XCOM 2

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

ave

May 22, 2018

9

Among the several changes in the design, XCOM 2 introduced time constraint, and even if I initially found it punishing, it actually forced my to play "by the rules" of the game, and develop tactics to overcome this new challenge.

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

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

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

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

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

So, onwards to War of the Chosen !… Expand

Thunder5555

Feb 22, 2016

9

Best way I can think of is to compare this game to it's predecessor.
Xcom 2 seems to be improvement in every area from Xcom enemy within. Timed missions (which I normally hate) are well made and after doing few, I noticed they're quite fun to do.
At the start, the game really feels like that you're leading a desperate rebellion against the aliens, but later on the difficulty just goesBest way I can think of is to compare this game to it's predecessor.
Xcom 2 seems to be improvement in every area from Xcom enemy within. Timed missions (which I normally hate) are well made and after doing few, I noticed they're quite fun to do.
At the start, the game really feels like that you're leading a desperate rebellion against the aliens, but later on the difficulty just goes down and your soldiers become godlike compared to the aliens. Some items are currently VERY overpowered (mimic beacons for example) but that may be a bug.
Speaking of which, enemies and especially your soldiers have a weird habit shooting through walls and objects. The line of sight isn't working as it should just yet.
But in overall, this game is the game of this year... for now :) I would recommend getting it if you have any love for turnbased combat/strategy.… Expand

LuisHQ

Jan 26, 2019

9

XCOM 2 é um excelente game tático, que consegue pegar todos os elementos que funcionaram no game anterior e melhora-los, ao mesmo tempo que adiciona uma boa dose de novidade. Um game extremamente reconhecível, mas mesmo assim prazeroso de se jogar, que frustra na medida certa, ao mesmo tempo que recompensa o jogador a cada vitória. Se curtiu Enemy Unknown, sem duvida irá gostar de XCOM 2 eXCOM 2 é um excelente game tático, que consegue pegar todos os elementos que funcionaram no game anterior e melhora-los, ao mesmo tempo que adiciona uma boa dose de novidade. Um game extremamente reconhecível, mas mesmo assim prazeroso de se jogar, que frustra na medida certa, ao mesmo tempo que recompensa o jogador a cada vitória. Se curtiu Enemy Unknown, sem duvida irá gostar de XCOM 2 e que venha XCOM 3, já estamos aguardando!

Análise completa no Blog PortoHQ.… Expand

McFinnegan

Feb 11, 2016

9

A good strategy game has a wide variety of strategy, with counterplay for each strategy. Every enemy I've encountered in XCOM 2 is powerful in their own right, but has a number of ways to counter them. My combat hacker specialist has saved my other soldiers asses on more than one occasion, but her lack of a gremlin heal prevented her from saving an on-fire squadmate.

This game evokedA good strategy game has a wide variety of strategy, with counterplay for each strategy. Every enemy I've encountered in XCOM 2 is powerful in their own right, but has a number of ways to counter them. My combat hacker specialist has saved my other soldiers asses on more than one occasion, but her lack of a gremlin heal prevented her from saving an on-fire squadmate.

This game evoked all I loved from the original XCOM UFO defense, such as desperate terror when facing a new alien threat you had no way to prepare for, and the scramble to deal with this new threat. It forgoes the mechanized units entirely, which were just cannon fodder and I never grew attached to them like I did the soldiers. It ignores UFO interception, which while it wasn't an enjoyable part of the old game, I'd rather have seen it expanded upon than removed, but the resistance tone matches their decision. Despite my initial reservations about moving away from time units and deeper inventory management, in practice it removes a lot of tedium, without taking away much from the tactical end. I can remember maybe one instance where my soldier picked up a stun launcher from a dead alien, then using it to incapacitate the sectoid commander of that UFO, but I almost always had my soldiers equipped for what they needed beforehand. The simplified ammo system is an improvement, although I did love the ammoless laser rifles. Using plasma or heavy plasma, you rarely to never ran out of ammo in a mission, carrying a single spare ammo pack would be all you needed. New ammo system makes your decisions when modding your weapon more important in regards to ammo and reloads.

Time units vs. 2 actions, the time units were superior in terms of tactical options, 2 actions superior for it being quickly apparent what you can do, thus making faster decisions (you need some experience with time units to be able to utilize them fully).
4-6 soldiers vs. 14 (10+1HWP usually) + (12 for lightning, 24 for avenger), this is where UFO defense is superior, you can lose troops, a lot of them, and still win the mission. Losing a single soldier in XCOM 2 or EU/EW is a huge detriment to your capability, as each soldier is also so much more powerful than a single soldier in UFO defense (barring the OP psionics in UFO defense. 10 soldiers with good psionics, and you can't lose). Still, in practice, I don't have a problem with this change. It works, and focuses on different elements, giving you many more ways to keep those few soldiers alive. Though I'll still go back and play UFO defense.

Alien pods: this goes hand in hand with the above. It works with the lower troop count, but I'd prefer the old method, as it lent more to an air of mystery. The pods leave nothing to the imagination as to where the aliens could be, UFO defense, they could be hiding in that one square of the barn you don't have vision of, until they come out and shoot you.

Still, the new game does stand on it's own feet. The character customization really helps you invest in your soldiers, which is one of the huge draws to the game for me. The astounding heroics or miserable failures of my soldiers I still remember, and the character pool is nice to not lose the time you spend customizing the characters. The improvements on the strategic layer, where you scan, gives a whole new level of tough decision making in the game. Lot of people bemoan the timers, I have yet to fail to meet a timer, I usually have a few turns to spare (Commander difficulty), and have done so safely (mostly, aside from a few risky moves necessitated by lolligagging too much).

The technical difficulties are significant, though not game breaking for me. People having vision through walls is the worst on alien ships (an entire undamaged wall wall between me and the alien, could still exchange fire), but it is somewhat evident elsewhere. Small visual glitches exist, and some problems still exist from Firaxis's EW/EU. Aside from the shooting through walls in the alien ship, this hasn't impacted my gameplay, but it's something to be aware of. That's the primary reason I'm rating it a 9/10.

The reason I rate it so high? Because I can talk to other people playing the game, and they have entirely different strategies and soldier builds than I do, and they achieve results with their strategies too. There's a lot of tough calls to make, and many different ways to tackle the same problem. Timers add a bit of tension to what could otherwise be a leisurely stroll through the tech tree (UFO defense and EW/EU both suffered from this, more the latter than the former). It's a solid game mechanically speaking, one that I can sink many hours into and still find enjoyment in.… Expand

op8

Feb 7, 2016

9

Putting aside the complaints I've heard about performance, of which I don't have any since I turned down AA, switch off DoF, and had to turn on V Sync; the game is a masterpiece. If you loved the previous game and are not afraid of being removed from your comfort zone of how you used to play, then you will love every second of this glorious game. The saltiness over the occasional timedPutting aside the complaints I've heard about performance, of which I don't have any since I turned down AA, switch off DoF, and had to turn on V Sync; the game is a masterpiece. If you loved the previous game and are not afraid of being removed from your comfort zone of how you used to play, then you will love every second of this glorious game. The saltiness over the occasional timed missions is hilarious. Firaxis have built another challenge for us to get our heads around, accept it and stop acting like children. If you actually continue with the game and make some serious progression you would understand. The complaints of the Advent timer and demands to remove it are equally hilarious. This is a core concept of the lore for this game, get over it. Buy this game now. 8.5/10 as it is now, but with some patches to fix some hang ups and graphical glitches this will be an easy 9/10. BUY THIS GAME NOW & IGNORE THE IDIOTS!!… 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

HAMS

Feb 8, 2016

9

As a sequel to XCOM EU:EW just about everything has improved. The tactical layer retains its simplicity but with some added mechanics and features. The strategic layer has been deepened and feels like a real part of the game instead of an after thought or purely story component like it did in EU:EW. The classes are different from EU:EW. I wouldn't say better or worse, just differentAs a sequel to XCOM EU:EW just about everything has improved. The tactical layer retains its simplicity but with some added mechanics and features. The strategic layer has been deepened and feels like a real part of the game instead of an after thought or purely story component like it did in EU:EW. The classes are different from EU:EW. I wouldn't say better or worse, just different and there is a lot to play around with and class combos to have fun with.

Performance wise the game does not run well for me. But seeing that my hardware is well under minimum specs I can't really complain.… Expand

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

Stilljester

Feb 7, 2016

9

This game is a must play for anyone who enjoys strategy games. The 1994 XCOM in on my top five games of all time. XCOM: Enemy Unknown took that game, chopped off the fluff, distilled it down to its basic components, and mastered them in a brilliant tactical shooter. Now XCOM 2, takes XCOM: EU's winning formula and elevates it.

Enemy Unknown was a remake, and it felt like a remake.This game is a must play for anyone who enjoys strategy games. The 1994 XCOM in on my top five games of all time. XCOM: Enemy Unknown took that game, chopped off the fluff, distilled it down to its basic components, and mastered them in a brilliant tactical shooter. Now XCOM 2, takes XCOM: EU's winning formula and elevates it.

Enemy Unknown was a remake, and it felt like a remake. Hipper, slicker, more user-friendly. It channeled the base elements and focused them into a delightfully fun game. As a remake, however, it must suffer comparison to the original. In streamlining,EU lost much of the strategy layer. No more building a laser rifle factory to fund your operation. No more sending your interceptors out to scan for enemy bases.

XCOM 2 is not a remake; it is its own entity. It kept the amazing tactical game from EU, but it built a whole new, different, and engrossing strategy layer. The resultant game is unlike XCOM 1994, and feel like it's truly "come of age." In EU, the strategy game is pretty much just waiting for the aliens to show up. In XCOM 2, you are active. You need to fly across the globe trying to marshal several different resources. Manpower is extremely limited. Every strategy decision is nail-biter, because you need EVERYTHING and don't have enough of it. What's more, the ALIENS are active. They have priorities and agendas, all of which will seriously screw you if don't counter them.

The tactical game retains the brilliance of EU, and adds onto it. Each of the 4 base classes can follow two paths. Each feels like a class of its own. Do you want your Ranger to be sneaky and play with shotguns? Or in your face with a Katana? It feels like they took a page from "The Long War" mod for EU by making two variants of each class. The character customization is awesome, and makes the game feel incredibly immersive.

I've heard two main complaints:

A) it's too hard. To these people, I say: Shut up. That's why you can select your difficulty level.

B) It's got some technical problems. This one is more true. It feels like it could use some optimization, and might have difficulty on lower-end machines, even on minimal graphics settings. This is not a game breaker. Ironically, the place that my computer has the most trouble is on the Base screen. Tactical combat is no trouble at all. Long-ish load times, as well. I, however, have not experienced any bugs or glitches.

Get this game. You'll thank yourself!… Expand

darrenandrew16

Feb 14, 2016

9

Obviously the game is not for everyone. At times, it can be almost unfairly hard. I have rage quit on multiple occasions. However, there's something that keeps me coming back. It's fun.
If you've ever played Firaxis' other games, you'll feel right at home here.
I'm several hours in, and I can't get enough. It's that Firaxis drug we've all come to love.

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.

pablobosa

Feb 20, 2016

9

Leaving the bugs beside (which are being fixed right away) this game is keeping me on my toes. Playing in hard mode and no ironman mode for the first time and having a blast! Even when ive played enemy unknown iam still getting surprised with the twists and turns of the game. Storywise i dont care the gameplay is solid as my d*ck, which in turn is like this because the game is that good.

DexEngineer

Aug 14, 2020

9

Love playing this game. One of my favorite games. Great graphics. Intriguing story. Very good continuation of Enemy Unknown.

KingMob4313

Mar 2, 2017

9

A rare sequel to a near stellar game.

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

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

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

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

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

Highest possible recommendation.… Expand

ehmkec

Feb 13, 2016

9

I love the Xcom games. I like that I can play at my own pace and that's good considering the great fast action game out there. There needs to be 2 rating categories for all games though - Game and Technical. Too many great games get poor technical reviews and some people will never know the game is great.

TheEarthDragon

Feb 13, 2016

9

The early knee jerk from the user reviewers was wrong as usual. While the late "professional" entries adjust their scores down to reflect what the community claim in order to appeal to the masses.

Every couple years we get a game that requires a "juice" from your machine to run properly and this is one of them. If you have a machine that is a little aged, then waiting a month or soThe early knee jerk from the user reviewers was wrong as usual. While the late "professional" entries adjust their scores down to reflect what the community claim in order to appeal to the masses.

Every couple years we get a game that requires a "juice" from your machine to run properly and this is one of them. If you have a machine that is a little aged, then waiting a month or so after release is in order (which is nothing new). I'm playing the game a week after release and it has minimal problems with the only real issue being it takes 10-15 seconds for me to be able to start my turn after the aliens go.

This really is one of the best strategy games of the modern age of gaming. Complaints like "why am I on a turn limit" are completely explained by the fact that you are a rebel force with a limited amount of time until the skies are overrun by Advent forces and NOBODY can get out of there. You are the invaders this time. Most of the planet wants you dead. Why is it you are swallowing that the avenger can move from Alaska to Indonesia in a couple hours but you don't think Advent response times should be fast at all? It's a petty argument for folks who want everything, including completing missions in a game, easy as pie for them.

The early "professional" reviews had it right. This game is a rare A quality game in a time where most games are uninspiring and give everything to you on a silver platter. I'm glad to see the community getting more and more sensible and this game is slowly but surely seeing it's score rise.… Expand

Tryium

Feb 7, 2016

9

/! People need to stop whining about new features such as the "timer" to finish missions. AND PUT A F*CK*NG 0 BECAUSE OF IT /!

WHY ? Because it's simply a huge improvement on tactical options. Even though you can't finish a mission with only 4 or 5 turns left ahead, it made EVERY decisions you made more important as ever. Each turn as to be think, like a CHESS GAME. Yes, like a/! People need to stop whining about new features such as the "timer" to finish missions. AND PUT A F*CK*NG 0 BECAUSE OF IT /!

WHY ?

Because it's simply a huge improvement on tactical options. Even though you can't finish a mission with only 4 or 5 turns left ahead, it made EVERY decisions you made more important as ever. Each turn as to be think, like a CHESS GAME.

Yes, like a chess game, because it's basically what XCOM2 is about : Measuring each turn, anticipating each situation. This is what i love in XCOM2, even though i'm more like a **** casual player who like perfection (definitly not here for the Iron Man Mode or whatever) and i'll reaload each turn where i've made a huge mistakes to understand what went wrong.

BUT NOT EVERY MISSIONS ARE TIMED.

Only most of the side missions, you have plenty of time to do your **** in most of campaign missions, and that's still pleasant.

[END OF TIMED TURN MISSIONS REVIEW]

For the whole game, well, it feels great to be back in the XCOM saga. The scenario is wayyyy better than the first one (which was more like a succession of non related missions). The new HQ system is just great and feel more realistic. The graphics are pretty good BUT it's not optimized yet, AT ALL. So handle to your patience. Even though it should have been done since the begining. It's still very pleasant to play, the game mechanics feels the same, with more props destructions. The new skill tree is just well balanced and so did the new customization system (even though it could have been great to have more masculin faces).
The map management is more accessible and there's no more panic system (due to scenario reasons) which is a RELIEF (and i aint seen people talking about that). And you have now good reasons to let's the days flow.

So far i've played 10H, and would played it for days...

I'll give a 9 to re up the score a bit, but so far it would be a 7.5/10 because of the bad optimization.… 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.

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

Gareque

Feb 5, 2016

9

Of the negative reviews I read, they seemed to be primarily "The game is too hard..." or "It runs like crap..."

I am not saying the game runs without a hitch (hence the 9, rather than 10) but I get a strong feeling that the people saying this is making the game unplayable are playing it on **** rigs... I turned it down to high because I got a few drops in FPS when new enemies spawnedOf the negative reviews I read, they seemed to be primarily "The game is too hard..." or "It runs like crap..."

I am not saying the game runs without a hitch (hence the 9, rather than 10) but I get a strong feeling that the people saying this is making the game unplayable are playing it on **** rigs... I turned it down to high because I got a few drops in FPS when new enemies spawned and some in the loading screens. Being turn based, NONE of this makes it unplayable... The game runs absolutely fine for me now, only very minor drops.

As for difficulty... It's XCOM ffs. Don't jump in to a game that's designed to be difficult and then complain it's too hard and thus mark it down... A 1-3 is for genuinely 'bad' games, not because the reviewer sucks at it...

I've been playing for 4 hours and have not yet lost a soldier (granted I currently sit with 4-5 out for the next 2 weeks, but that's expected) so no, the sectoids are NOT that hard to beat, even with the backup...

Anyways, rant over stupid reviews over...

Graphics - Not great, but they don't need to be. The art style is nice and fitting with the previous game, so in short it isn't ground breaking, but looks nice.

Gameplay - Same as XCOM, little more difficult but not much so far. (Not X-Com - By that, I mean it doesn't have the "OMG I am going to smash my PC" of the originals, when a sectoid blows your entire team up as soon as you step off the lander).

Story - Couldn't say yet, not far enough in but I'm enjoying it so far.

Launch - Shaky, but not game breaking.

As a staunch fan of XCOM and its predecessors, I can not recommend this enough IF you like the style of games.… Expand

crowbarPhysicis

Feb 9, 2016

9

X-COM 2 takes a fresh approach to the formula used in X-COMs Enemy Unknown and Enemy Within. It changes enough of the features in the game to make it something new, but not enough to be completely foreign. The gameplay is well designed, the turn timers are well tuned and forces you to play a faster-paced game, and the lose condition of the game is just enough to keep players scrambling toX-COM 2 takes a fresh approach to the formula used in X-COMs Enemy Unknown and Enemy Within. It changes enough of the features in the game to make it something new, but not enough to be completely foreign. The gameplay is well designed, the turn timers are well tuned and forces you to play a faster-paced game, and the lose condition of the game is just enough to keep players scrambling to hinder it. The game suffers from glitches and the occasional crash (in my 35 hour campaign, the game crashed twice and there was a single game-breaking glitch, which forced me to reload a previous save several missions back). While some of the glitches can be annoying, some of them are downright hilarious. Sure, it ruins the immersion, but this is X-COM, its story isn't really something to be immersed with; it never presented itself as such.… Expand

heizendrat

Feb 19, 2016

9

X - com erased all the flaws of the first episode and made the experience even better , fabulous graphics, no concessions were made to make the experience even more intense.

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

axxiusdecius

Feb 8, 2016

9

finally a game not just as good as the first, but better, because it is much more complex, with many new layers added. What I mean: now there is a good dose of stealth, but not so much as to get annoyng; there is looting and plenty of different gun upgrades; the environment is destructible (need a door? make yourself a hole in the wall!); movement on the strategic map, Risk style; eventsfinally a game not just as good as the first, but better, because it is much more complex, with many new layers added. What I mean: now there is a good dose of stealth, but not so much as to get annoyng; there is looting and plenty of different gun upgrades; the environment is destructible (need a door? make yourself a hole in the wall!); movement on the strategic map, Risk style; events that influence the game for a while;
Also, great graphics, new soldier classes, a better/darker atmosphere, more cyberpunk, the new feeling of fighting not a war, but a resistance guerilla against a pseudo-Communist dictatorship. And no more annoying dr. Vahlen voice (damn, I hated her!!!)
On the minus side, a little less enemy variety (but some of them more remarkable); smaller battle maps; the scientist/engineers are now recruited through a quite unclear process. And what I really dislike, you are rushed in many battles by a turn countdown which takes away some of the planning.
Overall, a 9,5 of 10 for me!
And thank the Firaxis people for doing a good job this time, unlike the lame Beyond Earth and the dumbed-down Civ 5.....… Expand

vunacar

Feb 6, 2016

9

People scoring this 0 need a reality check. XCOM 2 is an amazing game and upgrades the gameplay in almost every regard compared to the previous installments. New enemies are great, the graphics have improved, and almost every criticized area of XCOM 1 has been either removed or reworked.

Some performance issues are there with AA enabled and some advanced options, but these can be turnedPeople scoring this 0 need a reality check. XCOM 2 is an amazing game and upgrades the gameplay in almost every regard compared to the previous installments. New enemies are great, the graphics have improved, and almost every criticized area of XCOM 1 has been either removed or reworked.

Some performance issues are there with AA enabled and some advanced options, but these can be turned off, and the game has visual glitches from time to time, which can also be bypassed by not using the action camera, which can be turned off in the gameplay settings.

From the gameplay perspective, the game could really have used less timed missions, which often isn't even that big of a deal, but due to the nature of randomly generated levels, the game can make the time limit strangely low for the task at hand, resulting in a frustrating mission. This is the only reason for me giving the game a 9, and I am pretty confident this will be either tweaked in patches, or a mod will come out to fix it.

Overall, a great game, and a worthy sequel, and an early candidate for the game of the year.… Expand

dunnyone

Feb 11, 2016

9

Unbelievable game. Not since Dark Souls have I been so captivated by a game world. The animations, audio, graphics and game play are spot-on as everything works in beautiful cohesion. It's a rock-hard game but once you're used to it, it flows like warm butter on steak. Your team of alien hunters becomes unstoppable but after every second mission or so, a new even deadlier alien isUnbelievable game. Not since Dark Souls have I been so captivated by a game world. The animations, audio, graphics and game play are spot-on as everything works in beautiful cohesion. It's a rock-hard game but once you're used to it, it flows like warm butter on steak. Your team of alien hunters becomes unstoppable but after every second mission or so, a new even deadlier alien is introduced.

This is utter quality but you will need a serious rig to run it. Ignore the haters, they're most likely trying to run this on a Commodore 64, or they have failed a few missions and can't cope with the extreme difficulty. It's worth every cent!… Expand

masterhoodwinke

Feb 8, 2016

9

Incredible game, if you enjoyed the previous Xcom you will love this one. There are a few minor bugs, they will be resolved soon. I will be playing and enjoying this game for years. Graphics are fantastic, attention to detail is exceptional. Read the PC Gamer review.

It saddens me to see so much negative hate for a beautiful and clearly heartfelt development effort by 2k. Its notIncredible game, if you enjoyed the previous Xcom you will love this one. There are a few minor bugs, they will be resolved soon. I will be playing and enjoying this game for years. Graphics are fantastic, attention to detail is exceptional. Read the PC Gamer review.

It saddens me to see so much negative hate for a beautiful and clearly heartfelt development effort by 2k. Its not perfect, but what have you done that was?

For those reviewers giving 5 or less... a few things I'm noticing. Either you don't know how to play this game effectively, or your PC hardware isn't strong enough to handle it. Experiencing very low frame rates? Your graphics card is most likely out of date. Experiencing tough AI? Go back to the drawing board and revise your strategy bro! But please, do not throw this game under the bus. It deserves better.… Expand

Perxoda

Feb 6, 2016

9

A solid third person strategy game. Gameplay wise a much more polished version of Xcom Enemy Unknown & Enemy Within. It forces me to think about every action and decision I make on every layer. it gives me the run for my money I expect from every game. The challenge is high and sometimes gameplay is punishing, but it's clear that you are expected to overcome these throwbacks and growA solid third person strategy game. Gameplay wise a much more polished version of Xcom Enemy Unknown & Enemy Within. It forces me to think about every action and decision I make on every layer. it gives me the run for my money I expect from every game. The challenge is high and sometimes gameplay is punishing, but it's clear that you are expected to overcome these throwbacks and grow because of them.
The new changes give a new feeling of fairness in the difficulty. Graphics wise it runs smoothly, at least on my pc. Every now and then I have to wait 30 seconds on a loading screen or the camera doesn't properly focus during an action "cut scene" But that's far from game breaking.. Be warned though: This game is for people who enjoy a tactical and strategical challenge. The difficulty curb scales fairly hard and you have to be on the top of your game on every layer in this game to keep your forces on-par with the aliens. If you want a nice game to come home to and just play without thinking, I'd recommend you move along.… Expand

joecool99

Feb 9, 2016

9

Surprised at the negative user reviews. XCOM 2 has performance bugs indeed, but for the gameplay alone it's AWSOME! Much better then XCOM. Research and stuff you recover from the field is useful and makes a big difference. The timed mission counter does not bother be - at least so far.
I play on normal difficulty and so far did not loose single soldier (expect the forced intro - everyoneSurprised at the negative user reviews. XCOM 2 has performance bugs indeed, but for the gameplay alone it's AWSOME! Much better then XCOM. Research and stuff you recover from the field is useful and makes a big difference. The timed mission counter does not bother be - at least so far.
I play on normal difficulty and so far did not loose single soldier (expect the forced intro - everyone does). It makes it OK to loose occasional soldier, compared to XCOM where i was reloading constantly if someone died.
Apart from graphic glitches, its a MUST have.… Expand

Sanastusa

Feb 11, 2016

9

"Aye, fight and you may die. Run and you'll live -- at least a while. And dying in your beds many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that for one chance, just one chance to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they'll never take our freedom!!!"
Words to live by while playing this masterpiece. Xcom 2 by far lives up"Aye, fight and you may die. Run and you'll live -- at least a while. And dying in your beds many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that for one chance, just one chance to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they'll never take our freedom!!!"
Words to live by while playing this masterpiece. Xcom 2 by far lives up to the expectations and hype built up to its release. Challenging, punishing yet still remaining fun during every playthrough.
The only thing stopping this from getting a perfect score is the handful of bugs/glitches I ran into while fighting to take back Earth. Non of them game breaking, just annoying.
Story is great. Gameplay is amazing. The sounds of aliens dying never gets old and the controls are simple.… Expand

raorian

Feb 5, 2016

9

This is more of a summary of other reviews because people keep rating 0/10:
+This is a great game in the tactical sense and why professional reviews love it.
-Graphic design is bad according to most opinions. and isn't as good as in trailers. i think most people don't like the simplistic futuristic stuff. me too. -a lot of optimization issues and some people recommend waiting forThis is more of a summary of other reviews because people keep rating 0/10:
+This is a great game in the tactical sense and why professional reviews love it.
-Graphic design is bad according to most opinions. and isn't as good as in trailers. i think most people don't like the simplistic futuristic stuff. me too.
-a lot of optimization issues and some people recommend waiting for patches before playing.
I wait for patches anyway because crashing the game on ironman can be a serious pain.… Expand

upThere

Feb 5, 2016

9

I really enjoyed the entirety of XCOM: Enemy Unknown. Good game design is my thing - and the combination of suspenseful tactical combat with strategic base/resource management achieves a campaign way more than the sum of it's parts. Firaxis' design is flawless. I've only played 4 hours of XCOM 2, but so far this game has delivered at or above my expectations in every meaningful way - II really enjoyed the entirety of XCOM: Enemy Unknown. Good game design is my thing - and the combination of suspenseful tactical combat with strategic base/resource management achieves a campaign way more than the sum of it's parts. Firaxis' design is flawless. I've only played 4 hours of XCOM 2, but so far this game has delivered at or above my expectations in every meaningful way - I can't wait to uncover more!… Expand

Datamari

Feb 12, 2016

9

This game is absolutely fantastic, and i've sunk so many hours into it in such a short amount of time.
If you take everything that made the original XCOM and its predecessors so great and refined what was there, you get XCOM 2. It has a challenging but fair battle system that may throw off new players, but still have some challenge for veterans of the XCOM series. Most of the soldiersThis game is absolutely fantastic, and i've sunk so many hours into it in such a short amount of time.
If you take everything that made the original XCOM and its predecessors so great and refined what was there, you get XCOM 2. It has a challenging but fair battle system that may throw off new players, but still have some challenge for veterans of the XCOM series. Most of the soldiers have been changed, but its for the better, considering some felt under-powered, and some felt too strong for their own good. As always, they can be customized to your liking, but that's been added to weapons as well. Tough and rewarding, XCOM 2 is a fantastic experience that will keep you engaged for a long time. I've sunk almost 30 hours into this game, and there's still alot that I haven't done.

XCOM 2 gets a 9/10.… Expand

C0ncox

Feb 8, 2016

9

How do people not like this game? This is a true sequel to Enemy Unknown. I have not seen a single bug or glitch either and even if there were, why are you surprised that a triple A game has bugs? And so what if it's not original to the very first XCOM games. There were things wrong with those games too. **** needs to be updated. ALSO GOOD THING THERES A DAY ONE MOD FOR TIMERS IF THATHow do people not like this game? This is a true sequel to Enemy Unknown. I have not seen a single bug or glitch either and even if there were, why are you surprised that a triple A game has bugs? And so what if it's not original to the very first XCOM games. There were things wrong with those games too. **** needs to be updated. ALSO GOOD THING THERES A DAY ONE MOD FOR TIMERS IF THAT BOTHERS YOU FOR SOME REASON. The game is also supposed to be harder turn down the difficulty if you're having such a hard time.

The customization is my personal favorite part of the game because it was very lacking in Enemy Unknown. The character pool is great as well.

This game is a classic. Runs great on my PC btw.… Expand

trival

Feb 6, 2016

9

To shut up pure haters. Its a worthy continuation of the Xcom . Surely it lacks some features classic old Xcom Ufo defense and Terror from the deep had but it is worth every euro i spent.

kopes

Feb 7, 2016

9

One of the best strategy games I've ever played. Improves on the last XCOM without losing anything. Complaints about performance are overblown due to poor understanding of graphics settings. (GTX 970 averaging over 70 fps fully maxed graphics except for FXAA)

MooseNine

Feb 16, 2016

9

I loved old Xcom games, the new one - The Enemy Unknown and i adore Xcom 2.
Game looks and feels good. It's probably one of the best Turn-based tactics ever created.
The story takes place after the events of the first Xcom - The Enemy Unknown. Aliens take over the earth and now we must lead the resistance movement to save the world from the occupiers. Game mechanics has a lot ofI loved old Xcom games, the new one - The Enemy Unknown and i adore Xcom 2.
Game looks and feels good. It's probably one of the best Turn-based tactics ever created.
The story takes place after the events of the first Xcom - The Enemy Unknown. Aliens take over the earth and now we must lead the resistance movement to save the world from the occupiers.
Game mechanics has a lot of improvements in relation to the previous Enemy Uknown. We have more ways to customize our soldiers, build underground base and fight against the enemy. Yet game have a lot of bugs and huge optimization problems.
Another matter to discuss is game difficulty level. Even for old Xcom players, this game could be a great challenge. Creators force us to fight with more powerful enemies then we are since the very begining of the game. Furthermore - most of the fight missions and whole story has time limits. So not only enemies are hard to kill but you have to do it in specific time. If u don't - then during the mission you lose your soldiers and during the story - you just lose the game.
In my opinion it's excessively hard but gamers already repair those kind of problems. If you like, you can download from steam workshop mods that can allows you to remove time limits. Of course it's optional.… Expand

Turms_of_Alps

Feb 11, 2016

9

Bigger and better than Xcom1 and what is most important: more varied experience than the previous iteration of the game. Started the game with Veteran difficulty and after the first missions the challenge scales up pretty fast. But this how I like it: most of the time it is not the question who gets sacrificed for the greater good but how the lone survivor is going to cope withBigger and better than Xcom1 and what is most important: more varied experience than the previous iteration of the game. Started the game with Veteran difficulty and after the first missions the challenge scales up pretty fast. But this how I like it: most of the time it is not the question who gets sacrificed for the greater good but how the lone survivor is going to cope with considerable physical and emotional trauma. The alien invasion is not a walk in the park.… Expand

ishadow

Feb 6, 2016

9

Short review:
+ game is way better than XCOM1,
+ there's way more procedural content and it's more of a sandbox than linear experience, + it's harder, and it's dark. You are an intruder here and everything reminds you that. + graphics are gorgeous - advanced lightning is stunning, + solid 60 FPS on GF 970 at 1080p with full detail without MSAA and SSAO disabled, + with SSAO enabledShort review:
+ game is way better than XCOM1,
+ there's way more procedural content and it's more of a sandbox than linear experience,
+ it's harder, and it's dark. You are an intruder here and everything reminds you that.
+ graphics are gorgeous - advanced lightning is stunning,
+ solid 60 FPS on GF 970 at 1080p with full detail without MSAA and SSAO disabled,
+ with SSAO enabled it's 60 average FPS and 42-45 fps drops once in a while,

+ no DENUVO,
+ no crappy console port!
+ absolutely smooth experience, no bugs, crashes, or malfunctioning camera. At least running on Windows 7.

There's only one con: X-COMs from the 90ies are still better. But while you could describe XCOM 1 as an inferior game in every way. XCOM 2 has it's own worthy unique mechanics.

XCOM 2 is finally a good or even great game in the series. If you are a PC gamer go buy it now. We need to support companies publishing AAA games for PC. This game is an example how a sequel should look like. A lot of new mechanics and improvement. It's not a copy/paste game like in other sequels/reboots/remasters.… Expand

Dreezy

Feb 6, 2016

9

First of all, the game in its current state is badly optimized especially when you're inside the base, it's really strange because XCOM EU doesn't suffer from these problems but hey...... just wait a bit and everything will run better .

However, the game is just so **** good, it's a big improvement over XCOM EU, the game has tons of new ideas which make this game more than just a sequelFirst of all, the game in its current state is badly optimized especially when you're inside the base, it's really strange because XCOM EU doesn't suffer from these problems but hey...... just wait a bit and everything will run better .

However, the game is just so **** good, it's a big improvement over XCOM EU, the game has tons of new ideas which make this game more than just a sequel .

Tons of new enemies, technologies to research, much more customisation, this game is a drug, you never know what to expect .

This game renews itself all the time. Furthermore, i'm a massive fanboy of the franchise and this game is far from disappointing me.

If I had to give you advice, if you are not confident about optimization, just wait for AMD/Nvidia drivers and you will enjoy this game to its full potential :)… Expand

fearoftheduck

Feb 7, 2016

9

Good successor of XCOM Enemy Unknown. Combat have been refined to fit more ,resistance / hit and run style. XCOM 2 encourages player to use any available means to eliminate enemy (weapon upgrades, stealth, ambush, installing soldier ability upgrades, hacking, experimental weapons, decoys, explosives (which no longer prevent recovery of the corpse), more explosives, exploding cars, gasGood successor of XCOM Enemy Unknown. Combat have been refined to fit more ,resistance / hit and run style. XCOM 2 encourages player to use any available means to eliminate enemy (weapon upgrades, stealth, ambush, installing soldier ability upgrades, hacking, experimental weapons, decoys, explosives (which no longer prevent recovery of the corpse), more explosives, exploding cars, gas tanks/barrels (which can be specifically targeted), demolishing enemy cover and so on.

XCOM 2 also make turtling and overwatch creep no longer a viable strategy on most of the missions, which have some timer limit. This requires different play style than XCOM EU and it tests players ability to use that inventory efficiently and to properly hedge bets. I personally find it more challenging (but still at enjoyable level of difficulty) and more interesting than slow walk on overwatch...

There are, however, some minor performance problems like some stuttering, and fairly long loading times before and after missions.… Expand

CroGerA

Feb 8, 2016

9

This is my first review because i do not agree with the amount of negative comments for this game.

I played "XCOM 1: Enemy Unknown" and "XCOM 1: Enemy Within" (together for ~ 150 hours) and now XCOM 2 for ~ 20 hours at the moment. I think its a really good game and a good continuation to the first Part. Forget XCOM from 1994, it´s a different game, you cant compare it to each other.This is my first review because i do not agree with the amount of negative comments for this game.

I played "XCOM 1: Enemy Unknown" and "XCOM 1: Enemy Within" (together for ~ 150 hours) and now XCOM 2 for ~ 20 hours at the moment. I think its a really good game and a good continuation to the first Part. Forget XCOM from 1994, it´s a different game, you cant compare it to each other.

"XCOM 2" is for me much better than "XCOM 1" from year 2012. I would write more if i had more time and my english grammar would not be so bad, but it´s enough to say that the whole game has improved. Better classes, better or equal good Story, better graphics, with a nice difficulty and a lot of fun. I had no crashes, no laggs, no problems and even the KI is the same like in "XCOM 1", sometimes really hard, sometimes with little dropouts, but hey, which game has perfect KI?

In face of the bad situation in strategy games genre, we can be glad that games like this one are coming out. It´s not perfect (i vary between 85/100 and 90/100) but it is a very good game. The amount of negative comments is not understandable.… Expand

Tieger

Feb 8, 2016

9

finally decided i needed to create an account, just to counter some of the pointlessly negative reviews, for what is really a highly enjoyable game.

so lets address a few of their complaints: Game runs badly - I'm guessing this is on AMD cards, notorious for their driver requirements. regardless, its been fine for me (on an AMD card, and AMD cpu) and my friends I've spoken to (one offinally decided i needed to create an account, just to counter some of the pointlessly negative reviews, for what is really a highly enjoyable game.

so lets address a few of their complaints:

Game runs badly - I'm guessing this is on AMD cards, notorious for their driver requirements. regardless, its been fine for me (on an AMD card, and AMD cpu) and my friends I've spoken to (one of them on a 4 year old machine), so this issue isn't as prevalent as people would have you believe.
I've had it crash on me twice, but both those times have been when I've come back from tabbed out or sleep mode, so I've stopped doing that.
loading also takes a bit long sometimes.

Game forces you to rush all the time - no it doesn't. it does on missions where it makes sense within the story, but that's it. I've also never had a problem killing all the enemies and still getting to the objectives in time (maybe people are forgetting that Gremlins can hack objectives, so you don't need to physically run up to it?).
people also say this kills the usefulness of people who aren't rangers... I disagree, all classes can be mobile as required. I've never once (in 20+ hours of gameplay) had a mission where, say, I couldn't afford to use my grenadiers/sharpshooters because they were too slow.

Game doesn't introduce new enemies properly - why should it? are you expecting an NPC to say 'omg, that's a something! I hear you kill those by doing this. whatever you do, don't let it do whatever!'? deal with it. hide, shoot, hack it, whatever - and if you lose someone, chalk it up to experience, and remember for next time.

'95% chance shots shouldn't miss!' - why not? that's a 1/20 chance of missing, it should happen occasionally - the same as I've sometimes hit with 20% shots.

starting enemies are too hard - no they're not. oh no, they've mind-controlled someone?! well, guess you better kill them then. its not that hard to work out.

now, is it quite what i wanted? well, no. I'd prefer it to be a bit less 'forced pace' for the strategic layer. i'd prefer it if R&D took longer and you had to spend time building the gear (so you'd appreciate the tech more when you get it). i'd prefer it if there were more than 3 tech levels (or, hmm, experimental weapons perhaps, as a 4th tier, that had to be built individually rather than for the group? like with the armour.). i'd prefer it if the Avenger could be stationed somewhere doing something, and the Skyranger sent out to missions around the world (come on, this is an upgraded Skyranger and it can't fly round the world?!).
however... is it fun? definitely yes.
does it work? yes.
will i enjoy replaying it? yes.
will mods eventually fix the issues i have? almost certainly yes.… Expand

Undershaft

Feb 8, 2016

9

Great game. If you liked 2012 XCOM (and the Long War), you should like this one just as much (or even more so).
+ sci-fi guerilla setting benefits the series, both aesthetically and regarding game mechanics
+ procedural maps offer great replay value + more options on and beyond the battlefield (greater variety of items, more choices on tactical maps) + contrary to what many people say,Great game. If you liked 2012 XCOM (and the Long War), you should like this one just as much (or even more so).
+ sci-fi guerilla setting benefits the series, both aesthetically and regarding game mechanics
+ procedural maps offer great replay value
+ more options on and beyond the battlefield (greater variety of items, more choices on tactical maps)
+ contrary to what many people say, the frequent turn limits work great and heighten the tension without rushing you unduly.
+ customization improves identification (I hope there will be more soldier-languages soon, though)

However, the game is not perfect (yet). Here are some of the issues I had - hopefully, most of them will be taken care of by Firaxis or competent modders in the near future:
- long loading times and stuttering performance (apparently also on newer computers)
- occasional problems with sightlines / melee attacks through walls
- research tree seems a little too barren. I was hoping for more optional paths and branches
- some of the designs are a little bit silly and don't fit with the guerilla style (3rd-tier armor, manga-hair Avatar etc.)
- skill trees aren't perfectly balanced yet.
- some repetitive animations (in-flight soldier gestures, contact new region sequence, etc.)

All in all, I can only recommend this one, though. If you want to be on se the safe side, wait a few weeks/months until the bugs are mostly ironed out - but if you like tactics and strategy, you should definitely buy it.… Expand

SYLOH

Feb 8, 2016

9

I love this game.
I've been seeing alot of people complaining that the turn limited objectives make the game less tactical.
This is a position I don't understand. That's like saying having a limited budget in a management sim less managerial. There is no real time counter ticking down, you have to be tactical in your approach to survive the turn limit. None of the missions require youI love this game.
I've been seeing alot of people complaining that the turn limited objectives make the game less tactical.
This is a position I don't understand. That's like saying having a limited budget in a management sim less managerial.
There is no real time counter ticking down, you have to be tactical in your approach to survive the turn limit. None of the missions require you to kill all of the aliens within the turn limit anyway. You have to make the tactical decisions that let you turn off the timer. You got alot of tools in your belt to get to the timer location, armor that lets you walk through walls, remote hacking with a specialist, blasting a hole in a wall with explosives, a ranger that is still in concealment while the rest of the team lays down fire, the list goes on.
The turn limit reinforces the theme of the game and provides a link between the overworld strategy and the low level tactics. You are on the clock, humanity's days are numbered, if you take too long the aliens will win. You are a desperate and hounded resistance movement going against incredible odds.
Another criticism is the reliance on random events. Which I define as a core feature of the gameplay. This game is all about managing risk. You don't put all your Colonels in one mission, you don't dash out max distance into the fog of war, your plans don't rely on a single point of failure. All this risk management has to be weighed against the clock, adding another layer of complexity.
Finally there are the bugs. This I have no counter to, the game is buggy as hell. Granted the majority of the bugs are graphical, and I haven't run into anything particularly game breaking. Also the text in item descriptions and tooltips outright lies in some places. (HINT: The haywire protocol tooltip is a lie, turrets are NOT permanently under your control). This knocks it down from a 10, but it's otherwise one of the best turn based games in the current market.… Expand

Bennabus

Feb 9, 2016

9

I find it crazy the number of 1 and 0 reviews for this game.

The game is great! Yes it has technical issues, but the game play itself is simply amazing. I understand why people might get upset about the changes to the tactical portion of the game. The timed missions are HARD, but not overly so. You just have to play smart and try try again until you get the hang of it. I started playingI find it crazy the number of 1 and 0 reviews for this game.

The game is great! Yes it has technical issues, but the game play itself is simply amazing. I understand why people might get upset about the changes to the tactical portion of the game. The timed missions are HARD, but not overly so. You just have to play smart and try try again until you get the hang of it. I started playing my first few missions with the same sort of tactics as I was using in enemy unknown and got my butt handed to me several times. I've restarted 3 times and am just now figuring out how not to die.

I love the timed missions in particular because you HAVE to be a bit risky, you have to meticulously plan, you almost have to loose soldiers (this is part of Xcom, if you can't handle it, go play call of dooty), you have to get your butt kicked. I love it.

If you're butthurt because it's too hard, sorry, xcom is hard.… Expand

TerenZ

Feb 8, 2016

9

I don't believe I ever reviewed a game before but this is one I will. Since I discovered XCom, and played it, I have never found any better games. With Enemy Within, things really got better - until it became "easy"; finally I discovered the mod LongWar. Now playing LongWar is tough; so I started with Veteran. I have played a total of 120 hours; have lost only 1 soldier and only haveI don't believe I ever reviewed a game before but this is one I will. Since I discovered XCom, and played it, I have never found any better games. With Enemy Within, things really got better - until it became "easy"; finally I discovered the mod LongWar. Now playing LongWar is tough; so I started with Veteran. I have played a total of 120 hours; have lost only 1 soldier and only have needed to restart a mission twice.
This is an awesome game! And I have no idea what to expect because I have not reached the end yet.

Graphics - comics like and beautiful.
Sound effects - fantastic
Strategy - far more realistic (of course it is unreasonable to believe the aliens would not be alerted an enemy is there after the first attack!)
Enemies - Each enemy is unique and requires a different approach
What has improved in my opinion?

- a better use of a mixed squad
- As with Longwar sometimes you have to sacrifice a member (not necessarily dying)
- Timed missions add an edge; your soldiers will be hit and you need a depth of squad like Longwar
- You need to upgrade as many soldiers as possible

Addressing Negative Reviews

XCom 2 is a difficult game. Not for the feint hearted. Sometimes you need to think how and from where to approach the enemy; the first ambush is critical so your soldiers do not take any damage. Try to avoid multiple sets of enemies from joining forces

Timed missions. yes they are tough. But many succeed. As with any difficult mission; try and try again.

Some hints which help me

As with XCom I find that leveling up Sharp shooters is a priority. If you like using 2 snipers like me, a sniper with killing zone, and another on standby to finish one or 2 off (quickdraw)

Unlike previous previous Xcoms it works to your advantage by spreading your soldiers yet keep them covering each other; the enemy is too adept at flanking. Having Snipers high is a risk, but can cover many units

If you can't see the tactic, it is because you didn't think about it yet. I think Piraxis did a fantastic job for us players to think outside the box and make the game more realistic (ie when facing drastic odds what are the chances of coming out of a fight unscathed?)… Expand

Tobus

Feb 9, 2016

9

This game is awesome. It grows on me and I feel I'm becoming attached to my soldiers in their rise of the ranks and accompanying customizations. It feels solid on both tactical and strategic level. I don't like the timers on certain missions, making you rush into certain death if you don't watch yourself. That's my personal taste though.

My gripes are small and I'm sure to be adressedThis game is awesome. It grows on me and I feel I'm becoming attached to my soldiers in their rise of the ranks and accompanying customizations. It feels solid on both tactical and strategic level. I don't like the timers on certain missions, making you rush into certain death if you don't watch yourself. That's my personal taste though.

My gripes are small and I'm sure to be adressed in a patch: the difference between difficulty levels is large. The manual is lacking with respect to the impacts of strategical decisions made earlier in the game. One could (I did) lose the game several months after a certain decision to something (or not) on the map.
The game tends to stutter a little due to grapic updates since Xcom, although I've also found better performance on lower difficulty levels. Some of the aliens are a little buffed: the Codex can teleport to anywhere, outflanking your team and thus seriously undermining any tactical plan you've thought up. The Vipers can pull you from very long range through walls and doors, basically doing the same.

All things I'm sure will be adressed in a patch. The game itself as a whole: just awesome!… Expand

Snowgust

Feb 10, 2016

9

In XCOM 2 you are in control of a resistance movement after Earth failed to fight back the aliens back on the original XCOM. You are not "Earth's Finest". You do not have the resources of the entire planet at your disposal. And, for the most part of the game, you engage in guerrilla warfare, striking them hard - and fast.

If you are new to the series, XCOM 2 is a turn-based tacticalIn XCOM 2 you are in control of a resistance movement after Earth failed to fight back the aliens back on the original XCOM. You are not "Earth's Finest". You do not have the resources of the entire planet at your disposal. And, for the most part of the game, you engage in guerrilla warfare, striking them hard - and fast.

If you are new to the series, XCOM 2 is a turn-based tactical strategy game with a mix of real-time base-building, resource gathering and researching. Outside combat you'll be constantly having to juggle priorities: will you gather supplies, which allow you to immediately build newer, more powerful equipment, or will you expand your influence to new territories that will bring you supplies in the long term? Will you choose to take on a mission that will prevent the aliens from having shielded troops or will you let them get stronger and instead try to slow their research?

Despite giving the player a lot to think about during the real-time phase, combat is where XCOM truly shines. You are in control of a small, 4-man squad (which can be increased with proper research) that must fight the aliens in order to secure goals in the missions. There are different classes of soldier, each with its unique perks, and you'll most likely want a mix of those during any given mission.

There's a lot of controversy regarding mission design, especially around the timed missions. There are a LOT of timed missions, which actually make completely sense if you care the least to immerse yourself in the game setting: you must strike lightning-fast, before the enemy can react. Remember: the enemy has nearly unlimited resources at their disposal and XCOM can't afford to lose its only dropship.

You are given tools to work with that allow you to make the most of your time - namely, your squad usually starts concealed from the enemy. That means the enemy is unaware of your presence and you can dictate when the engagement begins. Usually you'll want to avoid early patrols and get as close to the objective as possible before going weapons-hot. Once you start shooting every enemy in the area will be wary, though, and will engage you on sight.

Once you complete the main goal the timer's usually gone and you can take your time to pick the rest of the enemies clean or retreat.

Combat is usually superb: enemy AI is not the best ever but its not underpowered either. The enemy feels strong without feeling "cheaty", and will do a good job of hampering your advance towards your goal. I've yet to find a mission which I couldn't complete within the given number of turns (although some were quite close) and most didn't feel as if I could slack off either. There's a constant adrenaline rush and you have to re-think your approach to combat. Sometimes it may be necessary to send a scout ahead to secure the goal while your troops hold off the enemies.

The maps are quite diverse so they don't get old like in the original XCOM and everything about them feels quite balanced, with plenty of places to take cover, position snipers and ambush enemies. Terrain is also fully destructible, so if you need to reach somewhere fast you can just toss a grenade and make a new door for your troops.

Players should not expect an easy game, as XCOM has never been like that. You'll lose soldiers, especially early on the game. You'll eventually lose veteran soldiers and you'll have to train new recruits to step on their shoes (or reload the game). Even if you do not lose soldiers during combat some of them are bound to be wounded and unavailable for missions for some time.

The game is not without its flaws, though. I've experienced long loading times between missions, some problems with anti-aliasing and once I couldn't click the perk I wanted my soldier to take when I promoted him (easily solved by pressing the arrow key corresponding to the side of the perk I wanted). Also some of the cut scenes (such as the squad being deployed or arriving from combat) stutter regularly. I've encountered 0 performance problems during the game itself, though.

Lastly, there's also 0-day support for mods which will probably make the game a lot more enjoyable in the long run and for people who dislike vanilla mechanics - there's even a mod that disables timed missions altogether for those who feel strongly against them.… Expand

SolDjiril

Feb 11, 2016

9

This game builds on its predecessor by re-working the soldier classes, introducing new enemies and procedural-generated maps and events to enhance replayability. Nothing a mod couldn't have accomplished, so I wonder what other elements caused me to be glued to my seat for 3 days, grinding though the game?

What the game builds is a great atmosphere of urgency and desperation. ElementsThis game builds on its predecessor by re-working the soldier classes, introducing new enemies and procedural-generated maps and events to enhance replayability. Nothing a mod couldn't have accomplished, so I wonder what other elements caused me to be glued to my seat for 3 days, grinding though the game?

What the game builds is a great atmosphere of urgency and desperation. Elements like the turn limit to missions as well as the apparently exponential alien retaliation level (fans of xcom 3 apocalypse will get this reference) would immerse you in feeling like the fictional future's doomsday clock is ticking (as it literally does every month) away faster and faster with every passing week. Add the Dark Events, which always left a sour taste in the back of my throat when I was forced to forgo supplies for the month because the already time restricted missions would then become harder with faceless, reinforcements or increased armor, and you really feel as if progress is the only way forward. You can't sit back and wait for events to unfold and react to them accordingly, you have to be proactive and a little aggressive in your approach to both combat and world choices. Having said that, I do have a little gripe with the game.

Given that the Dark Events give you the option to pay Intel to uncover a secret third event, or more depending on the difficulty level, it's curious that the missions don't have that option (with the exception of one). However, it was that ONE mission where we could spend intel to improve our tactical advantage that I had the most fun. It added an element of reconnaissance and subterfuge as well as planning that I felt could have enhanced the entire game up to that point. It certainly wasn't for free, and admittedly with a wraith suit it was entirely unnecessary, but the potential of having advantages built into each mission with the expenditure of Intel would have been the saving grace for a game with a built in timer. In that particular mission, it evoked the feeling of briefing room planning before a mission, where every action is calculated to improve the probability of success. Having said that, one wonders why Firaxis didn't consider including this in EVERY mission. They obviously thought enough to include it once, but didn't think it would've made sense to apply it to every mission? I feel that if they'd dedicated a facility for that purpose I would've prioritized building it as soon as possible. Right after my GTS, AWC, oh and the RC, and then my psi-lab...

While I understand that Firaxis **** the bed with it's lack of graphic optimization and from what I hear possible save-file corruption (much to the chagrin of the ironman let's players our there). I had only one game crash during loading, which spared the integrity of the save file and wasn't running the game on it's highest settings so ignoring those items from my review. I guess you could say this review is free of all the bugs which are the most common complaints. (A bug-free review?) Firaxis should have had tighter QA to ensure that the game was generally bug-free before releasing but if I started on that issue, we'd be here all day (Batman Arkham Asylum *wink wink). So a slap on the hand of Firaxis for that, but I expect a fix coming up soon so I'm not too bothered. By the way if you're paying attention developers, unless aliens have also evolved x-ray vision, please stop shooting through obviously opaque ceilings and walls, or at least signpost those clearer so I don't think I'm fighting against map-hacking aliens!

Overall, the game has bugs and isn't perfectly optimized but I've ignored them. When you do, it's immersive enough that being spotted by a sectopod and seeing it crashing though a building just to stand right next to me is enough to make me hit the abandon mission button and go crawling back to aliens and be plugged back right into their psionic network. Which I imagine must be like the matrix, in which case I, to paraphrase Cypher, the steaks should by quite juicy and delicious, or at the very least, as good as an Advent Burger.… Expand

Maurinho

Feb 15, 2016

9

Signed up just to review the game because I can’t really stand to read so much bs.

XCOM 2 is an overall good game. Here’s some point regarding the new Xcom Chapter: - Difficulty: at “normal” it’s not so difficult at all if you have already played the previous XCOM. It’s just a tiny bit more difficult than EU but far from impossible. If you’re a veteran of the original 90’s XCOM youSigned up just to review the game because I can’t really stand to read so much bs.

XCOM 2 is an overall good game. Here’s some point regarding the new Xcom Chapter:
- Difficulty: at “normal” it’s not so difficult at all if you have already played the previous XCOM. It’s just a tiny bit more difficult than EU but far from impossible. If you’re a veteran of the original 90’s XCOM you won’t find it difficult at all.
- Timed Mission: Never had an issue on timed mission and never lost a mission due to time. You have enough turns to do all you want. Ofc you can’t proceed by taking 1 step at time and using 12000 turns like you could do on EU, but there’s really enough time to position yourself for an ambush, ambush the enemy, fight your way to the target and complete the mission. Either be “defend/destroy transmitter” or “kidnap/escort VIP”
- Concealment is great for ambushes. Concealed units won’t trigger enemy patrols, so you can take the first shot while they’re completely off guard. Just the first shot unfortunately.
- But is not really good for a full stealth approach. Tried to do the Advent base mission (the one where you have to retrieve the vial) using a full stealth approach but the patrol doesn’t seems to have a predefined path. Unless I’m missing something on the stealth approach they chase you (but they don’t rush towards you) and sooner or later you’ll find yourself forced to fight. Anyway I was able to get past the base with the entire team (5 soldiers), get really near the target and had to fight against 3 patrol. Managed to do it without a scratch.

Graphic is good but really heavy to run, hope they improve it. Some bugs that can be really annoying if you go hardmode like fire through roof/floor.

Missing a 98% shot? That’s XCOM baby.… Expand

ajnavy04

Feb 15, 2016

9

Disclaimer: I have never played any of the previous XCOM games and therefore do not hold any preexisting bias.

I play tons of Civ5 and a friend of mine recommended this game to me since it's from the same developer. Negatives: Tutorial is really hard. I ended up quitting the tutorial and just started a new game. Long Load times, even with a good machine Positives: Nice lookingDisclaimer: I have never played any of the previous XCOM games and therefore do not hold any preexisting bias.

I play tons of Civ5 and a friend of mine recommended this game to me since it's from the same developer.

Negatives:
Tutorial is really hard. I ended up quitting the tutorial and just started a new game.
Long Load times, even with a good machine

Positives:
Nice looking environment
Lots of customization
Difficult combat - as a combat Vet I can appreciate the chaos and randomness of these encounters - though missing with 88% hit chance pisses me off
Love the creation of characters available in game. Gives a vested interest in keeping people alive!

Overall I love this game. It was a bit difficult and frustrating for my first 2-3 hours, but once I got the hang of it I really appreciated the game.

Deal with it being hard. It's supposed to challenge you - go play something else on easy if you want to feel like a god and just stomp on things.… Expand

danstew

Feb 15, 2016

9

I'd like to start by one of the main-points of TotalBiscuits review: "If you didn't like the first remake of Xcom by Firaxis, you won't like this one either". However... if you liked that first one, you might love this one.
It very obviously is a follow-up, and a tiny bit of "more of the same", but the devs really managed to improve quite a few things and added some new mechanics.I'd like to start by one of the main-points of TotalBiscuits review: "If you didn't like the first remake of Xcom by Firaxis, you won't like this one either". However... if you liked that first one, you might love this one.
It very obviously is a follow-up, and a tiny bit of "more of the same", but the devs really managed to improve quite a few things and added some new mechanics.

Graphics and performance
While graphics might not be as essential in a strategy game, it surely doesn't hurt if the game looks nice, and this one does. The chars don't look as beautiful and detailed as, say, in W3, but the game does look really nice, and you get to see quite a lot of the details you put in when you create your characters.
Performance-wise, this might need a patch or two to improve stability. It didn't crash, but there are some framerate-drops, and some laggy moments, where, at the end of a turn, there is a weird delay, or sometimes, the game "stops" on the "fly to mission loading screen". Again, no crashes.

Gameplay (mostly about the changes compared to the previous game)
It works pretty much like the first Xcom. Turn-based, overwatch, etc, all the stuff is still there. However, Firaxis added quite a few new abilities, some of them really helping to turn the tide in an intense encounter. I really wasn't excited about melee, seeing alien-hunters swinging swords. I thought it was pretty silly, not making sense.
However, the rangers are great for stealthy approaches, their attacks can be very powerful, and with some upgrades, you can move them out of harms way once you have slain an alien.

The game is set in the future, a few years after the first game, so it makes sense that you get new gear, new abilities and tech. Some of the new suits and special abilities (like items that create mirages of your guys, which will draw the enemies attention) are pretty dang cool.
However, the aliens did do some research too and did get some upgrades. The thin men now have a new look and abilities, and there are some all new heavy units which will give you quite a fight (I especially hate the AT-AT-like ones...gosh, those are tough).
Some people have commented that the game is a bit more balanced, as in no more unfair and pretty much impossible moves by the aliens. However, I didn't notice too much of that in the first Xcom, even though I played that a lot, too. So there is no "god powers" for the aliens, they also miss shots quite often, and there is some room for error.

Some cool new abilities, like hacking (even mobs, disabling them for a while or even mind-controlling them), the drones that specialists use are cool etc. One thing I love is "serial", a sniper ability. If you activate it and then manage to kill an enemy with your snipe-ability, you don't lose action points. So you can eg. weaken some mobs with a grenade on one guy, and when it's your snipers turn, you can kill them one by one in just one turn.

The game does feel a bit tougher than the first one, yet not to the point where it is frustrating (I heard though that the final mission is VERY VERY tough, you will probably lose a bunch of your guys). Just like in the previous game, losing one of your soldiers, especially those you might have named after a rl-person, hurts, especially if they have reached a high rank.

What people seem to dislike, and one thing I am not fond of, is the amount of timed missions, with a limited amount of turns. There were some in part 1, and that was ok,... it was a nice change of pace, was a challenge, and made sense. However, having TOO many of them is... not always fun. Sure, it can be a blast to beat those, but if you really like to approach stuff tactically, try to keep your guys safe, set up perfect ambushes etc, well those timers will make that tough.
You may wanna consider download a mod from the workshop which will extend those timers.

I enjoy this a LOT. Wasnt sure whether I'd like the even more futuristic setting and look and the sword-class, but it turns out that this is a carefully crafted, improved take on the first remake. If you liked that one, definitely check this one out!

Pros:
- Looks great
- Fun new updates and tech and abilities for both you and the aliens
- Said techniques and abilities allow some all new strategies
- Some nice new missions and progression/choice system (world map)
- Challenging
- Apparently, more variety in the maps you play on and the way things are set up
- High replayability (had to start over twice, once to make up for mistakes I had made and apply stuff I had learned, and the second time because of a savegame broken by a mod that was removed from the workshop, and I didn't mind restarting at all!)
- SOme weaknesses of Xcom were removed
- Workshop enabled, with mods on day 1
- Choices

Cons:
- Some performance issues (my system: i4790, 16 gb ram, GTX 960 with 4 gb, W7)
- Too many timed missions, ymmv… Expand

PCElite

Feb 15, 2016

9

XCOM 2 is a great addition to the franchise. If you are a fan of the previous titles, this game is definitely worth checking out. There are many interesting aspects to the game with the new ambush style gameplay. This game is just overall great when it comes to tactical gameplay, where your choices have large consequences.
There may be a couple of glitches, errors, and unstable frames,XCOM 2 is a great addition to the franchise. If you are a fan of the previous titles, this game is definitely worth checking out. There are many interesting aspects to the game with the new ambush style gameplay. This game is just overall great when it comes to tactical gameplay, where your choices have large consequences.
There may be a couple of glitches, errors, and unstable frames, but all of these issues will probably be fixed in the future.… Expand

Darkwr4ith

Feb 16, 2016

9

Let me start out this review by saying, if you were a fan of the original XCOM games (1994+) and you were not a fan of the remake in 2012, then this game is probably not for you. It is a much tighter and more focused version of the 2012 release that is taking the gameplay in a new direction.

• Positives: + Great graphics. + Gameplay is far more focused. + Lots of different voices andLet me start out this review by saying, if you were a fan of the original XCOM games (1994+) and you were not a fan of the remake in 2012, then this game is probably not for you. It is a much tighter and more focused version of the 2012 release that is taking the gameplay in a new direction.

• Positives:
+ Great graphics.
+ Gameplay is far more focused.
+ Lots of different voices and personality types for soldiers.
+ New classes are fantastic and well balanced.
+ New "loot table" system for crafting special weapons and armour.
+ Weapon upgrades attach to weapons and no longer take up utility slots.
+ Weapon and armour upgrade system completely overhauled and refined.
+ New world map really intricate and unique.
+ Many new aliens and creatures.
+ New incognito mode speeds up the start of missions significantly.
+ New Doomclock style gameplay really adds tension and weight to every decision.
+ Stupid aircraft mini game ripped out.
+ Mod support via the Steam workshop right out the box.
+ Still really challenging.

• Meh
= Countries and language choices fairly limited.
= Base building somewhat dumbed down.
= Actions don't really seem to match up to the percentage chance. You will often see frequent misses in a row on 90%+ and then continuous hits on 60% and below.
= Fans of the original XCOM(1994) will find this is almost a new game entirely.

• Negative
- Painfully long loading times.
- Horribly optimised performance considering it is the Unreal 3 engine.
- Random map bonuses can lead to you either being horribly over powered or horribly outmatched.
- A few gamebreaking bugs and mechanics(like civilians blocking paths) mean that ironman mode is extremely risky to try.

Conclusion: Other than the performance and a few bugs there is very little that the game does wrong. Most of the nit picks myself and other people have, are already being fixed through the modding. It is a truly fantastic experience and if you are a fan of the 2012 remake, or a fan or turnbased games in general, I cannot recommend this game highly enough.… Expand

Tscheunt

Feb 17, 2016

9

I really like this game, however there is one thing that needs to be fixed, and that is the timer for the fights, i honestly think that is was a good idea to put a timer in there to get a better feeling for the urgency and so on, however i think that it is too short, you dont have any chance to do anything different than storming in and hoping for the best, especially at the beginning, iI really like this game, however there is one thing that needs to be fixed, and that is the timer for the fights, i honestly think that is was a good idea to put a timer in there to get a better feeling for the urgency and so on, however i think that it is too short, you dont have any chance to do anything different than storming in and hoping for the best, especially at the beginning, i got the timer tweaks mod which gives you four more turns and suudenly i was able to go a little bit stealthy if i wanted or just defend for a turn or two when there were too many enemies, however thats the only thing i really have to criticize, everything else is improved in comparison to XCOM: EW or EU.
I´d like to give it 10, but the timer killed too much of my fun and was too frustrating to completely ignore it.… Expand

ribsngibs

Feb 17, 2016

9

I love it. There are a few performance issues even on a great machine, mostly in loading screens and sometimes with pauses during enemy AI, but they are minor and irrelevant to the playing of the game (it's a turn based game, after all). There are also a few weird bugs (lots of graphical glitches, from soldiers facing the wrong way to fire their guns to incorrect rendering of differentI love it. There are a few performance issues even on a great machine, mostly in loading screens and sometimes with pauses during enemy AI, but they are minor and irrelevant to the playing of the game (it's a turn based game, after all). There are also a few weird bugs (lots of graphical glitches, from soldiers facing the wrong way to fire their guns to incorrect rendering of different building levels), but they are also minor and not game-breaking. The bugs are nowhere near as bad as the XCom:EU/EW bugs with teleporting pod patrols, etc..

Bugs aside, the game is really great. The turn timer as well as the new concealment mechanic on most maps fixes all of the tedium of creeping forward with overwatch that plagued XCom:EU/EW. The new skills and classes seem to synergize really well with each other. The new enemies are fun, look great, and are very creatively designed, the no-more-overkill-on-squad-overwatch is a long overdue "fix", and in general, there are a lot of small quality of life improvements that make this game a joy to play (for example, line-of-sight indicators so you are never surprised that you can or cannot see an enemy when moving to another tile, or pathing movement controls so that you can tell your soldier not to crash through a window or run through poison/fire while moving to a destination.)

It's a really wonderful sequel.… Expand

rayado1

Feb 17, 2016

9

First of all I think this game is a very good game and is a big improvement over the first Xcom with many of the new mechanics adding to the game's strategic options. Still this game is not for everyone and it can be unbalanced, especially at the beginning but the different difficulties and the large variety of modding options help balance the game a bit.

I like the game a lot, I feltFirst of all I think this game is a very good game and is a big improvement over the first Xcom with many of the new mechanics adding to the game's strategic options. Still this game is not for everyone and it can be unbalanced, especially at the beginning but the different difficulties and the large variety of modding options help balance the game a bit.

I like the game a lot, I felt it could have used more story but it was still an amazing game. The reason I'm giving it a 9 out of 10 is because as of right now the game has a lot of glitches and bugs that can make it look strange or do things that make no sense.… 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

fffffff

Feb 21, 2016

9

Doing my part to counteract the people rating this game 0/10 because it's too hard. Xcom deserves better. Turn timers are an amazing addition to the game that add a welcome layer of challenge by removing the overwatch cheese that many Xcom1 players mistakenly took for "strategy". Sorry guys, you will have to use real strategy now. I hope you will update your reviews when you figure itDoing my part to counteract the people rating this game 0/10 because it's too hard. Xcom deserves better. Turn timers are an amazing addition to the game that add a welcome layer of challenge by removing the overwatch cheese that many Xcom1 players mistakenly took for "strategy". Sorry guys, you will have to use real strategy now. I hope you will update your reviews when you figure it out.

Gave 9/10 because game suffers from many more release bugs and optimization issues than is usually considered acceptable. Still extremely playable--am about to (successfully) finish an Ironman Commander playthrough.… Expand

Shane_

Feb 22, 2016

9

Quite possibly the best game of it's type since the original Xcom. As someone who eagerly awaited the release of EU, I was heavily disappointed until an expansion (Enemy Within) and more importantly a huge mod (Long War) made the game interesting and worthy of a few playthroughs. But it still just wasn't what I wanted from Xcom. I felt like I was playing a tactical RPG, rather than aQuite possibly the best game of it's type since the original Xcom. As someone who eagerly awaited the release of EU, I was heavily disappointed until an expansion (Enemy Within) and more importantly a huge mod (Long War) made the game interesting and worthy of a few playthroughs. But it still just wasn't what I wanted from Xcom. I felt like I was playing a tactical RPG, rather than a strategy game with tactical battles.

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

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

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

The game isn't without it's flaws, though. The optimization is no where near where it should be for a game developed exclusively for PC. And there are more bugs than I would like, as someone who's not going to play without Ironman mode on. But it runs, and if the only real flaw I can find is performance in a game that still works well enough for me, then I'm still calling it a GOTY contender (in a year with Mount and Blade 2 and Torment Tides of Numenera on the way, that's saying a lot).… Expand

GreenBastard

Feb 23, 2016

9

Once again, an excellent game seems to be getting a great deal of hate on this site. If you loved Enemy Unknown and Within, you will love the sequel. Its difficult, as it should be, and there are some bugs to be quashed. But Firaxis has given us a gem that I hope they will continue to support, and even if they don't, modders have already proven that they will keep it fresh for years toOnce again, an excellent game seems to be getting a great deal of hate on this site. If you loved Enemy Unknown and Within, you will love the sequel. Its difficult, as it should be, and there are some bugs to be quashed. But Firaxis has given us a gem that I hope they will continue to support, and even if they don't, modders have already proven that they will keep it fresh for years to come.

R.I.P. to the 13 soldiers I lost on play through one, ye shall not grow old.… Expand

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

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

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.

Myon-Neutrino

Oct 26, 2017

9

Original Comment from early 2016: I´m a "newcomer" in round-based games and discovered XCOM when Enemy Unknown/within happened and I immediately fell in love with it! So i was looking forward to the new game. I´ve played Xcom 2 for about 15 hours on normal difficulty, when the ultimate rage-quit happened. This game annoyed me with all its rushed demands all the time: Go and get supplies,Original Comment from early 2016: I´m a "newcomer" in round-based games and discovered XCOM when Enemy Unknown/within happened and I immediately fell in love with it! So i was looking forward to the new game. I´ve played Xcom 2 for about 15 hours on normal difficulty, when the ultimate rage-quit happened. This game annoyed me with all its rushed demands all the time: Go and get supplies, go and rescue valen, go and rescue engineers, don´t forget all those damn avatar-upgrades, keep your avenger-micromanagements going, do this, do that - all simultaneously. Ridiculously tight timers in a lot of missions and a general let-down in the whole round-based gameplay concept by introducing that damn ruler-reactions every single time. The rulers are too hard, their actions are illogical and random, I don´t get it. And still the performance sucks (22-28FPS with a i7 4790K / Radeon 7970 GHz Ed. OC machine @ medium/high settings) What a disappointment. ( I gave it a rating of 5 )

Update 27.10.2017:
I recently figured out there is a XCOM2 Mod which disables those ridiculous timers during some missions so I gave it another shot with that Mod activated. Now I´m about 30 hours in and the gameflow is fluid and fair, that Mod improved XCOM2 overwhelmingly! No rants or rage anymore, but a fun time and still difficult as hell, at least for me. The performance and overall graphics got better (Using a i7 6700K / AMD RX 480 / 16GB RAM / Samsung 850 SSD Rig, 45-60FPS during actual gameplay @ FHD / Max Details. Cutscenes however sometimes stutter and got some framedrops). You have to install this game on a SSD for the loading times to be acceptable. Also a lot of bugfixing and balancing happened, further there exist some really well done DLCs now. I´m genuinely impressed and upgraded my score to 9 (WITH disabled timer mod activated)! Without that mod I´d still rate this a 5 or 6... Buy, mod and enjoy!… Expand

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

Vectis99

May 31, 2019

9

XCOM 2 is not only a brilliant game in its own right, but also improves over XCOM 1 in every form- graphically, mechanically, and thematically. Sweeping quality of life changes, such as the ability to press the tab key to move to the next unit while the previous's animation is completing, make up for the games occasional trivial turn cycles. XCOM 2 is unique in that the campaign can beXCOM 2 is not only a brilliant game in its own right, but also improves over XCOM 1 in every form- graphically, mechanically, and thematically. Sweeping quality of life changes, such as the ability to press the tab key to move to the next unit while the previous's animation is completing, make up for the games occasional trivial turn cycles. XCOM 2 is unique in that the campaign can be "lost"- and it is a very real threat on the "Veteran" difficulty, adding a degree of substance to decision making. Consequentially, due to the length of the campaign, the total amount of time I expect to spend with this game is wholly unpredictable.
I have only played this with the "War of the Chosen" DLC, which I got on sale; so I cannot speak to the value of the base game. However, I can testify that the experience currently feels complete and engaging.
There are a few things in XCOM 2 which don't quite work. "Lost" elements of missions do not work well with the tactical strategy genre compared to missions with fewer, more complex enemies. The exact mechanics of the grand strategy campaign are not immediately intuitive. Lastly, the maps which missions take place on are far bigger than they need to be, often making the game feel like a sort of walking chore.
On the other hand, some things XCOM 2 did especially well make it a deeply engaging experience. The strategy layer's Avatar project provides a solid baseline for reading the general state of the player in terms of where the game expects you to be. On a tactical level, the idea that a mission's outcome is very analogue (with a wide range of outcomes based on the soldiers being wounded and killed), which negates the grind of easier missions; they can still be handled with care with meaningful incentives. Mission design is overall improved to be significantly more engaging with a wider variety of mission objectives, constraints, and challenges. Per-unit tactical options are greatly expanded on from the first game, yet do not feel overwhelming.… Expand

SilverOrlov

Jun 17, 2020

9

I decided to write a separate reviews on the game in general and an DLC about the chosen ones.
So about the game... Very good graphics worthy of 2016. Very interesting story and atmosphere through all company missions. New interesting idea with soldier's skill relationship, and with stress debuffs. Adding new fraction soldiers with their own specific skills. As usual, interesting textI decided to write a separate reviews on the game in general and an DLC about the chosen ones.
So about the game... Very good graphics worthy of 2016. Very interesting story and atmosphere through all company missions. New interesting idea with soldier's skill relationship, and with stress debuffs. Adding new fraction soldiers with their own specific skills. As usual, interesting text articles about laboratory projects.
Some people complained on timers, but at first, it's a part of game-play and it's well described by game-play. And at second, you can alter them in option menu before starting new game. The avatar timer, what a surprise, was in the original game as "panic bar" and you can shorten it in some missions.
What I actually didn't like in this game: Curved camera(the global map periodically runs from place to place, activation of some skills is not visible because the camera shows a completely different part of the location). Sometimes AI of aliens reacts slowly or even make foolish steps. When you step on the green square of the mission task - you can no longer leave it, even if you need to do that, only reload saved moment. The lack of a line of experience is a very bad decision, because it does not allow to evaluate when a soldier will receive a promotion(this is very inconvenient, at least because in covert operations it is possible to quickly raise a soldier).
And of course, the most delicious: stupid and blind chance's random of hits. Honestly I like the idea, but after the finished experience with the first game, in 2016 you can already more responsibly approach this issue. Take into account any context in that percentage, because it is very stupid when the shotgun shoots close with a 80% chance but miss, it is very stupid when the Colonel sniper misses a huge berserk body that stands still, it is very stupid when a ranger with a sword and a hacking skill lower than average, hacks better than a specialist with a high level of this skill. And it is very stupid when you stand near the alien and put the rifle into it's face, and receive 60%... 50%... even 40%?! ...WTF?!
But howbeit it is very interesting game and I want to give it a good rating.… Expand

Soullex

Nov 29, 2022

9

Mükemmel bir taktiksel savaş oyunu. %100'de ıskalamasa daha iyi ama........

RogueV

Dec 5, 2019

9

How can I do justice to a game responsible for some of the most treasured gaming moments in my whole life? The fact of the matter is that XCOM is more than anything you try and describe it with. It's a strategy game, but it's a lot more than that. It's a turn based combat game, but it's so so much more than that. It's a single player campaign, but it's the most unique and fascinatingHow can I do justice to a game responsible for some of the most treasured gaming moments in my whole life? The fact of the matter is that XCOM is more than anything you try and describe it with. It's a strategy game, but it's a lot more than that. It's a turn based combat game, but it's so so much more than that. It's a single player campaign, but it's the most unique and fascinating single player campaign I've ever come across. It's more than all of these things put together, it's a complete game polished on all ends and a truly legendary experience.

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

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

My one criticism of the gameplay is that I do not appreciate the turn timer missions because they promote one way of playing very heavily and make the whole thing feel rushed, in a way that doesn't even feel right for the story. Luckily the War of the Chosen expansion resolves all these faults perfectly.… Expand

Haltsmaul

Apr 28, 2020

9

It now runs with only minor bugs and apart from that is unfair sometimes (oh come on how could he miss that!???) its an awesome turn based rpg and strategy game
Tip: If you like the game, you have to buy the DLC "War of the Chosen"! it adds new characters and classes and enemies and even a new game mode. Makes the awesome game even better

Sanghelic

Apr 11, 2020

9

para mi es sin lugar a duda el mejor juego de estrategia por turnos que existe, muy buenas mecanicas y sistema de progresion impecable, inteligente y muy bien pensado, XCOM 2 es un juego totalmente tactico que te hara tomar decisiones dificiles con consecuencias reales, debes administrar bien tus recursos y saber tomar decisiones a corto y largo plazo, a pesar de estar mal optimizadopara mi es sin lugar a duda el mejor juego de estrategia por turnos que existe, muy buenas mecanicas y sistema de progresion impecable, inteligente y muy bien pensado, XCOM 2 es un juego totalmente tactico que te hara tomar decisiones dificiles con consecuencias reales, debes administrar bien tus recursos y saber tomar decisiones a corto y largo plazo, a pesar de estar mal optimizado recomiendo mucho jugarlo en pc, he jugado la version de pc y la de xbox one y puedo decir que la de xbox one sufria de bastantes mas errores, ademas, esta clase de juegos se juega con mas precision en pc y su comunidad es tambien mas grande en pc. sin embargo, si esto no es posible, los desarrolladores supieron crear un esquema de controles muy bueno para poder jugar este juego con mando.… Expand

ChesterField

May 1, 2020

9

Strategy game that has made its name a genre. Personally, I don't understand the bad reviews. For me it is at the level of its first game, it even exceeds it. Mandatory for fans of the genre.

Czar

Feb 8, 2016

8

If you enjoyed XCOM then this is a no-brainer. Now with MOD support it will be even better. I have pt in 12 hours so far and found the campaign to be challenging. I typically have to reload most missions as my team gets mascaraed. The game looks great and runs smooth on my system, 980GTX. My only gripes are the timer in some missions. And the biggest is no Skirmish mode. I would love to beIf you enjoyed XCOM then this is a no-brainer. Now with MOD support it will be even better. I have pt in 12 hours so far and found the campaign to be challenging. I typically have to reload most missions as my team gets mascaraed. The game looks great and runs smooth on my system, 980GTX. My only gripes are the timer in some missions. And the biggest is no Skirmish mode. I would love to be able to load a map with operatives and enemies and just play the tactical game only.… 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.

ChoicestGames

Feb 15, 2019

8

XCOM 2 brings with it many welcome new features such as better customisation options, the ability to conduct guerrilla warfare against an alien threat and even a Memorial Wall. However, what it also brings are the usual flaws that infuriate players including bugs and RNGesus; XCOM 2 is also more difficult than its predecessor thanks to a combination of turning previous winning strategiesXCOM 2 brings with it many welcome new features such as better customisation options, the ability to conduct guerrilla warfare against an alien threat and even a Memorial Wall. However, what it also brings are the usual flaws that infuriate players including bugs and RNGesus; XCOM 2 is also more difficult than its predecessor thanks to a combination of turning previous winning strategies on their heads and having time limits placed on just about everything that you do.… Expand

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

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

cervomix

Feb 7, 2016

8

Seriously there are bugs, and some crashes, but it's not happening often. On a recent PC it runs very fine, maybe on some 5 years old pc it doesn't. More interesting than XCOM, more features, it's a great game !

Kingbingo

Feb 9, 2016

8

This game easily has the potential to be a 10 out 10. But for some reason the developers decided to add timers to most maps which will often ruin the experience as it stops you being tactical. So I’m giving it 8 but if you download the timer mods from the workshop you may as well add those 2 points back.

Sean-M

Jul 24, 2020

8

Really liked this game, it follows the great gameplay of the previous game but it also adds the character customisation that is amazing, especially when you add multiple mods on top of it.

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

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

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

RMDsilva

Jun 28, 2018

8

Solid game. Good kind of addiction, with enough variation and tactics to play with.
Only played standard version at Commander difficulty: good challenge at the beginning (actually let soldiers die instead of save scumming), a bit too easy from mid to end game.

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

Tomle1202

Jul 9, 2017

8

Behind the terribly optimized state that XCOM 2 runs on is a masterfully developed turn-based game that keeps humiliating your strategy with you loving it.

Gohenko

Feb 16, 2016

8

The game itself is brilliant. The tactical turn-based combat works great most of the time and the base management elements are nicely robust without feeling too overwhelming. The controversial turn timers haven't really managed to frustrate me, more often than not they just help create more tense moments on the battlefield.

Unfortunately, the performance problems are real. Forget aboutThe game itself is brilliant. The tactical turn-based combat works great most of the time and the base management elements are nicely robust without feeling too overwhelming. The controversial turn timers haven't really managed to frustrate me, more often than not they just help create more tense moments on the battlefield.

Unfortunately, the performance problems are real. Forget about getting constant 60fps with any kind of rig. I've also experienced a variety of bugs and glitches, and so far I've had at least 5 hard crashes during my 56 hours of playtime. However, none of these problems are big enough to keep me from returning to the game time and time again. It's that good.… 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.

thaylonsen

Feb 8, 2016

8

Great game, an evolution to the original. There are a lot of timers but there are also new tactics like remote hacking to help you along. All in all very pleased and the timers improved the game, not detracted from it.

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

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.

Hohum

Feb 7, 2016

8

Hello, Commander. You've been busted out of an Advent prison to frantically charge your way across maps in 8 turns or less. The aliens don't know that you're here, but that cache/computer/VIP/whatever is going to spontaneously combust in around 5 minutes anyway. Also, you're going to have to strategically command your troops at 10 fps each time the camera decides to move an inch. GoodHello, Commander. You've been busted out of an Advent prison to frantically charge your way across maps in 8 turns or less. The aliens don't know that you're here, but that cache/computer/VIP/whatever is going to spontaneously combust in around 5 minutes anyway. Also, you're going to have to strategically command your troops at 10 fps each time the camera decides to move an inch. Good luck, Commander (you're gonna need it).

Let's start with the timed missions. I hated them at first. They completely change the dynamic of what an XCOM game has always been - slow, tactical and methodical progress across any given map to thoroughly obliterate your foe. That being said, they're growing on me. I still feel there are too many of them and the timer should start when concealment is broken, but they definitely add a feeling of urgency to the game which we haven't had before. A bit of patching here, and some modding there, and they could work pretty well.

Secondly - the performance ranges to woeful to "wow, are these screenshots?". My Core i7 / 980 GTX can blast through the latest games on Ultra settings without a care in the world, but seems to develop some sort of crippling illness each time XCOM2.exe is fired up. Again, something I hope to be patched and modded in the near future.

All that aside, it's more of the same (but better) from XCOM:EO. Those many little annoyances and quirks from 2012's game have been improved dramatically. I plan to play this one for a good long time, but really you should hold off for a major patch or two before checking it out. No sense in letting some day-one disappointments ruin what should be an awesome experience.… Expand

ComandanteCobra

Mar 4, 2020

8

Good.
It's a little different from first Xcom in terms of game-play.
Here there are some sort of mini-bosses and a good amount of story driven missions that limit replay value but create a decent (if predictable) story. Most of the random missions (at normal ) are time related so you must complete them in a fixed numbers of turn or you'll loose the mission....but rarely this represent aGood.
It's a little different from first Xcom in terms of game-play.
Here there are some sort of mini-bosses and a good amount of story driven missions that limit replay value but create a decent (if predictable) story.
Most of the random missions (at normal ) are time related so you must complete them in a fixed numbers of turn or you'll loose the mission....but rarely this represent a real problem
It feel a little speed up compared to previous title in the franchise.
Lots of user-generated content can be found online for free and lots of bugs have been fixed.
I played also XCOM 2012 and X-COM: UFO Defense 1993.… Expand

Filaton

Feb 6, 2016

8

+ The tactical gameplay seems a lot more deep than it was in vanilla XCOM 1. The newly implemented hacking mechanics, melee attacks and more meaningful classes.
+ Plethora of enemies, all by far more troublesome than in XCOM 1; Expect sectoids to give you some early game havoc.
+ Pretty visuals, character customization makes it just hurt that much more when your top operatives get iced.+ The tactical gameplay seems a lot more deep than it was in vanilla XCOM 1. The newly implemented hacking mechanics, melee attacks and more meaningful classes.
+ Plethora of enemies, all by far more troublesome than in XCOM 1; Expect sectoids to give you some early game havoc.
+ Pretty visuals, character customization makes it just hurt that much more when your top operatives get iced.
+ Normal difficulty is no longer a walk in the park like it was in XCOM 1.
- Poor optimization, I'm running a GTX 750 Ti, which isn't that far off the recommended GTX 770, but I'm still getting awful fps in the base and on some missions with a lot of vegetation. My fps is 30-25 on moderate settings at best.
- The use of the turn-limit system is a little excessive. While I've had no problems getting it done on normal difficulty, I think the game's difficulty should come from dealing with the alien hordes and the troublesome combinations they can bring up, not having this constant race against the clock. I'd rather risk additional alien reinforcements than having my troops terminated because I didn't make the clock.
- Strategic campaign seems a little too punishing on normal difficulty. Even though I've nailed every mission so far with minimal casualties(and 2-3 savescums), I'm lagging far off on the Avatar project. I've probably made some bad choices along the road, but I feel like normal shouldn't be that merciless yet. I don't want to lower the difficulty just because of that, as I have no problems in dealing with the aliens mano a mano.

CONCLUSION:
The XCOM 2 will without a doubt be a good game in my book after a few patches and/or some possible modding. Reason I'm not rating it higher is because I feel like the game should be playable on Day One without any extra tinkering being needed.

After reading some of the fellow reviewers thoughts, I feel like people didn't inspect what they were buying at all. Complaining about a 95% shot missing: that's XCOM, baby. Complaining about lucky shots or unpredictable events screwing things up: that's XCOM, baby. This game was simply never intended for these people. I understand the complaints about turn-timer missions as there was only maybe one mission with a turn-timer in XCOM1.… Expand

EstariaValens

Feb 6, 2016

8

I am surprised how many people are marking this game down for, what seems to me, ridiculous issues.

1) Inventory management isn't gone. Anyone who says that, either hasn't played the game at all, or hasn't completed the tutorial. 2) A 95% shot misses 5% of the time. Not often, but it would behoove you to not put yourself in a position where a miss will cause instant death. I'mI am surprised how many people are marking this game down for, what seems to me, ridiculous issues.

1) Inventory management isn't gone. Anyone who says that, either hasn't played the game at all, or hasn't completed the tutorial.

2) A 95% shot misses 5% of the time. Not often, but it would behoove you to not put yourself in a position where a miss will cause instant death. I'm sure those people aren't complaining about the one time a 5% shot hit.

3) Just because someone rushes from point A to point B doesn't mean there are no other options. In most missions, I have had no issue developing tactical approaches; including split squad movement and ambushes. The people who complain about this are those that didn't bother to try.

4) I am surprised how many people are comparing this to the 1994 game, rather than the recent remake this is actually the sequel to. The people comparing it to that old game are suffering from nostalgia glasses. If they actually went back and played that game right before this one, I wonder how low they would score that Xcom?

Those are the primary problems I have read that people have with the game. Because anyone who marks a game down for optimization problems on first launch isn't very intelligent. If the game remains unoptimized, then there is cause to mark the game down. Not on day 1.

With all that said, you may be wondering why I only gave the game an 8/10. It's tough to put my finger on exactly what was off about this game

There are several new and interesting mechanics included; like carrying injured teammates out and enemies dropping items. I liked the look and feel of the mission select screen, and the more specific utility of engineers (rather than just having passive "engineers" you can assign each engineer to tasks). I liked the flying fortress concept, and I am a fan of leaving the air war out (for the most part).

I do agree that the story, though it starts off interesting enough, seems a bit rushed. The method for getting new rebels in your camp is fine, it just seems like each step is a little too big. (1 week and all of Asia is on your side? Sorry. Not even close to believable.) Now that is likely a limitation of developing a game like this, but I still have to hit the game for it. Story, after all, is an important part of any game.

I think, at the end of the day, I just felt that the new mechanisms were under-utilized. It's one of those games where you can see so much potential, but some of it is wasted. Undoubtedly the modders will make this into a truly epic game; but the base game is very good, but a little disappointing.… Expand

Hayward1066

Feb 7, 2016

8

A very well done successor. If not the for the mod support i would of actually given it a 7 as many of the things i found irritating in the first game are still included such as small squad size and simplified base choices for example.

I would take some of the low review scores from some people with a grain of salt as well (angry console players?). The most common complaint is the timedA very well done successor. If not the for the mod support i would of actually given it a 7 as many of the things i found irritating in the first game are still included such as small squad size and simplified base choices for example.

I would take some of the low review scores from some people with a grain of salt as well (angry console players?). The most common complaint is the timed missions removing the "tactical approach", no they dont, they just stop you cheesing the game with overwatch traps. You are in occupied territory of course there is going to be a response hence the timer. If its that much of a problem go into the core files and change it, or download a mod (there are several) from steam. The games "guts" are already fairly open and there are many things you can do to alter balance. I have already made several tweaks, its really easy.

Another is the "unfair" % to hit system. Sorry your suffering from conformation bias. It can be maddening but that's why every action you take has a fall back plan, avoid last ditch attack scenarios like the plague. And the Psy operative's inspire is a literal life saver, use it as an "oh $£"$" button.

I have experienced 1 CTD so far, and some slight slow down issues, not bad, but you may want to wait a week or two so Firaxis can role out an optimization patch as other people seem to having some problems. I have also not seen the shoot through walls bug, but i am just lucky i think.

Overall its a very good game, with the same strengths and weaknesses as firaxis's first effort, however it is the modding community and the tools that are really going to extend the games life.… Expand

Orsnoire

Feb 15, 2016

8

Pros:
- Customizable troops
- Enhanced tactical game responsiveness (aiming equipment, grenades are now useful, etc) - "Interesting choices" (i.e. it matters what you choose cause you can't get everything) on the Geoscape - Good story with cutscenes that don't beg to be skipped - Very difficult "special" enemies - Deep base management - Intel; this new resource is one of the primaryPros:
- Customizable troops
- Enhanced tactical game responsiveness (aiming equipment, grenades are now useful, etc)
- "Interesting choices" (i.e. it matters what you choose cause you can't get everything) on the Geoscape
- Good story with cutscenes that don't beg to be skipped
- Very difficult "special" enemies
- Deep base management
- Intel; this new resource is one of the primary methods of making choices on the geoscape matter
- Improved Psi training and skill tree
- Timed missions add some pressure and interest to tactical game

Cons:

- LONG load times
- (at the time of this writing) Buggy soldier "cutscenes" in tactical combat
- Overuse of timed missions; would have liked to have seen more fully tactical missions that start stealthed
- Still didn't fix the wonky difficulty curve: early game is much more difficult than endgame

Overall I would rate this game 8/10… Expand

DKDArtagnan

Feb 11, 2016

8

Obviously, since the reboot of X-Com was a success, they've chosen to stick with the same basic formula.

This includes the needlessly rigid 2-action system and the irksome inventory limitations. But I can accept that - and once I got past it, I managed to enjoy my time with the game greatly. They've improved upon most aspects of the game, and even with the 2-action limit, theObviously, since the reboot of X-Com was a success, they've chosen to stick with the same basic formula.

This includes the needlessly rigid 2-action system and the irksome inventory limitations.

But I can accept that - and once I got past it, I managed to enjoy my time with the game greatly. They've improved upon most aspects of the game, and even with the 2-action limit, the tactical game feels rich and reasonably varied.

It looks amazing for a turn-based game focused on cerebral stimulation. I'm not used to playing this kind of game with this level of visual fidelity. The battlefield looks positively alive - and there's a great variety in everything from the procedurally generated levels and wide array of enemies to the meaty arsenal of weaponry and the fully customizable soldiers. They all look great and imaginative - and the animations are quite superb.

That came at a cost, however, and the game suffers a lot when it comes to performance. I have a very high-end rig, and yet it stuttered and felt strangely lethargic at times. It also takes its sweet time showing individual actions in what I would call a very relaxed manner. Thankfully, what's shown is satisfying and the game is so full of tension that this very deliberate pace isn't as frustrating as it would be in a lesser game. But be warned, it's not a fast or smooth experience.

Then there's the controversial focus on having time-limits in most missions. I was worried when I first heard about it. I tend to have a strong distaste for time-limits in games that are otherwise focused on giving you reasons to be careful and to take your time doing things right. It's a somewhat conflicted design philosophy.

However, I must admit that I completed the game on Veteran without a single time-limit inspired problem. Well, ok, I did feel real tension on those "rescue civilians" missions - but that's pretty appropriate :) Such missions SHOULD feel tense and they should force you to take some chances.

So, ultimately, I don't think it's a problem on Veteran difficulty. I imagine it's a problem on higher levels - and it's not really my favorite kind of challenge. But I can't claim it's not a reasonably good fit for what they're trying to convey. You're supposed to be desperate and under immense pressure. Maybe that's not the best overall design - but you have to respect what developers are trying to do when you're reviewing their product.

As for the strategic layer, it's also quite improved - but I guess I'm not as thrilled with the direction as other players seem to be. To me, it goes back to my dislike for putting boardgames in my computer games. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy boardgames - but I prefer to play them with real friends in real life. I don't enjoy simplifying and streamlining when it actively works against what could have been rich and layered.

Personally, I think the choices you make on the world map feel entirely too binary and you're essentially never much in doubt about what your priority should be. Why? Because there's a rigid timer in place - and the consequences are always spelled out for you. This means the strategy involved is always picking the lesser of 2-3 evils - and that's it, really.

The great skill-trees are back - and they've expanded them to include "random skills" and leader skills. I love the way you get to customize your team both in terms of class setup and skill choices. It's not greatly expanded from the first game, but still enough to make it feel fresh, especially with the additon of the Ranger class - and the hacking Specialist class. The hacking aspect feels a bit undercooked, however, but at least it's there.

They've also added Weapon modifications and though it's somewhat simplistic, it still manages to add to the feeling of making interesting choices and feeling the progress of better gear. I just wish they'd expand upon it and go for a more exploration-oriented game. I'd love to roam the maps in "Jagged Alliance 2" style and search for alien loot.

Finally, I can't write a fair review without mentioning the bugs and quirks of the game. There's no way around the fact that this release wasn't quite ready. I experienced at least two game-breaking bugs during tactical missions - which forced me to reload a save from much earlier in the fight. One example was a downed soldier that I simply couldn't carry - because the game didn't recognize her existence. It's apparently a known bug with unconscious soldiers involving inconsistency with tile-placement. On several occasions, the animations associated with soldiers and/or enemies would "stop being there" - and you'd simply see the result without the actions taking place. This happened quite frequently and really disrupts the flow of the game. It can be fixed with a reload, however. Then we have the performance issues - which are quite significant.

Overall, a great game due to a combination of the original Gollop design and the new Firaxis spin on the formul… 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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