XCOM 2

 PC
User Score
7.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 1694 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,117 out of 1694
  2. Mixed: 275 out of 1694
  3. Negative: 302 out of 1694
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  1. 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
  2. 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.
  3. 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 about    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 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
  4. smilzoboboz
    Jan 10, 2017
    7
    A good XCOM game, probably not the best, somehow poorly optimized and a bit cryptic on its mechanics.

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

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

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

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

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

    So in the end for me it's a good turn-based tactical combat games, a worthy successor of the previous XCOM: Enemy Unknown (and "Within"), but definitely not the best turn-based tactical combat game out there, check out "Invisible Inc." if you like the genre, you may enjoy it more than this one.    … Expand
  5. 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 not    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 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
  6. atalhaderici
    Feb 11, 2016
    10
    XCOM 2 is an amazing game

    The best XCOM ever, period.

    Good combat abilities
    More enemies
    Mod support
    More soldier customization
    Better story

    I love it...
  7. 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.
  8. 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 - everyone    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 - 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
  9. 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
  10. segi
    Feb 7, 2016
    10
    El rendimiento en mi caso es bueno, no he medido fps en esta primera toma de contacto, pero lo noto fluido excepto un par de rascones sin importancia en la personalización de los soldados y alguna cinemática del avenger. (i5@4.5 y 770 4Gb en la configuración alta que viene por defecto en el juego, por ahora no me apetece medir y toquetear nada). Seguramente los votos negativos vendrán deEl rendimiento en mi caso es bueno, no he medido fps en esta primera toma de contacto, pero lo noto fluido excepto un par de rascones sin importancia en la personalización de los soldados y alguna cinemática del avenger. (i5@4.5 y 770 4Gb en la configuración alta que viene por defecto en el juego, por ahora no me apetece medir y toquetear nada). Seguramente los votos negativos vendrán de las rascadas que da en configuraciones ultra, supongo digo yo.

    Los gráficos son buenos, poco necesita este juego y lo cumple de sobra, las animaciones son notables y se nota que han cuidado el aspecto con mimo. Se agradece porque ahora puedes poner distintas animaciones dependiendo del carácter como, alegre, tranquilo y cosas así, lo que me lleva al siguiente aspecto.

    La personalización es magnífica, y además ajustada a los controles del teclado, fantástico sin lugar a dudas. Perder un soldado era un dolor en el alma ahora te cae hasta la lagrimita cuando los hieren, por cierto puedes editar hasta su biografía, packs de voces...

    El metajuego o el concepto en sí, hace que no sea un digno sucesor sino que supere al primero sin lugar a dudas. Ahora somos la resistencia y lo han cuidado, el tiempo pasa mientras estamos realizando alguna acción ya sea recolectar info, buscar recursos, investigar nuevas zonas, siempre estás haciendo algo, nada de esperar a que ataquen y cada decisión cuenta. Esto me sirve para explicar otro aspecto muy positivo del juego, la microgestión.
    Ahora somos la resistencia, se nota y los recursos escasean, por lo que ya no salvamos científicos ahora salvamos al científico Manolo Becario hijo de Conchita, todo tiene nombre propio, hasta las víctimas en las misiones de terror que ahora se llaman de represalía. Como he dicho han cuidado mucho aspectos en apariencia menores pero que refuerzan la atmósfera convincentemente.

    La estrategia es otra cosa, venía confiado del Long War y me he encontrado sobrepasado en varias ocasiones, la IA es una perra y actúa según la unidad lo cual está bien, las unidades cuerpo a cuerpo se lanzarán contra ti sin pensárselo mucho pero los comandantes si se ven solos ante el peligro retroceden a mejores posiciones. Por el momento no tengo queja.
    Las habilidades para que os hagáis una idea están diferenciadas en dos caminos bastante diferenciados, podemos mezclar a gusto pero por ejemplo un especialista tendrá una rama médica y otra más orientada al combate, el explorador tiene una dedicada a mejorar el tiro de francotirador y la otra al combate cercano.

    Es más díficil, sobretodo los primeros compases, también es verdad que nos confiamos y hay muchos tipos de enemigos como el Sin Cara, cabrón joputa, así que es normal que ya desde el tutorial te recuerden que no te flipes. En lo particular me gusta la dificultad, todavía no he perdido soldado alguno pero se nota la angustia en cada misión.

    En fin multitud de pequeños detalles conforman un juego que todo amante de la estrategia jugará tarde o temprano, por criticar algo pondría que algunas superficies son engañosas y te pueden disparar a través, poco más y eso que me gusta sacarle punta a todo.    … Expand
  11. 2fatbear
    Nov 26, 2017
    10
    Being a veteran XCom player, I still miss the complete freedom we had on the original games on choosing equipment for missions and details like limited munition and caring to not shoot your friends.
    So why I give the game a 10/10? Because it is perfect on what it proposes to be. It is moderately easy on easier difficult and amazingly difficult on the top ones, with the daring Ironman    Being a veteran XCom player, I still miss the complete freedom we had on the original games on choosing equipment for missions and details like limited munition and caring to not shoot your friends.
    So why I give the game a 10/10? Because it is perfect on what it proposes to be. It is moderately easy on easier difficult and amazingly difficult on the top ones, with the daring Ironman option (you cant save while on missions) turned on.
    I have a small complain in the graphics area. I like much better the graphics on the first modern XCom game, they are more realistic. But these on XCom 2 are more effective, things are more distinct and easy to see. The point is I liked the small amount of confusion the realistic graphics created.
    Sounds and voices are great. Interface is great. And there is a ton of mods to choose and change your game to your taste, like raising the limit of that dread time limited missions (but hey, try it the default way, you will have the thrill of your life! (: ) and virtually anything you can imagine.
    Cant wait for XCom 3!    … Expand
  12. Pendra
    Mar 15, 2016
    5
    I'm a die hard fan of XCOM OG and XCOM EU/EW as well.

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

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

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

    The graphics are sharper, and there is proper mod support. These are good. If you like turn based games, you will like this as well.    … Expand
  13. denissix
    Jan 3, 2021
    0
    XCOM 2 is unbalanced piece of s.... DLC Bosses with three life strips for first-level soldiers is "nice". The game is going too fast, very few resources. Improvements are very expensive. The Avatar project... who invented it?
    Max honest rate no more 75. Bad job Firaxis
  14. 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 soldiers    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 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
  15. 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
  16. Philsg1
    Feb 8, 2016
    10
    Phenomenal sequel to a modern strategy/tactical classic. Takes everything that you loved from XCOM EU and EW and chucks out everything you hated (except the 97% miss - that's XCOM baby!)

    Reminds me of the huge jump up from the promising Mass Effect 1 to the brilliant Mass Effect 2. Fantastic replayability - tense missions and full ongoing Mod support. Day one purchase and    Phenomenal sequel to a modern strategy/tactical classic. Takes everything that you loved from XCOM EU and EW and chucks out everything you hated (except the 97% miss - that's XCOM baby!)

    Reminds me of the huge jump up from the promising Mass Effect 1 to the brilliant Mass Effect 2.

    Fantastic replayability - tense missions and full ongoing Mod support.

    Day one purchase and pre-ordered - dream game!

    Odd slow and Frame drop - but these will soon be patched.    … Expand
  17. RogalDorn01
    Feb 8, 2016
    10
    Outstanding game and a truly impressive follow up to Enemy Unknown / Within. The story is great and it really gives the feeling of trying to build up a global resistance. It balances fun and stress as well. The only downside is that at the time of launch the performance can get a little chuggy during cutscenes. Also sometimes the audio gets delayed when I stream to my TV.

    I am sure    Outstanding game and a truly impressive follow up to Enemy Unknown / Within. The story is great and it really gives the feeling of trying to build up a global resistance. It balances fun and stress as well. The only downside is that at the time of launch the performance can get a little chuggy during cutscenes. Also sometimes the audio gets delayed when I stream to my TV.

    I am sure these minor technical glitches will be patched out soon. I would honestly give the game a 9/10. But so many trolls who never even played the game are giving a Zero, so I will give it a 10 to help counter.    … Expand
  18. 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.
  19. Wontohn
    Feb 9, 2016
    10
    It was pretty good actually. I liked the aliens, and the shooting was fun also. Above all, I love the killing parts. When you shooted the bad guys and they dropded it was pretty cool. I recomended this game to you now.
  20. brain9h
    Feb 10, 2016
    10
    Excellent game, the best X-COM so far. People are giving negative reviews because the game is hard. But that's XCOM, unforgiving.

    Technically, game runs smooth and has little bugs compared to other major games released.
  21. Acronymous
    Aug 14, 2018
    10
    What can i say, i love the tactical, turn-based games. After playing a lot of XCOM with my friends i just had to try XCOM2 and was not disappointed. Everything is better in this installment (except for a Chance to hit) although i'm not a big fan of forcing player to rush with the turns-left counter.

    All in all it's a great game and i simply love it.
  22. 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)
  23. masamuneriku
    Sep 3, 2016
    7
    Very similar to Xcom EU with improved graphics. No significant changes or notable innovation compared to Xcom EU. Overall still a fun strategy game though sometimes can be frustrating when you miss a 95% hit chance flanking shot.

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

    The game is badly optimized with tons of bugs and frequent crashes: Stuck at alien's turn, killed on successful hacking due to previous feedback damage, slow response time, etc. Minus 1 score due to unresolved bugs and issues even though it is already more than 6 months after release.    … Expand
  24. ComandanteCobra
    Mar 4, 2020
    8
    Good.
    It's a little different from first Xcom in terms of game-play.
    Here there are some sort of mini-bosses and a good amount of story driven missions that limit replay value but create a decent (if predictable) story. Most of the random missions (at normal ) are time related so you must complete them in a fixed numbers of turn or you'll loose the mission....but rarely this represent a    Good.
    It's a little different from first Xcom in terms of game-play.
    Here there are some sort of mini-bosses and a good amount of story driven missions that limit replay value but create a decent (if predictable) story.
    Most of the random missions (at normal ) are time related so you must complete them in a fixed numbers of turn or you'll loose the mission....but rarely this represent a real problem
    It feel a little speed up compared to previous title in the franchise.
    Lots of user-generated content can be found online for free and lots of bugs have been fixed.
    I played also XCOM 2012 and X-COM: UFO Defense 1993.    … Expand
  25. 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 of    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 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
  26. 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
  27. 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 enabled    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 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
  28. sergio223
    Feb 6, 2016
    10
    Pros

    Tight tactical gameplay
    Dynamic and unpredictable
    Wider strategy full of tough, meaningful decisions
    New stealth options work in well
    Strong cinematic presentation

    Cons

    Views don’t always provide necessary information
  29. ChadMan25
    Feb 6, 2016
    10
    One of the best games I have played! a robust strategy game that somehow delivers on visuals and gameplay in a way that makes every moment both tense and satisfying!
  30. 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 sequel    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 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
  31. 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
  32. mightyprometeus
    Feb 7, 2016
    10
    This is the one and only game if you are a fan of turn based tactical combat. There is nothing compareable in complexity, challange, depth, quality, storyline, atmosphere, customization aso..
    Everything in this game is made with so much enthusiasm and love for detail. I was playing XCom, and all sequels of it. Loved XCom Enemy Unknown and hey XCom2 is OMG i will play this the next 10    This is the one and only game if you are a fan of turn based tactical combat. There is nothing compareable in complexity, challange, depth, quality, storyline, atmosphere, customization aso..
    Everything in this game is made with so much enthusiasm and love for detail. I was playing XCom, and all sequels of it. Loved XCom Enemy Unknown and hey XCom2 is OMG i will play this the next 10 Years!
    There was a game i always dreamed of and finaly Firaxis made it!

    Cons:
    1) Yes i think its released too early. It took me half a day to fix starting crashes and I'm pretty sure there will be more.
    2) Yes you need very good hardware. (Going to buy a new graphix card)

    Fazit: Little bit dissapointing they released it unpolished. I'm game developer myself and I know its always difficult to make a game really polished and perfect within the time and budget you have and you cannot always choose your release date. So I'm sure they will deliver a patch soon fixing all stuff that needs to be fixed.

    Love this game!
    BUT:
    - Its like XCom Enemy Unknown but improved in every single aspect.
    - Incredible graphics, camera animations,    … Expand
  33. aasmodeaa
    Feb 7, 2016
    10
    I have played 6 hours and I can say that I don t met any bug until now. It is true that sometimes my Pc feels a little overload by the game but I have just 4 gb memory. The tactical part of the game is ok the only thing is that the AI of the enemy feels sometimes little week: there are two enemies attacking and almost all members of my squad is exposed (4 men) and just a few square fromI have played 6 hours and I can say that I don t met any bug until now. It is true that sometimes my Pc feels a little overload by the game but I have just 4 gb memory. The tactical part of the game is ok the only thing is that the AI of the enemy feels sometimes little week: there are two enemies attacking and almost all members of my squad is exposed (4 men) and just a few square from the enemy and instead to shut on my men they are just staying in over-watch or turning their back to me ..… Expand
  34. 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
  35. 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 of    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 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
  36. saintch
    Feb 8, 2016
    10
    An improvement in every aspect. I encountered no bugs, game is well paced, the timers in many missions add to the atmosphere, and are generously even with a defensive play style time was never an issue.

    Love the game, love the atmosphere.
  37. 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
  38. 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 playing    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 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
  39. 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
  40. 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 adressed    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 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
  41. rainymatt
    Feb 9, 2016
    10
    I suggest not listening to the all the x com: UFO defense fanboys that plague these reviews because they give such bias reviews that are total BS, talk about stuck out of time
  42. 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 primary    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 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
  43. Morguewolf
    Feb 9, 2016
    10
    I just want to write this as a counterweight to a lot of the misguided negative reviews for this game. Because a lot of people seem to hate this game because it's either too hard and they want games to be easy or because it's different then the past games in the series. If you don't like challenging games then obviously don't play this, that first point is obvious. And if you don't like itI just want to write this as a counterweight to a lot of the misguided negative reviews for this game. Because a lot of people seem to hate this game because it's either too hard and they want games to be easy or because it's different then the past games in the series. If you don't like challenging games then obviously don't play this, that first point is obvious. And if you don't like it because it's different from the original that's fine but that doesn't make it a bad game. This game, if judged by it's own merits, is fantastic. Especially in a direct comparison to Enemy Unknown, which is the game this is a sequel for.

    A lot of people seem to be irked by optimization issues as well which I don't understand because this game runs flawlessly for me so, again this is a personal issue on the purchasers part.

    Another complaint seems to be about bugs and working issues, which again I haven't faced any of and on that note a lot of game's aren't 100% at the top of the release so to rate it a zero for that is absurd. This game is completely functional.

    If you want to see all the positives of this game you can easily read the critics reviews because they are all spot on. This is more or less just a review to dispel the ridiculous complains people are levying against a game I consider to be amazing.    … Expand
  44. Tanesis
    Feb 10, 2016
    10
    X:com 2 is brutally difficult. Spend hours customising soldiers to watch them die in seconds.

    The skills learnt as your cannonfodd...erm soldiers advance in rank are better than EU and allow for more tactile flexibility, especially when you have you guys synergise with each other. Though this works both ways as the aliens are more dangerous now and have a new arsenal of skills, some of    X:com 2 is brutally difficult. Spend hours customising soldiers to watch them die in seconds.

    The skills learnt as your cannonfodd...erm soldiers advance in rank are better than EU and allow for more tactile flexibility, especially when you have you guys synergise with each other. Though this works both ways as the aliens are more dangerous now and have a new arsenal of skills, some of which are pretty awesome.

    The maps are an improvement with far more variety both in setting and in layout. Enjoying the missions though there could be a few extra mission types to mix things up as they can get a little bit repetitive, especially as there seems to be way more battles than in EU in terms of storyline progression.

    Initially didn't like the idea of timed missions but after about 20 hours of playing through I think they've made the tactical battles far more enjoyable. You have to make educated guesses about when to creep and when to scurry forward. The main reason I enjoy the timer though is the new conceal mechanic.

    You can use concealment to lay ambushes which tend to be pretty fun and the Ranger being able to avoid breaking concealment allows some interesting scouting/flanking opportunities.

    The Strategic aspect of the game such as base building, R&D etc I think has been slightly improved. Some are quality of life improvements over EU whereas others are I think outright mechanical improvements.

    The graphics are fairly good (but definitely not standout) and I like the use of colour though there are some serious clipping issues on the action cut scenes. Additionally after some of the cut scenes the game does seem to freeze for a second or 2 and its often at these points that there is a drop in frames. Also loading screens seem a tad lengthy.

    Will appeal to anyone who enjoyed X:Com EU and likes a challenge. Will not appeal to people who did not like X:Com EU, who dislike RNG or who dislike difficult games.    … Expand
  45. 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, the    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, 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
  46. 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. Elements    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. 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
  47. awinters86
    Feb 11, 2016
    10
    I just finished the game moments ago for the first time, and I am incredibly impressed. It is very similar to the previous game, but with a great deal of improvements.
  48. MentalDraco
    Feb 15, 2016
    10
    Awesome game, barely managed to stop playing, the negative reviews are just ppl complaining about the game being to hard .... yea that is the point like dark souls i don t want an easy game. All in all grate game had a ton of fun.
  49. 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 you    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 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
  50. 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 looking    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 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
  51. 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
  52. 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
  53. 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 and    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 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
  54. wpdaisley
    Feb 16, 2016
    10
    Phenomenal game. Good soldier classes that accomplish different things and strategy to challenge the player.

    The people complaining about the turn limits and the modding them out misunderstand guerrilla warfare and are ruining the game. You are guerrilla fights so you have limited time to get in, complete your objective, and get out; otherwise you would be crushed. If you mod the    Phenomenal game. Good soldier classes that accomplish different things and strategy to challenge the player.

    The people complaining about the turn limits and the modding them out misunderstand guerrilla warfare and are ruining the game. You are guerrilla fights so you have limited time to get in, complete your objective, and get out; otherwise you would be crushed.

    If you mod the turns out then you ruin the game. Without the turn limits, the game would be so easy. Why not just inch up every turn and put your squad on overwatch so you can ambush and shred the enemy every time before they can do anything? What is the strategy in that? If you dislike the turns so much then you are turtling too much and need to confront the strategy head on.

    There are a few minor bugs and glitches but I am sure those will be resolved in the coming months with patches and updates and nothing neared making the game unplayable.    … Expand
  55. 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
  56. 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
  57. 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 felt    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 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
  58. Lasa
    Feb 18, 2016
    8
    XCOM 2 have some performance issues, glitches and so on but play like it is great.
    People complaining about forcing player to finish mission fast like in 8-12 turns.
    Those people like to stay in overwatch for 15 turns until eventually enemy runs into them, or when they run into a tough encounter they dash out off sight and wait again in overwatch, and they call it strategy well i am glad    XCOM 2 have some performance issues, glitches and so on but play like it is great.
    People complaining about forcing player to finish mission fast like in 8-12 turns.
    Those people like to stay in overwatch for 15 turns until eventually enemy runs into them, or when they run into a tough encounter they dash out off sight and wait again in overwatch, and they call it strategy well i am glad that kind of strategy is not possible.
    if you claim the game is to difficult it means you are rushing through the game and not planning your moves. I recommend to watch beaglerush videos who is like an expert in the game.

    The AI might shoot you when triggered if you out of cover, great
    No more overwatch camping, great

    the only thing it botters me is the fact the AI is still so damned stupid like sectoid is last enemy and he is flanking you and he raises a zombie instead shooting you in the head. sectoid never uses the plasma pistol unless he is flashbanged    … Expand
  59. Blahqqbirds
    Feb 20, 2016
    8
    Great game but gets repetitive. For people complaining about it being too hard; research faceless asap and get as mimic balls. This will make even legend ironman mode a joke.
  60. JimmieJones
    Mar 12, 2016
    9
    I am showing my age when I admit I played the first XCOM series in the 90s. I loved that game, and I loved the remake of XCom which came out a few years ago.
    The latest incarnation is beautiful to look at, has enough new tweaks and enhancements to get me engaged all over again, and it is tough enough, with a mix of resource management to keep me hitting the save and load button often, and    I am showing my age when I admit I played the first XCOM series in the 90s. I loved that game, and I loved the remake of XCom which came out a few years ago.
    The latest incarnation is beautiful to look at, has enough new tweaks and enhancements to get me engaged all over again, and it is tough enough, with a mix of resource management to keep me hitting the save and load button often, and heading to bed in the early hours of the morning.
    The game pushed my PC in terms of performance, and lag and abysmal load times before and after missions were a major let-down, but these problems have been fixed with the latest patch. (Also some awesome mods have been very helpful also. I probably have about 20 loaded now)
    I love turn based, and I love the investment in each soldier, the satisfaction when you pull off a critical hit and subsequently manage to get through a mission without losing any of your team.
    I have a few hours to go, but I am hooked, and already the time I log on to continue my game is getting earlier and earlier each day.    … Expand
  61. Huzardadi
    Feb 26, 2016
    8
    Gameplay is 10 of 10. Lower score because it is GLITCHY.

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

    BUGGY BUGGY BUGGY. Don't play ironman until this game gets figured out from the back end.
  62. Marcecritic
    Feb 27, 2016
    8
    This game is fantastic ! It is a worthy sequel with acceptable graphics and gameplay that grabs you from the beginning of the game. characters very similar to the first XCOM
  63. Cougargames
    Nov 5, 2019
    8
    Now please dont mind my seven just beacuse metacritic gives 7s a yellow colour doesnt men i hate the game its quite good in fact it does almost everything that xcom did right besides the fact that they have timed missions. One of the most satisfying feeling (atleast for me) is that i could creat the perfect stealth attack and suprise my enemies. You can still do that but its all veryNow please dont mind my seven just beacuse metacritic gives 7s a yellow colour doesnt men i hate the game its quite good in fact it does almost everything that xcom did right besides the fact that they have timed missions. One of the most satisfying feeling (atleast for me) is that i could creat the perfect stealth attack and suprise my enemies. You can still do that but its all very limited beacuse you almost dont have the option to take your time. Now Im not gonna spoil xcoms ending but what i can tell you is that everything you did in Xcom 1 basically dosent matter, wich fel like a big f*** you to the players.… Expand
  64. 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.
  65. vevo00
    Jul 26, 2016
    10
    Eu amei esse jogo , ta que o pariu , as analises negativas são desses noobs chorões , o jogo é dificil é sim , mas vale a pena , aquela sensação de Dark Souls a cada missão feita , valeu a pena ter comprado . Jogão , se você é noob e acha tudo difícil volte pro seu COD
  66. 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
  67. Shatter77
    Dec 29, 2016
    3
    I'm not sure I can finish this game, because it has decided to crash again and again in the same place. Load, do a few moves, quickly save before it crashes may yet get me out oft his crash fest. Nearly a year old, and the game being in this state is unconscionable.

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

    Further boatload of criticism:

    - This game is essentially the same as Enemy Unknown: the mechanics are virtually identical.
    - Enemies are still grouped in mobs that get interrupt moves as you discover them, regardless of whether they can see you. Normally turn based games have an initiative stat to govern who goes first. Not here and it practically forces you to try to set up ambushes by reloading then preventing triggering seeing the mob before you are ready.
    - Game play is largely a matter of luck. I do not believe anyone can play this game to the end without relying on save/reload a lot.
    - Wounded team members are out of action for up to a month, which is extremely long.
    - It's extremely easy for your soldiers to die, and extremely time consuming to level them up. I've been playing for 40 hours and more or less just got a few colonel level soldiers. I doubt it's possible to lose a colonel, then level up a replacement before the game ends. So, lose a soldier and you're practically forced to reload.
    - A clock is ticking on the campaign map and nearly every mission also has a turn limit on it. So you are forced to take risks and push forward in a game that ruthlessly punishes that very behaviour.
    - The mouse interface is an insulting afterthought. Drag the world map, and pass an interactive icon will trigger that icon.
    - Did I mention the interface is atrocious?
    - Your base interface has you step through multiple layers with camera swivels in between all the time. Dizzying, useless. Slow.
    - The interface does nothing to help you select the best equipment for your current team, as wounded soldiers are rotated out. In one screen the "make weapons available" button is not there. Mostly those buttons don't even work. Prepare to spend several hours of your playtime hunting for that piece of armour or that weapon that's not on any of the selected soldiers.    … Expand
  68. ashyyay2
    Oct 7, 2016
    8
    بازی ایکس کام 2 یک بازی بسیار خوب است.اما متاسفانه برای افرادی که با ژانر استراتژیک یا حتی استراتژیک نوبتی اشنا نیستند بازی بسیار بدی است همچنین دارای مشکلات زیدازی هست و بهینه سازی بسیار بدی روی سیستم های ضعیف دارد
  69. HansV
    Jan 22, 2017
    10
    Very very very good game. Good mix between time based missions and free missions.
    Comparing this to Jagged Alliance (very old), two points could maybe be changed: it would somewhat add to the experience if your enemies would include not only aliens and mutated humans but "real" humans and you could decapitate them with a head-shot and the like; sounds gruesome but killings in JA2 are more    Very very very good game. Good mix between time based missions and free missions.
    Comparing this to Jagged Alliance (very old), two points could maybe be changed: it would somewhat add to the experience if your enemies would include not only aliens and mutated humans but "real" humans and you could decapitate them with a head-shot and the like; sounds gruesome but killings in JA2 are more satisfying than in XCOM2 - sorry. Secondly, if your soldiers would be more characterized from the start, it would increase your attachment to the team-members and any loss would hurt extra.    … Expand
  70. Sekhyt
    Jul 14, 2017
    10
    Really brilliant game, amazing immersive battles, very challenging difficulty level, also very interesting and atmospheric outside battle management - the research, engineering etc, I just wish there was more time to travel all over the world and pickup stuff. Many very interesting things that can't be found in other games.

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

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

    Other cons ? Hmmm, maybe if you play on ironman and you get bad luck sometimes you lose very experienced unit without even a chance to do anything.    … Expand
  71. Bruno2rech
    Jan 20, 2017
    8
    the game is brilliant I love the random generated maps and the intresting game play and tactics that you need to use is like playing chess on steroids. I also love the caricature props and the different research options thou I would prefer more of a research tree and I would also like to see. it would be nice thou if they could allow you to build your own resistance out posts at land basesthe game is brilliant I love the random generated maps and the intresting game play and tactics that you need to use is like playing chess on steroids. I also love the caricature props and the different research options thou I would prefer more of a research tree and I would also like to see. it would be nice thou if they could allow you to build your own resistance out posts at land bases at captured resistance settlements and then defend them against attackers. the only thing that bugs me with the game is the bugs and that at higher levels of difficulty they do not increase the amount of enemies you fight they only lower your percentage hit chance which is not all that great.… Expand
  72. uVimOvil
    Jan 24, 2017
    10
    un 10 como una catedral mejora muchisimo a xcom original al que ya eche sus 100 horas, este x-com 2 me ha conseguido enganchar mas de 200 horas increiblemente adictivo y como te piques con los logros buff vas a sufrir aparte de disfrutar
  73. qrooel
    Mar 13, 2020
    0
    Timers in almost every mission. TBS with timers. Game is nearly unplayable because of this. No fun at all. Frustrating game ever.
  74. TheFrog
    Oct 26, 2019
    1
    Picture ugly-drawn graphics straight out of the PS2 era, and micro levels that still take longer to load than a sprawling open world with 100x the detail (my gods, loading takes AGES).
    The game consists of a gauntlet where your soldiers face superior numbers of superior enemies with far superior combat capabilities. Your snipers will almost never hit anything and cannot see an enemy    Picture ugly-drawn graphics straight out of the PS2 era, and micro levels that still take longer to load than a sprawling open world with 100x the detail (my gods, loading takes AGES).
    The game consists of a gauntlet where your soldiers face superior numbers of superior enemies with far superior combat capabilities. Your snipers will almost never hit anything and cannot see an enemy furthe than 6 meters. Your gunner deals minimal damage. Your scout is pointless, for stealth only applies to your very first attack. The specialist will heal you once per mission. Meanwhile enemies reanimate the dead, panic your troops (this may also occur if one of your soldiers gets hit!), take control of your soldiers, turning them into enemies that fire on your own troops. They pull your soldiers in a death grip that damages them, keep dealing damage and takes them in the middle of the enemies.
    The enemy spots you during their turn? You are in trouble. You spot the enemy? They get a free turn allowing them to disperse and get to cover before you can do anything. After a mission, your soldiers will be wounded, shaken and whatnot, introducing more handicaps for the next.
    Hitting is based on a RNG, so you often miss three times in a row even with an 80% chance to hit. It’s ridiculously easy to lose a soldier, and you only have four.
    Shouldn’t games be fun?    … Expand
  75. Axilley
    Jul 22, 2021
    8
    good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good X2
  76. DeathReis
    Jul 5, 2022
    8
    GİRİŞ

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

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

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

    ARTILARI

    +Harika grafikleri

    +Güzel optimizasyon

    +Sağlam yapay zeka

    +Binbir çeşit upgrade seçeneği

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

    +Bölüm tasarımları şahane

    +Scriptli eventler fena değil

    +Hikaye tırt olsada nadiren "wow" dedirtiyor

    +Silah ve Sınıf çeşitliliği yeterli düzeyde

    +Düşman çeşitliliği ise çok iyi

    +Oyun süresi gayet iyi(dlcler ile uzatabilirsiniz tabiki)

    +Steam atölye desteği

    +Görevler öncesi doğru planlama yapmanızı gerektiren dizayn seçimi

    EKSİLERİ

    -Tırt hikayesi

    -Tırt karakterleri

    -Çoğunlukla tahmin edilebilir olay örgüsü

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

    -Sonlara doğru tekrara düşüyor

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

    PUANLAMA

    82/100 100: Mükemmel(Kusursuz) 99-90: Harika(Kusursuz Değil ama yakın) 89-80: Çok iyi 79-75: İyi 74-70: Ortalama Üstü 69-65: Ortalama 64-60: Ortalama Altı 59-55: Kötü 54-50: Çok Kötü 49    … Expand
  77. Kotofon
    Jun 6, 2020
    8
    XCOM2 - это продолжение признанной игроками и критиками стратегии XCOM: Enemy Unknown. Двадцать лет минуло с тех пор, как человечество проиграло войну с захватчиками из другого мира, и на Земле теперь царит новый порядок
  78. GarethB
    Nov 2, 2018
    8
    An excellent turned base game full of action and plenty of customisation. There are a huge host of mods available to tailor the game further to your needs!
  79. 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
  80. SilverOrlov
    Jun 17, 2020
    9
    I decided to write a separate reviews on the game in general and an DLC about the chosen ones.
    So about the game... Very good graphics worthy of 2016. Very interesting story and atmosphere through all company missions. New interesting idea with soldier's skill relationship, and with stress debuffs. Adding new fraction soldiers with their own specific skills. As usual, interesting text    I decided to write a separate reviews on the game in general and an DLC about the chosen ones.
    So about the game... Very good graphics worthy of 2016. Very interesting story and atmosphere through all company missions. New interesting idea with soldier's skill relationship, and with stress debuffs. Adding new fraction soldiers with their own specific skills. As usual, interesting text articles about laboratory projects.
    Some people complained on timers, but at first, it's a part of game-play and it's well described by game-play. And at second, you can alter them in option menu before starting new game. The avatar timer, what a surprise, was in the original game as "panic bar" and you can shorten it in some missions.
    What I actually didn't like in this game: Curved camera(the global map periodically runs from place to place, activation of some skills is not visible because the camera shows a completely different part of the location). Sometimes AI of aliens reacts slowly or even make foolish steps. When you step on the green square of the mission task - you can no longer leave it, even if you need to do that, only reload saved moment. The lack of a line of experience is a very bad decision, because it does not allow to evaluate when a soldier will receive a promotion(this is very inconvenient, at least because in covert operations it is possible to quickly raise a soldier).
    And of course, the most delicious: stupid and blind chance's random of hits. Honestly I like the idea, but after the finished experience with the first game, in 2016 you can already more responsibly approach this issue. Take into account any context in that percentage, because it is very stupid when the shotgun shoots close with a 80% chance but miss, it is very stupid when the Colonel sniper misses a huge berserk body that stands still, it is very stupid when a ranger with a sword and a hacking skill lower than average, hacks better than a specialist with a high level of this skill. And it is very stupid when you stand near the alien and put the rifle into it's face, and receive 60%... 50%... even 40%?! ...WTF?!
    But howbeit it is very interesting game and I want to give it a good rating.    … Expand
  81. Rock3nh3im
    Mar 22, 2019
    10
    Geniales Strategiespiel. Da stimmt fast alles, bis auf paar Bugs. Abwechslung hat man zu 100%, Kämpfe sind fordernd, auch ist das eins von den Spielen wo man gerne Stirbt oder die Mission nochmal spielt oder Neustartet um einen anderen Weg zu versuchen.
    Auf jedenfall, ist das Spiel jedes Geld wert und noch so viel mehr...
    Viel Spass an denjenigen wo sich das Kauft. Du wirst es sicher    Geniales Strategiespiel. Da stimmt fast alles, bis auf paar Bugs. Abwechslung hat man zu 100%, Kämpfe sind fordernd, auch ist das eins von den Spielen wo man gerne Stirbt oder die Mission nochmal spielt oder Neustartet um einen anderen Weg zu versuchen.
    Auf jedenfall, ist das Spiel jedes Geld wert und noch so viel mehr...
    Viel Spass an denjenigen wo sich das Kauft. Du wirst es sicher nicht bereuen.    … Expand
  82. Soullex
    Nov 29, 2022
    9
    Mükemmel bir taktiksel savaş oyunu. %100'de ıskalamasa daha iyi ama........
  83. 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
  84. 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
  85. PeetApiwat
    Nov 3, 2019
    8
    "Save scumming because I love all my soldiers"

    The Good: presentation, challenge gameplay, graphic, ability to customize soldier.
    The Okay: some camera angle problem.
    The Bad: some situation seems unfair where you just have to lose (or save-scumming :D)
  86. Genek13
    Nov 19, 2019
    8
    Great sequel to one of the best tactical games.
    Campaign is enjoyable and long enough.
    Visuals and sound effects are outstanding - especially comparing to the previous one.
    During playtrough had some technical problems, but not gamebreaking ones.
  87. 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
  88. Mazisky
    Apr 25, 2020
    10
    One of the best strategy games ever created for PC.

    -Awesome tactical layer
    -Procedural maps and a lot of environments
    -Character creation and personalization
    -Many different enemies
    -Intriguing Narrative and cool main characters
    -Lot of meaningful strategictactical decisions to make
  89. 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.
  90. DoctorDeath
    Jun 29, 2020
    8
    Continued and, in fact, a repetition of the first part. Few new ideas. But still good gameplay. For fans of the strategy and tactics genre.
  91. Gonzaked
    Jul 10, 2020
    8
    Hey... Do you remember when Donald Trump, Darth Vader, Hatsune Miku and the Ultramarines saved the World ? Yeah... Me too...

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

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

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

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

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

    Soundtrack is great
    Graphism are mediocre.

    But hey, even Archer and his crew are joining the party !
    Thanks 2K games, but a bigger thanks to the modders !    … Expand
  92. S3XU4LH34L1NG
    May 5, 2022
    8
    A great game if you are into the genre. In my opinion its leaning a bit too heavy into the overworld / basebuilding management wich is janky and tedious. Be warned there are quite a few bugs (gameplay / audio / visual). Also the combat could be sped up just a tiny bit. The optimazation is also quite horrible. I liked the high difficulty of each mission.
  93. OldManGamerOMG
    Dec 7, 2020
    8
    While the game is leaps and bounds better than the previous XCOM, I would be amiss to not recommend that you play the previous XCOM to get the full amount of enjoyment out of this game, as well as back story.

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

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

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

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

    In short, I enjoyed XCOM 2 vastly more than XCOM EU and EW. I definitely recommend this game, though wait to get the DLC/Expansions until they are on sale. They are quite overpriced currently.    … Expand
  94. X-comfan18
    Apr 27, 2021
    10
    The best turn based UFO Defence game that I've played.

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

    Grab the complete XCOM2 bungle for best experience.
  95. Zski
    May 2, 2021
    10
    This is what a strategy game should be. Multiple layers of decision making, consequences that ripple across all layers of the game, and the feeling that you’re constantly fighting a losing battle against an enemy stronger than you. It’s pretty much an arms race against the aliens, and you are at a disadvantage. I think iron man should be the default mode in the game, otherwise it takesThis is what a strategy game should be. Multiple layers of decision making, consequences that ripple across all layers of the game, and the feeling that you’re constantly fighting a losing battle against an enemy stronger than you. It’s pretty much an arms race against the aliens, and you are at a disadvantage. I think iron man should be the default mode in the game, otherwise it takes away the huge sense of risk vs reward. This is easily one of my favorite strategy games - I have finished it for the fifth time now across three different platforms. I always come back to it.… Expand
  96. sparkdiamonds2
    May 12, 2021
    8
    One of my favorite games! I always have a good time with XCOM. Love the combat especially
  97. Durgrim
    Jun 3, 2021
    10
    One of the best (if not the best) strategy games of this decade. If you like turn based strategy / tactics games you need to try this.
  98. ultimat3
    Jul 14, 2021
    10
    good game with great combat, dk why the reviews are so bad ...

    xcom foreverrrrrr
  99. Woolee
    Sep 29, 2021
    10
    I fell in love with this game when I first started playing it, but then something went horribly wrong. If you only intend on playing the game once or maybe twice then this game is a fantastic gem; a great experience. If you want to play more than that then it has some surprises in store. First of all the UI and controls are ok but they could be so much better on the PC. Every once in a
  100. AliceGross
    May 6, 2022
    10
    Харашо Харашо Харашо Харашо Харашо Харашо Харашо Харашо Харашо Харашо Харашо
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Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
88

Generally favorable reviews - based on 104 Critic Reviews

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