XCOM 2: War of the Chosen

Game information:

Date Release: 2017
Genre: Strategy
Developer: Firaxis

Game description

In the massive addition of XCOM 2: War of the Chosen built into the main game, we first see the enemy with a human face, no matter how unnatural it may look in relation to aliens.

The most important innovation of War of the Chosen is the appearance of three bosses resembling dark elves with aliens. They have emotions, they quarrel, freak out and communicate with us, while being intimidating, threatening and making pretentious speeches about their power and how they will hurt us. And when we hurt them, they complain about the scars and promise revenge.

In the game, everything became very talkative: on the map, in the compartments of the Avenger, and the missions you face there are well-made lengthy remarks and messages.

Each Boss controls his zone on the territory of Earth, and it is likely that he will attack us during the execution of tactical operations in this area, complicating the task. After all, each of them — especially the powerful “unit” – comes with a lot of health, unique skills, and bonuses.

One of them is the Killer who teleports constantly and periodically becomes invisible, causing his katana to a huge damage in melee and imposing blindness or stuns on your wards. Another one, the Hunter, shoots accurately from the “sniper” at a great distance.

The situation is complicated by the fact that there are new types of enemies, such as travelers, performing the role of local zombies — they come running to the sound of shots and explosions. And when during the next mission you need to simultaneously have time to mark loads of materials before they are taken away by aliens, fend off dozens of mutants from the soldiers of “advent”, and even try to survive a very unpleasant meeting with the Killer who persistently terrorizes the squad and has already killed your best Ranger, you know it is a real hardcore game!

But each of the Bosses has not only strengths but also weaknesses (that appear “randomly”). My Killer, for example, took an increased damage from a third attack in a single turn, and the Hunter was damaged by explosions. In general, you have to combat them. But they don’t die and go back to their lair and recover back to hamper you through the game.

In XCOM 2: War of the Chosen, Firaxis released a surprisingly large-scale and important addition, actually making a new game. Being built into the main, it dramatically changes the rules and conditions and the content of the original. The opportunities, events, missions, messages, and conversations on the map are now so many that you do not know which one to take first — and the passages periodically start moving around the map without you knowing what to choose.

Pros: a lot of new features in the gameplay; interesting faction system; the emergence of three new fighters in the ranks of XCOM and in the ranks of opponents — three Favorites, unique “bosses” with their skills and a constant desire to kill you; interesting new types of enemies.

Cons: long conversations; the concentration of events on the global map sometimes seems excessive, turning strategy into chaos.

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