DETAILS

Through the generosity of others, I was able to play XCOM 2’s War of the Chosen and this is my illustration of the squad used to successfully beat it.

My Character Pool consisted of everyone I knew on and off social media so it was interesting to see who the game would randomly pluck to help save the world. I also had cosmetic and QoL mods running which is why there are eight operatives with unusual looking gear.

Throughout the course of the 2018 campaign, 52 people were recruited out of my Character Pool but the bonded pairs I illustrated in this piece were strongest ones used for the last stage. Their names (from left to right) are:

Bonded Pair 1:

LAUREN “BLOODY MARY” ILADAN

JUSTIN “J-RAY” RAYNOR

Bonded Pair 2:

SHARON “LITA” ROMEO

JOEY “JO” NUNEZ

Bonded Pair 3:

LYNETTE “JONSIE” JONES

NINA “RITZ” GREEN

Bonded Pair 4:

RICK “BONG” PALMERO

ALICE “NIKKI” ELAVERA





This illustration has a SPEED ART video! Watch it at youtu.be/pgXYFck39cA





Of course, real names weren’t used in order to protect the privacy of my friends/family.



NOTES

- ART PROGRAM/S: Photoshop.

- COMPLETION TIME: ~24 hours.

- References used.

- All Chosen and Alien Rulers were killed.

- A total of 62 missions were launched from 3/1/2035 – 3/28/2036 (394 days).

- A squad of eight is not game-breaking for me because, admittedly, I'm not that great of a gamer. The modified size nicely countered Veteran mode's mid- and late-game RNG bullshit which gave me a good balance of tension and fun.

- Game Review below.





2018 PERSONAL GAME REVIEW: "WAR OF THE CHOSEN"

War of the Chosen

is an expansion made for XCOM 2 that adds magnificent enhancements to gameplay.



THINGS I LIKED:



The content is mod friendly allowing players to create and share customized content for XCOM 2 in the form of new gear, voices, music, UI, and more.

The voice acting and written dialogue are good. I was impressed that they brought in celebrity talent for this expansion.

Realism is ramped up in War of the Chosen. When they fight together long enough, your troops can now develop bonds. Bonds grant special abilities to the pair because of their good chemistry in battle. Because the background information of XCOM 2 troops is customizable, there’s potential to get creative and record how bonds were made (from owing each other’s lives to their partner, to being lovers risen out of war, etc). If one of the pair dies in battle, their surviving partner will simulate a traumatic emotional response and behave unpredictably in battle.

Soldiers can now become fatigued if they go on too many back-to-back missions, forcing you to rotate troops instead of sticking to a single elite team. Soldiers can develop PTSD from devastating injuries and will require therapy to remove their fragile state. New mini-bosses called The Chosen can learn and grow more powerful by disabling troops and psionically robbing them of knowledge.

As in the previous games, permadeath is still part of the game. If a soldier dies, they’re gone for good.

The Photobooth is a lulz feature in War of the Chosen but I thought it was awesome. You can access it at the end of every mission, when viewing your soldiers in the Armory of your mobile base, or when a soldier dies and you want to memorialize them. Photobooth allows you to create Resistance propaganda posters with your troops in various poses and layout styles. You can even write whatever text you want on them like, “XCOM: Kicking ADVENT ass all day! #YOLO.” xD

These posters will pop up on walls of certain missions and around the facilities of your mobile base which is really cool.

The Lost are a new zombie element from War of the Chosen. They’re the poor bastards who were killed in the Invasion of 2015 (seen in XCOM: Enemy Unknown) and, over the years, had transformed into uncontrollable organisms around the world that will attack both XCOM 2 soldiers and ADVENT forces.

The three factions in War of the Chosen don’t trust each other and it’s up to you to unite and lead them. Do a good job and they will assist with covert operations plus give you heroes that counter the Chosen running loose in the world. The Skirmishers are half-alien/half-human soldiers who were freed from ADVENT’s control and want revenge for what the administration put them through. They provide highly mobile infantry heroes. The Reapers are elite human survivors that thrived outside of ADVENT-controlled cities. They seem to hate ADVENT the most and provide extremely stealthy heroes that could give ninjas a run for their money. The Templars are gifted humans who revere the planet’s psychic energy and fight to cut the aliens off from it. The heroes they provide are more skilled in psionic battle than any talented operative XCOM had ever trained in the past.





ISSUES I HAD:

None.





PERSONAL RATING:

8/10

- Worth buying.

War of the Chosen is an excellent upgrade for XCOM 2. I recommend it—and mods for it—for enhancing your gaming experience even further.

I do reviews for anyone who might be curious about my thoughts of the game that inspired the art on this page. If you disagree with anything in the review, that's fine; that's your opinion. It is possible to post why you disagree and not be rude and/or stupid about it. If you can do that, I'll allow your explanation to be seen on this page if you're so inclined to post one.