
All require different tactics and have their own dangers and specific abilities. There’s a lot of variation in enemies, from advent soldiers to the psionic enemies and snake-like vipers. All this investment in your soldiers makes it all the more heart wrenching when they die in combat. This adds another depth of detail and investment in your solders, although having a stealth character in bright pink armour does seem a tad ridiculous.
Xcom 2 pc xbox one controller full#
If things go really far south you can lose a full squad of highly levelled operatives.Īs well as being able to refine your soldiers’ roles in combat, they are also fully customisable, from their nickname and gender to headgear and masks, colours and weapons, all giving you the opportunity to make them really stand out. If a soldier is badly wounded they may need time to recover, but if they are killed then they’re gone for good. There is a catch to the combat and that is that injury and death matters. These help to diversify and push roles further, as you deal with more situations and worse odds. The specialist gets a little drone called a gremlin that can be outfitted to perform a medic role from a distance. Soldiers can also spec out for every level they gain and these skills can refine their role further, adding all sorts of useful equipment and skills to help fight enemies. A ranger is an excellent long range sniper and can provide good rear support and overwatch from a vantage point. Once you’ve been spotted, the enemy AI is quite adept, engaging threats and taking good cover, meaning skirmishes take a few turns before either they’re dead or you are.ĭifferent soldiers have different classes for different roles and situations. This adds a new element of being able to engage enemies with more favourable circumstances. This means that most missions start with your squad being hidden until they are either spotted or you choose to engage the enemy, giving you ample time to position your troops, get a good vantage point and flank your enemies. The biggest twist to this over the first game is that now humans are the guerrilla force. Firing at an enemy requires an action, though the odds of a hit are dependent on positioning, the weapon used and a soldier skill, so positioning and careful planning is essential to success. Later skills offer various twists on this, allowing for move manoeuvrability and options when engaging enemies. XCOM stays with its tried and perfected turn based combat system, each member of the squad being allotted a movement phase and then an action, or extended movement in the form of dash, at the expense of the action. From there the world opens up to let you explore and begin your mission to remove the occupying force from the planet. This mission functions as a nice introduction as well as a basic tutorial for new players and a refresher for veterans. The VIP in question is you, the commander, who has been kept prisoner in some kind of stasis. The prologue mission sees you take control over a squad of soldiers rescuing a VIP.
