10 Behind-The-Scenes Facts You Never Knew About The XCOM Franchise

Make no mistake: you will lose fighters in this game, and the developers make sure you're aware of it from the very start. And knowing now that each fighter is one of a dying breed, every death - every death - carries an extra sting of defeat and desperation (not to mention the always-looming threat of ADVENT launching a surprise attack on your base - potentially ending the campaign in one fell swoop). But as players learn to use surprise, squad tactics, and smart, not hesitant aggression, the reasons for Firaxis' changes make perfect se


Firaxis has continued their exemplary work on the XCOM franchise with the release of XCOM 2 last week, and many hardcore fans have already beaten the unforgiving title. While the game introduces plenty of brand new gameplay elements into the fold , veteran players will find many nods to the original series hidden within XCOM 2 . The most notable reference to the original series came at the very end of the game, and we'd like to take a moment to speculate on what this means for the future of the XCOM franch


All the classes are mostly balanced, and they all have a spot in the squad. There's never a time when a player would want to take just one class since they wouldn't be able to cover the jobs the other classes fill. Still, some classes are stronger than others and cover a wider net of utility than others. Since they are not a separate class, Psi Operatives from Enemy Unknown will not be inclu


The Disgaea series has been a stalwart strategy JRPG series for quite some time, and Disgaea 5 pushes the franchise to new heights with massive quality-0f-life changes, along with the tightening of gameplay mechanics to allow for some truly nail-biting combat scenarios ind


The classes in the modern XCOM series all have interesting and fun weapons and abilities . Watching the soldiers grow and gain cool abilities is one of the major joys of playing an XCOM game. The soldiers are the ones that shape the story and are the ones that pull off the hero plays that players will remember fon


There was a time when the revival of the science fiction franchise XCOM by Firaxis Games was seen as simply a small-scale, back-up title to the main event. But long before the squad-based shooter disappointed many, the traditional, turn-based strategy XCOM: Enemy Unknown had been launched to near universal acclaim, not only doing the brand justice, but reinvigorating the genre as a whole. The expansion Enemy Within doubled down on the fiction and gameplay - but it was **XCOM 2 ** that had the anticipation in its fa


For those who have been waiting until XCOM 2 hit consoles to see how it follows on the story of the first game, the twist from Firaxis is the kind of bold and ambitious that would seem alien to other studios (pardon the pun). After spending an entire campaign - or two - battling an alien infestation with the backing of world governments and cutting-edge technology, Firaxis took the fate of the world out of the players' hands: Humanity had lost. The Aliens won. Twenty years have passed. And XCOM has been scattered to the w


Everything in XCOM 2 is cranked up to 11. The game's difficulty and a plethora of new skills are the most noteworthy changes, with a small subset of players criticizing the game's overabundance of timers and tough enem


A decent tank in a game where they are needed, the Assault class does what it needs to in Enemy Unknown . All of the Assault Class's abilities help it do what it needs to: get in the enemy's face and shoot it with a shot


The original UFO Defense Force had players travel to space to eliminate the alien threat, and we wouldn't be surprised to see the sea-based aliens attempt to utilize the moon in order to bring destruction to humanity. Many veteran gamers have been expecting some kind of space mission ever since the series was first revived, and one has to feel like it's due at some point - and logically, the moon has a strong connection to anything water-ba


The other class in XCOM 2 that isn't an improvement on the one that preceded it. The Grenadier has some utility and a lot of great damage options. Grenades are extremely helpful during a playthrough to get chip damage and destroy co


Featuring groundbreaking dynasty mechanics coupled with some of the best gameplay that Fire Emblem has been privy to for SLG walkthrough quite some time, it must be said that Fire Emblem: Three Houses is easily one of the best games in the genre, and a must-play for any fan of SR


PC players have been enjoying the game since February, but the developers have finally released a console version to Xbox One and PS4. It's a longer delay than many gamers are used, so does the ported version seem worth the wait? And after Enemy Unknown 's own release on consoles, have the interfaces and controls been improved (along with the performance) on the Xbox One and PS4's hardware? The answer is 'yes' across the board - minus a few technical iss