The sequel to XCOM offers a familiar game. Outgunned, outnumbered and with limited resources XCOM must rollback an alien invasion that has all but succeeded.
XCOM2 develops the storyline that the XCOM failed to prevent the original invasion and now the aliens are the puppet masters of a seemingly benevolent world government. With what’s left aboard an abandoned and patched-up UFO the task requires making contact with the scattered resistance cells around the world to gain the resources and technology for an effective fighting force.
The soldiers fall into four classes each with its own complementary skill sets, keeping them alive so they can be promoted is serious hard work especially in the early months when your troops can’t shoot straight, lack effective weapons and seem to fight in tee-shirt and jeans.
Eventually your research pays off with improved weaponry and armour which helps at least until even better armed aliens start showing up. It is a constant arms-race.
As you progress a deeper storyline emerges that suggests that the aliens are not infact benevolent but have an ulterior motive (suprise!) and the clock is ticking on humanities final demise.
Compared to XCOM the feel and pace are much the same. However there are ample additions that make the game feel a lot smoother and more refined. A simple example is the ability to sort by various criteria the table displaying the roster of soldiers. There are new tactical abilities such as concealment that create differing gameplay including the ability to create ambushes. And tactical maps are randomly but intelligently created so there is less recongnising and learning specific maps.
Overall this sequel provides a similar challenge and timesink as XCOM but without being a mere reskin - the blend of familiar and new elements works to provide another hard but not impossible task.
I smiled at how at the final cutscene there was a suggestion of a terror-from-the-deep type XCOM3, but to date nothing has transpired. Shame.