XCOM® 2

I have to admit I was a bit scared by the time limit idea, but its really not as bad as they made it out to be. Its very similar to the last one with defusing bombs or collecting substances. With the substance collection you dont fail the mission in my experience so far, but its more like the meld from the last entry. Yes, you can use mods. The mods are only on the other platform, but sites exist to allow you to download from the workshop. There are also instructions that explain how to install them in this version. And there are a ton of mods, including one to put Star Wars characters and items in every aspect of the game from what Ive seen. There is also mods to remove any time limits if you wish. The sound and graphics are top notch and I havent encountered a single bug yet. It is different enough from EU and EW to feel like a different game, so its still worth playing them, but it is definitely one of the best entries in the series. I have no doubt Ill be playing this one for years to come like the previous entry that I still play today. I highly recommend it for strategy fans, sci fi fans, and fans of the series (in which case its a must have!)

Seriously, I wanted to enjoy this game, since the atmosphere is nice, but the game is way too random. Lots of players hate the time limit of some missions, but even in the other missions, there's very little actual strategy involved. To me, the two main problems of this game are: 1) There is too much variance of the random combat (chance of hitting and inflicting critical damage) 2) You advance with your squad without having any way to know where the enemy is and if they can spot you at your new location. You move down an empty looking road and BAM, some aliens spot you from 20 cells away and you're revealed. Even if you have already seen the enemy, it's not clear if you can attack them from the position you move to. At times, the line of sight is surprisingly blocked. Other times, you move to a cell just to find out that you can shoot through a ceiling at something you weren't even aware of. Those two factors will either result in frustrating deaths of squad members or (and that's probably what 99% of players will do) saving after every successful turn and re-loading after something bad has happened. You're better off, watching a SciFi movie and rolling a dice until you get a 6 (ignoring all the other dice rolls since re-loading is fast). This is what this game essentially boils down to. On top of those game-killing problems, the interface and mechanics between mission is confusing to say the least. DO NOT BUY THIS GAME, EVEN WHEN ON SALE!

As XCOM1, a nice squad based, isometric tactical game. There are some differences compared to the first game though. PRO: * very pretty, and good looking * more customization options for troops * no untested options on the scale of XCOM 1's mimetic skin * time limit adds a nice twist to missions. These are _always leisure_, most of the time 2/3 of the limit is enough for the objectives. But it is nice that they are there. * generated maps, which seem to work well. Didn't encounter any layouts which were totally unreasonale. CONTRA: * I get regular mini-freezes, problems with sound when the game refocuses between two areas. Happens on tactical and base maintenance map as well. Cannot get rid of this. Alt+Tab usually works for some reason. * the enemies are very often humanoids in armor (advent troops), which are less interesting than the varied species' from X1 Undecided: * one start region plus continous expanions vs. XCOM1's "lose a country, it's lost for good" approach. The result is a less tense campaign play * the squad usually starts concealed, which makes the game much easier. The tense exploration of the unkown is replaced by badass monster hunting. I feel losing that tension didn't do good for gameplay, but some folks might like it better this way. * art direction is on the silly side, but again, this might work for others. XCOM 1 has realistic military helmets, oakley sunglasses and berets. XCOM 2 has pirate eyeband, star wars pilot helmet and huge glasses. It is a more carefree, easy-ish, version of XCOM 1, and I enjoyed it for the most part. I prefer the first one, but this one isn't bad either. Recommended, but wait for discount. I would totally buy a Terror from the Deep+Lovecraft+Vietnam war+Delta Green game from this company.

This sets the standard for all turn-based strategy games. Its greatly enhanced by 'war of the chosen' also consider using 'long war 2' addon for significantly enhanced and longer campaign. I also used a mod called 'Remove Weapon Upgrades' to be able to reuse weapon mods without worrying about getting a continent bonus. This is especially useful early on in the geame with limited weapon upgrades and resources. Highly recommended

I have played the game through twice so far. Enjoy the upgrading of soldiers and equipment, and the variety in the different soldier types. I like that you get the psi operative later on, so right when you are starting to get a little bored with the same type of attacks over and over, you get the psi operative with a whole new set of abilities. Don't want any spoilers so will not get into any details, but I felt the end of the game was very fulfilling. I love games that have turn-based combat so that made the game all the better. I will probably wait a few months then play the game a third time at a higher difficulty and see how that goes.