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XCOM 2: War of the Chosen

 
XCOM's greatest DLC was almost a Battletech-style mech expansion before the game's camera scuppered it all: 'Our camera angle is not meant for 30 foot mechs, apparently'Apr 3, 2024 - PC GamerXCOM 2 is eight years old, somehow, which was as offensive for me to write as it was for you to read. And if you ask me, it's still Firaxis' high point as a studio. That's really saying something: Those guys made Sid Meier's Pirates, after all, but I've never loved one of the studio's games so much as I loved its endlessly inventive guerilla warfare sim... Read more.The new XCOM is a free-to-play mobile gameJul 18, 2021 - PC GamerWhile Firaxis is presumably busy working on the rumored turn-based Marvel game, a studio called Iridium Starfish has soft-launched an official XCOM spin-off on the Google Play store. XCOM: Legends is still in development and only available in some territories, but gameplay footage is showing up on YouTube already... Read more.XCOM 2 is now on iOS tooNov 5, 2020 - Rock, Paper, Shotgun Commander, it’s once again time to save the Earth – but this time you can do it from the comfort of your toilet seat. XCOM 2 today launched on iPhones, iPads, I don’t know anymore. The iOS release comes with all the DLC too, enough game to occupy your attention for potentially thousands of bowel movements. And I think technically you’re allowed to play phone games in other places too? (more…) 17 reasons to be thankful in gamesNov 29, 2019 - Rock, Paper, Shotgun One Off The List is our weekly list feature. Is there something you think doesn t deserve to be on this list? Comment with your reasons why, and next week it may be struck off. Gather round, descendants of unwelcome occupiers. It is time to celebrate turkeys again. Now, I don t have any comically large birds to slaughter, but I do recognise the emotional benefit of reflection, which is what this questionable holiday is all about. Being thankful. There are many small things we videosgamers take for granted, the stuff you don t even think about. But tiny quality of life things still deserve a grateful thumbs-up. Here are 17 things to be thankful for in games. (more…) Best XCOM 2: War Of The Chosen modsAug 5, 2019 - Rock, Paper, ShotgunEvery other Monday, Dominic gives you a reason to dust off one of your old games and dive into its mods with Modder Superior. Welcome back, Commanders. I’ve returned to an expanded and finalised XCOM 2 this week. Since the launch of 2017’s War Of The Chosen expansion and last year’s Tactical Legacy Pack, things have been quiet on the XCOM front. The game is finally stabilised, giving modders a nice static test-bed to add new weapons, aliens and features to the squad tactics sandbox. Here’s a deep dive on the boldly named “A Better Everything” – a modular overhaul mod package – plus a few fun extras to freshen up your next scuffle with Advent. (more…) Have you played XCOM 2: War Of The Chosen?Mar 27, 2019 - Rock, Paper, ShotgunHave You Played? is an endless stream of game retrospectives. One a day, every day, perhaps for all time. My favourite XCOM is XCOM: Enemy Unknown*, a pure and direct, no mess/no fuss modern-day remix of metagame-augmented turn-based tactics. My second-favourite XCOM is the polar opposite, XCOM 2 DLC War Of The Chosen, an absurd explosion of superheroics that throws internal logic to the wind. (more…) XCOM 2 is free this weekend (and DLC discounts a-go-go too)Mar 22, 2019 - Rock, Paper, ShotgunStandard-issue XCOM 2 is probably my least-favourite of the four different flavours of XCOM now available to us (i.e. including the Enemy Within and War Of The Chosen expansions), but that’s a bit like saying I don’t enjoy 29 degrees of heat quite as much as 26, 27 and 28 degrees. They’re all great! Make it like that all the time, please. Only, y’know, without the heat-death of the planet. And, yeah, keep on releasing more XCOMs. If you’ve avoided Firaxis’ reimagining of The Greatest PC Game Of All Time (If You’re An Old Man Like Me), XCOM 2 can be a rather full-on point of entry. On the other hand, it’s currently free all weekend (and 75% off if you want to keep it forever), which is the easiest point of entry of all. (more…) Red Dead Redemption 2 and XCOM 2 have one crucial thing in common - companionshipFeb 9, 2019 - EurogamerUrdnot Wrex, Clementine, Elizabeth, Claptrap, HK-47: these video game companions all conjure up distinct memories for the people who met them and played alongside them. Those close-shaves, those funny moments, those last minute saves. These complex pieces of code have transcended their unreality by tapping into our emotions from the very primal to the deeply complex. Which brings us to the games I'm thinking about at the moment. To me, Red Dead Redemption 2 is the closest thing to VR without wearing a headset. I didn't just 'play' it: the world and narrative of Arthur Morgan completely absorbed me. But it's not the only game I'm obsessed with right now. Cinematic and panoramic, Read Dead seems to offer a huge contrast to the turn-based tactical finesse of XCOM 2, my other current go-to, but while these games initially appear very different they have one thing in common: I'm talking about family. Companionship, friendship - the best kinds of ships. Read more… How a lifelong diet of games influenced The Seven Deaths of Evelyn HardcastleFeb 7, 2019 - Eurogamer"I forget everything between footsteps. "'Anna!' I finish shouting, snapping my mouth shut in surprise. "My mind has gone blank. I don't know who Anna is or why I'm calling her name. I don't even know how I got here. I'm standing in a forest, shielding my eyes from the spitting rain. My heart's thumping, I reek of sweat and my legs are shaking. I must have been running but I can't remember why. Read more… Steam Charts: Congealed EditionOct 15, 2018 - Rock, Paper, Shotgun Have you ever stopped to wonder what life is really all about? To get to the bottom of why we exist, what our purpose is, where this is all heading? (more…) XCOM 2 Tactical Legacy Pack is a successful experiment in quickfire campaignsOct 10, 2018 - PC GamerXCOM 2 is great, but a full War of the Chosen campaign is a hefty endeavour. What if you could just chain a few missions together to enjoy the equipment power curve, without having to manage the Avenger? The Tactical Legacy Pack is an experiment in storytelling and campaign structure. Across seven missions, XCOM stalwart Central Officer Bradford recounts the time between the end of Enemy Unknown and the start of XCOM 2, covering the collapse of the XCOM project, and the formation of the resistance. His narration even comments on some of your actions as you complete objectives. Rescue some civilians and Central recalls how his rogue squad would rescue whoever they could on their mission to find a safe haven. Between missions you get a choice of two squad-wide upgrades—special ammo or special grenades?—and your squad automatically levels up and gains new traits. Their guns get better too, which is useful because the enemies become more advanced with each mission. You essentially get to see the game's entire power curve unfold over the course of just a few hours. I like it a lot. The missions are challenging and there's a big score ticker in the top right corner measuring your performance. If you lose a soldier you lose a few thousand points, but you can kill enemies and complete objectives to get the ticker back into the green. You carry your score with you between missions and the final tally will determine whether you receive a bronze, silver, or gold medal. The Tactical Legacy Pack adds a bit of value to War of the Chosen campaigns as well. Once you've beaten it, the Enemy Unknown weapons and armour will appear in the standard campaign, and the map assets will turn up in the campaign's procedurally generated maps. The only downside is that playing these campaigns first will spoil the advanced enemies you end up fighting in War of the Chosen. The only thing I'd wish for is more control over my squad's advancement between missions. In the campaign it takes a few dozen hours to bring a sharpshooter up to a high level, and it would be fun to experiment with builds over the course of a shorter sprint—something I could complete in a few hours on a Sunday afternoon. Admittedly this could ruin the novelty of new skills for new players, but for players who have run a few campaigns it would be a fun way to experiment with War of the Chosen's systems. It's a neat update though, especially for free. If you already own War of the Chosen then you can download it for nothing before December 3. On Steam XCOM 2 is free to try and cheap to buy for the next couple of days as well. It is an extremely good strategy game. XCOM 2 s Tactical Legacy DLC brings new modes, and is free for nowOct 9, 2018 - Rock, Paper, Shotgun More XCOM 2: War Of The Chosen is such an exciting prospect to some that our Alec, despite being away on months-long sabbatical, appeared wanting to write about the new DLC released today (Brendan shooed him away with a broom). Tactical Legacy Pack is its name, and adding loads of new missions and maps and items and modes is its game. It’s free for keepsies right now too (though it does require the WOTC expansion), then in December Sally-come-latelys will start needing to pay a couple quid for it. Eat it, Meer. Enjoy not doing work ha ha, sucker. (more…) Firaxis is celebrating XCOM's sixth birthday with the new Tactical Legacy Pack DLCOct 2, 2018 - EurogamerFiraxis has announced that it's celebrating XCOM's sixth birthday on October 9th with the release of the Tactical Legacy Pack - a brand-new (and temporarily free) DLC update for XCOM 2's War of the Chosen expansion on PC. The Tactical Legacy Pack is designed to bridge the timeline gap between the first Firaxis XCOM game, Enemy Unknown, and its 2016 sequel. It includes new modes, maps, weapons, and armour - all designed to "honour the legacy of the XCOM series". The centrepiece of the new DLC appears to be the new Central's Archives Legacy Ops campaign. Its consecutive tactical challenges are themed around the recollections of Central Officer Bradford and other key members of XCOM, focussing on events that led to the formation of the resistance between the first and second XCOM games. Read more… Celebrate six years of warfare with XCOM 2 s Tactical Legacy Pack, free at launchOct 2, 2018 - Rock, Paper, ShotgunSix years ago, Firaxis pulled off the impossible with XCOM, re-envisioning a DOS classic – next week, they’re celebrating this feat with the Tactical Legacy pack for XCOM 2: War Of The Chosen. It’s pure fan-service of the less-sexy kind (unless Carapace armour turns you on, in which case fly your freak flag high), featuring old favourite equipment and environments used in a new series of tactical mini-campaigns. Better still, it’ll be initially free to owners of War Of The Chosen. It’s out next week, October 9th. Check the reveal trailer below. (more…) Free XCOM 2 DLC will bridge the gap between Enemy Unknown and War of the ChosenOct 2, 2018 - PC GamerWhat on Earth happened between XCOM: Enemy Unknown and XCOM 2? The canon fiction says that the player loses the Enemy Unknown campaign and the aliens take control of the planet. But how did XCOM 2's resistance form?  A new Legacy Ops mini-campaign should answer that question, featuring reimagined maps, weapons and armour from Enemy Unknown. The four-mission campaign is the heart of the Tactical Legacy Pack, which releases on October 9. It will be free to all XCOM 2: War of the Chosen players for the following eight weeks. After the free grace period is up, players will be able to buy it for $7.99/£6.49. You need to own XCOM 2 and War of the Chosen to get the pack gratis. The pack includes an offline challenge mode to let you play through War of the Chosen's daily challenges whenever you like, and a series of escalating missions called Resistance Archives. You also get new soundtrack options that will let you play  War of the Chosen with the Enemy Unknown soundtrack or with a brand new soundtrack inspired by the original X-Com: UFO Defense. "We looked back to Enemy Unknown and thought there was a compelling unexplored gap following the player's 'loss' and before the events of XCOM 2," say Firaxis in a Q&A. "How did Central get back on his feet? How did XCOM even learn of the existence of the Commander? And how damn cool would it be if the original XCOM: Enemy Unknown Gas Station had XCOM 2 gameplay, enemies and updated art?" The reimagined weapons and armour pieces you unlock in the Legacy Ops campaign will be available in the main War of the Chosen campaign, and assets from the reimagined maps will appear in War of the Chosen's procedurally generated battlefields. Familiar locations like the gas station have been weathered to reflect the aftermath of the Enemy Unknown campaign. The pack also adds new helmets and attitudes that let you further customise a soldier's posture and pre and post-mission walkups. That's a lot of stuff, so let's break down the features. Legacy Ops * Four sequential tactical mission covering the period between the end of the Enemy Unknown campaign and the beginning of XCOM: War of the Chosen. * The missions are relayed to you by Central Officer Bradley, recounting the rise of the resistance. The missions are described by Firaxis as follows... * Blast from the Past—"After the fall of XCOM HQ, Central Officer Bradford begins his journey to build the resistance by returning to where it all began."; * It Came from the Sea—"The broadcast of a fledgling radio DJ is reaching an audience he didn’t intend. It’s up to Central to save the DJ from an endless horde of hungry listeners."; * Avenger Assemble—"Join Lily Shen as she works to retrofit the Avenger into a new home for the growing forces of a reinvigorated XCOM. ; * The Lazarus Project—"ADVENT is kidnapping key me...Brilliant executives launch tech start-up called XCOMJun 7, 2018 - PC GamerQualcomm is a San Diego-based company specializing in telecommunications equipment. As The LA Times reports, three of Qualcomm's top executives recently left to start their own tech company, also based in San Diego, and they're calling it… XCOM. Not Excom. Not even EXCOM. Just XCOM. As in, you know, XCOM.  They had a 95 percent chance to hit, and somehow they still missed.  What will XCOM specialize in, you ask? "Inventing and investing in wireless technologies to propel the next mobile revolution," according to its newly minted site . Before they can get to that though, as XCOM designer Jake Solomon pointed out on Twitter, they've got another problem to figure out first:   XCOM 2 mods bring The Phantom Pain to the turn-based alien invasionMay 31, 2018 - PC GamerI inadvertently returned to XCOM 2 last week, after discovering this hilarious Red Dwarf voice pack mod. The work of prolific creator ∑3245 has since caught my eye—whose player-made Metal Gear-inspired additions to the turn-based alien invasion are great. Over the last several weeks, ∑3245 has added Scout Uniforms, Enforcer and Battle Armours, a selection of Sneaking Suits, Snake's iconic bandana and eyepatch, and Haven Trooper armours—as first featured in Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, and the PS3's MGS 4: Guns of the Patriots and Metal Gear Online.  The above support XCOM 2's War of the Chosen expansion, and look something like this: Combine ∑3245's work with Jblade35's Venom Snake and Quiet Voice Pack—which adds 124 lines "for most actions in the game"—and turn The Phantom Pain into a turn-based strategy affair.  For more player-made projects, check out our respective best XCOM 2 mods and best XCOM 2: War of the Chosen mods lists.    Best PC games of 2017Dec 25, 2017 - Rock, Paper, ShotgunThe calendar’s doors have been opened and the games inside have been eaten. But fear not, latecomer – we’ve reconstructed the list in this single post for easy re-consumption. Click on to discover the best games of 2017. (more…) Get XCOM 2: War of the Chosen for its lowest ever post-release price in the Fanatical Winter SaleDec 16, 2017 - PC GamerHere's the best deal you'll see this weekend—PC Gamer's 2017 expansion of the year XCOM 2: War of the Chosen is available for a lick over $24/£21 on Fanatical, equal with its historic low. It's 33% off on the store, and if you enter the code 'Winter10' at checkout then you knock off an extra 10%. What's more, the base game is also at its lowest ever price, with more than 70% off. You can pick it up for a mere £9.44/$16.19. Pretty good for the best strategy game of last year. The expansion is packed with personality: it adds a new group of enemies, the Chosen, that taunt you at every turn. The new friendly resistance factions are great too, and boast some of the most powerful abilities in the game. If you own a copy of XCOM 2 but haven't picked up War of the Chosen, then now is the time. It's all part of Fanatical's winter sale, which is worth checking out. I've just had a browse and some of the recently added deals include more than 60% off Tales of Berseria, which is a JRPG that I really enjoyed, and I'm not normally into the genre. The excellent Banner Saga (and the equally excellent sequel) are also heavily discounted. Update: As one commenter has pointed out, you could actually pre-order the expansion for $10 at one time, so this deal is only the lowest post-release price, not the lowest price ever. I've changed the headline to reflect that. Best Expansion 2017: XCOM 2: War of the ChosenDec 15, 2017 - PC GamerPC Gamer's Best Expansion of 2017 is XCOM 2: War of the Chosen, as selected by our global team. Below, its biggest fans on the team offer some commentary on their experiences with the game. Find the rest of our 2017 GOTY Awards and personal picks here.  Tom Senior: In just five years Firaxis has successfully resurrected XCOM and explored a bunch of different takes on the formula. War of the Chosen is the most inventive yet, filling out the world with new friendly resistance factions and bitter rivals in the form of the Chosen themselves. The blue bad guys are obviously a focus point, but I love the resistance heroes even more, though, for their amazing, almost game-breaking abilities. The reapers get the cool long coats, but I came to love the templars the most because they look like they’ve dived out of Mass Effect to stab everything with electricity. Bo Moore: War of the Chosen took one of the best games of 2016 and made it even better—by adding campy, moustache-twirling villains that mock you at every turn. The titular Chosen give a voice (more than Simlish-like gurgling) to your alien adversaries, and in that voice, the game's enemies finally have some personality. It feels awful when they ambush your squad, taunt your forces, and kidnap your soldiers. But it makes vanquishing them all the more sweeter. I scarcely see War of the Chosen as an expansion. To me, it feels like XCOM 2's final form. Evan Lahti: Bingo, Bo: XCOM 2's villains needed a voice, and they got three. I love that the Chosen taunt you at every turn of the campaign: in the menus, mid-mission, after they kill or wound a soldier. They permeate the game, but you can also take them on mostly at your own pace. Firaxis's approach here reminds me of some of my favorite board games—instead of treating the Chosen like a separate, vestigial storyline you have to play, they simply become part of the ecosystem of threats, shuffled in with the rest of the cards you can draw. For me, The Chosen became XCOM 2's campaign—all my tech and personnel decisions revolved around tracking them down and prepping for their multi-stage missions. But another player might be content with taking out one of the Chosen and focusing on the Avatar Project instead. These jerks made XCOM 2 the only singleplayer game in 2017 that I wanted to keep playing after I finished. Tim Clark: I scarcely see War of the Chosen as an expansion. To me, it feels like XCOM 2's final form. This is the game Firaxis always intended, complete with sneering alien supervillains, sweet new gear to research, and in the resistance factions, some incredibly cool characters to fight alongside. At this point XCOM 2 feels like it's become this delicious, rich, selection box of sci-fi chocolates. I almost never replay the big games, but for XCOM 2 I made an exception, and devoured the lot all over again. If it weren't for the fact it is an expansion, it'd be my GOTY...

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