They’re also fun to mess around with in the head-to-head multiplayer mode.

Some of these aliens are absolutely vicious, and the AI usually knows how to use them effectively, especially on higher difficulty settings. But considering what they’re up against, they don’t feel overpowered. Augmenting those abilities with weapon upgrades is also excellent: I combined a Sharpshooter’s Killzone skill with a high-capacity ammo mod, which lets him take up to an incredible six reaction shots in one turn. The Specialist’s remote hacking and healing abilities, for instance, sets them completely apart and introduces some interesting risk-reward opportunities, especially against robotic enemies. XCOM’s easy to understand two-move-per-turn system returns, and while these five soldier classes may be similar in theme to their Enemy Unknown counterparts, they play very differently thanks to new and diverse ability sets. That’s fantastic, because not only is the AI displaying a rare will to survive, it gives you another thing to think about when engaging: leave no survivors, or the next fight might be harder. I can’t say I ever had a mission where I lost because the map wasn’t fairly laid out (though I definitely had some tough-to-cross stretches thanks to my use of explosives).Ībove: We play two missions with Firaxis.Plus, when you take out two of the three aliens in a group, the last one is sometimes smart enough to retreat and group up with another nearby group. Some missions have turn timers that force you to make risky moves, or to make a hasty retreat. Without knowing ahead of time where an objective will be or the location of the enemy, you’ll attack and defend, extract or kill VIPs, and blow things up. The same goes for the high-quality procedurally generated maps, and a good variety of mission types. Will you get incendiary grenades, which are great for disabling enemy special abilities and inflicting damage over time? Or poison rounds, which impair accuracy while also dealing steady damage? Or trace rounds, which increase accuracy on top of their other upgrades? You can’t count on anything, but you will get something, and having to adapt to make use of what’s available is a constant challenge. “Likewise, every time through the 20 to 30-hour campaign you’ll see a random assortment of weapon modifications, soldier stat boosts, special ammo and grenade types, psionic powers, bonuses for covering continents with your resistance network, and more.

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