We were given a chance to take a deeper look into XCOM 2, and to experience first-hand the changes that Firaxis has made to the brand since XCOM: Enemy Unknown in 2012. A good bit has changed since the first days of the alien invasion, and that means new enemies, new threats, and greater risk of failure are all on our plate this time around.
The game’s tutorial throws you into the deep end. You’re cast headfirst into a mission set behind enemy lines, and these new enemies are no joke. Your squad, an entirely new cast of characters, infiltrates an enemy base to steal valuable technology from the aliens. Things don’t quite go as planned, and you get to experience the familiar gut-punch of losing a squaddie to alien blasters.
From there you move on to the resistance, and back to the XCOM tropes you’ll recognize. Like Enemy Unknown, it is up to you to dish out research and engineering goals, as well as dictate what portions of the base are cleaned up to make room for more offices and advancements. This is just a small part of how things work in XCOM though, and sometimes you’re going to have to step away from your posh Commander Quarters, and dive into the world outside.
The world outside isn’t nearly as ravaged as it was in Enemy Unknown, though, and the missions are set up quite a bit differently. Send your squad out to take down alien facilities, raid UFO supplies, and even complete Guerrilla Ops missions. But be careful. If you make the aliens too angry, they’ll counterattack, and you’ll be forced to defend resistance bases from an onslaught of deadly enemies. XCOM 2 turns Enemy Unknown's “world savior” concept onto its head. Before it was the aliens threatening the system, but now, you're the upstart insurgent picking away at the social order. The aliens don’t take kindly to those who like to rock the boat.
Each and every mission map is procedurally generated in order to maximize replayability. This is a huge new addition to the series, and the team at Firaxis haven’t taken its implementation lightly. While many games with procedural maps often find themselves showing the seams, and cluttered beyond recognition. XCOM 2 doesn’t suffer from this failing. Honestly, I’d have never known the maps weren’t handmade if it hadn't been noted in so much of the promotional material.
The enemies have evolved as well, and they’re even scarier than before. Sectoids have been infused with human DNA, making them an even more formidable threat than they were when the aliens first landed. This isn’t the same war we were fighting in Enemy Unknown, and Firaxis wants to make sure we understand that.
Just thinking about the Faceless, I can’t help but relive the nightmare of my first encounter with them. One of the Resistance bases had been attacked, and I’d sent a squad out to find any survivors, and wipe out any Advent hanging around the area. I’d already saved three of the civilians left behind in the attacks, and as I readied for my next turn, I moved into position to pick up another citizen before a nearby Sectoid could take him out. My swift attack didn’t go as planned, however, as the human before me quickly transformed, turning what I assumed was someone who needed saving, into one of the most dangerous enemies I’d encountered in the game up to that point. It was a moment of adrenaline, as I scurried to pull my forces back together to take out the massive Faceless enemy before it could pulverize my squad leader.
While they aren’t ranked high on the alien totem pole, Vipers have to be one of the toughest enemies to find yourself against on the battlefield. Their ability to spit poison on my soldiers, as well as their brutal tongue pull attacks, left me dazed and scarred many a time throughout my battles with the Advent. There were actually several times I just had to walk away from my computer as the Vipers would spring up out of nowhere, and leave me with only one or two squad members left, barely clinging to life. Their appearance on the battlefield often left a sinking feeling of fear and doubt in the pit of my stomach.
One of the greatest things about XCOM is the ability to tell your own story through the characters of your squad. The deep customization is a huge part of the XCOM formula, and Firaxis hasn’t disappointed with XCOM 2. Add on the procedurally generated maps that the game now features, and they’ve done a great job of really setting XCOM 2 up for success. We'll have to see how the whole mission plays out when it launches next month.
