XCOM® 2

As I enjoyed game for the most part, I have to call it a 1 step forward and 2 step in compare to last one. Graphics are pretty, physics are cool and play a noticable role in beating enemies and finally you can choose what role your solders will have, but for some reason mistakes from older game was replicated, like artificial increasing dificulty by various limitations like 1 granade per soldier or completly un-tactical approach to end turn with move left after shot. Whats bad, some new issues were added: some mission force you to push your troops in "human wave" right in front of superior enemy, because you have extremly limited time to fulfill main objective; if anyone took a damage in amount equal to bonus hp provided by armor then they are wounded (even gravely) anyway; story is completly laughable and has no logic, game even dont bother to tell you in cutscene what happen between xcom and xcom2; concealment could be great feature but its less useable than it could be; aliens receive extra movement when noticed but if they arent spotted, they just sit in place, even when they are dying in cloud of poisonous gas and so on. While play itself could be satisfying, its good to have really calm mind for run, because emotions from doing "fast paced gun-in-and-out quick-response assault team" action will be pale in compare to game overall annoyingness.

The XCOM 2 base game is very solid, it has some minor bugs but in my 40 hours of playing, I haven't had a single game breaking one. the turned based tactical battles and base building are so engaging that you'll probably completely forget about the time and end up playing for hours in a single session. I also recommend War of the Chosen since that expansion is in my opinion the definitive XCOM 2 experience.

XCOM 2's main problem is it was playtested by the same people that designed the missions -i.e. if you know the enemy's position and the map layout you can just barely outmaneuver them in time (they love timed missions) and get a good result. If you didn't design the map, you have to choose between rushing in the low number of turns you get before mission failure and fail by being overwhelmed by the enemy OR bide your time to avoid getting ambushed/outnumbered and then fail because time ran out. The way to success is to fail the mission several times until you memorize which route to use to reach the objective in time without unnecesary risks. If you play the tutorial mission you get Steely Tears as a second mission -the mission people can't beat. You just can't win this in your first try -and remember, this is your first real mission. After several tries and a change in starting position I managed to beat it, but didn't really have fun -I was acutely aware it was just me memorizing the map and timing. I never lost for having a bad strategy -I lost because I didn't knew the map and the timing to traverse it. Having a SINGLE WINNING PATH with almost no margin for deviation is NOT CHALLENGING, is BAD DESIGN. After beating Steely Tears I got another timed mission where the only way to get to the objective in time is to memorize the position of some nodes you can shoot to get an extra turn each. Doable? Yes, after several tries and if the RNG is on your side and you manage to kill the customary mind controlling sectoid quickly (Steely Tears had that too). I always played in "Veteran" difficulty, the second easiest, meant for people familiar with XCOM like me. There's a mod for XCOM 1 (maybe it's Long War) that makes the game really harder (and different). I tried it and uninstalled it because it always beat me to a pulp -but I still had a LOT of fun with it. In XCOM 2 winning feels worthless because it just means you can memorize a map layout. Don't buy.

This game seems much tougher than the first. But it is not impossible, just hard! The gameplay is very slick and enjoyable. The obvious improvements on the first game have been made with saves in game easier and equipment changes far simpler to do when you start a mission. There are now so many options on modifying your weapons with stuff you find in the field on deceased alien troops. The squad soldiers seem more 'real' and I get really annoyed when I loose one - which is sadly now a more common occurence. Don't join my cannonfodder sqaud :-) 8 hours in and 8% of achievements gathered. Plenty of gameplay to go. I suspect my first effort will not be very efficient, but I am learning the game. SImilar enough to the first to start on veteran - but be warned, this is more challenging than XCOM Enemy within...enjoy.

I own this game on a different platform, and beat it there multiple times now. I just wanted to say that I loved the previous XCOM as well, and how much of a refined and deeper version this is. It's one of those T1 -> T2 and Alien -> Aliens situations. Also, I disagree with the user who says here that the limited turns are bad and poor design choices. Endless turns would make many of the missions way easier. And XCOM is not about having a walk in the park. Also, it doesn't fit with the lore. In this game, the XCOM team is a resistance movement, all their missions are "behind enemy lines". Obviously as soon as you are discovered, the enemy will swarm you in a short amount of time and you are done. Hence the limited turns. In short. If you like the genre and don't have this yet. Get it!! : )