5 5

Sequels are notoriously tough, especially when the original holds such a special place in the hearts of its devoted fans, but developer Firaxis Games makes them look effortless with XCOM 2, an alien-battling strategy hit that's more on song than the Jeff Wayne version of War of the Worlds.

Gone are the days where turn-based strategies are slow-paced slogs through stat-heavy menus, offering all the thrills of an Excel spreadsheet.

Titles like 2012's XCOM: Enemy Unknown debunked this conspiracy theory about the genre and helped usher in a new age of accessibility - and its sequel XCOM 2 is the action-packed, tactical masterclass in goofy sci-fi warfare they've cleared the way for.

Firaxis Games' latest offering picks up 20 years after the events of its predecessor, whisking players forward in time to a world where the alien threat has conquered, and reigns over humanity in a dystopian Earth.

The XCOM organisation is now just a pocket of resistance operating out of a refitted UFO called the Avenger, but it only takes a spark to light the fires of revolution, and with you at the helm and looted alien weaponry at your disposal, they're sure to rage like an inferno.

The new setting does its bit to amp up the intensity, creating a sense of insurmountable odds with higher stakes than before, and a fresh scenario for fans to immerse themselves in.

Like the other games in the series, XCOM 2 takes a double-pronged approach to galactic warfare, with players tasked with handling research and development for the human resistance as well as directing manoeuvres out there on the battlefield.

XCOM: Enemy Unknown did an admirable job of making the tactical elements palatable without dumbing them down, and the sequel effectively picks up where it left off - and the development team has thrown in tonnes of sneaky improvements along the way.

Inside the barracks, it's more of the same engineering busywork, soldier recruitment and levelling up your army's abilities, but you'll come across dozens of new skills and weaponry, along with upgrade trees with branches that shoot off in unexpected directions.

And then you take to the battlefield to be greeted by accessible mechanics that have scarcely changed since XCOM's humble 16-bit days. Moving your troops and hitting alien nasties with a volley of fire is a simple case of mouse clicking. Blissfully straightforward, yet face-paced, intense, and full of hidden depth that you'll grow to appreciate as the game progresses.

These have always been XCOM's strengths, and Firaxis Games has both played to and built on them with shrewd twists on the established formula.

For instance, they've snuck in a greater emphasis on stealth to give us more tactical tools to play around with. You can now scout out the map before the laser beams start to fly and watch the aliens as they prepare for your imminent assault, adjusting your strategy accordingly.

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Seemingly small changes have made all the difference in XCOM 2. Case in point, imposing strict time limits on some missions deprives players of the option to tread carefully across the warzone, ramping up the pace to a heart-thumping quip and injecting more intensity.

Nobody could possible accuse Firaxis Games of rolling out an incremental sequel to Enemy Unknown - everything from the rogues gallery of extraterrestrial nasties to the weapons your troops are gunning them down with has evolved in all the right ways.

The same cannot be said of the visuals, which remain on the undercooked side with an art design that sits awkwardly between realism and sci-fi cheese. But these are the imperfections that fans of the series have grown to love.

Less forgivable are some of the space bugs that crept on board ahead of launch, an issue that causes peak frustration when it allows enemies to cheat and fire through walls - and yet, even this isn't a deal-breaker since it's nothing a patch won't sort out.

XCOM 2 is otherwise a follow-up that does everything right by offering the best extraterrestrial skirmishes since Independence Day, coupled with genuine tactical depth that doesn't come at the expense of accessibility. It's the Empire Strikes Back of strategy sequels.

5 5

Platforms Available On: PC

Developer: Firaxis Games

Publisher: 2K

Genre: Strategy

Release Date: Out now

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