XCOM 2

XCOM 2 is a turn-based tactical strategy released for PC, PS4 and XONE as a direct sequel to XCOM: Enemy Unknown from 2012. Both titles, based on a cult game series X-COM started back in 1990s, were developed by 2K Games company and Firaxis Games, a studio famous for their Civilization series.

Plot

The story of XCOM 2 picks up 20 years after the events in the previous game, in which we tried to repel an alien invasion. According to the Firaxis' vision of the story, these efforts failed, resulting in alien invaders enslaving humanity under a cover of interracial cooperation. Yet, hope for freedom has not died yet, as there are still some people who will not accept these pitiful conditions. The remnants of the paramilitary XCOM organization operate in secret, and apply guerrilla combat in order to reclaim control over the planet.

Game mechanics

Just as in the previous game, gameplay is twofold: strategic layer is about managing the development of your base and military technologies in real time, whereas direct combat with aliens is turn-based. XCOM organization, which you become the head of, has limited resources at its disposal and has to operate in shadows. The player’s duty is to expand the resistance and let the public know the real intents of the aliens. This is achieved by completing special missions, in which you not only eliminate new threats, but also help up local cells of resistance. Gameplay mechanics went through some modifications – initially, your squad is undetected, and the enemy line of sight is now marked on the map. This allows you to carefully plan how to start a skirmish in order to make a surprise attack without suffering casualities.

In XCOM 2 you command a squad of soldiers within five character classes, which can be further specialized thanks to skill trees. Grenadiers, specialists, marksmen, hunters, and psi operatives differ not only in the available abilities, but also in what gear they can use. The composition of your team and their equipment depends on your choices. Players get a wide array of technologies and gears, which they can modify as they see fit. Game expands on the system of procedurally generated maps (layout and enemies), which eliminates repetitiveness of locations. Moreover, combat system and commands were improved, as well as new types of rooms were added to your base expansion options. Another interesting feature is the influence of side missions, which may affect the power and type of enemies you encounter in the main quests.

Game modes

Just like the previous part of the XCOM series, the second installment offers not only the single-player campaign, but also the multiplayer mode, in which two players, commanding a small team, compete against each other. Before the battle, players are given a certain amount of resource points, for which they can choose soldiers for the team, both human and alien. There are always too few points, which makes it impossible to create a team with the strongest warriors and you have to think carefully.

In addition to configuring your team, you can also customize the game mode itself. You can choose the option of automatic connection with another player, possibility to play the ranking game, after which we appear on the scoreboard, or the option to create your own room, which can be joined by a friend. The battles are identical to those in the campaign - players start in different places of randomly generated maps, and their goal is simply to kill the opposing team.

Mods

Due to the enormous popularity of the Long War modification for the first part of XCOM, as well as listening to feedback and requests from players, Firaxis studio decided to provide extensive modding tools. Thus 50 gigabytes of data were made available to players, offering the same functions that were used by the creators during the production of the latest installment of the series. Thanks to this, just a few days after the premiere on the Internet you could find modifications improving the game, such as: the ability to rotate the camera in full 360 degrees, or adding completely new content, new types of weapons, or eliminating the biggest objections to the game (such as limit the number of turns in which you must fit to complete the task).