a hidden ranger to act as a spotter. After that,    Among the several changes in the design, XCOM 2 introduced time constraint, and even if I initially found it punishing, it actually forced my to play "by the rules" of the game, and develop tactics to overcome this new challenge.

    IMHO, the solution (sort of) of time constraint, is to have in your team, at any time, a long range sniper and a hidden ranger to act as a spotter. After that, any combination of soldiers you put "in between" could deal with most of the game situations.

    My first completed campaign relied on a diverse team combining the previous two plus grenadiers, medics and hackers. My second campaign was run entirely with rangers (one hidden, and up to 2 blademasters) and sharpshooters (one sniper and up to 2 gunslingers) - and it was damn fun !

    Another aspect I really like in this game is the fact that "each person count", be it a soldier, a scientist or an engineer.

    Also, the fact that the game can be modded and the community offered many tools or gameplay variants greatly expands the experience. I here may recommend mods like Gotcha ! that completely changed the dynamics of the encounters.

    So, onwards to War of the Chosen !    … Expand
  41. 2fatbear
    Nov 26, 2017
    10
    Being a veteran XCom player, I still miss the complete freedom we had on the original games on choosing equipment for missions and details like limited munition and caring to not shoot your friends.
    So why I give the game a 10/10? Because it is perfect on what it proposes to be. It is moderately easy on easier difficult and amazingly difficult on the top ones, with the daring Ironman    Being a veteran XCom player, I still miss the complete freedom we had on the original games on choosing equipment for missions and details like limited munition and caring to not shoot your friends.
    So why I give the game a 10/10? Because it is perfect on what it proposes to be. It is moderately easy on easier difficult and amazingly difficult on the top ones, with the daring Ironman option (you cant save while on missions) turned on.
    I have a small complain in the graphics area. I like much better the graphics on the first modern XCom game, they are more realistic. But these on XCom 2 are more effective, things are more distinct and easy to see. The point is I liked the small amount of confusion the realistic graphics created.
    Sounds and voices are great. Interface is great. And there is a ton of mods to choose and change your game to your taste, like raising the limit of that dread time limited missions (but hey, try it the default way, you will have the thrill of your life! (: ) and virtually anything you can imagine.
    Cant wait for XCom 3!    … Expand
  42. Myon-Neutrino
    Oct 26, 2017
    9
    Original Comment from early 2016: I´m a "newcomer" in round-based games and discovered XCOM when Enemy Unknown/within happened and I immediately fell in love with it! So i was looking forward to the new game. I´ve played Xcom 2 for about 15 hours on normal difficulty, when the ultimate rage-quit happened. This game annoyed me with all its rushed demands all the time: Go and get supplies,Original Comment from early 2016: I´m a "newcomer" in round-based games and discovered XCOM when Enemy Unknown/within happened and I immediately fell in love with it! So i was looking forward to the new game. I´ve played Xcom 2 for about 15 hours on normal difficulty, when the ultimate rage-quit happened. This game annoyed me with all its rushed demands all the time: Go and get supplies, go and rescue valen, go and rescue engineers, don´t forget all those damn avatar-upgrades, keep your avenger-micromanagements going, do this, do that - all simultaneously. Ridiculously tight timers in a lot of missions and a general let-down in the whole round-based gameplay concept by introducing that damn ruler-reactions every single time. The rulers are too hard, their actions are illogical and random, I don´t get it. And still the performance sucks (22-28FPS with a i7 4790K / Radeon 7970 GHz Ed. OC machine @ medium/high settings) What a disappointment. ( I gave it a rating of 5 )

    Update 27.10.2017:
    I recently figured out there is a XCOM2 Mod which disables those ridiculous timers during some missions so I gave it another shot with that Mod activated. Now I´m about 30 hours in and the gameflow is fluid and fair, that Mod improved XCOM2 overwhelmingly! No rants or rage anymore, but a fun time and still difficult as hell, at least for me. The performance and overall graphics got better (Using a i7 6700K / AMD RX 480 / 16GB RAM / Samsung 850 SSD Rig, 45-60FPS during actual gameplay @ FHD / Max Details. Cutscenes however sometimes stutter and got some framedrops). You have to install this game on a SSD for the loading times to be acceptable. Also a lot of bugfixing and balancing happened, further there exist some really well done DLCs now. I´m genuinely impressed and upgraded my score to 9 (WITH disabled timer mod activated)! Without that mod I´d still rate this a 5 or 6... Buy, mod and enjoy!    … Expand
  43. suneater
    Sep 24, 2017
    10
    Playing through the "original" XCOM: Enemy Unknown, I felt like it was purposefully neutered; it was like the game was designed to be as dumbed-down as possible while still maintaining hallmarks of the series. At first I thought I was because they were just trying to release it as widely as possible (you can play it on your phone at this point), but now I see it was actually a market test.Playing through the "original" XCOM: Enemy Unknown, I felt like it was purposefully neutered; it was like the game was designed to be as dumbed-down as possible while still maintaining hallmarks of the series. At first I thought I was because they were just trying to release it as widely as possible (you can play it on your phone at this point), but now I see it was actually a market test. To put it simply, XCOM 2's launch version is the game that EU should've been from the start. With the addition of DLC and now a full expansion, XCOM 2 is now essentially XCOM 2.5 and is GOTY contender two years in a row.

    Taking place 20 years after the events of the first game, aliens firmly control Earth and XCOM as it was previously known is no more. While the original's atmosphere was very militaristic and coordinated, XCOM 2 is now very guerrilla and disorganized. Your supporting cast don't trust each other, everything is held together with duct tape, and your soldiers look like post-apoc cosplayers for a long time. New combat variables and mission structures, along with vastly more powerful aliens, create a dire atmosphere that makes every mission feel like it could be your last. While most missions in the base game were timed, I never felt this timer was too restrictive and the expansion adds a lot of non-timed missions to the mix. Overall there is a good variety of mission types now and most missions are flexible enough to let you bring a variety of squads (even on hard).

    While the individual DLCs are hit-or-miss (a lot of it is overpriced cosmetics), two really stand out. "Shen's Last Gift" let's you build a kamikaze robot army with their own skill trees and loadouts and "Alien Hunters" adds 3 persistent mini-bosses that spawn randomly in missions with unique powers & gear that you can obtain for your own soldiers. One DLC clearly stands above the rest: the new "War of the Chosen" expansion is impressively expansive and is well worth the asking price. The new faction system gives you access to three opposing resistance groups with their own skill trees, weapons, flavor, and backstories. The Chosen are three nemeses that mirror the class structure of the new allied factions. They will stalk your base, invade your missions randomly, kidnap your troops, and eventually will have to be assassinated with a 2-part dungeon crawl-esque mission. While one of them is clearly stronger than the other two, they are all a challenge at any point of the game and will grow in skill and strength if you do not deal with them timely. Tons of other smaller features, including new enemies, maps, and the soldier bonding system, flesh out this massive expansion. In my opinion it's worth it buying the base game just to experience the flurry of new content the game throws at you with War of the Chosen.

    XCOM 2 has grown and improved incredibly since launch. Yes, there are still some bugs and the new expansion created new ones. Yes, the game still crashes but not nearly as bad as EU. Even though XCOM 2 only crashed on me about 4 times in 100+ hours, I still wouldn't recommend playing Ironman without a backup file. If you can ignore the rare technical issues, I would still highly recommend buying this and eventually War of the Chosen after an initial vanilla playthrough. Even though it's an amazing expansion, it adds so much to the game that it would probably overwhelm and turn off new players (especially people coming from vanilla EU).    … Expand
  44. Sekhyt
    Jul 14, 2017
    10
    Really brilliant game, amazing immersive battles, very challenging difficulty level, also very interesting and atmospheric outside battle management - the research, engineering etc, I just wish there was more time to travel all over the world and pickup stuff. Many very interesting things that can't be found in other games.

    There is one obvious issue with the game freezing all over the    Really brilliant game, amazing immersive battles, very challenging difficulty level, also very interesting and atmospheric outside battle management - the research, engineering etc, I just wish there was more time to travel all over the world and pickup stuff. Many very interesting things that can't be found in other games.

    There is one obvious issue with the game freezing all over the cinematics on pc - the optimisation of this part really failed, but that doesn't affect the gameplay.

    Other cons ? Hmmm, maybe if you play on ironman and you get bad luck sometimes you lose very experienced unit without even a chance to do anything.    … Expand
  45. Tomle1202
    Jul 9, 2017
    8
    Behind the terribly optimized state that XCOM 2 runs on is a masterfully developed turn-based game that keeps humiliating your strategy with you loving it.
  46. birdman3
    Jun 19, 2017
    10
    The entire time I played XCOM 2, I told myself "If I could only play one video game for the rest of my life, it would probably be this one". Not because it is the funnest game I have ever played, but because it combines depth, replayability, and "wow" factor in more ways than any other game that I've played. Throughout my entire playthrough, I kept thinking about how my decisions wereThe entire time I played XCOM 2, I told myself "If I could only play one video game for the rest of my life, it would probably be this one". Not because it is the funnest game I have ever played, but because it combines depth, replayability, and "wow" factor in more ways than any other game that I've played. Throughout my entire playthrough, I kept thinking about how my decisions were impacting the future of the game, and the procedurely-created maps kept every engagement fresh. I never knew where the pods of enemies would spawn, but I really enjoyed seeing the listing of enemies on the map beforehand, which allowed me to prepare my troops accordingly. People have been complaining about the mission timers- I find this totally unwarranted. In my playthrough, I had more than enough time to defuse a bomb, recover research, or rescue a VIP, without hardly an exception. You have the option of bringing specialists to the engagement, and they can complete most of these objectives at range- why not use them? Overall, I find this game to be a fun and exciting step forward for a franchise that was already seemingly well-rounded.… Expand
  47. KingMob4313
    Mar 2, 2017
    9
    A rare sequel to a near stellar game.

    This time, the script is flipped: you are the ones ambushing the now-native forces, covering off some of the absurdity of fighting an global alien invasion with a squad level team. Now you are a mobile resistance force, fighting on the run, trying to strike a devastating blow and evict the occupying force before their secret project ~redacted~.    A rare sequel to a near stellar game.

    This time, the script is flipped: you are the ones ambushing the now-native forces, covering off some of the absurdity of fighting an global alien invasion with a squad level team. Now you are a mobile resistance force, fighting on the run, trying to strike a devastating blow and evict the occupying force before their secret project ~redacted~.

    The gameplay much improved over the original. The stealth and ambush mechanics heighten the tension in an already high stakes game and story is so much tighter than the rather generic invasion story in the first game. There are constant nice touches, from between the returning 'Central' to the new head scientist and engineer. There are even a few touches in the story as shoutouts to the fandom.

    The graphics and sound are greatly improved and run well on the PC. I have an okay system (GTX 970, I5) and it runs on full detail with no framerate drops. The difficulty is also steep, but fair. You might read many complaints on here of the mission and 'doom' timer, but the answer to that is 'GET GUD'.

    The customization of the game is deep and with added mod support, the game is one that can be played for years. Even better, the FIRAXIS team partnered with the god-like mod-team behind 'The Long War' to produce mods for the game and the disgustingly rich The Long War 2.

    Highest possible recommendation.    … Expand
  48. uVimOvil
    Jan 24, 2017
    10
    un 10 como una catedral mejora muchisimo a xcom original al que ya eche sus 100 horas, este x-com 2 me ha conseguido enganchar mas de 200 horas increiblemente adictivo y como te piques con los logros buff vas a sufrir aparte de disfrutar
  49. HansV
    Jan 22, 2017
    10
    Very very very good game. Good mix between time based missions and free missions.
    Comparing this to Jagged Alliance (very old), two points could maybe be changed: it would somewhat add to the experience if your enemies would include not only aliens and mutated humans but "real" humans and you could decapitate them with a head-shot and the like; sounds gruesome but killings in JA2 are more    Very very very good game. Good mix between time based missions and free missions.
    Comparing this to Jagged Alliance (very old), two points could maybe be changed: it would somewhat add to the experience if your enemies would include not only aliens and mutated humans but "real" humans and you could decapitate them with a head-shot and the like; sounds gruesome but killings in JA2 are more satisfying than in XCOM2 - sorry. Secondly, if your soldiers would be more characterized from the start, it would increase your attachment to the team-members and any loss would hurt extra.    … Expand
  50. Bruno2rech
    Jan 20, 2017
    8
    the game is brilliant I love the random generated maps and the intresting game play and tactics that you need to use is like playing chess on steroids. I also love the caricature props and the different research options thou I would prefer more of a research tree and I would also like to see. it would be nice thou if they could allow you to build your own resistance out posts at land basesthe game is brilliant I love the random generated maps and the intresting game play and tactics that you need to use is like playing chess on steroids. I also love the caricature props and the different research options thou I would prefer more of a research tree and I would also like to see. it would be nice thou if they could allow you to build your own resistance out posts at land bases at captured resistance settlements and then defend them against attackers. the only thing that bugs me with the game is the bugs and that at higher levels of difficulty they do not increase the amount of enemies you fight they only lower your percentage hit chance which is not all that great.… Expand
  51. ashyyay2
    Oct 7, 2016
    8
    بازی ایکس کام 2 یک بازی بسیار خوب است.اما متاسفانه برای افرادی که با ژانر استراتژیک یا حتی استراتژیک نوبتی اشنا نیستند بازی بسیار بدی است همچنین دارای مشکلات زیدازی هست و بهینه سازی بسیار بدی روی سیستم های ضعیف دارد
  52. BigDegs29
    Sep 12, 2016
    8
    As much as I enjoyed the original XCOM, this one still improves. Somehow they managed to make everything easier to do, while also adding additional depth to the game. That's a difficult balance to get right! The game is highly addicting.

    Here's a caveat; it's been over 6 months since the game release, so I'm reviewing this based on the game after several patches. As far as I can    As much as I enjoyed the original XCOM, this one still improves. Somehow they managed to make everything easier to do, while also adding additional depth to the game. That's a difficult balance to get right! The game is highly addicting.

    Here's a caveat; it's been over 6 months since the game release, so I'm reviewing this based on the game after several patches. As far as I can tell, most of the bugs have been ironed out. The only bugs I seem to encounter is that sometimes the mouse jumps from tile to tile without your input.

    The other "bug" is more serious. As with its predecessor, the "hit probability" appears to be inaccurate at times. Not a lot of the time, but in a game where you rely heavily on the hit probability to make up your strategy and where the life the death of your squad is determined, it's incredibly important to have accurate information.

    I was playing a location and it came to a critical point where I had to make a short, otherwise several of my characters would die. The probably showed 60%, so I made the shot...missed. Normally I don't reload saves unless something catastrophic happens, but the death of half my squad and the impending failure of the mission made me reload. Again, I took the shot...missed. I reloaded again, and again, and again. All the same result: missed. I did this fifteen times in a row to see if the game really was screwy. All misses. Finally hit the 16th try.

    Now, that is statistically possible, but the odds are 1in 931323 that it happens.

    I've run into these situations numerous times. It's virtually impossible that those stats are completely accurate. It seems to me that the game sometimes misrepresents the hit probability to the player. For whatever reason. The game loses a point for this rare, but critical flaw.

    Another point is lost through repetition. One, timed missions are annoying unless used infrequently. The game is dominated by them. I modded them out. Two, they have limited number of mission types. Rescue the VIP, abduct the VIP, hack the terminal, plant charges, and kill all enemies. Hack and plant charges are basically the same type of mission, and rescue and abduct the VIP are basically the same. So three main types. But the biggest fault of them all: too many missions require that you completely neutralize alien forces, even in missions where it doesn't make sense. This undercuts their "concealment" mechanic, which is a great addition to the game. You should be able to complete missions in a variety of ways. If you're required to always kill all aliens, that type of gameplay gets boring after awhile.

    Other than those two gripes, the game is fantastic. I'm sure I'll end up putting 100 hours or so into it.    … Expand
  53. Cbcibryant
    Aug 29, 2016
    10
    This is one of my most favorites games. It is a tactical turn based strategy game. The critics are right: it can be unforging of mistakes. It is difficult. It takes a lot of patience. But if you spend time with the game it is absolutely addicting. You are always at a disadvantage. You are always juggling priorities. You are always worried to advance too fast or advance too slow. But thatThis is one of my most favorites games. It is a tactical turn based strategy game. The critics are right: it can be unforging of mistakes. It is difficult. It takes a lot of patience. But if you spend time with the game it is absolutely addicting. You are always at a disadvantage. You are always juggling priorities. You are always worried to advance too fast or advance too slow. But that what makes the game so fun. This is not a game that requires any dexterity. It is a game that requires a lot of thinking and creativity. Not everyone's cup of tea but it is certainly mine.… Expand
  54. Vevo99
    Jul 26, 2016
    10
    Estou jogando e curtindo cada minuto desse game , desafiador do jeito que eu gosto , cada missão transmite a sensação que Dark Souls transmite , o jogo é difícil , se você não curte jogos desafiadores passe longe .
  55. vevo00
    Jul 26, 2016
    10
    Eu amei esse jogo , ta que o pariu , as analises negativas são desses noobs chorões , o jogo é dificil é sim , mas vale a pena , aquela sensação de Dark Souls a cada missão feita , valeu a pena ter comprado . Jogão , se você é noob e acha tudo difícil volte pro seu COD
  56. Oniin
    Jul 13, 2016
    9
    A truly great game. I rate 9 out of 10 for glitches but most of these have been fixed in patches. The difficulty might be an issue for some people but XCOM 2 is a difficult game anyone wanting something else shouldn't play this game. There is a lot of complaints about the RNG nature of combat but this a core part of it; knowing when to risk that 50% shot or not is part of the skillsA truly great game. I rate 9 out of 10 for glitches but most of these have been fixed in patches. The difficulty might be an issue for some people but XCOM 2 is a difficult game anyone wanting something else shouldn't play this game. There is a lot of complaints about the RNG nature of combat but this a core part of it; knowing when to risk that 50% shot or not is part of the skills required to play this game. My only personal issue with the accuracy is when a soldier is standing so close to the enemy his weapon actually clips into their model but still misses. And if you find you really cant get the hang of the accuracy u can always save and reset.… Expand
  57. Dragonblooden
    May 29, 2016
    10
    I normally give good games around 7-9, but because their are people who give this game a "0-3" I have to give it a "10". Go with metacritic not user review's at leased for some of them.
  58. Medare
    May 17, 2016
    10
    Best tactical game I ever played. It have nice graphic and addictive gameplay. You totally should buy it. Best game of the year or maybe of century...
  59. Procyonlotor
    Apr 26, 2016
    8
    Good game, but very simple even on max complexity. Low replayability. First XCOM I played five or six times, This one only one and I have no desire to play it again. Too small campaign. And writers did poor ending.
  60. Zbysiek1234
    Apr 20, 2016
    9
    XCOM 2 is hard proof true strategy games are still in high demand, blending satisfying old-school strategic turn-based gameplay with cinematic flourish.
  61. xf100t
    Apr 7, 2016
    10
    XCOM 2 is different, and it's challenging. Like for real challenging, if you play at Legendary difficulty. For once in your gaming life the hardest level of difficulty offers you no hope of eventually prevailing if you just power level or whatever. You actually have to play well. If the difficulty is too high for you, go down a level until you've mastered the mechanics (there is no shameXCOM 2 is different, and it's challenging. Like for real challenging, if you play at Legendary difficulty. For once in your gaming life the hardest level of difficulty offers you no hope of eventually prevailing if you just power level or whatever. You actually have to play well. If the difficulty is too high for you, go down a level until you've mastered the mechanics (there is no shame in playing rookie mode to learn the ropes, that's where I started), and then go back up. The game isn't unfair, and it's hardly unwinnable, you just have to learn how to size up a map and how to utilize skill sets effectively. I don't know what the heck some of these reviewers are whining about when they say that there is "only one way to win". False, you just don't know how to play, or you get impatient. I just finished a legendary game where I played almost the entire thing with first tier weapons and armor because I was going for the quick game completion achievement on steam, and I already had finished an ironman legendary run through.

    There are numerous mods that give you new tactical options that can help you a great deal without unbalancing the game too much, if that's a problem for you, and the community here is incredible. Do you want to know why it's incredible? Because if you take the time to learn something difficult, you'll be more dedicated to it. I've logged 400 hours playing this game, and with constant new mods with new enemies, maps, weapons, and other things, I have way more to come back to compared to what XCOM EW gave me. If you don't like the mission timers, take them out, it's not hard, you click "subscribe" to a mod in the workshop that gets rid of them. Frankly, the constant overwatch tactic was just getting really annoying from the first XCOM, and players' over reliance on waiting out the aliens in the first game was a huge crutch that many just couldn't get over when the game's designers decided to throw a wrench in their plans. "We can't plan tactically!" they whine. Sure, if by not playing tactically you mean "I can't overwatch my enemies to death!" Coming from playing the Long War mod of XCOM 1, XCOM 2 was an adjustment, but a welcome one. IT'S OK TO LOSE SOLDIERS SOMETIMES, IF THIS IS CHESS, YOU WILL LOSE PIECES, GET OVER IT!

    Another thing on mission timers, there is a mod called "True Concealment" that changes gameplay so that said timers won't start until you are revealed, making stealth and strategic movements all the more important. Combined with a mod that keeps troops patrolling after you reveal them (when stealthed), much of the whining and complaints you've read about the game fall away. Underneath is a highly tactical and highly moddable game that has been worth its money and then some. I am running almost 300 mods at this point, nothing else I've played recently even comes close to this kind of community support, let a lone for a turn-based strategy game.

    There is a reason why there is a large disparity between the reviewers and the users for this game, and I think much of it has to do with skill level. If that makes me an elitist, so be it, but hear me out. Many people really do just suck at these type of games to begin with. Mastering game mechanics are the key, but short of reading a lot of guides or watching other people play, there isn't really a replacement for experience. At first. I didn't like that the game punished me sometimes for my mistakes. I started several Legendary Ironman campaigns before I finally started getting some momentum and was able to finish. But guess what? I love the game for it. It made me think much harder about balancing risk and reward, and it gave me a real challenge, not just endless waves of enemies that will inevitably fall before an army of alien slayers (though the end game somewhat becomes this, even on Legendary).

    Thank you Jake Solomon, for creating a truly challenging game in a world of mediocrity and pandering to the lowest common denominator. Also, thanks for trying to make games like this accessible for a public that would never have the patience for the original XCOM series anymore,. I played the old X-COM and it is NOT accessible to people that didn't grow up on CIV of Sim City. Also, to the haters that say certain things aren't "realistic", this is turn-based strategy. Since when is Chess "realistic"?

    At this point, the only real thing I would change/add is to create more balanced options for the tech tree. Right now you just get to the end of it about when you hit end game for the most part, where as with XCOM EW there was always a trade off; one part of the game was easier vs. another portion depending on what you researched. You axed the air game, understandably, but you can't just axe that out and then leave the rest of the tech tree pretty much the same, what about some kind of ground resistance war at the macro level?

    10/10 (probably only 9/10, but I feel it necessary to balance out some of the bogus reviews)    … Expand
  62. Woopya
    Apr 3, 2016
    10
    This game will frustrate you beyond belief. But, if you are like me then you will love the game for it. I really liked the additions from Xcom 1. This game will stay on my computer for ages.
  63. thel4mb
    Mar 31, 2016
    10
    Yes, the design has changed, but it is still xcom - only better. I love the time limit in certain mission, it really forces you to pick a different strategy, depending on the mission - over are the "always on overwatch and waiting for things to happen" missions.

    Some are complaining about the difficulty and that the game is unfair: It is not - with the right strategy you can master    Yes, the design has changed, but it is still xcom - only better. I love the time limit in certain mission, it really forces you to pick a different strategy, depending on the mission - over are the "always on overwatch and waiting for things to happen" missions.

    Some are complaining about the difficulty and that the game is unfair: It is not - with the right strategy you can master every mission. Of course some things depend on luck, but that's life.

    I played the game now for around 90 hours on commander ironman. Restarted it about 7-8 times. You will get better - and its a lot of fun. Overthink your strategies: The first 2-3 times I got wiped at the first retaliation mission, now I can manage it flawless. Or, if you are weak on manpower, don't do missions where you can't evac, you might get wiped.

    If you play it right it's a facinating story, don't expect to excel on every mission. You will lose soldiers, maybe fail in a misson, but other times you will succeed with the last possible second. So take the earth back, commander!    … Expand
  64. ExtremeXT1
    Mar 29, 2016
    8
    Pros:Game characters and story is very good. The mechanics and graphics are also good. I got it installed with 3rd patch so no bugs or persistent crashes. Few occasional frame dips which occurs in most games. The upgrade system/weapons/armor are all cool.
    Cons: The Single mechanism action is not fit for games in 2016, if it was 1996 it would make sense. For instance, the player cant move    Pros:Game characters and story is very good. The mechanics and graphics are also good. I got it installed with 3rd patch so no bugs or persistent crashes. Few occasional frame dips which occurs in most games. The upgrade system/weapons/armor are all cool.
    Cons: The Single mechanism action is not fit for games in 2016, if it was 1996 it would make sense. For instance, the player cant move or give order to attack to multiple members. You gotta move em ONE BY ONE which is very frustrating and makes the game so unreal. This was mastered in SC2, you could select groups of enemies and give orders. Imagine how long SC2 would've been if we had to move every goddamn unit one by one!    … Expand
  65. arcticg
    Mar 29, 2016
    8
    It took me a while to buy this game because of all the complaints about the turn limits but I decided to take a chance. I've played it for over 44 hours now and here's my thoughts:

    1. Turn limits (seeing as this is the hot topic at the moment) It's not in every mission, perhaps 50% of the time. Adds a little extra stress and means you have to be even more strategic. It also means you    It took me a while to buy this game because of all the complaints about the turn limits but I decided to take a chance. I've played it for over 44 hours now and here's my thoughts:

    1. Turn limits (seeing as this is the hot topic at the moment)

    It's not in every mission, perhaps 50% of the time. Adds a little extra stress and means you have to be even more strategic. It also means you get a lovely sigh of relief when you start a mission and there's no turn limit. Without turn limits it is kind of easy to apply super caution which would end up becoming dull after a while.

    2. Graphics

    Very crisp and detailed and they've had some good artists working on them but to be honest I would have thought that in this day and age we could have moved away from the isometric view and system. The Total War games can do complete freeview so it should be doable even with the turn-based system. I'm guessing the graphics wouldn't be quite so sharp and maybe the cover system would have proven too difficult a challenge but it would have been nice to see. Performance is fine, you get the very odd stutter for a split second during set scenes and sometimes an animation doesn't play out and you suddenly see a bit crater that's appeared! lol

    Accuracy

    Snipers can be notoriously inaccurate compared to other units, which is frustrating. There's lots of bolt-ons to improve your accuracy and generally it's quite a balance system, although the aliens are very accurate more of the time with big hits also. One very annoying thing, however, is that you can be standing one square away and still miss. This is a bit silly, there should really be a minimum distance where you are guaranteed 100% accuracy such as three squares away or something.

    Research and Engineering

    It's not the most clear system in place, sometimes I've gone on to build an item not realising that the game has already upgraded the entire squad with an infinite number of them. Probably my fault for not learning it all properly.

    Gameplay

    When in concealment you are basically hidden unless you walk onto a space which is visible by the enemy (which is displayed on the ground) or if you shoot or smash glass etc. This is fair enough but the problem is that once you lose concealment (with the exception of a few special units/traits) you don't get it back. This is very annoying because it only allows you to ambush once because from that point on every enemy on the map is aware of your presence so it's impossible to setup another ambush because as soon as you are in view of an enemy they sudden spot you and run for cover. It needs to be distance and time regulated so that only enemies within a certain distance from you become aware of your presence and after a set time you should enter concealment again. For me this is the biggest issue and really should be addressed.

    In the main map it can be a little annoying that whenever you advance the timer to get things done sporadic missions keep popping up. It becomes a little repetitive and feels like they are just there as a filler. It's as if they are trying to give the game a more open-world feel, but that doesn't work when you have the Avatar timer pressure. They could have made more missions directly related to the main objectives instead but that would have meant creating a lot more content.

    I'm not sure if it's in the game but I haven't experienced this yet but it would be cool if the aliens could invade your ship (base) also. The closest I've got is simply the off ramp but I think that's as close as it gets.

    The Game

    I like the storyline but I feel like I'm coming near to the end already and there's not really been a huge amount of content, especially with the weapons. It's pretty much the same stuff as before and although I'm not fussed about not having a tank this time it would have been good to see some things such as mobile heavy weapons that would be tripod mounted etc.

    Developer designed maps rather than generated ones would also be better but I guess that would have involved a lot of work. I feel that perhaps we can be expecting some add-ons to come, perhaps with new missions and weapons. I just hope they don't want to charge for it because there really should be more to this game.

    Conclusion

    Compared to a lot of games of today this is still a great game, although if you compare it to the Total series of games it does make its content look a little sparse. If a few things can be patched up such as the concealment, accuracy at point blank range and some extra content then that would be great. Perhaps XCOM3 will move away from the isometric view but until then I would still recommend this game.    … Expand
  66. Metas
    Mar 28, 2016
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I think it is an excellent game if you can learn to tolerate the resource hog of an engine that runs it.
    But the thing is, it is not hard. I played on commander (3rd) difficulty with self-regulated iron man mode. I just had one character (modeled after my wife) that I didn't want to lose. So I wowed to only load if I lost her, and this happened just once. To be specific, battles are maybe slightly harder than previous versions (first few battles should always be considered a proving ground for inexperienced crew) and that "shaken" status is just badly badly implemented. Unlike most I loved the sense of urgency turn counter in many missions gave me. My first lost soldier was not killed but captured because I failed to evac him in time. But my problem is not the slightly harder battle, Your crew is meant to die and you should feel the burn. it is the childishly easy global strategy.

    I understand the new system is much more promising than the original which just required you to spam satellites. But this one is too easy. Flag a few zones and you are set to go. There are no more irreversible losses on the global map. No bothering to cover the globe to improve reaction times since you ALWAYS get there in time. You can skip half the missions and make up for it by contacting regions, building radio towers and sabotaging facilities. (At least I suspect if I played in insane difficulty it would be viable). In both my playthroughs countdown mode only triggered when I willfully allowed it (because it looks pretty cool). I wish there was separate difficulty setting for battles and strategy, I would certainly increase the global strategy difficulty without making my battles any more harder..    … Expand
  67. chronoT
    Mar 22, 2016
    8
    Besides a few setbacks XCOM 2 is fun to play and brings back some memories of the Final Fantasy Tactics days. The customization and building of your ship and team is spot on and I love how I can formulate a group from all over the world. A few annoyances though include the countdown timer on most missions, which can be disabled with a mod. Also, the game can be quite difficult andBesides a few setbacks XCOM 2 is fun to play and brings back some memories of the Final Fantasy Tactics days. The customization and building of your ship and team is spot on and I love how I can formulate a group from all over the world. A few annoyances though include the countdown timer on most missions, which can be disabled with a mod. Also, the game can be quite difficult and punishing, one wrong move and a major party member can die permanently, and many times you get screwed on percentages of landing attacks. lastly I believe Project Avatar builds up too fast and causes you to rush around in certain instances. Overall though I am glad I gave XCOM 2 a try because it offered something different that requires a bit of cleverness.… Expand
  68. cordiquasso
    Mar 22, 2016
    10
    I created the account to tell you that the game is awesome and I have no idea how you can rate it as low as 7. Most of the negative user reviews are unfounded and misleading, and I’m afraid you just don’t understand and can’t properly use the game mechanics if you say the game is too difficult or not fair.

    In short: Definitely play it! If you loved XCom:EU you’ll love this one as well.    I created the account to tell you that the game is awesome and I have no idea how you can rate it as low as 7. Most of the negative user reviews are unfounded and misleading, and I’m afraid you just don’t understand and can’t properly use the game mechanics if you say the game is too difficult or not fair.

    In short: Definitely play it! If you loved XCom:EU you’ll love this one as well. Despite some performance issues the game gives tons of fun and instant satisfaction with every successful mission. The new mechanics works great, new skills are inventive, missions challenging and new alien species won’t let you get bored. It’s insanely rewarding and you’ll forget about the world around you.

    My specs:
    rig: i5 3570, 16GB RAM, GTX 970, SSD
    game difficulty: Veteran (normal)
    play style: completionist
    missions won: 44 (25 flawless, 0 dead soldiers)
    patch: minor and later in game major
    game time: 60h

    Let’s have a look at most discussed issues:

    Performance:
    Yes, the game is poorly optimized. On my pc at full HD with AA off I get around 70fps. The rest of the settings is on high. Which is good but there are drops in frame rate now and then, especially during mission loading screen. Last mission also caused some fps drops. Having said that, it doesn’t affect the gameplay but leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Lazy work Firaxis.

    Bugs/glitches:
    During my 60h playthrough I didn’t have a single crash or a hang-up. Action camera works fine. There are some occasional screen obstructions here and there. Also, the final mission was a glitch-o-rama, but a save reload fixed it. Nothing even remotely game breaking. But it could be better.
    Story: Nothing to complain about. Nothing to be ecstatic about either.

    Difficulty/turn timers:
    Too difficult, not fair, no room for strategic gameplay, mindless rushing? Bollocks. If you know the game mechanics, can use the skills at your disposal, know how cover works and how to disable it, use a healthy composition of your squad than you should have no problems at all. At least on Veteran difficulty. Don’t overuse overwatch. Yes, you will use save/load frequently, just to probe the ground and maybe count for a better roll, but that’s a part of the game. In fact, after completing the game it says ‘average turns left on mission timers’ 2.74. I deliberately stalled the evacuation of my team just to wait for more alien reinforcements (=more exp).

    Load times:
    On my SSD mission load screens between instant and 15sec. No complaints at all. Saving the game is instant and loading takes about 5sec. (tip: delete old saves in game folder to speed up saving).

    Ridiculously not fair hit %:
    To be honest, I can’t complain. It was fair to me, I guess. Not even a single 100% miss. 90%? Yes, sometimes, but very rarely. Just flank your enemies, destroy their cover and boost aim stat. Use weapon upgrades, PCS and abilities. Remember that overwatch has some hit penalty.

    Concealment:
    Great new mechanics. Works perfectly. When you know how to do it. Use a scout (some abilities are useful here) to find enemies, put everyone (except 1 shooter) on overwatch, use the shooter (preferably grenadier) to throw a grenade or shoot at the group of enemies. They take damage and run for cover. As they run your team shoots from concealment overwatch (no penalty). Profit. Just use your head and you’ll use this mechanics to your advantage. Again, don’t criticize something if you don’t know how it works.

    Enemies see and attack through the walls:
    Ummm….what?

    No height advantage:
    Yes, there is.

    Music:
    Very strong point in favor of the game. Just love it. It’s tense when it should be (team loadout screen!). Although after 40h it can get repetitive and a bit boring. More tracks would be welcome. Still listening to it after having finished the game.

    To sum it up, after reading many negative user reviews I thought the game would be rubbish. It is not. It’s pure gold. So I decided to do it justice. Definitely one of the best games I’ve ever played. So rewarding and immensely addictive. It puts a big smile on your face and pats you on the back after every successful hit. Good job, commander.    … Expand
  69. ravenned
    Mar 16, 2016
    9
    The gameplay of XCOM 2 is as awesome as ever, with improved animation and graphics compared to XCOM 1. Some may complain of the lacking visuals compared to the standards we have today, but they are more than decent, especially for a turn based strategy. The complaints of the other reviewers are legitimate, where the overuse of turn based missions destroy enjoyment of the gameplay. However,The gameplay of XCOM 2 is as awesome as ever, with improved animation and graphics compared to XCOM 1. Some may complain of the lacking visuals compared to the standards we have today, but they are more than decent, especially for a turn based strategy. The complaints of the other reviewers are legitimate, where the overuse of turn based missions destroy enjoyment of the gameplay. However, the number of turns available is strategically set, where you would've used the around the same number of turns even if the counter wasn't there anyway. I played the game on commander and the counter only slightly irritated me. There are also still a few bugs after patch 2, such as minor pauses during loading, or during change of turns and bad camera view. Overall, the game is still as awesome, if not more, and deserves a 9/10.… Expand
  70. dkaizer
    Mar 15, 2016
    9
    Thoroughly enjoyed this second release in the franchise as it ironed out a lot of the issues in the first game and improved on many other gameplay aspects. Frame rates dipped now and then but it did not draw my attention away from the fantastic gameplay and customization offered to your soldiers.

    Liked the first game in 1994. Enjoyed the reboot in 2012. Loved the sequel in 2016.
  71. Sjalka
    Mar 14, 2016
    8
    XCom 2 plays it safe - maybe a little too safe. The gameplay and presentation - and most of all the feeling of XCom 2 is 99% identical with XCom EU; which is both a good and a not so good thing. It is good, because XCom EU is a very good game and it is not so great, because XCom 2 feels like an expansion pack - sort of.

    You get more maps, slightly more HD graphics, more equipment and a    XCom 2 plays it safe - maybe a little too safe. The gameplay and presentation - and most of all the feeling of XCom 2 is 99% identical with XCom EU; which is both a good and a not so good thing. It is good, because XCom EU is a very good game and it is not so great, because XCom 2 feels like an expansion pack - sort of.

    You get more maps, slightly more HD graphics, more equipment and a few new mission types - kind of the characteristics of an expansion pack.

    In terms of tactics however - it does fall short compared to XCom EU (although that is very subjective). While XCom EU gives you a timed mission every now and then to spice things up ... XCom 2 gives you timed missions almost all the time. Tactics suffer from that kind of mission, because you cannot position yourself properly or advance cautiously anymore - instead you have to compromise and at least half rush into the action.

    The feeling of fighting a guerilla war as an underdog evaporates a little too quickly - and missions feel just like XCom EU after a short while in terms of balance of power.
    Equipment and customization feels more varied that time, but not bigger or better balanced than XCom EU.

    In terms of optimization - XCom 2 runs surprisingly poorly considering it does not look significantly better than XCom EU, nor does the AI seem to be different in any way. Maybe there is more destructible terrain that time that might affect frame rate and so ... but i do not really see a reason why it runs noticably worse than XCom EU.

    All the ranting aside - XCom 2 is a wonderfully excellent game that will provide turn based tactics lovers with hours and hours of joy. Just because it is quite similar to XCom EU just means that you get a new story and a new shiny coat for an already great game.

    ps.: and for people like me - that do not like all the timers, there are mods that adjust or turn them off completely.    … Expand
  72. StanleyStinklip
    Mar 13, 2016
    8
    Updated:
    Their big patch on March 10th picked the game up off the mat. It's now working properly enough to do what it says on the tin, and it does it very well. It's a strong game that improves on its predecessor in almost every area that it needed to. If you like XCOM:EU/EW then you should like this.
  73. JimmieJones
    Mar 12, 2016
    9
    I am showing my age when I admit I played the first XCOM series in the 90s. I loved that game, and I loved the remake of XCom which came out a few years ago.
    The latest incarnation is beautiful to look at, has enough new tweaks and enhancements to get me engaged all over again, and it is tough enough, with a mix of resource management to keep me hitting the save and load button often, and    I am showing my age when I admit I played the first XCOM series in the 90s. I loved that game, and I loved the remake of XCom which came out a few years ago.
    The latest incarnation is beautiful to look at, has enough new tweaks and enhancements to get me engaged all over again, and it is tough enough, with a mix of resource management to keep me hitting the save and load button often, and heading to bed in the early hours of the morning.
    The game pushed my PC in terms of performance, and lag and abysmal load times before and after missions were a major let-down, but these problems have been fixed with the latest patch. (Also some awesome mods have been very helpful also. I probably have about 20 loaded now)
    I love turn based, and I love the investment in each soldier, the satisfaction when you pull off a critical hit and subsequently manage to get through a mission without losing any of your team.
    I have a few hours to go, but I am hooked, and already the time I log on to continue my game is getting earlier and earlier each day.    … Expand
  74. Weedus
    Mar 12, 2016
    9
    I dont realy liked X-Com 1,the Battle was too boring.But now in Part 2 the Battle is much more intresting.
    The Maps itself are made realy well and leave a lot of tactical Options,the new Soldier Skills works much betterr and overall,it feels as good as the original X-Com Enemy Unknown 2 Decades ago.
    And to the Guys who compare about the Turn Limit on some Missions...the Turns are always    I dont realy liked X-Com 1,the Battle was too boring.But now in Part 2 the Battle is much more intresting.
    The Maps itself are made realy well and leave a lot of tactical Options,the new Soldier Skills works much betterr and overall,it feels as good as the original X-Com Enemy Unknown 2 Decades ago.
    And to the Guys who compare about the Turn Limit on some Missions...the Turns are always fair..you just dont have to walk half steps and go to firecover even there isnt a single Enemy on Map,then you can make it with 2-3 Turns Left without a Problem.Only over-hesitating over-carefully Players will get a Problem with the Time Limit.    … Expand
  75. johnsheppard357
    Mar 10, 2016
    9
    XCOM: Enemy Unknown was my favorite gaming experience of the last generation. I played through the game at least half a dozen times and loved it. Ultimately the lack of variety in missions, the painstaking character customization, and numerous other minor annoyances began to wear on me and discouraged me from ever picking up the game again. XCOM 2 addresses nearly every annoyance from theXCOM: Enemy Unknown was my favorite gaming experience of the last generation. I played through the game at least half a dozen times and loved it. Ultimately the lack of variety in missions, the painstaking character customization, and numerous other minor annoyances began to wear on me and discouraged me from ever picking up the game again. XCOM 2 addresses nearly every annoyance from the previous game and more. Elements of every mission are procedurally generated, character customization is incredibly deep, the base building is a little less punishing, etc. There are too many little improvements to list. I have a lot of respect for Firaxis for clearly putting a lot of time and effort into addressing the players' concerns from the last game. The game is not perfect though, close as it may be. Time-limited missions (by far my least favorite aspect from the last game) are much more prevalent. At least 2/3 of all the missions have a very unforgiving time limit that often had me all out sprinting with all of my soldiers in an attempt to reach my objective in time. There were several times that one of my soldiers was left in a very compromising position because he ended his turn near an enemy that was not discovered yet. Another negative is the difficulty. At least for the moment, pending any future re-balances, XCOM 2 is significantly more difficult than XCOM: EU. I have had playthroughs in EU on Classic or Impossible that I only lost a handful of soldiers the entire game. In XCOM 2 it was a frequent occurrence early on to lose half or more of my squad on any given mission. It was brutal. The mitigating factor is that the narrative provides reasoning for this difficulty, with the Aliens being an occupying force this time around. Without going into detail, my final complaint is that I felt the final mission was absolutely ridiculously hard. I beat it, but at a certain point I was just thinking "realllyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy....". There is not a wealth of new player classes or abilities, but each class in balanced incredibly well. The focus in more on weapons and equipment, of which there is a much wider variety over EU. Ultimately XCOM 2 does a lot right, a little wrong, and is an absolute blast to play. Bottom-line: An absolute must-play.… Expand
  76. TheWaffle
    Mar 8, 2016
    8
    I wanted to wait for a full, proper patch before reviewing but it's been over a month now so the game is getting reviewed as is. XCOM 2 borrows everything good from its predecessor XCOM Enemy Unknown. The in-depth strategy, difficult choices, and long-game focus are all refined and improved. There are moments where decisions made hours ago will come back to haunt you or reward you, whetherI wanted to wait for a full, proper patch before reviewing but it's been over a month now so the game is getting reviewed as is. XCOM 2 borrows everything good from its predecessor XCOM Enemy Unknown. The in-depth strategy, difficult choices, and long-game focus are all refined and improved. There are moments where decisions made hours ago will come back to haunt you or reward you, whether you're so glad you put a repeater on that rifle that allowed you to get a kill and save the team or whether you chose the wrong talent and now your beloved sniper is going to bite the bullet as a result. The campaign and missions always feel just barely beatable, and I had more than a few times in my ironman play through where I thought "yup that's it, game over" including a total wipe of my six-man alpha squad, but instead I scraped together brought up the rookies and got to work figuring out my way forward. There's great mod support and after only a month there are hundreds of mods with everything from new maps, gameplay tweaks, Star Wars helmets, Mass Effect voiceovers, etc. The community is really coming out to play and the devs made it very easy for people to develop and install the mods. I loved Enemy Unknown and I love XCOM 2.

    On the downside. This game was murder on my rig. After shutting down every unnecessary process, updating my drivers, and setting the graphics to minimal, the game barely ran on my computer. I had to turn down the resolution and still had serious fps drops, particularly in the final mission. And it's clear there are performance improvements that could be made, after-all we're all using the Caps-Lock trick that somehow reduces the Avenger's load-time by 50%. The camera still zooms in on a wall instead of the enemy during shooting, there are numerous noise glitches when you'll hear the same effect played over and over, line of sight still isn't terribly clear and the LOS indicator can bug out (particularly against sectopods), and a slew of other glitches that just feel like such low-hanging fruit, particularly for a grid based game. It's not like the game is bombarded with constant, new inputs like an FPS would be, it should be able to realize when an enemy dies and play the sound effect once (not over and over). And there's plenty of visual noise that reduces performance we should be able to disable, e.g. the dissolving holo-globe, the load screens where the computer is also simultaneously rendering six character models, etc. In general, the system requirements are crazy for a turn-based game.

    As far as gameplay, a lot of things will be difficult on your first play through because the game doesn't always make it clear what the rules are, and not just when meeting new enemies. It's not always clear whether activating an objective will consume an action, for example picking up a wounded ally doesn't cost and action but putting them down does consume an action. And so you'll often find yourself in a situation where you just kind of have to click the objective and hope that your ranger can still fire afterwards. Some other aspects are just clunky (some of which have been fixed in community mods) like having to cycle through all your soldiers to see who has free-reloads still available and manually reloading the people who don't have those available, or going back to the psi/guerrilla training every five days when someone's training finishes, or having to build/buy items that offer annoyingly non-specific benefits "will increase the strength of your psi attacks" "this sim will improve your soldier's agility" until after you build/buy them, just a number of small things that could have been easily fixed on launch or in a patch.

    Overall, I love the game, and I'm looking forward to the DLC releases. But it's been over a month now, and we've only received a few token patches to resolve certain crashes. The performance is still very poor, even apparently for people playing on vastly superior computers compared to my own. It's just another rough game launch where I wonder, "Did you really need to launch it in this condition? Or could you have worked on it for another month and spared everyone the headaches?"    … Expand
  77. garhent
    Mar 7, 2016
    9
    I've got 186 hours played and beat it on ironman commander. It was difficult to pick up on the rules for kill priority in mobs to take down (hint Advent is your real enemy, then mechs then aliens) because it was counter intuitive. The game will make you think and force you to play it safe. This is the only xcom game that I've abandoned missions because it was better to lose the missionI've got 186 hours played and beat it on ironman commander. It was difficult to pick up on the rules for kill priority in mobs to take down (hint Advent is your real enemy, then mechs then aliens) because it was counter intuitive. The game will make you think and force you to play it safe. This is the only xcom game that I've abandoned missions because it was better to lose the mission than lose your squad. Its not a perfect 10 but its close. You will get your moneys worth and it will be a challenge.… Expand
  78. Jimsin
    Mar 7, 2016
    10
    I'm dismayed by some of the negative reviews here. I've been a fan of XCOM since the original, and this is by far the best incarnation of the game. The developers have listened to all the feedback from XCOM EU, and created a thing of beauty. People are complaining about the timers, but they make missions exciting & force you to take risks, not just sit there chin-stroking. Short of someI'm dismayed by some of the negative reviews here. I've been a fan of XCOM since the original, and this is by far the best incarnation of the game. The developers have listened to all the feedback from XCOM EU, and created a thing of beauty. People are complaining about the timers, but they make missions exciting & force you to take risks, not just sit there chin-stroking. Short of some optimisation problems I'm sure will soon be fixed, this is the game I've always dreamed of.… Expand
  79. theirrelephants
    Mar 7, 2016
    8
    Meet the new XCOM, the same as the old XCOM. Solid turn based shooter. With only two irritating things that keep it from being a 9/10.

    Pros: Better looking. New ayyys to kill. Story still good. Can customize soldiers and make them unique. Cons: Turn limit timer for nearly every mission, it blows. Equipment upgrade system dumbed down (once you get cool armor/weapons, every    Meet the new XCOM, the same as the old XCOM. Solid turn based shooter. With only two irritating things that keep it from being a 9/10.

    Pros:
    Better looking.
    New ayyys to kill.
    Story still good.
    Can customize soldiers and make them unique.

    Cons:
    Turn limit timer for nearly every mission, it blows.
    Equipment upgrade system dumbed down (once you get cool armor/weapons, every soldier gets them, it's stupid)
    You CANT SKIP COMBAT ANIMATIONS (that's why it's an 8 instead of a 9).
    Those customized soldiers die just like all the other ones, resulting in bad feels man.    … Expand
  80. TOPO
    Mar 6, 2016
    10
    I'm a HUGE fan of XCOM (UFO Enemy Unkown here in Europe) since the times I played with my 286. I really like how the new XCOM changed many things that could be remembered with nostalgia from the old one but are a huge useless time sinks (item collection, Action Points micromanagement, useless bases to be managed only to use hangar and storage, primed grenade rookies to open doors... theI'm a HUGE fan of XCOM (UFO Enemy Unkown here in Europe) since the times I played with my 286. I really like how the new XCOM changed many things that could be remembered with nostalgia from the old one but are a huge useless time sinks (item collection, Action Points micromanagement, useless bases to be managed only to use hangar and storage, primed grenade rookies to open doors... the old one actually had many flaws) and now XCOM2 instead of repeating the xcom like by like (just like terror from the deep did) it removes some mechanics and dives into some new ones that really spices up the game.
    Everything is focused in the "you're the resistance" concept instead of "you're the first line of defense" from XCOM, and it really catches it... people complains about no fighters nor interceptions... but that really makes no sense in this Resistance set up. Most of the time (strategical) you are willing to make the right choices about days spent and base movement.
    About the new mechanics, both stealth and hackings works pretty well... again, there are a LOT of haters, but after a few frustrating plays... you get the feeling of it, and with a couple of leveled up commandos, you can really take advantage, forcing the attention on your heavys with sniper support while your commando rushes stealthy for the objective. Even with time limits, you can really set up everything to pop-up your cover just to achieve the mission and back to the skyranger without having to kill but a couple of aliens.
    The new installment is just great, and the addition of random generated maps result in sometimes frustrating sometimes great but always FUN and NEW sets to fight for your live and species.
    10 out of 10    … Expand
  81. riley794
    Mar 5, 2016
    9
    Played it on release and totally love it. There are a few minor bugs that keep it from being a 10 but the game never crashed or did anything that ruined the experience.
  82. greywolf00
    Mar 4, 2016
    9
    I've seen a ton of complaints regarding the timers on missions. While I agree they can be annoying, I never found them as game breaking as others have. Not to mention, on day 1, there were multiple mods released to address it. You can completely get rid of the timers, increase the number of ticks on the timer, or pick a mod where the timer doesn't start until your squad is sighted by theI've seen a ton of complaints regarding the timers on missions. While I agree they can be annoying, I never found them as game breaking as others have. Not to mention, on day 1, there were multiple mods released to address it. You can completely get rid of the timers, increase the number of ticks on the timer, or pick a mod where the timer doesn't start until your squad is sighted by the enemy. You can also get mods to adjust the speed of the avatar project progression.

    And the ease of modding this game compared to the first is night and day. Expect a thriving mod community moving forward, including new weapons, classes and aliens.

    I was fortunate enough to not run into major bugs during my play through. I only had one crash, during the loading of the final mission, but got through it fine the next attempt.

    Overall, I think XCOM 2 is better than X:EU & X;EW, even if the loss of mechanized units and gene mods are a bit disappointing. There are more alien classes, a more randomized map system and more weapons.    … Expand
  83. Marcecritic
    Feb 27, 2016
    8
    This game is fantastic ! It is a worthy sequel with acceptable graphics and gameplay that grabs you from the beginning of the game. characters very similar to the first XCOM
  84. walkeros
    Feb 27, 2016
    10
    To challenge the guys saying that every mission is "on timer"... you've got to be kidding me!! Maybe 50% max and if you don't feel that your soldiers can handle it you can skip the mission... it's not a tragedy. Also the timer really forces you to act strategically!! In XCOM 1 you could go one square a time with 100% of causion... Is it strategy?? Do you call it strategy.. real strategyTo challenge the guys saying that every mission is "on timer"... you've got to be kidding me!! Maybe 50% max and if you don't feel that your soldiers can handle it you can skip the mission... it's not a tragedy. Also the timer really forces you to act strategically!! In XCOM 1 you could go one square a time with 100% of causion... Is it strategy?? Do you call it strategy.. real strategy begins when you need to face the time. If you loose with time, go and evacuate your soldiers... Please note that XCOM: Enemy Witin tried to achieve the same with limited time to get MELD containers. However there you can just don't care about MELD, in XCOM2 there is no "don't care" - either you care about time, die or evacuate the soldiers. This is Strategy!

    And for those who writes that the game is hard - Have you ever played UFO: Enemy Unknown or any other UFO from old times? That game was hard. There you had even problems getting out of Skyranger gecause aliens could kill you when your head was out and you did first steps. They could shoot at you and did not know where the shoots were comming from. THAT WAS HARD. There is nothing like this in XCOM2. It simply requires more out of your brain to finish mission.... and if it is still hard than YOU HAVE THE "EASY" DIFFICULTY? Did you try it before writing that you hate the game because it is hard... so when you write that you are very good in strategy games and you played every version of XCOM and you say that XCOM2 is difficult, than I tell you this: "You did not play, but used save/load"... if you really played XCOM: Enemy Within for real (without using save/load to much) you will NEVER say that XCOM2 is super duper hard, because it is NOT... it simply prevents you from cheeting using save/load. That's all.

    About other aspects of game. I will not write the things that the others have done already. Yes - it has performance problems, but if you have them - just lower your graphics (my friend plays on LOW and says that graphics is preety good), AI is better (oposing to what some people says) - for example enemys tend to retreet when they are loosing and attack with another pack of aliens. Any other allegations? First play at least 20 missions, loose the game one time and then write your review.    … Expand
  85. anotherplayer
    Feb 27, 2016
    8
    Although the game has some issues like annoying pauses after each action and does not run smoothly all the time on a GTX970, it is definately a very good game with interesting new features compared to previous xcom. Good level of soldier customization is surprisingly fun. If you liked previous XCOM, you will also enjoy this one.
  86. Huzardadi
    Feb 26, 2016
    8
    Gameplay is 10 of 10. Lower score because it is GLITCHY.

    People who complain about the timers should lower the difficulty. Sometimes you get a bunch of missions in a row that have them and sometimes you don't. The timers make the game much more interesting forcing you to make risky decisions.

    BUGGY BUGGY BUGGY. Don't play ironman until this game gets figured out from the back end.
  87. Godwrath
    Feb 26, 2016
    10
    I would give the game a 8/10 until they fix the optimization problems (for many people, they are real). But i can't do that because there are plenty of dumb people underscoring for no real reason than their own inability to play the game. When you read people playing what would be classic, and complaining about stuff like "the % is not real" withouth even having a look at the .inis, youI would give the game a 8/10 until they fix the optimization problems (for many people, they are real). But i can't do that because there are plenty of dumb people underscoring for no real reason than their own inability to play the game. When you read people playing what would be classic, and complaining about stuff like "the % is not real" withouth even having a look at the .inis, you know they went full retarded.

    One of the biggest fails of XCOM is probably that their players, specially the ones at the lower brackets of difficulty, tend to overestimate their capabilities, and Jake Solomon didn't find a way to not give those players the satisfaction of finishing the game on a upper difficulty just because, like many other games would. So you will see a lot of people complaining about timers, RNG and the like. Truth is, if you are good player none of those matter. Good players can finish up missions on legendary with 2+ turns left (my fastest was 7 turns left on an evac mission, or grabbing objective by turn 3 with 5 left). So here is the thing, if you want challenging and engaging gameplay, XCOM 2 managed to do that. If what you want is play always at your own pace, this game is for you, if you mod it, which takes about 2 clicks to do.

    Classes, while still an improvement from XCOM EU, need work in some skills which aren't optimal, ranger sword being a joke, and abilities like deadeye carrying too big penalties. Overall tho, most abilities have their niche and are useful.

    Optimization is bad, you may not suffer from it (it doesn't matter how good your PC is) and the workarounds won't make it work flawlessly. Take this into account as it is fine to not buy until Firaxis fix this, but it's certainly an enjoyable game and being turn based makes it less of a pain in the ass. No justification, it still needs to be addressed.

    TLDR:
    - Game is good if you enjoy tactical challenge.
    - Most user reviews say complete made up lies about it, specially negative ones, which show a total lack of knowledge, just to satisfy their ego to justify their failures within the game.
    - Mod the game to your own tastes.
    - Optimization is crap and needs to be fixed.    … Expand
  88. Schuback
    Feb 26, 2016
    9
    Xcom 2 is a turn-based tactical strategy game. Xcom EU was one of the best PC games I've played. So how does Xcom 2 compare? Let me cut to the chase.

    Pros: - An overall improvement in terms of UI, gameplay, graphics. - Better squad customisation (spent hours editing their looks) - Challenging but can be ridiculously unfair at times (especially at the start with just 4 members    Xcom 2 is a turn-based tactical strategy game. Xcom EU was one of the best PC games I've played. So how does Xcom 2 compare? Let me cut to the chase.

    Pros:
    - An overall improvement in terms of UI, gameplay, graphics.
    - Better squad customisation (spent hours editing their looks)
    - Challenging but can be ridiculously unfair at times (especially at the start with just 4 members carrying poor weapons and armours)
    - Game encourages using your brains (most games don't these days)
    - More cutscenes / close up action scenes that look awesome
    - Story is better (not great but still better)
    - Good variety of enemy types
    - Chryssalid not as annoying this time
    - You get that satisfying feel when you win an unbalanced map
    - Mod support (Xcom EU mods were crap!!)

    Cons:
    -Bad performance (gtx980)
    - Very confusing at the start managing bases or keeping pace with the Alien's progress
    - Unfair battles at times (very frustrating when your squad misses even though they are standing in front of enemy with 90% hit rate. wtf)
    - You are always poor at start, then by mid till end you become to rich with nothing to invest in
    - Ugly face options (Hopefully mods will fix this soon)
    - Squad gets injured frequently and becomes unavailable for too long.
    - I use to enjoy visiting science lab in EU. Well not anymore this time.
    - Sectoids aren't cute anymore
    - Timers in lots of mission (WHY????)
    - Forced to proceed with missions and therefore speeding up gameplay time. Game is quite short and this makes it even shorter.
    - There are very few main missions. (It's mostly research this research that, then occasionally a battle in the main campaign). Why can't they make it like Civ 5 where you can play indefinitely???
    - Missions can get repetitive (VIP, bomb defusal, download data, eliminate all hostiles, destroy artifact)

    Overall, these problems are minor compared to what Xcom 2 has to offer. A very good game. And I truly enjoy playing it.    … Expand
  89. v364
    Feb 24, 2016
    10
    IRON MAN MODE ONLY!!!
    This game should not be loaded!!!!!
    Saving the game is basically CHEATING and takes away from the strategy and experience of losing a beloved soldier in the field and makes you plan two fire teams in the case one gets wiped!!!
    With the PSI lab it doesn't matter if you lose a hero any way.
    Those 8 turn evac mission really get your heart going :D
    11/10
  90. BGGCriticalMass
    Feb 24, 2016
    8
    Sadly this game is several huge steps backwards from EU and EW. Performance, game design, game balance, pacing all worse than the predecessor. And for what? An attempt at improved graphics which has failed horribly in its execution (and not just the bugs - customisation is really disappointingly lacking - eg none of the faces look remotely asian many of the faces have the same features andSadly this game is several huge steps backwards from EU and EW. Performance, game design, game balance, pacing all worse than the predecessor. And for what? An attempt at improved graphics which has failed horribly in its execution (and not just the bugs - customisation is really disappointingly lacking - eg none of the faces look remotely asian many of the faces have the same features and most voices are almost the same), an attempt at a an interesting story but it has so little development among the very repetitive and poorly designed levels (yes the procedural maps are not really an improvement- what small gains they have in variety they lose in lack of realism and continuity) that the games development is painfully drawn out. None of the problems of the previous games have been dealt with effectively.
    Most damningly I haven't even finished the game once and I am have lost interest in it. I am having more fun going back to playing three different other games - something that never happened during EU or EW.    … Expand
  91. shinyary2
    Feb 24, 2016
    8
    Wow, this game has really divided the fan base. Personally I really liked it (as I'll explain in my review), but I can understand why some people didn't and I wonder if Firaxis made some huge mistakes.

    To establish credibility, I have completed two runs: one on Veteran (Normal), and one on Commander (Hard) with Iron Man turned on. I would like to address the following: timed    Wow, this game has really divided the fan base. Personally I really liked it (as I'll explain in my review), but I can understand why some people didn't and I wonder if Firaxis made some huge mistakes.

    To establish credibility, I have completed two runs: one on Veteran (Normal), and one on Commander (Hard) with Iron Man turned on.

    I would like to address the following: timed missions, difficulty curve, and what I can only call terrible design decisions.

    - Timed missions
    The timer forces you to spend a lot of time on every turn planning out the most efficient possible way to use every character in your squad. If one character is out of position and you can't wipe out the current pod of enemies in a few turns, you are probably in trouble. Flanking is incredibly important in this game, as is getting a bigger squad and getting the right offensive tech to give you enough firepower to very quickly overwhelm the aliens.

    This is different from Enemy Within, and I understand that it's a change a lot of people don't like. Yes, it does limit what decisions you can legitimately make and still expect success. Does that make the game worse? I suppose it depends on your point of view. For me, the answer is no; it makes the game better, because in a way I never felt in Enemy Within (one of my favorite games, ever), I felt an incredible weight behind every decision, knowing that if I don't make a good decision, my game could end very badly.

    - The difficulty curve
    This one's sticky business, and one of the reasons why I'm giving the game an 8 instead of a 9. In my opinion the difficulty curve is almost inverted in this game. The first mission is incredibly difficult on Commander and Legend difficulties and I felt very much at the mercy of the RNG in a way that the second mission and on simply didn't. Aliens can and very often do hit you even if you are behind full cover and they should supposedly have very low odds.

    As I said before, the game is about efficiency. You will absolutely not survive an extended battle against a pod of aliens without a scratch (until you have better armor), but on the first mission your classless soldiers give you nearly no options for finding a more efficient strategy for killing your enemies. This is the only mission where I felt that the only way to survive intact was to save scum. It's really too bad, as once all of my soldiers were promoted at least once, I don't think I ever felt that something bad happened to me that wouldn't have been avoided with a better overall strategy. It's a particularly awful problem on Legend, where they throw a mind-controlling Sectoid at you on the first mission with no chance of getting the items that counter them.

    Then again, maybe I am simply doing something wrong.

    - Terrible design decisions
    This is a catch all category as there are a number of really bizarre design decisions in this game.

    The worst one is the fact that the game is constantly pressuring you to make bad decisions. You absolutely should not rush to complete the story objectives; you should mill around, doing random missions, collecting resources, and leveling up your squad. The global game timer does not count up as quickly as the NPCs want you to think it does, and what this does is force people to lose because they were playing the way the game tells you to play. I understand that the devs wanted to create an atmosphere of tension, but it's a problem when the only way (as far as I could tell) to enjoy the game is to ignore everything it tells you.

    This problem pops up again where if you build base structures in the order the tutorial tells you, you will probably lose.

    There are also numerous other random issues, such as arbitrary "wait" times added to nearly every action (they are clearly unnecessary because there is a mod that removes all of them, making the game far better). When you return from a mission the game sits there "loading" for 30 seconds to a minute no matter how good your hardware is, and if you hit caps lock it will just skip immediately (thanks Reddit for this amazing time saving tip!). So, it was obviously unnecessary.

    I would also like to mention that most of the intro logos are skippable and the ones that aren't are quick. If you are really annoyed by them there is a launch option to get rid of them. Every cutscene in the game except the final one is also skippable if you hit the Escape key.

    - Final remarks
    I really loved this game. It is unfortunately plagued by a few issues, but the bottom line is: if you like the idea of spending every turn thinking about how to get maximum efficiency out of every squad member, you will love the game and should buy it now (if you have a computer that can get around the poor optimization). If you would rather try to create intricate strategies that take a lot of turns to set up and execute, maybe give this one a pass or use the timer removal mods.    … Expand
  92. Pipemastersven
    Feb 24, 2016
    10
    This is the sort of game that the PC community should support -- PC exclusive, workshop from day 1 and is not an Early AAAccess title like so many AAA titles being released.
    The game itself is exactly what you want from a sequel - it builds on the original from everything from visuals, customisation, features and story elements. If people didn't like the first, they probably won't enjoy    This is the sort of game that the PC community should support -- PC exclusive, workshop from day 1 and is not an Early AAAccess title like so many AAA titles being released.
    The game itself is exactly what you want from a sequel - it builds on the original from everything from visuals, customisation, features and story elements. If people didn't like the first, they probably won't enjoy this. I understand the optimisation issues people with lesser systems have had - this should be addressed, but wasn't an issue for me - so it gets a 10    … Expand
  93. Batushai
    Feb 24, 2016
    10
    I love X-Com and i'm happy to say X-Com 2 is amazing. It's not a dramatic difference, but it's still surprisingly useful things there. Timer make the game more challenging. Enemies are very deadly as always, let's just say a bit more refined this time. I love surprises like the Shapeshifters, or the new Sectopod, these things are huge! Be careful, this game can be very addictive! :)
  94. GreenBastard
    Feb 23, 2016
    9
    Once again, an excellent game seems to be getting a great deal of hate on this site. If you loved Enemy Unknown and Within, you will love the sequel. Its difficult, as it should be, and there are some bugs to be quashed. But Firaxis has given us a gem that I hope they will continue to support, and even if they don't, modders have already proven that they will keep it fresh for years toOnce again, an excellent game seems to be getting a great deal of hate on this site. If you loved Enemy Unknown and Within, you will love the sequel. Its difficult, as it should be, and there are some bugs to be quashed. But Firaxis has given us a gem that I hope they will continue to support, and even if they don't, modders have already proven that they will keep it fresh for years to come.

    R.I.P. to the 13 soldiers I lost on play through one, ye shall not grow old.    … Expand
  95. Shane_
    Feb 22, 2016
    9
    Quite possibly the best game of it's type since the original Xcom. As someone who eagerly awaited the release of EU, I was heavily disappointed until an expansion (Enemy Within) and more importantly a huge mod (Long War) made the game interesting and worthy of a few playthroughs. But it still just wasn't what I wanted from Xcom. I felt like I was playing a tactical RPG, rather than aQuite possibly the best game of it's type since the original Xcom. As someone who eagerly awaited the release of EU, I was heavily disappointed until an expansion (Enemy Within) and more importantly a huge mod (Long War) made the game interesting and worthy of a few playthroughs. But it still just wasn't what I wanted from Xcom. I felt like I was playing a tactical RPG, rather than a strategy game with tactical battles.

    Xcom 2 was everything I wanted in EU and more. No more crawling through every mission in overwatch as almost all missions have multiple objectives, many of which are time sensitive. The strategy layer has been greatly improved by giving you more options than where to build your facilities and what to research first.

    The tactical battles have been tweaked but are generally what we saw in EU. What's improved here is the skill trees and mission structure. Every single skill in the game is useful and there are multiple ways to build each class without feeling underpowered. And every mission has a few objectives other than "kill everything". EU felt like they had this in mind but never got around to flushing it out, but in Xcom 2 Firaxis nailed it. No more crawling through every mission in overwatch, no more running the same 6 soldiers every mission in the same configuration doing the same thing over and over again. Turn counters and different scenarios make sure you have to adapt to the mission's requirements.

    Unlike Enemy Unknown and Xenonauts (another amazing Xcom look-alike) it's a completely different campaign and scenario. Many of us might have expected a "second wave" of the invasion, or a retaliation of some sort, but Firaxis found a much more interesting and unique spin-the Aliens won, and they're almost done with their plans for us a couple of decades later. It means a completely different strategy layer than shooting down UFOs and checking out the wreckage over and over again.

    The game isn't without it's flaws, though. The optimization is no where near where it should be for a game developed exclusively for PC. And there are more bugs than I would like, as someone who's not going to play without Ironman mode on. But it runs, and if the only real flaw I can find is performance in a game that still works well enough for me, then I'm still calling it a GOTY contender (in a year with Mount and Blade 2 and Torment Tides of Numenera on the way, that's saying a lot).    … Expand
  96. Thunder5555
    Feb 22, 2016
    9
    Best way I can think of is to compare this game to it's predecessor.
    Xcom 2 seems to be improvement in every area from Xcom enemy within. Timed missions (which I normally hate) are well made and after doing few, I noticed they're quite fun to do.
    At the start, the game really feels like that you're leading a desperate rebellion against the aliens, but later on the difficulty just goes    Best way I can think of is to compare this game to it's predecessor.
    Xcom 2 seems to be improvement in every area from Xcom enemy within. Timed missions (which I normally hate) are well made and after doing few, I noticed they're quite fun to do.
    At the start, the game really feels like that you're leading a desperate rebellion against the aliens, but later on the difficulty just goes down and your soldiers become godlike compared to the aliens. Some items are currently VERY overpowered (mimic beacons for example) but that may be a bug.
    Speaking of which, enemies and especially your soldiers have a weird habit shooting through walls and objects. The line of sight isn't working as it should just yet.
    But in overall, this game is the game of this year... for now :) I would recommend getting it if you have any love for turnbased combat/strategy.    … Expand
  97. fffffff
    Feb 21, 2016
    9
    Doing my part to counteract the people rating this game 0/10 because it's too hard. Xcom deserves better. Turn timers are an amazing addition to the game that add a welcome layer of challenge by removing the overwatch cheese that many Xcom1 players mistakenly took for "strategy". Sorry guys, you will have to use real strategy now. I hope you will update your reviews when you figure itDoing my part to counteract the people rating this game 0/10 because it's too hard. Xcom deserves better. Turn timers are an amazing addition to the game that add a welcome layer of challenge by removing the overwatch cheese that many Xcom1 players mistakenly took for "strategy". Sorry guys, you will have to use real strategy now. I hope you will update your reviews when you figure it out.

    Gave 9/10 because game suffers from many more release bugs and optimization issues than is usually considered acceptable. Still extremely playable--am about to (successfully) finish an Ironman Commander playthrough.    … Expand
  98. Blahqqbirds
    Feb 20, 2016
    8
    Great game but gets repetitive. For people complaining about it being too hard; research faceless asap and get as mimic balls. This will make even legend ironman mode a joke.
  99. pablobosa
    Feb 20, 2016
    9
    Leaving the bugs beside (which are being fixed right away) this game is keeping me on my toes. Playing in hard mode and no ironman mode for the first time and having a blast! Even when ive played enemy unknown iam still getting surprised with the twists and turns of the game. Storywise i dont care the gameplay is solid as my d*ck, which in turn is like this because the game is that good.
  100. heizendrat
    Feb 19, 2016
    9
    X - com erased all the flaws of the first episode and made ​​the experience even better , fabulous graphics, no concessions were made ​​to make the experience even more intense.

    This is in my opinion the best game of the year, Pro -S on GDC are in PLS especially Nightkin and its glorious Mongolian friends.
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Awards & Rankings

8
#8 Best PC Game of 2016
6
#6 Most Discussed PC Game of 2016
19
#19 Most Shared PC Game of 2016

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
88

Generally favorable reviews - based on 104 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 97 out of 104
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 104
  3. Negative: 1 out of 104
  1. Wccftech
    Apr 22, 2016
    80
    Firaxis managed to improve upon the already great Enemy Unknown in almost every way, with the exception of multiplayer. Unfortunately, the shockingly bad performance prevents XCOM 2 from reaching the status of a true masterpiece.
    Read full review
  2. High-Def Digest
    Apr 10, 2016
    90
    It is a tactical experience without peer, better even than its predecessors. It is draining and agonizing, but in a good way. The high difficulty may turn off some gamers, but it’s worth every second.
    Read full review
  3. IGN Denmark
    Apr 6, 2016
    90
    XCOM 2 is a gem. There is more story in the game, and the ending does not feel as abrupt as it did in the first game.
    Read full review
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