def a fresher take on the XCOM formula with a lot of good mechanics and design choices, the factions were really cool and the fact you can take on them in whichever you want. The story wasnt amazing or anything but for what the game is it perfectly suits it. Despite the lack of customisabilty as compared to XCOM 2 I really fell in love with the agent's personalities and small talk they'd make outside of missions.
Gameplay: Great, Modern XCOM gameplay has always been great.
Story: Good for a spin-off.
Controls: Good.
Graphics: Good.
Length: A bit short but it's fine. I don't like that the game forces you to finish the playthrough once you've reached a certain point.
Characters: Good. Playable aliens are diversed enough.
Story: Good for a spin-off.
Controls: Good.
Graphics: Good.
Length: A bit short but it's fine. I don't like that the game forces you to finish the playthrough once you've reached a certain point.
Characters: Good. Playable aliens are diversed enough.
It's a good game, but is held back by the lack of customisation which makes Xcom so great and individual. Has some really cool new ideas, especially the new Breach Entries. Biggest caveat is the lose of threat of units dying, as it just gives you a game over if they do. Runs well, and looks the best Xcom has though.
The Arkham Origins of XCOM. The faster battles and preparation were a breath of fresh air, and I enjoyed making use of the different heroes a lot. It felt like I was jumping in and out of battles at incredible pace which was a nice change from the (sometimes overly) slow pace of XCOM 2, with a decent variety in team compositions I could bring.
Breach is an interesting mechanic, though I could take it or leave it honestly. I enjoyed the different factions a lot. I also genuinely believe that most of this game's negative reception came from people's expectation that this was XCOM 3, though I never felt like it was marketed that way personally.
My main complaint is that the story, art and characters are all on the weaker side (Axiom excluded!), ESPECIALLY if you compare it to enemy unknown or XCOM 2. Especially as a continuation of xcom 2's narrative it feels a bit unimportant? I suppose thats good in the grand scheme of things because of this game's (unwarranted) poor reception, but still. Clearly there was also a much smaller budget alotted to this project, evident in the re-used assets from XCOM 2 and the drawn cutscenes rather than the 3D cinematics in and Enemy Unknown and XCOM 2, which makes the end result being this solid and fun even more impressive to me.
That all being said, if you are into turn-based combat and/or XCOM I definitely think this is worth a play. But do read the steam page a bit more in-depth before you buy it expecting XCOM 2.5 or something: it's differences from the formula might be a huge turn off for you.
Breach is an interesting mechanic, though I could take it or leave it honestly. I enjoyed the different factions a lot. I also genuinely believe that most of this game's negative reception came from people's expectation that this was XCOM 3, though I never felt like it was marketed that way personally.
My main complaint is that the story, art and characters are all on the weaker side (Axiom excluded!), ESPECIALLY if you compare it to enemy unknown or XCOM 2. Especially as a continuation of xcom 2's narrative it feels a bit unimportant? I suppose thats good in the grand scheme of things because of this game's (unwarranted) poor reception, but still. Clearly there was also a much smaller budget alotted to this project, evident in the re-used assets from XCOM 2 and the drawn cutscenes rather than the 3D cinematics in and Enemy Unknown and XCOM 2, which makes the end result being this solid and fun even more impressive to me.
That all being said, if you are into turn-based combat and/or XCOM I definitely think this is worth a play. But do read the steam page a bit more in-depth before you buy it expecting XCOM 2.5 or something: it's differences from the formula might be a huge turn off for you.