XCOM 2

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 moreVery 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

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

eroeru

Jan 19, 2017

3

It's a piece of garbage software. Runs horribly. Enemy Unknown ran perfectly on high settings, this one stutters on minimal. And looks ugly at it.

As to the actual contents - it's cheesy and unconcincing as f***. A cut scene fiesta with "epic" music and dumb lines. As to the whole premise of fighting to bring back a commander from 20 years back who is so very special and without whomIt's a piece of garbage software. Runs horribly. Enemy Unknown ran perfectly on high settings, this one stutters on minimal. And looks ugly at it.

As to the actual contents - it's cheesy and unconcincing as f***. A cut scene fiesta with "epic" music and dumb lines. As to the whole premise of fighting to bring back a commander from 20 years back who is so very special and without whom the soldiers are doomed - f'ing ridiculous.

Free, more laidback and aplenty tactics options are taken away and you're left with running to some objective and trying to RNG oponents on the way. It also doesn't make an effort in regards to the cool options available - for example, even though there's an option to hear a soldier speak its mother tongue, most speak English. Is it somehow insulting to Americans that other, frankly more interesting languages exist? The few lines for Asian and smaller European languages wouldn't take any money, especially as to how XCOM:EU made the dev lots. This lacking seems just out of fear of alienating Americans.

First game had a more believable and nicely eerie feel to it. This one's a severely unoptimized flunk.

To paraphrase a title from fake game journalism: XCOM 2 is a far worse game than its predecessor in almost every way that matters.… Expand

malcolmm

Jan 18, 2017

4

So many issues with this game, I'm glad I only paid $12 for it from Humble Bundle. As usual for a AAA title the "professional" reviews rate the game much higher than the general public.

First off, the tutorial is terrible, pretty much completely useless. It hardly merits being called a tutorial, it is just a short mission with a few prompts. It misses many important parts of the missionSo many issues with this game, I'm glad I only paid $12 for it from Humble Bundle. As usual for a AAA title the "professional" reviews rate the game much higher than the general public.

First off, the tutorial is terrible, pretty much completely useless. It hardly merits being called a tutorial, it is just a short mission with a few prompts. It misses many important parts of the mission interface. As for the rest of the game, good luck, no tutorial for what to do back at the base. I did play the previous XCOM but that was years ago, I've forgotten pretty much everything about the game. There is a manual but it is useless, it just repeats what the equally useless tutorial tells you.

Most of the game consists of video sequences, it is obvious where most of the budget went. The missions themselves are extremely simple yet very frustrating. Still the same over emphasis on luck. Making most of the missions timed was a huge mistake, you mostly have to rush the target with little time for tactics.

I normally don't buy AAA titles, mostly boring graphics showcases. XCOM2 is a prime example of this, all flash but no substance. Microprose did it so much better, Firaxis has managed to ruin both XCOM and Civilization.… Expand

Skulb

Jan 16, 2017

7

Easily the best Xcom game released since the 90s in my opinion. It addresses a few of the issues with the unimpressive first game in this particular reboot. The mission maps are larger so you have more tactical options and the strategic map has more interesting stuff happening on it. It's still far from perfect, and completely lacks the first contact element that made the original fromEasily the best Xcom game released since the 90s in my opinion. It addresses a few of the issues with the unimpressive first game in this particular reboot. The mission maps are larger so you have more tactical options and the strategic map has more interesting stuff happening on it. It's still far from perfect, and completely lacks the first contact element that made the original from 1996 so compelling. Instead the aliens are entrenched behind a global puppet regime, almost like real life bankers in our society. The problem with this is that it feels a lot less like a war against aliens and more like a war against uniformed goons, lab experiments and robots. There is a pop-up event where you get to salvage a crashed UFO, but it's the same one every time and offers no new opponents or anything else of note.
Regardless; Xcom 2 is a lot of fun to play, and gives you a nice system of upgrades, promotions and researc. It even manages to give you a little base building inside your now mobile base. It isn't amazing but at least it's there this time.
Still missing is a proper inventory for your soldiers, a more detailed action point system like the originals had, UFO hunting, actual aliens and above all a way to turn off the unskippable radio communications during missions. These are not fun when you're reloading a save.

Pros:
- Great graphics and physics. Even on low settings the game looks amazing, which is made even more impressive by almost fully destructible environments.
- Satisfying tactical combat. Cover really matters, but almost everything you're able to hide behind can also be destroyed very easily. Moving around from cover to cover while trying to survive a hectic battle is always fun, and is done better here than in almost any game in the genre I can think of.
- Good economy. Resources salvaged during missions are needed to build base improvements and gear for your soldiers, as well as providing you with objects for your scientists to research. This makes it hard to stop playing, as there is always something to upgrade or improve between each mission.
- Good AI. Isolated enemies will sometimes retreat to join up with other groups of enemies, making the next fight that much harder for you. Enemies generally seem to want to stay alive if possible, rather than mindlessly suicide on your strong positions. They flank, teleport and do all sorts of things to get around your defenses, and it feels quite realistic sometimes. At least as realistic as fighting off an alien invasion could feel.

Cons
- Obviously designed for consoles and ported to the PC. The game therefore fails to take advantage of the PC's controls, and you end up with things like no inventories, simplistic menus and an overall reduction in the level of detail all over the place. The UI has to be kept simple for console users and this is a shame for PC users, who could handle more complexity. You're supposed to play this game with a hand controller, which PC users usually don't. It would be a very different game if it had been designed for the PC. More like the original Xcom maybe. Personally I would score it higher if it had been developed for the gaming system I am using. But it hasn't.
- Horribly generic music. The usual awful horn assault to signify to simpletons that something heroic is occurring.
- Similarly generic US brand militarism. This is of course completely nauseating to anyone who isn't an American, but also to quite a few people that are. Kidnap someone and they become a "package". Shoot or bomb them and they become a "target", a "bogey" or even "collateral", my personal favorite. The horrible man who serves as a narrator of sorts is something of a satire of a prototypical American war horse posing as a hero. Personally I wanted to go to war against him sometimes rather than the aliens. Go away John Wayne/Dick Cheney/generic Pentagon criminal!
- Performance issues. Lags, crashes, long loading times and corruption of saves. Once all my saves even became completely impossible to load so I had to restart the game.
- Unskippable parts are annoying. Some videos are like this and are sometimes tedious if you're seen them before. But mostly I have an issue with the awful, horrible man who keeps talking to me during missions so I have to stop what I'm doing to listen to his drivel. If you have radio communications during missions just run them in the background. Don't take control of the game away from me to tell me stuff I don't want or need to hear.
- Skydiving mobs, groups of mobs that trigger fully if you move into the wrong square. This too is very console-y and a cheap, annoying way to structure the tactical combat. Trying to flank a group of mobs, just to take one example, is very likely to pull another group instead of giving you a tactical advantage. Individual mob reactions and some system of initiative would have been much better. As it is the game basically forces you to save scum to get anywhere… Expand

smilzoboboz

Jan 10, 2017

7

A good XCOM game, probably not the best, somehow poorly optimized and a bit cryptic on its mechanics.

I'd like to start off with what I hate (exactly) of this game: stutter and loading times (on an SSD). First things first I'm playing this game on linux and since the game engine makes use of OpenGl and it's based on the old XCOM game (at least I heard that was it) I was expecting a fewA good XCOM game, probably not the best, somehow poorly optimized and a bit cryptic on its mechanics.

I'd like to start off with what I hate (exactly) of this game: stutter and loading times (on an SSD). First things first I'm playing this game on linux and since the game engine makes use of OpenGl and it's based on the old XCOM game (at least I heard that was it) I was expecting a few issues, but not at "medium" detail level on a GTX-1060 with 6GB of VRAM. About the loading times, I spend like a whole minute (or even more) staring at the loading screen before missions, that's a lot of idle time which gets added to already "long" cutscenes, etc. A lot of idle time.

Performance aside, as I wrote before this is a very nice XCOM game, but of course it's still an XCOM game, meaning that after a few successful perfect or excellent missions, after you manage to get decorated soldiers and after you feel everything is going great, you miss a point blank 90%+ shot, your whole team is killed and your hardcore game experience ends there.
The percentage system is really not my thing, point blank on a flanked enemy you shouldn't need to worry about anything, I don't care if you can get a lucky shot on a 30% enemy, as a tactician I don't even bother trying with percentages below 50.
In general the RNG component on this one is quite more present than in XCOM: Enemy Unknown and this often invalidates any possible tactic, they made an harder game by decreasing your chances of actually influencing the course of action.

The new introduced mechanics on the other hand are what makes this game worth the trouble. Even if a bit cryptic at first (it's quite more complicated than XCOM: Enemy Unknown on the non-combat phase of the game) every new mechanic fits perfectly and often mitigates the awful/typical XCOM games RNG percentage system. I won't spoil anything because I think part of the fun is to get a grasp on your tools and exploit them for the victory.

Last but not least there are several bugs, often gamebreaking (like enemies standing still without attacking or moving), encountered a few after just 10h of gameplay.

So in the end for me it's a good turn-based tactical combat games, a worthy successor of the previous XCOM: Enemy Unknown (and "Within"), but definitely not the best turn-based tactical combat game out there, check out "Invisible Inc." if you like the genre, you may enjoy it more than this one.… Expand

dobserver

Jan 3, 2017

7

Never played XCOM before but played a lot of turn based strategy games before like Fire Emblem and Tactics Ogre. Obviously the graphics of this game are a lot better than those ones however the strategic element of it needs a bit of work. I played it on Veteran and found myself quite defeated as I got into the mid game with the enemies being much overpowered compared to my squad. INever played XCOM before but played a lot of turn based strategy games before like Fire Emblem and Tactics Ogre. Obviously the graphics of this game are a lot better than those ones however the strategic element of it needs a bit of work. I played it on Veteran and found myself quite defeated as I got into the mid game with the enemies being much overpowered compared to my squad. I restarted on Rookie, and amazingly it is still quite difficult if you do not research and prioritzie certain things over others. There are clearly 'better' research and resources compared to others in the game but the game does not really explain this. So a lot of the time is wasted doing things in a sub optimal way, which leads to the dark event bar filling up faster and the enemy progressing faster than you can. I am fine with restarting and retrying new ways, but I think the game is much too difficult in a 'rookie' setting then it should be.

Good:
- strategic elements like fog of war, cover, half cover, elevation, status effects,
- squad customization, classes are interesting,
- attack effects and destructible environment is fun and intersting
- research options and engineering build options allow for a more varied squad

Bad:
- enemies some time ignore terrain effects and building cover
- constant 'doomsday' clock and limited turns in both in game combat and the overall game
- camera is frustrating when trying to zoom into multilevel buildings
- research paths appear to be 'open' but in fact punish you for prioritizing and trying out new things
- difficulty for 'rookie' is much too hard for a casual newbie in my opinion

Verdict:
- pick it up if you enjoy a good turn based strategy game, but understand the faults it has before and see if you can live with it… Expand

Shatter77

Dec 29, 2016

3

I'm not sure I can finish this game, because it has decided to crash again and again in the same place. Load, do a few moves, quickly save before it crashes may yet get me out oft his crash fest. Nearly a year old, and the game being in this state is unconscionable.

Further boatload of criticism: - This game is essentially the same as Enemy Unknown: the mechanics are virtuallyI'm not sure I can finish this game, because it has decided to crash again and again in the same place. Load, do a few moves, quickly save before it crashes may yet get me out oft his crash fest. Nearly a year old, and the game being in this state is unconscionable.

Further boatload of criticism:

- This game is essentially the same as Enemy Unknown: the mechanics are virtually identical.
- Enemies are still grouped in mobs that get interrupt moves as you discover them, regardless of whether they can see you. Normally turn based games have an initiative stat to govern who goes first. Not here and it practically forces you to try to set up ambushes by reloading then preventing triggering seeing the mob before you are ready.
- Game play is largely a matter of luck. I do not believe anyone can play this game to the end without relying on save/reload a lot.
- Wounded team members are out of action for up to a month, which is extremely long.
- It's extremely easy for your soldiers to die, and extremely time consuming to level them up. I've been playing for 40 hours and more or less just got a few colonel level soldiers. I doubt it's possible to lose a colonel, then level up a replacement before the game ends. So, lose a soldier and you're practically forced to reload.
- A clock is ticking on the campaign map and nearly every mission also has a turn limit on it. So you are forced to take risks and push forward in a game that ruthlessly punishes that very behaviour.
- The mouse interface is an insulting afterthought. Drag the world map, and pass an interactive icon will trigger that icon.
- Did I mention the interface is atrocious?
- Your base interface has you step through multiple layers with camera swivels in between all the time. Dizzying, useless. Slow.
- The interface does nothing to help you select the best equipment for your current team, as wounded soldiers are rotated out. In one screen the "make weapons available" button is not there. Mostly those buttons don't even work. Prepare to spend several hours of your playtime hunting for that piece of armour or that weapon that's not on any of the selected soldiers.… Expand

supercagan

Dec 18, 2016

3

If you like squad tactics games play Jagged alliance, even the old one is better than this one.
Locate the aliens in building... check
Approach in stealth and surround building...check When all members are in ambush position shoot 1 alien out of 4...check The other 3 aliens go alert, jump out of the building, pass all the team members as they watch, run down the street and hide behindIf you like squad tactics games play Jagged alliance, even the old one is better than this one.
Locate the aliens in building... check
Approach in stealth and surround building...check
When all members are in ambush position shoot 1 alien out of 4...check
The other 3 aliens go alert, jump out of the building, pass all the team members as they watch, run down the street and hide behind a truck. Now my guys cant shoot them because they are behind full cover, and the next turn I miss three 90% shots and the aliens shoot once and kill my sniper...
UNINSTALLED, not to mention the other 2 groups of aliens hear all the explosions and do not do anything because they did not see me behind the corner yet...

Horrible AI
Horrible team tactics -especially aliens run 100 yards and hide behind cover when you are discovered
Would definitely Uninstall again...… Expand

Klewer

Dec 15, 2016

7

I really want to love this game, but it makes it so difficult. It has all the core mechanics and game play to make this a great game. It just has issues with the combat, even on the lowest difficulty there feels like there is so much RNG involved. Worth a look for fans of these games but it can be tough at times.

Garingo41

Oct 9, 2016

1

Too many timed mission, which is a boring incentive to rise pressure to the player to hurry with the mission.
The only way to pass time on the world map is to scan some stupid **** icon that does give you a marginal improvement in currency, so youcan buy some other ****...
1 Hour in the game and i already lost 7 people because of stupid RNG missing enemys 1 meter in front of theToo many timed mission, which is a boring incentive to rise pressure to the player to hurry with the mission.
The only way to pass time on the world map is to scan some stupid **** icon that does give you a marginal improvement in currency, so youcan buy some other ****...
1 Hour in the game and i already lost 7 people because of stupid RNG missing enemys 1 meter in front of the soldiers.

I read this game has some performance issues (cynical brit) on release date so i didn't bought it and forgot about it.
So now, half a year later, I played this game and it still performs like ****.

The game flow is very ugly. You don't have enough time to micromanage your base and build equipment like it was in the older games. You click on the scan icon and 1 second later another stupid mission pops up that you have to attend to, or else you will loose instantly.

This game is not worth the money.… Expand

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

choppy

Oct 2, 2016

4

The cosmetics change from Xcom 1, but little else. In order to make it seem like a new game, and to please all the long-war geeks, the difficulty is cranked up in a bunch of artificial ways. Almost every mission has a timer or constant stream of scripted enemy drop-ins. And this is the overall theme of the game: you are constantly being spammed with so many events and non-meaningfulThe cosmetics change from Xcom 1, but little else. In order to make it seem like a new game, and to please all the long-war geeks, the difficulty is cranked up in a bunch of artificial ways. Almost every mission has a timer or constant stream of scripted enemy drop-ins. And this is the overall theme of the game: you are constantly being spammed with so many events and non-meaningful choices that it's almost impossible to keep up with basic tasks, and eventually you will be forced to make a detrimental choice. Strategy gaming at its finest!

Once again, all percentages are pre-determined at the start of every mission, so an 80 or 90 percentage shot is completely meaningless - it doesn't matter what you do or where you move, from the beginning of the mission it's been determined whether you're going to hit or miss (this is true - search the forums for discussion). You can stand right next to an enemy, going full auto, and still miss every time. So ridiculous. You the mouseclicker aren't even necessary for the game, because everything's already determined. It could just run the percentages itself and determine the same outcome. Your actions have literally no effect on whether you hit or miss - just like real life and real combat, right?

Given that every mission relies on pre-scripted events and pre-determined enemy placements, the only "strategy" or "tactics" are remembering where the enemies are going to spawn and pre-placing your troops to ambush them. So, the only thing that matters is positioning, based on either luck in the fog of war or your knowledge of previous failures.

This game might as well be calling "Pathing Manager 2016", since pathing is the only meaningful thing you control and the singular thing that makes the difference between success and failure in the mission. If most of your paths succeed on the first try, you got lucky. If most of your paths fail, suck it up and lose, or try new paths on a reload. And that's it. That's all you do in the entire game. This is obscured by other crap like "Dark Events", which are basically 'pick which 1 out of 3 bad things you want to try to stop' through another 'pick-a-path' mission. Again, totally meaningless for the overall outcome, but it's very deep "strategy", right? Not so much.… Expand

TemplarGR

Sep 18, 2016

4

I was very dissapointed by this game. I am a fun of the original XCOM games, and i played them to death as a kid. Especially Apocalypse, which in my personal opinion is the best of the franchise to date. I played the first game from 2K and while it was very "streamlined" (aka dumbed down), i kinda liked it. Not the best, but certainly a worthwhile experience for a playthrough or two.I was very dissapointed by this game. I am a fun of the original XCOM games, and i played them to death as a kid. Especially Apocalypse, which in my personal opinion is the best of the franchise to date. I played the first game from 2K and while it was very "streamlined" (aka dumbed down), i kinda liked it. Not the best, but certainly a worthwhile experience for a playthrough or two.

So, i was expecting to like this one as well, and i was VERY disappointed. At launch it was a broken mess, with ton of bugs, ran like sh1t on perfectly capable hardware. It is somewhat fixed today, with far better performance and not that many game-breaking bugs. Still, i don't understand why it has those steep hardware requirements. I am playing it at max settings and it doesn't look that much better compared to the first XCOM.

As for the game, it is more or less the same thing, with more timers on missions and other minor changes and additions of some new enemies. Again, the changes are welcome, but insignificant. I believe Enemy Within expansion was a larger improvement to Enemy Uknown, than the sequel. And that says a lot.

It is not a bad game by any means, but it is not a good one either. I am feeling cheated by this. You are better off just playing Enemy Within again. It is cheaper, more feature complete, requires a far cheaper computer to run it, and you won't notice much of a difference anyway.

All in all, 4.… Expand

elaintahra

Sep 14, 2016

3

This game is somehow broken. It works really well graphics wise and the base building & unit customization is really good and fun - the mods make it even better.

But the missions? How is it that 9/10 of the missions they have a 'turn timer'; If you don't do this or that in 6 turns, you lose. This is the case with almost in every mission. This makes the game a constant save/reload -fest.This game is somehow broken. It works really well graphics wise and the base building & unit customization is really good and fun - the mods make it even better.

But the missions? How is it that 9/10 of the missions they have a 'turn timer'; If you don't do this or that in 6 turns, you lose. This is the case with almost in every mission. This makes the game a constant save/reload -fest. The tactics that you try to implement mean almost *absolutely* nothing. It does not matter in which position you place your units.. Where ever they are placed they will get shredded in any case. Only way - I mean the only way - to get through the missions is to save/reload through the RNG.

The animations, they have been copied over from previous XCOM, as has almost everything else. Line of sight - while working OK when shooting - looks like **** when the soldiers stick their gun thru wall and shoot..

I even tried to play with novice and still it is not fun, the same concept applies.. It should be fun to fail and try a new approach, but soon you realize the new approach matters nothing, only RNG matters. Not that you changed your units to better positions, its all numbers game.. really shameful

The enemies spawn out of nowhere and each mission tries to be different but in essence they are all exactly the same.

I can not recommend this game, I really would like to but the missions really are broken.

+ the unit customization
+ metagame in the "ship"
+ performance (looks ok, runs flawlessly)

- each mission completely same
- each mission insanely difficult
- doesn't matter where you place your units, they get killed each time (reload)
- concealment is a state of the game, it is not something your units can use: when 'concealment' is blown, your units will be seen by enemy all the time, even if behind full cover walls.. lazy lazy lazy programmers..
- RNG
- RNG
- RNG
- RNG
- RNG

As User "Avadon" writes, I agree completely:

"You can mod out all the crazy 8 turn limits and massive random spikes in Avatar progress though. Great. What you are left with then is an extremely easy game. Guess why. Because that's what it is. An extremely easy game, made hard only through RNG rigged to screw you as a core design philosophy. The encounters themselves are easy and the maps are poorly designed, like everything procedural. There's no actual depth. There are no "damn, I'm a genious" moments as you lure an overwhelming force back to a well fortified position with half of your squad lying in the perfect ambush. The game gives you no time to think. No time to strategize. No time to have fun."

and Silverflame :)
""Oh, that's a rule," the colonel said excitedly. "The black advents get free moves while it's your turn to play, and some newly appearing pieces even get to hit your pieces without the roulette wheel most of the time!" "… Expand

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 canAs 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

masamuneriku

Sep 3, 2016

7

Very similar to Xcom EU with improved graphics. No significant changes or notable innovation compared to Xcom EU. Overall still a fun strategy game though sometimes can be frustrating when you miss a 95% hit chance flanking shot.

The game is badly optimized with tons of bugs and frequent crashes: Stuck at alien's turn, killed on successful hacking due to previous feedback damage, slowVery similar to Xcom EU with improved graphics. No significant changes or notable innovation compared to Xcom EU. Overall still a fun strategy game though sometimes can be frustrating when you miss a 95% hit chance flanking shot.

The game is badly optimized with tons of bugs and frequent crashes: Stuck at alien's turn, killed on successful hacking due to previous feedback damage, slow response time, etc. Minus 1 score due to unresolved bugs and issues even though it is already more than 6 months after release.… Expand

DeonCadme

Sep 3, 2016

7

The original XCOM game is by many, seen as one of those genre defining games. It was thus a pleasant surprise to see such a good interpretation of the original game and this sequel improves the formula. The only flaw is that the game haven't really reached the success of the original games from the 90:s because the procedural system isn't really able to provide the same replay-ability andThe original XCOM game is by many, seen as one of those genre defining games. It was thus a pleasant surprise to see such a good interpretation of the original game and this sequel improves the formula. The only flaw is that the game haven't really reached the success of the original games from the 90:s because the procedural system isn't really able to provide the same replay-ability and the difficulty isn't hard enough without getting ridiculous. It happens on harder settings that the game decides to give you more of a challenge and this results sometimes in bullet-sponges with ridiculous weapons that one shot the whole team. At least I knew in the old games why these enemies appeared and where I have to do better with my research in the next playthrough. I guess this is needed though because the enemies can be ridiculous stupid at times simply gather at the same place, at a tight spot that you simply throw a grenade or two into... Or they come running at you in a perfect impression of Leroy Jenkins.
Also, a lot of content doesn't feel important. I often researched past an armor or weapon without using it because I (1) Could very easily research something better (2) Already had something better (3) The upgrade was a pointless resource sink.

Also, why is the robot part a DLC? :(… Expand

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

keredd1010

Aug 28, 2016

7

If only the game worked as it should this could possibly get a 9 or a 10. Vastly improves on it's predecessor but riddled with bugs that no game should be released it that state. However, I will go as far as to say that this is the quintessential turn-based strategy game. This game is to turn-based what COD is to FPS. But dear god man is it buggy.

aimilios

Aug 3, 2016

4

The game is simply too hard in normal mode (can't imagine more difficult settings). One can try more and more approaches by loading and try again, but at some point the game becomes unbeateable. If you even try to expand your team, there's not enough time to do it...

Crank101

Aug 1, 2016

7

I was only recently able to play the game due to upgrades needed to my PC. I was extremely excited to play this game due to my love for previous installments. I had a great time and it did feel a lot harder than previous versions games.

Now for what I wanted this game to have. 1) The story line is very Linear. They could have made a much better experience if your choices changed theI was only recently able to play the game due to upgrades needed to my PC. I was extremely excited to play this game due to my love for previous installments. I had a great time and it did feel a lot harder than previous versions games.

Now for what I wanted this game to have.
1) The story line is very Linear. They could have made a much better experience if your choices changed the war against Advent. For instance the VIP Missions where you could extract or kill them, if you saved them you got a engineer or a scientist, that is it. This was a great opportunity to have side quests and different outcomes.
2) Soldiers was fully changeable even their back stories. I would have liked to see some cultural perks in some characters hidden until a certain rank. (Good or Bad) For example a soldier from Africa in the assault class being able to throw their blade as an auto over-watch perk. Or a Irish character can be immune to panic, a french guy got a extra retreat movement after being shot at. simple things that could get you more invested in your team.

Just in finishing, This is still one of my favorite franchised and even thou it was still fun to play I hope they start taking their end users a bit serious. Recent games have shown what is possible with today's technology. Give us consequences for our choices!!!… Expand

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 .

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

zombie326

Jul 20, 2016

5

Unreliable statistics(i.e missing on 100%) turn counters for each mission (Yes you're limited to about 8 turns every mission) and plenty of bugs ruin a beloved franchise. An X-COM game should never be a 5.

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

Hfx

Jul 11, 2016

2

This game forces a player to rush from point A to B as fast as possible and discourages actual tactical gameplay.

Rush. Get spotted. reload. Rush. Get spotted. reload. Rush, etc The Bad -Almost every single mission in on a timer. -Soldiers take ages to heal. -When you're not in a timed mission the main game itself is on a timer. -Bosses are not bound by turns The Good: -IThis game forces a player to rush from point A to B as fast as possible and discourages actual tactical gameplay.

Rush. Get spotted. reload. Rush. Get spotted. reload. Rush, etc

The Bad

-Almost every single mission in on a timer.
-Soldiers take ages to heal.
-When you're not in a timed mission the main game itself is on a timer.
-Bosses are not bound by turns

The Good:

-I bought it on the steam sale for 50% off.
-That's-literally-it

Conclusion:

-This game is no fun. Hopefully future patches and mods will be able to bring back the magic of EU&EW
-Replay XCom Enemy Within again for the 7th time. At least it'll be fun… Expand

xKTN

Jun 18, 2016

5

I'm new to XCOM series. Haven't played older games yet, so I decided to try this one. I like gameplay, except one thing - aim percentage. It's ridiculous when you miss, staying in front of enemy with 85% chance to successful hit. The other thing I don't like are time-wasting and completely unnecessary animations after all actions. Fortunately there are mods that allow player to skip them.I'm new to XCOM series. Haven't played older games yet, so I decided to try this one. I like gameplay, except one thing - aim percentage. It's ridiculous when you miss, staying in front of enemy with 85% chance to successful hit. The other thing I don't like are time-wasting and completely unnecessary animations after all actions. Fortunately there are mods that allow player to skip them. And bugs. Maaaany bugs. I think every player faced some kind of bugs in this game. Starting from jumping under ground, ending on game breaking red screens or mission crashes. The most of bugs are fixed but I can't rate this game higher than 5.… Expand

Robobob

Jun 15, 2016

4

This is my third time writing a review for this game, each time I've played it more, I've lowered the score further and now I can't drop it any more. I loved the first X-Com:EU and would rate it very highly. (9-10) This was the first game I researched getting a refund on Steam. Turns out I had 2 hours of play and a week or 2 to return it. So, too late for me. So I keep playing just toThis is my third time writing a review for this game, each time I've played it more, I've lowered the score further and now I can't drop it any more. I loved the first X-Com:EU and would rate it very highly. (9-10) This was the first game I researched getting a refund on Steam. Turns out I had 2 hours of play and a week or 2 to return it. So, too late for me. So I keep playing just to get my money's worth. The more I play the more ridiculous $#it I see. A lot of the complaints you read on here are true and I still can't see why anyone can possibly give this game a 10. I understand people have different tastes, but come on! The game is buggy, with lackluster graphics, slow, tedious and terribly unbalanced. I'll give you examples for all.
The mouse is buggy in that you are not always highlighting the square you are attempting to target and the zooming through different heights of the map is cumbersome. I often target the wrong square. Good thing I save every turn. Reload.
Graphics. My machine ran the new Tomb Raider on high and 3 years later this game just looks bad. Weird character proportions. Low q textures. The camera is constantly blocked by obstacles.
Animations in mission are soooo slow making the gameplay of a single mission sometimes taking an hour or more. Why are there long pauses after enemy movement and animations? Why can't we skip through in-game talky cutscenes we've seen a million times?
In a "tactical" game why is cover so meaningless? Everything, including steel walls and boulders can be blown away with ease. The enemy has mind attacks that ignore cover, are almost always successful, and remove a soldier from the action like Mind Control, Stun, Knock Unconscious, Panic. These are all on EASY missions, no less! There's an attack that ignores cover, drags a soldier to the enemy and traps them doing damage each turn. YAY! There's an attack that depletes all of your troops ammo with in a radius and explodes the next turn if they don't move. So, don't group them too close, yet group them too far and they get eaten up quickly. Many enemies can run up and smack you for obscene unavoidable damage THROUGH WALLS?!? YAY! It seems like there are few actual firefights in this game. You better rush enemies because if they have any cover you chances are about 50%, which feels more like 5%, LOL.
The one aspect that annoys be the most about this game is that the AI gets a free turn to move to cover whenever they spot you. Starting some missions in stealth is genius, but it means absolutely nothing when every enemy on the map gets a free move to cover when your first soldier is spotted. You have to use Overwatch to get your attacks in, setting them up into position and wasting a whole turn to do this. I think Overwatch made the enemy's free move to cover a necessity and, in fact, ruined this game.
Save Spamming: You HAVE TO save and save often in this game. The odds are so stacked against you, you can easily lose your best solider in the blink of an eye. This just happened to me in the last mission I rage quit on. 5th level soldier (Cpt?) gets "marked" by an Officer. That same officer attacks and hits. The next 2 Advent troopers attack and hit. 13 hitpoints with Armor and she's gone in one turn, those attacks were 15 square range. YAY!
Mission Counters: nearly every mission has one in some way. The ones that don't have to rescue 6 out of 12 pedestrians before they are slaughtered with the annoying voice over telling you EVERY turn "commander! People are getting slaughtered out there!" I know, they are on the other side of the map and it's turn 2. YAY!
Hit percentages are weird. Some enemies have inexplicably lower % for no reason. They can be 2 squares away behind partial cover and 44% to hit? What? They are within arms reach and I can't just shoot them in the face? YAY!
Finally: The overly complicated and busy World Map. Right away you are slammed with a half dozen things to research, 2 of them critical. Need to start rebuilding your helicarrier, but there is a critical mission addition to build...and you need more power... and you need to build radio to contact resistance. When you get your supply drop you have to fly to that continent and "scan"?!?! for it for a week everytime!?!? A quarter of each month is wasted scanning for valuable supplies! Meanwhile critical missions pop up that you need to get to ASAP.
I made the very crucial mistake of spending too much of my "intel" currency early in my second playthrough. Well, the enemy started its Avatar countdown project and for me to slow it down I needed to fly to another country. Sound simple? No. I need to stop and contact resistance (5 days) and spend intel on each country on the way to an enemy base 2-3 territories away. Meanwhile more bases are popping up adding to the count down before I can get to the first. Might as well end this playthrough and start over..

or throw this game in the trash… Expand

cabbages

Jun 11, 2016

0

Its just horrible, the same is so un-balanced. Enermy 3-4x your level every mission, sometimes you need to kill 15 of these 3-4x your level enermy in under 10 turns or you lose your whole squad.

The enermy gets free moves when you see them, so often your moving towards your objective and some of your soldiers has use there turns, then boom your guys see 6 enermy, and they all run to youIts just horrible, the same is so un-balanced. Enermy 3-4x your level every mission, sometimes you need to kill 15 of these 3-4x your level enermy in under 10 turns or you lose your whole squad.

The enermy gets free moves when you see them, so often your moving towards your objective and some of your soldiers has use there turns, then boom your guys see 6 enermy, and they all run to you and you have no move left, you just got to watch the enermy turn.

Its so bad, i honestly don't know how this has been rated so highly by so called professional reviews, Over the years I've often suspected they're on the payroll of big game companies, and this feels like another one, just like all those same cod game that keeps getting 9.9… Expand

Calendyr

Jun 9, 2016

4

I was looking forward to this game after playing countless hours of X-Com enemy unknown and X-Com enemy within, After purchasing it on steam and waiting 3 hours for it to download and install, I find out it doesn't support the gamepad like it's predecessors did.

From what I understand, Firaxis signed a deal with Steam to support the Steam controller when it comes out only. So that isI was looking forward to this game after playing countless hours of X-Com enemy unknown and X-Com enemy within, After purchasing it on steam and waiting 3 hours for it to download and install, I find out it doesn't support the gamepad like it's predecessors did.

From what I understand, Firaxis signed a deal with Steam to support the Steam controller when it comes out only. So that is a big FU to all users who enjoy playing on gamepad. What a stupid move from Firaxis.… Expand

klepo

Jun 6, 2016

5

I tried. I really tried.

I enjoyed the original XCom and played though it several times. The reboot was a good time. Again, worth several play-throughs. This thing? It's just .. hateful. Sadistic. I don't know who they made it for, but it wasn't for a fan of the prior games. I tried to find the fun, I tried to find the enjoyment. But after dozens of hours I have to concludeI tried. I really tried.

I enjoyed the original XCom and played though it several times.

The reboot was a good time. Again, worth several play-throughs.

This thing? It's just .. hateful. Sadistic. I don't know who they made it for, but it wasn't for a fan of the prior games. I tried to find the fun, I tried to find the enjoyment. But after dozens of hours I have to conclude that it just isn't there.

They need to acknowledge that they only made this game for themselves - an ultra-hardcore subset of the prior games' fans. Whoever backed this as a business venture was badly ripped off by a self-serving development team. The XCom brand hasn't been this badly mishandled since Enforcer.… Expand

Cask_Fix_Sir_Us

May 29, 2016

2

I've finally had it with this game. Every time Firaxis releases a patch for this game things get worse. I stopped playing it hoping it would get patched and it’s in worse shape than at release. It was already unplayable at release. Soloman really lost his way creating this un-optimized heap. He relied too much on gameplay from YouTuber’s and forgot to make a technically sound gameI've finally had it with this game. Every time Firaxis releases a patch for this game things get worse. I stopped playing it hoping it would get patched and it’s in worse shape than at release. It was already unplayable at release. Soloman really lost his way creating this un-optimized heap. He relied too much on gameplay from YouTuber’s and forgot to make a technically sound game first. How Firaxis allowed an adolescent, unqualified YouTube kid to infiltrate their business, influence design decisions, and upend their entire process is beyond me.

Ignoring glaring technical issues in favor of one kid’s idea of fun, makes no business sense. How they got away with expending company resources chasing someone else’s dream, while damaging Sid’s good name and reputation, is just mismanagement.

The changes being made late in the development and testing stage of XCOM 2, should have been decided long ago during discovery. Even the Agile process couldn’t adapt quickly enough to adjust to the mad rush to appease their new child master. It’s just baffling to me, the only conclusion I can come up with, Firaxis is just out of touch with their audience, got desperate and threw a Hail Mary to a spectator. I really wish I could get my money back.

A great building is built with a plan, starting with the foundation, not the décor.… Expand

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.

JS99

May 29, 2016

3

I like this game, and I hate this game. First off, the Steam Controller does not work after the last patch. It suffers from a double click error which 2k knows about and refuses to fix. The game has many other technical problems, getting shot through walls, crashes, slowdowns, and combat balance problems. The real annoying thing is that your movement range changes at times just to make theI like this game, and I hate this game. First off, the Steam Controller does not work after the last patch. It suffers from a double click error which 2k knows about and refuses to fix. The game has many other technical problems, getting shot through walls, crashes, slowdowns, and combat balance problems. The real annoying thing is that your movement range changes at times just to make the game harder. It's like someone in chess all of the sudden said "Sorry your Queen can't move that far, we're changing the rules at the most critical time, just to make things harder". It's really obvious too, oh look there's the evac zone, why is it that I can actually move past it but not into it? Game programming, "If evac zone yes, subtract 1 space" Really just lazy programming and design all around. FYI, for the "hardcore" guys out there, starting over is just a longer version of save scumming.

Update: The May patch still doesn’t fix the Steam Controller double-click error. I’ve been unable to play this game as advertised since the March 2016 patch. I’m lowering my review score to reflect a complete disregard for their customers.… Expand

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...

jakeg313

May 5, 2016

7

Assuming your pc can manage to play this hilariously un-optimized game, it's a fairly good addition to the franchise. There are some aspects of the game however that make me feel the need to dock some points off however. Firstly, the game is very poorly optimized despite running on the same engine as XCOM. Even with low settings and my gaming laptop boasting 24 gb of ram, I had manyAssuming your pc can manage to play this hilariously un-optimized game, it's a fairly good addition to the franchise. There are some aspects of the game however that make me feel the need to dock some points off however. Firstly, the game is very poorly optimized despite running on the same engine as XCOM. Even with low settings and my gaming laptop boasting 24 gb of ram, I had many framerate issues and even some crashes between loading levels(which takes forever by the way). Rigging an external graphics card made this a much more enjoyable experience, but no one should have to use a $400 eGPU to make a game playable on a contemporary gaming laptop (Asus Predator 17).

Secondly about 85% of all levels are timed and the campaign is too due to dark events and the avatar project. I enjoy taking my time fighting off alien hordes, so this bothered me quite a bit.

Thirdly this game suffers from quite a lot of bugs, many of which could have been solved with an extra month of development time. but I guess game developers care more about rushing products to the market in this day and age apparently.

As far as actual gameplay and the plot, it's an overall improvement to the series. I would suggest buying this game in the future when the price goes down and technology catches up with the ludicrous graphical demands that XCOM 2 asks for.… Expand

Gades

Apr 29, 2016

7

Lets be honest, i never liked this "x-com" reboot from the very beginning. The combat sequences are quite good i must admin (not great but good). The problem is management section: it's poor on details and descriptions.
The graphic is average and nothing more than that.
If you liked the first x-com (i mean the first of this "reboot", not the original one) this will be probably be whatLets be honest, i never liked this "x-com" reboot from the very beginning. The combat sequences are quite good i must admin (not great but good). The problem is management section: it's poor on details and descriptions.
The graphic is average and nothing more than that.
If you liked the first x-com (i mean the first of this "reboot", not the original one) this will be probably be what you want from a sequel; too bad this is not my case.
I give it a 7.… Expand

DutchieSmurf

Apr 28, 2016

4

This is a very boring and repetitive game. I see it more as a remake of the first game due to the lack of new features or gameplay elements. It is plagued with even more bugs than the first one and at the end of the day it's a just a mediocre strategy game...

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.

theandersons18

Apr 24, 2016

1

There really isn't anything good to say about this game. I very much regret buying it. All the strategy elements have been stripped away in favor of what can only be a future iPhone port. Almost every single mission is now artificially shortened by a forced turn timer that leaves absolutely no time to finish the objective. While I'm sure this length of level would be perfect for playing onThere really isn't anything good to say about this game. I very much regret buying it. All the strategy elements have been stripped away in favor of what can only be a future iPhone port. Almost every single mission is now artificially shortened by a forced turn timer that leaves absolutely no time to finish the objective. While I'm sure this length of level would be perfect for playing on the bus or waiting at the DMV, but as a tactical game it falls very short of what people want. The game play now is painfully frustrating as you are sprinting to the other side of the map to finish the objective and then to the evac site all while dodging through hidden groups of enemies. People will claim realism or whatever else to defend this failed game but honestly we are to assume they started deleting files before they knew we even got there or were about to finish uploading data minutes before the team arrived? This game seems to have ran out of ways to challenge players and just resorted to cheating enemies, a shoddy RNG and very very very limited time to muddle through their cheap levels. I simply cannot express how much I dislike this game. I wouldn't wish this game on my worst enemy, please please do not support these developers. They've destroyed the series in favor a future iPhone game. There are much better, less frustrating games out there more deserving of support.… Expand

Parthians

Apr 21, 2016

7

Good and exciting game XCOM 2.just gotta fix some bugs.too much of them are seen in the game.
if they would put even more energy and idea on producing the game,it could be a lot better.

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.

shag00

Apr 13, 2016

3

The technical issues with this game are terrible, that said, as for the game itself, so much time is spent watching crappy animations that it almost becomes boring playing the game. After every mission several minutes are wasted just waiting until you can do something.

I wonder how this is never mentioned by the, and I use the term loosely, professional game reviewers. Sitting at yourThe technical issues with this game are terrible, that said, as for the game itself, so much time is spent watching crappy animations that it almost becomes boring playing the game. After every mission several minutes are wasted just waiting until you can do something.

I wonder how this is never mentioned by the, and I use the term loosely, professional game reviewers. Sitting at your PC playing for 10 minutes and watching cut scenes for 3 minutes is not enjoyable.… Expand

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

ChiefdruidRVnge

Apr 7, 2016

0

X-Com 2 is exactly what I said it would be "just another money grab" on the Title not the quality of the game. That many people disliking the game so early speaks volumes about any game. It happened to Rome II total war and X-Rebirth! These sequels are for money grabs on the titles, squeezing every penny they can out of IGMO's for basically the same game with the furniture moved around. IX-Com 2 is exactly what I said it would be "just another money grab" on the Title not the quality of the game. That many people disliking the game so early speaks volumes about any game. It happened to Rome II total war and X-Rebirth! These sequels are for money grabs on the titles, squeezing every penny they can out of IGMO's for basically the same game with the furniture moved around. I saw it coming before it was even released. I saw it in the preview video's at YouTube. I can't believe so many didn't see it. You're just throwing your money away folks. When X-com enemy unknown came out that was an "improvement" on the old X-Com and I support it. But, everything after has just been MILKing the Donkey money and most of you have fallen for it. You're not getting much of anything new for the same full retail prices. Wake up IGMO's look what developers and publishers are doing to you. They aren't making you NEW games they are just white washing the old ones, putting on a new coat of PAINT (reskin) and moving the furniture around. Same chair just in a different spot.

I wouldn't give 2 cents for X-Com 2 and less than that now after reading the reviews.… Expand

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.

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 masterYes, 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

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 movePros: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

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 youIt 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

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

aertonda

Mar 27, 2016

1

This game makes no sense at all.
The people that designed it are just full of themselves.
You can't sneak, lure them in because you have 3 turns left before the end of the game. This stupid mind control against which there is nothing you can do. I am just so appalled at the degrading level of intellect of the US, I think "zombie apocalypse" is already here. Because more than 40% atThis game makes no sense at all.
The people that designed it are just full of themselves.
You can't sneak, lure them in because you have 3 turns left before the end of the game.
This stupid mind control against which there is nothing you can do.
I am just so appalled at the degrading level of intellect of the US, I think "zombie apocalypse" is already here. Because more than 40% at least can no longer think and expect to be guided like blindfolded helpless babies. This title shows the rising stupidity of our civilization. There are no more smart games anymore, smart talk shows, real discussions. Everything is rushed into and everything is for 1 type of personality: fat, dumb, self-assured full-of-himself retard.
I honestly don't care about these people anymore.... So annoyed, it's impossible...… Expand

geschaftsreise

Mar 26, 2016

7

I think that the price of failure and success is too high and this diminishes the experience.
Darkest Dungeon has a better balance of this sort of thing. It should be ok to fail and learn a lesson.
Dark souls and Darkest Dungeon don't go easy on us, but they provide room for risk taking and mistakes. One big foul-up in XCOM means restarting or restarting and a discontinuity ofI think that the price of failure and success is too high and this diminishes the experience.
Darkest Dungeon has a better balance of this sort of thing. It should be ok to fail and learn a lesson.
Dark souls and Darkest Dungeon don't go easy on us, but they provide room for risk taking and mistakes.
One big foul-up in XCOM means restarting or restarting and a discontinuity of experience.

Game players like me don't want things to be easy but we want to be immersed, while we're having our head bashed in.… Expand

Tubey

Mar 26, 2016

6

Does loads right, but forgets to be as fun as the original, as extreme difficulty punishes the simplest mistake or a missed RNG roll. Yes, it's a strategy game, but it feels unduly harsh too often - like a game of chess, but where every so often an attempt to take an opponents piece won't work, because reasons.

On top of this, throw in a lacklustre story that promised to be so much moreDoes loads right, but forgets to be as fun as the original, as extreme difficulty punishes the simplest mistake or a missed RNG roll. Yes, it's a strategy game, but it feels unduly harsh too often - like a game of chess, but where every so often an attempt to take an opponents piece won't work, because reasons.

On top of this, throw in a lacklustre story that promised to be so much more than it ultimately was, and you have a single-player experience that is a slog to play through and unrewarding to do so.

Not a terrible game by any means, but a missed chance to create a strategy classic. If there is to be an XCOM 3, I hope the devs take the best from both the original and sequel (but moreso from the original) and create something truly great - because this isn't.… Expand

SH1

Mar 26, 2016

2

I wish I could give this a higher rating than 2, but XCOM 2's core mechanic is fundamentally broken and that means that it fails as a computer game.

A symptom of this is "scum saving", where you have to repeatedly save and load the game to get anywhere. This makes game-play a chore rather than a fun activity. You are forced to "game the system" rather than play the game. TheI wish I could give this a higher rating than 2, but XCOM 2's core mechanic is fundamentally broken and that means that it fails as a computer game.

A symptom of this is "scum saving", where you have to repeatedly save and load the game to get anywhere. This makes game-play a chore rather than a fun activity. You are forced to "game the system" rather than play the game.

The statistics also feels broken, even after the first patch. This could be due to the counter intuitive nature of the math involved, but it detracts from the game-play experience.

I gave it two points for having a good graphical presentation.

I can't say that I will go back to XCOM in the future. They will have to completely rethink the probability model, and that could remove the basic character of the franchise.… Expand

ZaPaAl

Mar 24, 2016

6

It's ok, but it's so terribly casualized, that it's rather difficult to have fun with. It's terrible performance is very remarkable, but game doesn't look that extraordinary great to justify.

A lot of the tactical setup is ruined by unforgiving timers on everything. Story exists, with some ok scenes, but it only prepares the stage for a cliffhanger ending. Overall progress andIt's ok, but it's so terribly casualized, that it's rather difficult to have fun with. It's terrible performance is very remarkable, but game doesn't look that extraordinary great to justify.

A lot of the tactical setup is ruined by unforgiving timers on everything.

Story exists, with some ok scenes, but it only prepares the stage for a cliffhanger ending.

Overall progress and research is boring. Yes, you want that new weapon or armor to get a upper hand, but each time the progress feels very underwhelming. Not that much game altering elements to research anyway.

Repetitive missions and scenery.

I had some fun at start, but now I am glad it's over. Last missions were only an overlong rehash of already experienced enemies and gameplay. Felt like one of the cheap remakes, with even cheaper gameplay, but superior graphics.… Expand

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

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

Mr_Zeedy

Mar 16, 2016

3

I joined just to pan this game because its just ridiculously annoying. I'm a big Xcom fan and so wanted this to be good but its just a big old cheater.
I thought one of the big ideas of turn based games is that the enemy doesn't move on your turn, not here.
Sectopods appear almost straight away and start messing with your troops minds' and there is zero defence. Enemies make shots youI joined just to pan this game because its just ridiculously annoying. I'm a big Xcom fan and so wanted this to be good but its just a big old cheater.
I thought one of the big ideas of turn based games is that the enemy doesn't move on your turn, not here.
Sectopods appear almost straight away and start messing with your troops minds' and there is zero defence.
Enemies make shots you can only dream of whilst your troops miss the massive slob alien that's just magically appeared in front of you when you have no movement points left.
Tactics are usually irrelevant as your under such a timer pressure you're guaranteed to run straight into a large groups of enemies who will appear out of the ether and you will have no movement left to take cover or run.
Just now three of my four man squad were panicked when the other got killed for two turns allowing the ai free reign to just march about the map and wipe them all out.
The enemy moves on your turn, huh? yes that's right a turn based game that ignores who's turn it is.
add into the mix some rather odd LoS shots, getting shot through scenery, the car your hiding behind exploding without warning and sundry other bugs and its just a frustrating mess.
I really cant see how people can rate this so highly so felt I just had to say something before other fall foul of the gameplay travesty.
It's just no FUN at all.… Expand

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

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.

Pendra

Mar 15, 2016

5

I'm a die hard fan of XCOM OG and XCOM EU/EW as well.

This installment is pretty good, but XCOM EU/EW beats it at every turn. The story is so-so. The enemies and tech are uninspiring. The maps are nice, but pointless. You go from point A to B in a straight line, preferably on the roof for a better line of fire. The animations in-game are weak. The characters are not really likable. TheI'm a die hard fan of XCOM OG and XCOM EU/EW as well.

This installment is pretty good, but XCOM EU/EW beats it at every turn.
The story is so-so. The enemies and tech are uninspiring. The maps are nice, but pointless. You go from point A to B in a straight line, preferably on the roof for a better line of fire. The animations in-game are weak. The characters are not really likable. The final mission is a plain carnage.

Some good mechanics were removed but some good mechanics were added, so in general, no improvement, over XCOM EW.

The graphics are sharper, and there is proper mod support. These are good. If you like turn based games, you will like this as well.… Expand

golgor

Mar 14, 2016

5

The game deserves a 10/10 for single player game (I love it)...and a 0/10 for multiplayer; unplayable imo!!! A shame for a so well polished strategy game!

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 aXCom 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

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.

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, andI 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

SHy

Mar 12, 2016

3

X com была одной из первых игры на ПК которую я поиграл это было... черти когда, так что когда вышел прошлый, он пошел на ура он был в новинку... Вторая часть наскучила уже на втором часу игры. Сугубо мое мнение, он игра сырая и сделана "на отвали".
минусы
- цена - постоянные паузы(пустая трата времени) - не оптимизирована(просадки до 2 fps) - графика на максимум а картинка на уровнеX com была одной из первых игры на ПК которую я поиграл это было... черти когда, так что когда вышел прошлый, он пошел на ура он был в новинку... Вторая часть наскучила уже на втором часу игры. Сугубо мое мнение, он игра сырая и сделана "на отвали".
минусы
- цена
- постоянные паузы(пустая трата времени)
- не оптимизирована(просадки до 2 fps)
- графика на максимум а картинка на уровне 2000 года
- почти все миссии с таймером(на время)
- элемент рпг ... ну это трудно назвать элементом рпг
- свобода действий отсутствует
- таймер даже в не миссии в целом тебя постоянно куда-то гонят
можно долго продолжать ... лень
итог если в первый не играли то будет хорошее впечатление если играли то вторую часть брать не стоит… Expand

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 alwaysI 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

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

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

PsychoJonny

Mar 8, 2016

2

I love X COM overall, since the original ones, I even somewhat excused Bureau Declassified, but this game is a nightmare of performance issues, bugs, and outright laziness. I would love this game if I could actually play it. Even on my custom gaming PC that can smoothly run the beast that is Witcher 3 on ultra settings on Xcom I lose framerate, crash out of cutscenes, and lost a 23 hourI love X COM overall, since the original ones, I even somewhat excused Bureau Declassified, but this game is a nightmare of performance issues, bugs, and outright laziness. I would love this game if I could actually play it. Even on my custom gaming PC that can smoothly run the beast that is Witcher 3 on ultra settings on Xcom I lose framerate, crash out of cutscenes, and lost a 23 hour save file to a crashing issue on the mission launch screen. I would strongly advise anyone on the fence not buy this until there have been patches to address the many issues.… Expand

altaydron

Mar 8, 2016

6

Все ненавидят миссии на время, но нет! Они напихали их с головой, что заставляет задуматься ох адекватности разработчиков

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

MCopperhead

Mar 7, 2016

3

Game is good, except of timers in almost every mission. TBS with timers, really, Firaxis? No way. The game is nearly unplayable because of this. No fun at all.

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

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, everyMeet 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

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

Violett

Mar 6, 2016

6

More 6 marks!
On a serious note, XCOM 2 is another remake of classical series. Yes, I see it not as a sequel to 2013 game, but as a remake to classical series. Some additions is fun to try, this ADVENT idea, tough enemies, new plot, but overall I think this game is a step in a wrong direction. New stealth system is terrible, looks like the game is spinning around your first shot, afterMore 6 marks!
On a serious note, XCOM 2 is another remake of classical series. Yes, I see it not as a sequel to 2013 game, but as a remake to classical series. Some additions is fun to try, this ADVENT idea, tough enemies, new plot, but overall I think this game is a step in a wrong direction. New stealth system is terrible, looks like the game is spinning around your first shot, after which your entire group being revealed. Next one, why you cant train your CURRENT soldiers in a psi lab? Previous systems were much better. The whole idea - you alone fighting entire world is ... I don't know - flawed? I liked when you have the power of whole Earth supporting you versus alien forces. Well, maybe mods in the future will make the game better, as it was with 2013 game, but no thanks, I'm not gonna buy it. Oh, somehow I want to play 1994 game again.… Expand

meathelmet2001

Mar 5, 2016

6

Loved every XCOM up to now. This one is unforgiving to the point of being no fun.

Like others have said, there is too many timed missions which throws a lot of strategy out the window. I can't tell you how many missions I played where everything went to sh*t in one round, all because your team has to race across the map. Just seems like the creators took the lazy way out here. SucksLoved every XCOM up to now. This one is unforgiving to the point of being no fun.

Like others have said, there is too many timed missions which throws a lot of strategy out the window. I can't tell you how many missions I played where everything went to sh*t in one round, all because your team has to race across the map. Just seems like the creators took the lazy way out here. Sucks that they ruined my favorite part of the game...the tactics.

Not terrible, but could have been better.… Expand

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.

darkdrone

Mar 4, 2016

2

one of the worst performing games i have ever owned my PC exceeds the requirements however i can't run this above medium to low settings,constant crashes, animations not playing properly,texture problems audio stuttering all kills what could have been a great game

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

Cidcaldensfey

Mar 2, 2016

4

XCOM 2 is a decent game on its own and functions much like the previous game. However, it feels like the game itself, for me, is far more frustrating than it is fun. I like the setting and the customization, but it feels like most of it doesn't work well together, in particular customization and the nature of the game. Do you like to spend 20-30 minutes customizing a character only toXCOM 2 is a decent game on its own and functions much like the previous game. However, it feels like the game itself, for me, is far more frustrating than it is fun. I like the setting and the customization, but it feels like most of it doesn't work well together, in particular customization and the nature of the game. Do you like to spend 20-30 minutes customizing a character only to have them get lost due to some bogus rolls?

Theres also some other nasty things. One of the things that really bothered me was how the 'Concealed' mechanic is actually not really a stealth mechanic. After a certain amount of turns, the AI patrols will walk towards your stealthed characters, basically creating an artificial confrontation when in fact the game itself is programmed to do that.

I just don't really understand it. It's a neat game but at the same its just flawed. I would wait to buy it when its like, under $20. But other wise just avoid it.… Expand

PaKr

Mar 2, 2016

5

In general -- disappointment. I hoped till the last moment that if it's made for PC they will remake it. I was wrong:
--- Same AI limitation like it's possible to fight with one "pack" while another is just behind the corner, but the "trigger" is not fired so they don't react.
--- Flat equipment approach. --- Most combats have turns limitation. It's like "we don't want to remake ourIn general -- disappointment. I hoped till the last moment that if it's made for PC they will remake it. I was wrong:
--- Same AI limitation like it's possible to fight with one "pack" while another is just behind the corner, but the "trigger" is not fired so they don't react.
--- Flat equipment approach.
--- Most combats have turns limitation. It's like "we don't want to remake our stupid tactical AI so we will add complicity with reinforcements from the rare and turns limitation"
-+ Global turns limitation AKA Avatar project.
--- Same "console" adopted UI. For God sake. I play with mouse. Why I can't chose the solder with mouse click on it?… Expand

Sugminfeta

Mar 2, 2016

3

Xcom 2 is bad all the way!

Rant start: Its stressful, buggy, glitched & bad cheating ai on harder legend mode. Do NOT buy this if you hate things above. And why the time limits on almost every missions?? Idiotic is what it is. Also let me explain what I mean with ai cheating on Legend mode. Why dont just put in more & harder enemys. No they instead put ai that hitsXcom 2 is bad all the way!

Rant start:

Its stressful, buggy, glitched & bad cheating ai on harder legend mode.

Do NOT buy this if you hate things above.

And why the time limits on almost every missions??
Idiotic is what it is.

Also let me explain what I mean with ai cheating on Legend mode.
Why dont just put in more & harder enemys.

No they instead put ai that hits through full cover half the map away.

Ai that stays right out of your line of sight if your hole squad is on overwatch.
Sneaks in perfect & stops before your guys get off a shot, even if they dont see my guys, bs that crap!

Just make the ai with more life & more of them instead of stupid cheating ****

Also I have completed the game on classic & that was way to easy but the ai didnt cheat at least!
But the ai is really stupid, so thats why Fireaxis have too cheat on legend mode because they cant make the ai good enough!

Fireaxis, kick your ai & graphics dudes, they all did a bad job on this game!

Burp, (wait will get another beer)

Where was I?? Ehh, fu it..

Rant over:

End… Expand

Maquabra

Mar 1, 2016

7

First of all, my "7" is a really high score in my eyes. Now, let's move to why the game deserves this high score.

First of all, it's firmly based in the former XCom. Good elements were retained, some improvements were added, some problems remained. All in all, the devs didn't try to reinvent the wheel and it's commendable. Focus in this game is shifted to tactics. You're nowFirst of all, my "7" is a really high score in my eyes. Now, let's move to why the game deserves this high score.

First of all, it's firmly based in the former XCom. Good elements were retained, some improvements were added, some problems remained. All in all, the devs didn't try to reinvent the wheel and it's commendable.

Focus in this game is shifted to tactics. You're now resistance force and you cannot simply camp for an hour and wait for your enemy to show up. There's still the element of "enemy spotted - procedural action ensues", but all enemies on a map are now alive, can stumble upon you and what's most important, you can really build ambushes and use advanced tactics. Skills of your teammates are much more important.

The biggest concern that is often raised here is about difficult, seemingly random combat. It's not so. It's only an illusion created by the fact that somewhat similar games, especially from the RPG genre, offer "fun" battles, that aren't really demanding. In this case, enemy side is almost always dominant and you need to use real tactics to deal with them. Running in close and firing from point blank is not a "tactic".

Combat is difficult but only because you need to think about what you are doing and like in a chess game, anticipate your opponents. You're outgunned, out-teched and often outnumbered, as every guerrilla force usually is. Combination of different means, preferably all means in your disposal, is the key to success.

The game doesn't offer full freedom of camera, which can be a little problematic sometimes, but it offers visibility indicators that are almost perfect. Sometimes enemies will see you through glass or partly destroyed objects (environment is highly destructible).

Before we can sum up combat, something needs to be said about timers. Especially on higher difficulties and when a player is to behind in technology in comparison to enemy forces, it will be inevitable to fail some missions. Finding the best cover and higher ground takes precious time. When there is an extraction deadline, you may find yourself with all enemies dead, the objective complete, the mission being successful, but nobody from your team coming back. Not to spoil too much, in later game, there will be missions when aliens target some installations and you are tasked with its defense. Such missions also tend to be impossible because the installation is destroyed before you can even reach it.

All in all, don't be afraid to play on the lowest difficulty even if you're a veteran XCom/UFO player. It will also make more advanced enemies pop up a little later, which will allow you to be better prepared. A little hint: you need firepower most of all.

When it comes to the strategic layer, I'm rather disappointed and that's why the game doesn't get at least one or two points more. Our options are very limited, players may discover pretty quickly the optimal way to go about several key issues (and restart their game after an hour or two like I did; Hint: think about proper placement of workshop). Also, we often just have to go with what the game throws at us.

A small error on the strategic layer, a small error in squad selection, and tiny lapse in judgement during tactical mission and your whole team is wiped out. It's not a reason to quit, but a huge setback for sure.

When it comes to technical side of the product, there are problems. The game requires really decent hardware to run reasonably smoothly and loading times are sometimes dreadful. There are also errors in animation that cause them go 1fps for a minute or two before everything resets (mostly during melee kills when environment is also destroyed). This also costs the game 1 point in my review.

To sum it up, the game is great but you need to learn it. For people who play games like Assassin's Creed where mashing buttons is all you need to succeed, this can be an insurmountable task. Read all descriptions, make sure that tutorials are enabled, and don't be afraid to use explosives.

And a very important hint for all players:
After an hour or two of your game, think about restarting it. You'll be safe from all errors caused by the fact that you didn't know how things worked, and at this time you also know about quite a few pesky things that keep annoying you and slowing down the game. There are mods that effectively remove them and you should be using them.… Expand

james2003

Feb 27, 2016

7

A great game but riddled with problems both technical and gameplay wise. At times I like it and sometimes I wish it were more like the original 1995 version. The big issues for me are the overuse of cut scenes and waiting times, the constant glitches and tech problems, and the unbelievable difficultly of the levels.

Then there are the nagging moments that makes me wonder if X-Com isA great game but riddled with problems both technical and gameplay wise. At times I like it and sometimes I wish it were more like the original 1995 version. The big issues for me are the overuse of cut scenes and waiting times, the constant glitches and tech problems, and the unbelievable difficultly of the levels.

Then there are the nagging moments that makes me wonder if X-Com is terrorist organisation? Alternating with the overwhelmed feeling of desperation, as the gameplay is absolutely punishing … sometimes it makes me think that an alien invasion isn't too bad…? I mean what have the Aliens ever done for us? World Peace, Cure the Common Cold, Clean streets … damn I am a terrorist!… Expand

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

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

daragard

Feb 27, 2016

2

Extremely disappointing sequel to a great reboot.

The original game did a lot of things right, but delved too much in oversimplification and catering to the console market. It was still a solid, balanced game, just not as good as the original. The sequel doesn't have a console version but is still commits all the sins of a rushed console port. In my opinion, a console versionExtremely disappointing sequel to a great reboot.

The original game did a lot of things right, but delved too much in oversimplification and catering to the console market. It was still a solid, balanced game, just not as good as the original.

The sequel doesn't have a console version but is still commits all the sins of a rushed console port. In my opinion, a console version probably exists, but has not been released or revealed yet because it is still looking for a publisher. You should expect poor optimization (if any), a weird mouse GUI, an abundance of bugs and glitches, and overall a disgraceful PC experience not unlike most AAA releases nowadays. For all the hate Arkham Knight got, it worked better for me at release than XCom 2 does, post-patch. There is also no reason at all for the poor framerate and extremely long loading times, as the graphics are definitively outdated and arguably worse than the prequel (probably in preparation for the inevitable iPad release), yet the performance is perhaps the worst I've seen in the last few years for a PC game.

So, how is the game regardless of those technical 'merits' conveniently not mentioned by any and all big-media paid-for 'reviews'? Well, unfortunately the oversimplification has been fully embraced and turned up to eleven. Now the game only accepts a single play style (what we could call 'the rushing YOLO') and will punish you severely for trying anything different. Almost every mission has a big on-screen turn timer or other kind of timed events forcing you to play in a certain way, and even the strategy world-map gameplay is a linear adventure thanks again to more timed events. The timers are deeply ingrained with the game design and balance, so unfortunately any mods trying to remove actually provide an even worse experience (and yes, I've tried them).

In addition, the poorly designed RNG-based mechanics, one of the worst sins from the original, comes back with a vengeance. The combat has been tweaked in order to give way more importance to the RNG at the expense of tactical options, making the difficulty of the game essentially a random venture. Sadly, every mission is now filled with one-hit kill luck switches, including such shenanigans as having your squad leader mind-controlled by an off-screen enemy you haven't seen yet and wiping all your other teammates in a single turn (this happened to me *in the first mission* of the game). Sure, some times the RNG works in your favor, but many other times you'll miss multiple 80%+ shots in a row and get all your entire squad killed from situations that should impose no risk to you. It doesn't help when the few mechanics provided to tip the balance in your favor are introduced late in the game while the kill switches come in full force since the first mission.

If you rush your way into tactic games, don't mind luck playing the biggest role in such games, and are in fact usually very lucky, you may still get some fun out of this game. But for the most part, you are better just playing the vastly superior prequel.… Expand

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.

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.

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

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 membersXcom 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

Yukar

Feb 26, 2016

6

Good game, but (very) disappointing.

Customisation is a huge step up in looks, weapons, tools, passive traits, and unique skills. Somewhat perfect. (Well, almost, when the gloomy character you made in the pool will show with an idiotic smile instead, you may feel a bit let down, their attitude is randomized, immersion lost). And, that's it. Everything else seems "more less" (DLCsGood game, but (very) disappointing.

Customisation is a huge step up in looks, weapons, tools, passive traits, and unique skills. Somewhat perfect. (Well, almost, when the gloomy character you made in the pool will show with an idiotic smile instead, you may feel a bit let down, their attitude is randomized, immersion lost). And, that's it.
Everything else seems "more less" (DLCs pattern).

The worldmap.
Oh man, I was so kicked by it on the teasers.. By the looks of it, It may be like Aftershock, maybe even more, like the one in Afterlight.. Well, it is not.
It is an empty land with pop-ups. Where you are urged to slow the "Avatar Project" by Captain Obvious every 2 minutes, actually by wasting this so precious time, moving and locking your camera and controls away for the time he repeats the same phrase over and over again. (In order to show you a spot where you can only interact with on the very last mission).
Of course this pattern so had to happen while in missions too.
Can feel like Internet without ad-blockers. Old days.

The resistance.
After contacting them, well, they will write you a check after the end of each month.
And they get passively slaughtered on retaliation missions ('cause aliens don't like them for writing you checks), as Bradford will unavoidably never fail to mention.
A resistance that doesn't actually resists. Strange concept. (To be fair, they may not carry wepons, but they will manage to take down some UFO's for you, to remind you the name of the original title).

The Base.
You build what you can, when you can. Thats's about it, with a bit of management. Feels better than the last one, can't compare to the originals (was more like mini-SimCity).
Discussions between staff can be muted, if not, they don't freeze your screen when talking (wich is something someone could have learnt from his comrades).

Research.
It is deeply simplified, for the second time (so long old-timers) : Research Tier 2 weapons & armor, research Tier 3 weapons & armor. Autopsies unlock new tools, and they made the option to instantly research those after some "breakthrough" on the next Tier.
So, do you want to research x for 3 days, y for 4, then next Tier for 10 ? Or next Tier for 10 and instant x & y ? Tough choice.
Let me break your expectations, there are bullets, laser, plasma. Yes, those are the same (more straightforward). And no, there's no MEC.

Overall progression.
Fine by your troops, slow and steady, each skill, every bit of scrap seem to matter. Very well done.
The way new ennemies are introduced every two missions however is not.
It soon feels like a freak show, and utterly destroys the low profile Aliens are supposed to have (Sure Bradford, they don't have to hide, but frightening the population doesn't seem great either).

More coherence would have been nice, like maybe only Advents troops in cities, other species represented in the "wild", or in Resistance lands, maybe common/rare types, etc.
Some are underused and replaced, other overused. "Codex" is a perfect example, so great ennemy, brillant design, until it becomes absolutely common in every mission, therefore losing all of its aura.

The combat.
The system still works, stealth mecanic is also a fine addition. But it lacks coherence.
Why the ennemy would blow up his precious installation without him knowing we're here ? Why is all squad revealed when only one member is detected ?
Just to justify the turn-limit and the one scout class, who will be better at never actually fighting. Not enough for me. It limits the way you play more than it opens it, not so good for tactics.

The turn-limit system and very small maps resume gameplay to :
1) Take a direct shot at 30%.
2) Make a flanking move (with a 70% to trigger new ennemies).
3) Blow up cover with explosives and shot after.
Answer is 3) until you have to make 2) due to the turn limit. I think the precedent system of ennemy triggering and their free move & turn should have been arranged to better fit this new layout.

In its current state, all of this will be darkened by the fact that you will be detected for no reason, sometimes even shot at the very same moment, melee & shot through walls, moving on another tile than the one you clicked, suffering from performance issues, etc.
If you haven't already bought the game, spare yourself the disappointment now and buy it when the actual release comes out, wich is programmed for the second half of 2016.

+ Another XCOM
+ We can play before release !
- Shouldn't have been released yet.
- Way too oftenly Bradforded… Expand

PutCashIn

Feb 25, 2016

5

I would not recommend this game, there are plenty of more unique turn based squad games that have exactly the same features - Fixed screen 'towns/hq/campsite/npc interaction' +research/roster control with a turn based squad combat game alongside.

Many competing games are cheaper and add something new, this is a rehash with some terrible controls and very average gameplay. WeirdI would not recommend this game, there are plenty of more unique turn based squad games that have exactly the same features - Fixed screen 'towns/hq/campsite/npc interaction' +research/roster control with a turn based squad combat game alongside.

Many competing games are cheaper and add something new, this is a rehash with some terrible controls and very average gameplay.

Weird tactical decisions - no tactical map, yet you fly an alien HQ spaceship that routinely scans entire sections of continents, one grenade per character until research unlock of a *wow* second slot, grenades and med packs take up the same slot, 69% accuracy on basic assault troops when you are 2 meters (!) away from an enemy.

Essentially, it seems most of the development was spent on cut scenes and very little on any idea of balanced gameplay features. It is almost as if it proved to difficult to balance anything so they development just cut most interesting ideas and lumped everything into one badly managed soldier profile.… Expand

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

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

GoneTomrrow

Feb 24, 2016

7

First of all, I'm one of those guys who cite the original 90's XCOM game, but I do it for good reason. In short, this latest XCOM installment is a very good game and will satisfy anyone who has at least played the previous XCOM:EU. The tactics, resource management, reverse engineering, are all there.

However, as stated, I must compare this game to the original released so many yearsFirst of all, I'm one of those guys who cite the original 90's XCOM game, but I do it for good reason. In short, this latest XCOM installment is a very good game and will satisfy anyone who has at least played the previous XCOM:EU. The tactics, resource management, reverse engineering, are all there.

However, as stated, I must compare this game to the original released so many years ago. One huge element that XCOM:EU lacked, and that XCOM 2 severely lacked is the dark and scary tone. There is no mystery; we have a sequel to the previous where the aliens have a foothold and now rule the earth, but why? What made the original game so great was the fear of an alien invasion, not some sci-fi series inspired plot where the aliens rule humans.

One minor element, the music, sums it all up. The music for XCOM 2 is very stock. You want better atmosphere? Turn it off. Please do yourself a favor and Youtube the original game's music - it's absolutely spellbinding even 20 years on. Take a lesson from Infrogrames Firaxis because you have underestimated the value of creepy music.

I also must briefly address the most common gripe in other reviews: the frequency of timed missions. It's a fun challenge to occasionally encounter, but I must say that the majority of missions have turn-based time limits. Thank Bog for mods.

Despite the above gripes, XCOM 2 is very engrossing. If you're a long time fan, don't hesitate. The spirit of the original is, albeit tenuously, there.… Expand

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: timedWow, 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

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

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