Overview
XCOM 2 is a turn-based strategy game set in the fantastic XCOM universe. The premise to the story is that there has been an alien invasion and it is up to you to form a task force and save the human race. The game is a part military, part sci-fi strategy game. It offers slightly futuristic variants of familiar weapon classes to use, depending on the soldiers you recruit. The game also has a base management system where you can upgrade your home base. Doing this offers you more options get new soldiers, to upgrade your soldiers and their weapons and skills so that you can improve your chances for defeating the aliens. .
Breakdown
A modern turn-based strategy game
Right now, there aren’t too many turn-based strategy games. While there are some such as the Divinity games, those are more focused on the narrative rather than purely on strategy like XCOM. As a fan of strategy games, I am thankful for XCOM 2 as it has filled that void, and done so really well. For those of you that don’t know how the game works, you choose a small group from your army to go into a mission, and are given specific goals. Each of your characters are given a certain number of points to move and attack the enemy. You have to spend them wisely as you can’t move after attacking, and you don’t want to leave your soldiers vulnerable. More importantly, the only thing that matters is the objective. You can, AND WILL, lose many soldiers that you get attached to. Maybe your very first soldier will have to be sacrificed at the last mission, or risk failing instead. You better be willing to make sacrifices. This risk-based system isn’t seen in many games these days. Most games will be so easy that you never lose a soldier, and if you do, you can always reset the mission and complete it without having to give anyone up.
A full-fledged base management system
You are given the chance to manage your base, and this mechanic is so feature filled that you would think you are playing a management game. You are in a ship with multiple compartments where you can create wide variety of stations for your army. From tech labs to an armory, it’s all there. There are also benefits to placing certain labs next to each other and this creates its own mini-game of sorts. Some players may not enjoy this, but if you are a fan of strategy games (which this is) you will most likely enjoy this additional layer of strategy and planning.
A weird…restriction?
My biggest gripe with XCOM 2 is this weird time limit restriction on a turn. This forces you to rush a bit which defeats the main attraction for turn-based strategy game fans. While it can add to the atmosphere of everything being urgent and difficult, if you aren’t a fan of that system, there is, thankfully, a solution for that: mods.
MODS!
Mods are one of those things that make PC often the superior platform to play games on, and the game has them in spades. The most important mod, something I feel that everyone should play this game with, is the one that removes the turn time limit. This will make the game a lot more enjoyable and open to multiple playstyles, which should make it appealing to most strategy fans.
A modern classic
As mentioned before, this game is set in the fabled XCOM universe and is a sequel to multiple XCOM games which are considered by many to be classics. XCOM 2 had a lot of expectations to meet, and having played XCOM 2, I can comfortably say that this game is a perfect sequel. It will go down as a classic; a must have in anyone’s steam library. This game does everything right from the previous games while also improving on those systems and adding new ones that fit right in with the theme of the game.
A must buy?
In short, yes this is a must buy. In more words, what are you waiting for, just go and buy it! This is a game I would recommend for everyone, even for newcomers to strategy games as this game has a fairly easy difficulty mode that shouldn’t be a challenge to anyone. When you do scale up the difficulty, you get one tough strategy game that doesn’t pull back its punches when it comes to punishing you, but making through it all is all the more satisfying. The only negative is that you need a separate mod to enjoy the game fully without feeling pressured to rush the game, which some players still might enjoy. It’s a great addition to any gamer’s library, and there’s no reason keep yourself from enjoying it.
Reviewer: Groiig UG
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Modern Classic
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Workshop / Mods
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Re-Playablitiy
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Multiplayer PvP