XCOM 2 Review - Welcome Back, Commander

[Mike Kayatta]

XCOM 2 Review - Welcome Back, Commander

XCOM 2 improves on its predecessor in almost every way, and proudly stands as one of the most satisfying action-strategy games currently available.

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[Kahani]

Or, if you've got the communications bandwidth for it, you can hang out next to Australia and make contact with the local resistance.

If the aliens have finally given Australia decent communications bandwidth, maybe we shouldn't be treating them like the bad guys.

As for the review, it seems pretty much everyone agrees on this - it's a decent sequel that mixes a few things up a bit while sticking close to the original formula. Shame about still having camera issues, but the first game was good despite that and it sounds like this one will be as well.

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

I am not going to pretend i'm not bitter about this being a PC exclusive, i will tantrum the fuck about until they hear my spoilt cries of anguish and observe my pining monies so that maybe they will believe optimisation is something other than a Transformer's sexual mode for positioning, furthering the cause for a console port. Does thou need a kickstart? Er?

 

[Veldel]

I am not going to pretend i'm not bitter about this being a PC exclusive, i will tantrum the fuck about until they hear my spoilt cries of anguish and observe my pining monies so that maybe they will believe optimisation is something other than a Transformer's sexual mode for positioning, furthering the cause for a console port. Does thou need a kickstart? Er?

Let your anger flow and embrace it my child for we are Advent and can use it.


OT: If had the digital deluxe edition pre ordered and ready.

My body is ready.

Anyone else making all there surviving soldiers from Xcom EU and using them as veterans with kids as a next generation thing?

 

[Erttheking]

Looks awesome. I just really wish they would release the mac specs already. I mean it's coming out in four days...really shouldn't have pre-purchased it.

 

[benvorbeck]

PC exclusive? lmao!!! thats not going to last

 

[Makabriel]

PC exclusive? lmao!!! thats not going to last

It did for the last one. There was no money in a console port the last time they did it.

 

[Mike000]

supposedly, they made this one PC-exclusive for better mod support.

 

[Fdzzaigl]

My most anticipated game of 2016, by far.

supposedly, they made this one PC-exclusive for better mod support.

Mod support for this game will be enormous as detailed in the recent panel on the game at Pax South. You can view it in this video:
It's pretty mind-blowing imo. I wouldn't have anything against a console port. From the looks of it, the UI could be easily converted as it's still mostly the same as before.

It boggles my mind why anyone would play a tactical game like this from a console though. But to each their own.

 

[Erttheking]

My most anticipated game of 2016, by far.

supposedly, they made this one PC-exclusive for better mod support.

Mod support for this game will be enormous as detailed in the recent panel on the game at Pax South. You can view it in this video:
It's pretty mind-blowing imo. I wouldn't have anything against a console port. From the looks of it, the UI could be easily converted as it's still mostly the same as before.

It boggles my mind why anyone would play a tactical game like this from a console though. But to each their own.

Well my friend is royally pissed because he can't play this game because his PC can't run it.

So there's that.

 

[MCerberus]

Or, if you've got the communications bandwidth for it, you can hang out next to Australia and make contact with the local resistance.

If the aliens have finally given Australia decent communications bandwidth, maybe we shouldn't be treating them like the bad guys.

As for the review, it seems pretty much everyone agrees on this - it's a decent sequel that mixes a few things up a bit while sticking close to the original formula. Shame about still having camera issues, but the first game was good despite that and it sounds like this one will be as well.

That reveals how xcom lost the first war. The people of earth would abandon everything they love to stream Daredevil at 4k.

It looks like early reviews can say that the XCOM2 project has exceeded our expectations, keep up the good work commander

 

[happyninja42]

Well my friend is royally pissed because he can't play this game because his PC can't run it.

So there's that.

Well my PS 3 can't run it either, but I'm not angry. At some point, we all have to upgrade our hardware. Either to the next-gen consoles (which I choose not to do), or to upgrade our computer (which I do anyway, so it's sort of secondary issue regarding games).

 

[Nurb]

Are the maps larger than in the last one? I can never seem to find an answer for this one.

 

[Kingjackl]

I did play the last one on Xbox originally. It controlled surprisingly well.

Also, some of those issues sound pretty serious to warrant a 4.5/5 score. Ok, the camera issues seem like fairly minor complaints and we all learned to live with it for Enemy Unknown, but that stuff about the win/lose conditions sounds like a pretty severe issue. It seems like the sort of thing that could unfairly cripple you on an Ironman run (does it have Ironman? I assume so, haven't checked).

 

[Fdzzaigl]

Well my friend is royally pissed because he can't play this game because his PC can't run it.

So there's that.

I get that such things are very annoying. But they're hardly an issue with the game itself. I don't own a console and I'm sometimes disappointed as well that I'd have to shell out 400 euros to play the few games that happen to catch my interest while being console-exclusives.

I'm for maximum availability across platforms any day of the week. That said, sometimes we have to upgrade our hardware (wether console or PC). An upgrade to handle this game wouldn't really have to cost an arm and a leg either.

If he's near the minimum requirements I'd say to just give it a shot anyway (and ask for a refund when it doesn't work out). Devs have the tendency to inflate system reqs imo. A potential mod to actually downgrade the visuals so that lower end PC's can play it might also arrive at some point.

Are the maps larger than in the last one? I can never seem to find an answer for this one.

Not sure about larger. But massively more varied for sure, due to procedural mapping (different random layouts are generated for a large size of base schematics). Plus there's the extremely robust looking mod tools to create your own maps.

 

[IamLEAM1983]

Pre-purchased this mutha a week ago. My body is so ready there are no words.

 

[Mike Kayatta]

Are the maps larger than in the last one? I can never seem to find an answer for this one.

Not that I could tell, but they are better constructed.

 

[Mike Kayatta]

I did play the last one on Xbox originally. It controlled surprisingly well.

Also, some of those issues sound pretty serious to warrant a 4.5/5 score. Ok, the camera issues seem like fairly minor complaints and we all learned to live with it for Enemy Unknown, but that stuff about the win/lose conditions sounds like a pretty severe issue. It seems like the sort of thing that could unfairly cripple you on an Ironman run (does it have Ironman? I assume so, haven't checked).

It doesn't really cripple you so much as it just sort of wastes your time. Fortunately, it doesn't really happen all that often, as most missions aren't story missions, and when you fail, you're allowed to move on regardless. One of the examples I ran into was a mission where you had eight turns to reach X. By around turn five, I realized that it was physically impossible for me to reach X in three more turns. The three autosaves the game had made were only minutes apart, so no help there. And, as I said, I hadn't done what I started doing later, which was create early mission saves to reset to as there's no manual mission restart button (a decision I actually think makes sense for skirmishes, not so much for story).

So continuing my example here, I spend three full rounds of my actions and enemy actions waiting for the objective to fail. When it finally does, the game then says I have to kill everything on the map. When I do that successfully, only then does it ACTUALLY fail the mission and allow me to restart. It's not game breaking, but playing for half an hour when you know that everything you're doing is completely irrelevant is pretty crappy. Smart saves can help you sneak past this, though.

 

[blackrave]

Anyone else making all there surviving soldiers from Xcom EU and using them as veterans with kids as a next generation thing?

O_O
That is awesome idea.
Will have to do
Only drawback is that you can't boost starting ranks of your veteran troops and that psi gifted troops will have to lose their abilities or change class

But then again- mods, mods, mods... hmm will have to check those tools myself

One question- are you're planning on making your whole roster or only your elite team?
I personally think that I'll load game prior to temple ship assault and go through a roster with coin and decide who survived alien occupation and who didn't (minus volunteer and Zhang of course)
Also- what about fate of MECs and genomods?

 

[xaszatm]

I am not going to pretend i'm not bitter about this being a PC exclusive, i will tantrum the fuck about until they hear my spoilt cries of anguish and observe my pining monies so that maybe they will believe optimisation is something other than a Transformer's sexual mode for positioning, furthering the cause for a console port. Does thou need a kickstart? Er?

Let your anger flow and embrace it my child for we are Advent and can use it.


OT: If had the digital deluxe edition pre ordered and ready.

My body is ready.

Anyone else making all there surviving soldiers from Xcom EU and using them as veterans with kids as a next generation thing?

Well, given that this is an alternate timeline where the aliens conquered the world before Xcom could develop laser weaponry, it wouldn't really fit.

OP: Above complaint aside, this looks to be a wonderful game. Though personally, I'm curious if the Long War mod guys will do something similar to this game as well given how the Long War is perhaps one of the best mods I have ever played.