XCOM 2: Review

Written by: Adam "ManKorn" Korenman, CC2K Video Games Editor

The Best Defense is a Strong Offense

XCOM has always been about the strategic defense. You react to attacks, research, and then launch counter offensives to limit the invasion. That model is thrown out the window for XCOM 2. The aliens won. They are here. They run the trains and government buildings. In order to win, you need to embrace the tactics of an insurgency. Each mission, with rare exception, starts with you in “Concealed” mode. Enemies don’t know you’re around and patrol as per normal. When you do fire the first shot, or accidentally get spotted, then things get interesting. Aliens are much tougher this go around, firing more accurately and using more powerful weapons. Don’t be surprised if you lose a soldier in each of the first few missions. Just make their sacrifices mean something and learn from your mistakes. 

You are constantly on your heels as the game punishes the turtle strategy. Leaving the aliens to their own devices means they get better armor, start laying out roadblocks, and counter your every move with impunity. You need to take risks, and the rewards are often laughable in the short term. But every step forward pays dividends down the road, and the most successful commanders understand the long game. I watched settlements burn in my rearview while I sought out clues to the aliens’ mysterious Avatar project. I left soldiers to die so that I could save VIPs, their faces haunting my dreams. You will feel responsible in this game, and that is not something I say lightly. 

Missions in the game vary from taking down an alien conduit to fighting off hordes of increasingly powerful enemies. The fights are fast and painful, and mistakes are immediately apparent and costly. In my first defend-the-maguffin match, I lost all but one soldier. This isn’t your daddy’s XCOM. These guys come to play.