XCOM® 2

Good turned based strategy game, builds well upon the foundation laid by the originals

The best of XCOM, and the best strategy game ever, by far.

This game is a blast. Love the customization! If you love tactical games don't pass this one up....

This game is why I will never set foot in a casino. Its addictive and the odds are stacked against you.

I figured after playing it through once and understanding the game it would be better the second time, but it doesn't matter how carefully you plan, or how well you setup and ambush there's nothing quite like setting up an ambush and having 5 of your guys miss 80%+ chances to hit in a row followed by them getting so destroyed that theres no recovery other than save scumming.

I dont want to have to save scum, but even on normal difficulty, unless you play perfectly you have to. Sometimes you play perfectly just for the game to spawn in 6 enemies from the shadows right at the end of your turn and then call in reinforcements on top of your position. So they all get to move and shoot and just annihilate you.

Aside from the setting, Mechanicus has improved on every single aspect of this game. Overwatch is actually visible, theres a clear turn order, the action bar doesnt change and update for each character after every move, theres no gambling on shots: if its in range and you have a clear shot you will it it unless they dodge.

Speaking of dodging, why the hell is that not included in the hit percentage... So I have a 80% chance my idiot can shoot in a straight line, and that my bullet will make it to the enemy, but what happens then is yet another calculation that I cant even see..? The amount of times I watched dozens of rounds fly directly through an enemy just for it to say grazed or dodged is just stupid.

Why can I make a full stack of armor and weapons for every soldier on the ship but I have to make individual medkits? Who thought that was a good idea?

I would like to see a 3rd installment of the game, where they use all the improvements that Mechanicus made to the formula, because again, I liked the setting.

Good gameplay loop. love blasting aliens.

Do you enjoy living purely off RNG? and by RNG, I mean the fact that any shot percentage under 70% is more than likely going to miss? Do you enjoy difficulty progression that goes from beating unarmed infants to fighting god with a pool noodle, with nothing in between? This is the game for you!

I like Xcom and with Xcom 2 many aspects of Xcom got better. Lots of customization, lots of really good mods. I also liked playing as an underdog rebel. With higher difficulty settings game cheats, but it's nothing too bad. No bases, just a spaceship that you cruise around the world contacting resistance cells and doing missions. No jets doing dog fighting with aliens either, but you really don't miss it while playing.

Dlc's are ok, nothing special. Except Monster Hunter, that is really bad one. Adds few missions, unique items and randomly spawning unique boss monsters that can spawn in any mission. Picture this: you are having a tight game with a evac window of 8 turns and three squaties and one rookie. Lots of aliens, so you set up an ambush while concealed. Suddenly, there is a white boss snake, that can move and attack multiple times in a turn, so it kills two of your guys with one turn and the rookie panics. In next turn, all of the troops are dead, ambush is ruined and mission is ruined. You go to next mission, and the same repeats. Even with easier difficulty.

I managed to play game through with monster hunter just once and it wasn't fun. Atleast until the bosses were slain. Skip it if you can.

War of the chosen was good addon. More customization on troops, new skills, new game mechanics, new missions, and characters. I even found myself making after-mission propaganda posters. First I though that it was a dumb idea, but it turned out fun. The three assassins were easy, generic and their dialog was really bad. They were defeated quickly and easily. I've had tighter battles with an Andomedan, than with any of these "elite fighters". I think, the dlc would have been just fine without them.

So, other than lazy, cringe worthy writing and easily defeatable assassins, The War of the Chosen is worth of playing through.

I can recommend Xcom 2.

Even though I am a huge fan of the original XCOM - Enemy Unknown from the old Amiga days (swapping disks for tactical combat, not a good feature), I can confidently say that this game lives up to the name of the original, best XCOM. Modding with Long War gives it even larger scope and strategic depth.

The best turned based tactics game I've ever played, super addictive. Great story line.

This is a review of software present in a game and therefore a valid review of a game: Root-level Access to my PC is a criminal level violation of data collection and privacy rights (laws) here in my country. This is spyware, plain and simple. fullstop.

Predatory EULA changes to gather all sorts of information and store, sell and do whatever they want with them. No choice but to accept or lose the game that you bought. I didn't accept that when I spent my money, I will not accept now.

Important Info in ToS:
• Mods are a bannable offense
• Display of Cheats/Exploits is bannable
• Forced arbitration so long as it is permitted in your region
• You can be banned for the using a VPN while connecting to online servers
• Cannot access game content on a Virtual PC
• Best last they reserve the right to modify this Agreement, in whole or in part, at any time

Collected Data Types:
• Identifiers / Contact Information: Name, user name, gamertag, postal and email address, phone number, unique IDs, mobile device ID, platform ID, gaming service ID, advertising ID (IDFA, Android ID) and IP address
• Protected Characteristics: Age and gender
• Commercial Information: Purchase and usage history and preferences, including gameplay information
• Billing Information: Payment information (credit / debit card information) and shipping address
• Internet / Electronic Activity: Web / app browsing and gameplay information related to the Services; information about your online interaction(s) with the Services or our advertising; and details about the games and platforms you use and other information related to installed applications
• Device and Usage Data: Device type, software and hardware details, language settings, browser type and version, operating system, and information about how users use and interact with the Services (e.g., content viewed, pages visited, clicks, scrolls)
• Profile Inferences: Inferences made from your information and web activity to help create a personalized profile so we can identify goods and services that may be of interest
• Audio / Visual Information: Account photos, images, and avatars, audio information via chat features and functionality, and gameplay recordings and video footage (such as when you participate in playtesting)
• Sensitive Information: Precise location information (if you allow the Services to collect your location), account credentials (user name and password), and contents of communications via chat features and functionality.

Predatory EULA changes to gather all sorts of information and store, sell and do whatever they want with them. No choice but to accept or lose the game that you bought. I didn't accept that when I spent my money, I will not accept now.

Important Info in ToS:
• Mods are a bannable offense
• Display of Cheats/Exploits is bannable
• Forced arbitration so long as it is permitted in your region
• You can be banned for the using a VPN while connecting to online servers
• Cannot access game content on a Virtual PC
• Best last they reserve the right to modify this Agreement, in whole or in part, at any time

Collected Data Types:
• Identifiers / Contact Information: Name, user name, gamertag, postal and email address, phone number, unique IDs, mobile device ID, platform ID, gaming service ID, advertising ID (IDFA, Android ID) and IP address
• Protected Characteristics: Age and gender
• Commercial Information: Purchase and usage history and preferences, including gameplay information
• Billing Information: Payment information (credit / debit card information) and shipping address
• Internet / Electronic Activity: Web / app browsing and gameplay information related to the Services; information about your online interaction(s) with the Services or our advertising; and details about the games and platforms you use and other information related to installed applications
• Device and Usage Data: Device type, software and hardware details, language settings, browser type and version, operating system, and information about how users use and interact with the Services (e.g., content viewed, pages visited, clicks, scrolls)
• Profile Inferences: Inferences made from your information and web activity to help create a personalized profile so we can identify goods and services that may be of interest
• Audio / Visual Information: Account photos, images, and avatars, audio information via chat features and functionality, and gameplay recordings and video footage (such as when you participate in playtesting)
• Sensitive Information: Precise location information (if you allow the Services to collect your location), account credentials (user name and password), and contents of communications via chat features and functionality.

I was skeptical at first due to the sub-par tutorial and story premise but the combat is far more evolved from first game.

This game is AMAZING! Having played the first XCOM, I was totally psyched when XCOM 2 came out. So much of it I like, especially the mods that are available. The strategic/tactical combat and interfaces are wonderful and just what I wanted. The only issues seem to be with occasional mod conflict. Try the game out. You don't HAVE TO get War of the Chosen, but you should at least try the base game. A+

I'm not usually a fan of turn-based RPG's due to their inherently slow pacing.
However, XCOM and XCOM 2 somehow manages to combine both the action and strategic depth.

You'll be able to play, enjoy and understand the story and the setting of XCOM 2 without having played the first game, although the first game would help you understand a little bit more of the background for some of the characters in XCOM 2.
If you liked the first XCOM, you're going to love XCOM 2, especially with its War of the Chosen expansion. Although, maybe do a playtrough with the vanilla version of the game first, if you're new to the franchise, because the expansion adds a lot of new elements.

I have to admit that I prefered the atmosphere of the first XCOM game when I first started XCOM 2, because XCOM 2 at first glance looked too cartoonish and clean. But I soon realized that only the enemies looked that way, that there was a reason, and it was only at the very beggining. XCOM 2 is at least every bit as gritty and realistic as the first game was.

Finally, just know that you will be frustrated and annoyed with the games hit-chance mechanics, sometimes unbelievable misses and you might be punished for rushing. But once you get the hang of it, and put a little thought behind your approach, it'll bring you both a lot of joy and succes.
And remember, you can always pull back a little, retreat to gain a tactical advantage, and lure the enemy into a bad position. There's no need to always mindlessly push forward.

Good luck on the battlefield, soldier.

This a game that is a masterclass in poor design. I have yet to see such an anti-payer game as this one. I've seen the "It's X-Com baby" in forums discussing the absurd difficulty of this game, it's nothing but a troll meant to agitate the person further.

It truly feels like the devs got together and brainstormed on how to make the game unfair to the players....

1) Timers too short (if you need to add a mod or option to change this, you made your game poorly)
2) missing too many shots. You can have all 6 soldiers miss 75% or higher shots, however I've never see all soldiers hit 25% or lower shots. Hitting those absurdly low probability only happens if it hurts the player, never in favor of. The game is rigged against you, plain and simple
3) At the mercy of RNG research for breakthroughs that have any impact, you're mostly going to get trash.

In conclusion, it is artificial difficulty, designed to be unfair.

I mean if what you start the game with is truly the worlds best, this world should have given up long ago because its best is horrible.

I just started playing this game again after putting it down for several years and within an hour remember why I stopped playing it.

At first, it was a just a slightly worse version of XCOM: Enemy Unknown - the animations a bit slower and clunkier, the load times longer, the LOS even faker, the plot even dumber. But eventually some pretty significant balance issues became apparent, such that most classes and abilities aren't worth using, in favor of spamming a few boring but overpowered things over and over again. The only thing I thought was better than the prior game was the world map/avatar project system, which did work pretty well. The final mission was bugged so that the enemies just stood around without moving or shooting, but by that point i didn't care enough to try to reload or fix it. Stick to XCOM: EU, avoid this product.

Take-Two and 2K games have updated all their games Terms of Service, this extends beyond the Borderlands franchise.

Important Info in Terms of Service:
• Mods are a bannable offense
• Display of Cheats/Exploits is bannable
• Forced arbitration clause and a waiver of class action and jury trial rights for all users residing in the United States and any other territory other than Australia, Switzerland, The United Kingdom, or The Territories of The European Economic Area
• You can be banned for using a VPN while connecting to online servers
• Cannot access game content on a Virtual PC
• Best for last, they reserve the right to modify this Agreement, in whole or in part, at any time

i will be uninstalling this game till take-two changes this BS!

Great game but insanely frustrating VAT system. You need true patience which I don't have so that's it for me lol

Horrible UI designed for consoles. Extremely buggy. Gameplay can be needlessly and excessively frustrating. This game is only for people who were big fans of the original and willing to overlook major flaws.

Just buy xenonauts, this is trash. Looks like garbage, feels like a joke, story and voice acting is cringe, just no redeeming factors at all.

I'll start by saying I'm someone who really loves turn based strategy games, and I was a huge fan of XCOM: Enemy Unknown/Enemy Within which comes before this one. This game has everything I loved about the first game and adds so much more to the experience. It is unforgivingly hard, has a ton of new enemy types, the character customization for your soldiers is incredible, and the story is fantastic. Adding the DLC gives you so much more: more story, new enemy types/boss and regular, new soldier types, additional strategy elements you'll need to learn to manage, and more.

I will say that if you are playing XCOM 2 for the very first time, play the vanilla game first - maybe activate the Alien Hunters and Shen's Last Gift DLC only. Its a fun experience all of it's own, and you'll get a good grasp of the base gameplay. Once you've done that, your second play though can be with the War of the Chosen DLC - WotC really does add THAT much more to the game. I'm serious, it's an overwhelming amount of new content added to the game which makes it perfect as a second play through option.

Dear God...XCOM 2: WOTC...this game....guys....just stop reading and get it.

Not only is the game amazing, (get the expansion, its so good, just more content laced into the game). But the modding community is massive and incredible. Every so often I come back and play this game, opting to play "The Long War" which was codeveloped by Firaxis and the modders, which protracts the game, adds a ton, adds a whole strategic layer, and THEN, decide what of all these incredible mods I want to add into the game this time. I have new classes, talents, items, its a whole new experience every time. 512 hours later and Im still seeing plenty for the very first time!

Great game, absorbing and fulfilling. My only nag would be the option to skip some compulsory load scenes (avenger returning, flying out etc). Replay value is good as well, never two games the same. Worth a try out either on sale or not - I've even got Within and Unknown on my phone

Contrary to what most people believe, this game is about making your perfect squad of anime characters in order to dab on the aay lameions.

Also you can download a mod that makes the Doom Slayer instantly punch aliens into fountains in blood.

At launch I sailed the seven seas for this game and it was kinda mid compared to XCOM: Enemy Unknown. The plasticky toy like enemies doesn't vibe with me as well as managing a resistance group instead of humanity's best.

Now that I bought this game's complete edition, there are things that doesn't make sense to me. While starting a mission being stealthed is a cool addition, once you're detected, it's permanent. It doesn't matter if you haven't revealed all the enemy pods in the map. There should be a more in-depth stealth mechanic (like tiles that can hide a unit) but all this have is a one off gimmick.

Then there is this confusion with the DLC. I don't know what boxes I ticked that spawned a Berzerker boss that has tons of HP, huge movement range, and attacks the nearest soldier after you damage it even though it's not their turn to act. It's unfair and not fun. If the only way to make it manageable is to make sure that you enabled the DLC properly and AVOID the mission that'll spawn them then it's a poorly made system meant for hard core players.

a fun tactical turn based squad game. slowly learning the game playing on easy but I'm looking forward to trying it on harder difficulties with different builds.

Anti save-scum programs might have broken the game percentages... This is the only game you'd miss 90%+ hit chances by ALOT OF TIMES. While enemis kill you behind heavy cover easily LIKE butter from miles away.

Game may show you pwrcentages like 95 percent or mere 5 percent. But when anti save-scum kicks in, the result will be predetermined: a hit or no hit. So often the numbers are just for decorations, your fate has been predetermined by lousy programs rather than pure dice/percentages.

I'd give this two thumbs down but the story concept is superb and we rarely have gems like this nowadays.

So enjoy the game, story and just dont trust the hit/miss mechanics you see on screen.

great game ruined by random number generator as a core game play mechanic

Phenomenal turn-based tactical strategy game with addictive gameplay and excellent replay value. One of the best games of the last decade.

As a long-time X-COM player, I consider this game a masterpiece, the result of a long and intense refinement of the legacy.

I've played probably at least 1k+ hrs on console before getting a PC and exploring the awesomeness of mods.

Have always enjoyed the progression in XCOM 2 and WOTC, never feels like you're over/underpowered for too long. The struggle can and will be real at times and I love it. Recommend getting WOTC, it's on another level compared to base game.

70% chance to hit is a miss 100% of the time. I hate it. It's one of me favourite games.

Great game, continuation of great series.

its THE BEST turn based video game out there, FIRAXIS made 2 masterpieces and this is the second one, WOTC dlc really improves the game, theres macro and micro strategy, and MODS oh my GOD are there mods! sure we might not ever gen an xcom 3 but im just happy playing long war 2 or covert infiltration for now.

It's one of the best games I've ever played. The tactics are complex and interesting. The customizability of your soldiers really emotionally bonds you to them, making the game that much more involving. I've wasted a lot of time playing this game.

Xcom 2 story continues after Xcom 1, and it offers one the best experience as turn-based tactical games. Commander difficulty and above are challenging even for experienced players, especially on Ironman. There are a lot of replay value and very fun to try different team combinations.

The achievements requires 4-5 runs to complete. The most difficult one in my opinion is the Ironman Commander+ achievement. Legendary difficulty, Speedruns Commander+ and Ironman Commander+ runs are better to be in separate runs to avoid unnecessary stress. Every run takes about 20-50 hours.

DLCs are essential for the full experience as the WOTC expansion add quite a lot of contents. Gold medals in legacy operations are more obtainable on the nightmare difficulty. WOTC and legacy operations DLCs are required for all achievements.

Special thanks to Robin again for helping with the multiplayer achievement. The multiplayer achievement is still obtainable today using the beta version and Robin has a guide on this.

The base game can freeze or crash at times. Enable the ZIP mode helps to reduce the issue but won't eliminate it. When playing with WOTC DLC, I never encountered similar issues.

The game is not recommended on Steam deck. It draws battery and burns the deck even on the lowest graphic setting. The freeze and crash happens as well.

Tactics. Consequenses. Percentiles. Everything you can ever want from a game.

Still excellent. A great modernization of one of the best games ever.

>looking for hard game
>ask 2K employee if the difficulty is scenario optimization or sheer luck
>they don't understand
>I pull out illustrated diagram explaining what is scenario optimization or what is sheer luck
>they laugh and say "it's a hard game sir"
>buy game
>it's sheer luck

The absolute best strategy game iv'e ever experienced in over 25 years of gaming. unmatched customisation and never-ending mod support.

Amazing Strategic game. One of the most life-changingly good game

It is great! It is better than Cats. I will play it again and again!

You ever watch a soldier miss a 95% shot multiple times, then get mind-controlled, then wipe your entire team in a single turn? No? Play this and you shall. Squads have the tactical awareness of wet toast, Gameplay loop is save-scumming while your squad misses stationary targets, then gets one-shot behind full cover. Strategy at it's finest and the loot system is great. Just sprint across the map under fire to pick up a scope that gives you +5% aim before you're vaporized. In conclusion there is a 95% chance that i can recommend this game.

"this is the best game ever and i am going to play it forever" i said back when xcom 2 was first invented in the 4th century. some people never learn

4th play-through with Long War 2 modpack. I have easily spent 1000+ hours on this game and will probably comeback again for a 5th run. XCOM 2 is easily top 3 games of all time for me. Buy this if this genre is your forte.

I have over 100 hours and still haven't beaten the game because it likes to smash your balls with a sledge hammer. Mod make it awesome and makes me feel like a kid playing with action figure though.

Truly my only fault with this game is the hit detection/chance to hit mechanics, I played this shortly before playing Phoenix Point and of the things I could say for both, the targeting system worked better in Phoenix Point, but everything else here, from story, to missions, to the strategic layer, to the music was just better.

I want to recommend this but at the same time i don't

Expect the same old Xcom bullshit, AI bending the rules to fuck with you, even on normal.
Bullshit Crits, some enemies are too spongy even after you get plasma weapons.

On one hand, they did seem to mitigate the "issue" you had in Xcom 1 where towards the endgame you would absolutely SHIT on the aliens (especially with the mech augments and psi operatives). in this game, its one of the major negatives about it.
The content from the 1st games DLCs is essentially gone, with one "reintroduced" via one other DLC (shens last gift) which is, ok, but its not nearly as cool as turning your soldiers into mech nuggets.

same for psi operatives, theyre strong, but its not as good as the first game.

If you really love xcom and you already know what bullshit you can expect, youll be having fun, and youll be raging, this game has it all.
How ever, its still inferior to the original, in many ways. One of the biggest one is the liberal use of timers on missions, which stay just as annoying at the endgame as they do in the beginning (there are mods for that).

Again, i "recommend it" because its not a bad xcom game, the polish is there, the gameplay is there, its Xcom.

BUT, its also horseshit, the UI is a fucking mess, get ready to reload cause you misclicked, or the map jerked and your dude ran right in front of a berserkers face, or for some reason you accidentally clicked a numeral twice and you guy ran face first into a group of mutons.
Its a fun, but also a very frustrating game. Get it on sale. And honestly, dont feel bad savescumming.

Otherwise, get drunk and play ironman.
Get it on a deep sale.

XCOM 2 / War of The Chosen is a great continuation of the classic XCOM / Enemy Within. I went straight to playing War of The Chosen expansion, which is more fledged than the base game. XCOM 2 delivers a really meaningful story while incorporating some of the old charms or enemies and making them feel new. This second game really pulls you in where you want to complete everything perfectly, as this is much more punishing than the first game. Still, it is incredibly immersive—every decision has consequences and every loss stings. The most notable are the villains or the "Chosen," as we call them. These major enemy bosses have distinct personalities, strengths, and irritatingly persistent vendettas. These enemies evolve and grow stronger over time, and while you think they are overpowered, you get the chance to ally yourself with new resistance factions that have their own vendettas with the Chosen and with their own unique classes, whether it is the stealthy Reapers, the psionic Templars, or the high-energy Skirmishers, these units add much-needed variety to your squad tactics and encourage more creative, risk-taking plays thus giving you a satisfying long-game rivalry with the antagonists. Facing them feels personal, and beating them feels like revenge. Getting a piece out of every one of your squad members and ranking them up to become unstoppable is really satisfying. Squad customization is a whole lot better too. Visually, it's as stylish and atmospheric as ever. The voice acting (especially the Chosen) is top-notch, and the narrative flavor is much richer now, with dynamic story moments woven into the gameplay. Even the base management gets more interesting, with covert ops and faction dynamics adding layers of strategic depth. There are a ton of new weapons, gadgets, abilities, and armor that are really fun to try out, and their phasing out to newer tiers is satisfying as well. I do have to say that with both XCOM games, this gets grindy really quickly. Once the campaigns and the various game modes become too repetitive, the mod workshop makes it interesting and replayable with various tune-ups to the base game to complete overhauls and fan-made projects like various Star Wars mods and much more. XCOM 2 has evolved immensely, and hopefully, XCOM 3 can shine the same if one does get made (not Chimera Squad).

Very good tactical game, worth buying during discount.

best game in its class, nails its art and aesthetic. Custom soldiers trained from rookies make being invested easy. Superb game, needs a sequel.