XCOM 2 Review: The Stress Of Strategy Now On Consoles

Unfortunately, the biggest and most heartbreaking problem with XCOM 2 is from the technical side of things. For one, after almost every turn concludes and there are aliens on screen, the game will stall for upwards of a minute until finally giving you back control of the squad of characters. It could very well be unidentified aliens moving around in the background, but considering you don’t know how many there are, it will test your patience to an unfortunate degree. This combined with load times that hang for far longer than they should create an experience that will artificially extend your playtime clock. This isn’t even the worst part, though as we also ran into various crashes, enemies being able to shoot through geometry they shouldn’t be able to, out of the ordinary performance issues and some of the visuals going haywire. The controls can also be a little clunky at times when trying to select an enemy to fire at, although it’s far from the worst problem here.


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


Firaxis SLG Mobile SLG games and Feral Interactive present the second and wildly popular entry to the XCOM franchise. XCOM 2 is the classic alien-fighting turn-based strategy game where players control a squad of talented soldiers with different skills on dangerous missions against an exoplanetary enemy threatening to rule mank


The Lost add an entire new layer of strategy to missions, as players need to tread carefully lest they find themselves boxed in a back alley surrounded by swarms of ashen zombies on all sides. They're not a huge threat compared to the ADVENT, but they certainly throw a wrench in otherwise routine missions. That's likely why Firaxis Games has introduced unique mission modifiers called sit reps, which can fill a map with volatile explosives or require that only low-ranked soldiers be sent on certain missions. It's all about a variety of added challenges, and War of the Chosen provides this in spa


We've already seen from playable Triangle Strategy demo that the choices that player is forced to make aren't always going to be black and white, and that there will be pros and cons to the choices they make. Maintaining this approach over the course of the game will be key, as it can lead to a much more hollow experience with telegraphed outcomes that are much easier for the player to anticip


While having numerous endings and routes within a game incentivizes numerous playthroughs, nothing incentivizes players to keep playing a game quite like post-launch content. Whether these are free updates or DLC, additional content to a game allows it to continue to be fresh over a much larger period of time. As a tactical RPG , Triangle Strategy could theoretically add anything from new recruitable characters to entirely new mo

Each of these factions has its own theme, storyline, and motivations. They also have unique buildings and gameplay options . In fact, one might say all of them have a proper "claim" to the planet. However, it's up to players to help them secure


The XCom games are famous for their engaging squad-based combat. The games have always featured a large collection of alien types – each with an ability that players must keep in mind if they want all of their soldiers to make it back to base in one piece. Some of these aliens can fly, some are advanced robotic killing machines, some are basically living tanks, but the deadliest of them have psionic abilities that are frustrating at best – and absolutely devastating at worst. These are the most difficult alien types a player can expect when playing the X-Com titles; minus the unique types like the Uber Ethereal or Warlo


Similarly, having key boss fights be dictated by a player's decision-making would truly drive home the themes of the game. Perhaps a character that is a playable ally if certain choices are made becomes a major adversary that must be dealt with in another route. These would give the game's various routes more identity while giving the player immediate indicators of how their choices are impacting the game's st


Those gamers who played the original XCom probably remember how much of a problem the Reapers could pose. Reapers are large, hunched-over, bi-pedal monsters that are usually encountered with Floaters. The Reaper has more health than any other alien, and can travel across the battle zone with alarming speed. It is quite disheartening to watch a Reaper run across the entire map and kill a soldier in one turn; while seemingly ignoring the damage dealt to it. If it starts a turn next to a soldier, that soldier is not going to survive – even if that soldier is wearing power ar