Here's why.
XCOM 2 is a turn-based tactics game developed by the same company that makes Civilization, Firaxis Games. Like Civilization, XCOM 2 is also turn-based and involves strategic thinking. Taking place about twenty years after Aliens have taken control over the planet after the world leaders gave up, a totalitarian government has led humanity to believe that it's the best thing for them while eliminating freedom and those who seek it. All hope isn't lost and that's where you as the player come in, to help organize the people that want to save humanity and its freedom. You restart XCOM or Extraterrestrial Combat Unit which was a top-secret contingency against alien invasion to eliminate the alien threat for good.
For those returning to the series, the characters are immediately familiar. Central Officer John Bradford makes a return from XCOM: Enemy Within and has grown a lot since the last time you saw him. Sadly, Dr. Raymond Shen who was your head of engineering in the previous game does not make it to the next game, his daughter An-Yi Shen has taken his place and is in charge of engineering. Dr. Richard Tygan is a new character that is introduced in XCOM 2. He used to work for ADVENT but after seeing his work being used to control humanity, he fled to join XCOM.
The game brings in some big changes to the gameplay when compared to its predecessor. The biggest change of them all is the presence of turn timers. Another big change is the concealment mechanic, which allows for stealth gameplay. Certain missions begin with all players concealed. While concealed, your team can freely move about spot enemy units without triggering an attack from them. Once concealment is broken, however, every member of your team is exposed and they all are vulnerable to attack.
Players from XCOM: Enemy Unknown may remember the doom clock that was based on the panic levels of the different countries supporting XCOM. It was game over if the panic level was too high. This time around, the aliens are working on project Avatar, which is a gradual effort towards the end of the world. When the Avatar bar fills up, a countdown to game over begins. You have about 20 days to stop the timer by reducing the Avatar progress. This can be done by destroying enemy facilities and completing story objectives.
Mission objectives have been made a lot more diverse this time around. You engage in search and destroy missions, rescue operations, stealth missions, retrieval operations and the old-school assaults that are characteristic of XCOM. Time sensitivity is also more interesting in comparison to Enemy Unknown and instead of just worrying about Meld exploding, there are a lot more reasons to hurry. Most of which I liked your ride home being under impending attack, that brought in a real sense of urgency and immersion.
The procedural generation present in mission maps has received a necessary overhaul. XCOM: Enemy Unknown's procedural generation was somewhat random and at times made the game feel cluttered. This time around, Firaxis has gone with a plot and parcel method where the plot or the general outline of the maps will be hand-crafted by the developers and only certain elements will be randomly generated. If you can't find a strategic method to navigate, XCOM 2 lets you create your own path by destroying certain parts of the environment.
The game's only annoyance comes with the game's performance. The game has a few glitches and freezes here and there. While these issues are prevalent, none of them were game-breaking in a way to stop me from enjoying myself.
Base building has been simplified by taking away the adjacency bonus mechanic. While this does add more freedom, it takes away a layer of strategy.
XCOM 2 brings in meaningful changes and feels like a worthy successor to 2012's game. Overall, the game is a lot of fun to play. I can see myself playing it a lot more. If you enjoyed XCOM: Enemy Unknown or are new to the series, this game is a blast to play.
Reviewed on
Asus GL552JX Laptop
Processor Intel Core i7 4720HQ Processor
Operating System Windows 10
Memory 8GB DDR3L 1600 MHz
Display 15.6" 16:9 IPS FHD (1920x1080) anti-glare
Graphic card NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M with 4GB DDR3 VRAM
Storage 1TB HDD 5400 RPM
Mouse ROCCAT Nyth
Game information
Rating: 9/10
Platforms: Microsoft Windows, Linux, Mac OS
Genre: Turn-based tactics
Developer: Firaxis Games
Publisher: 2K Games
Price: Rs 999
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