Oh, and XCOM 2 Expansion announced, end of august release date · 6:05pm Jun 12th, 2017
Editing: Didn't mean to submit so early. : |
So, what the trailer shows us: Seemingly unique elites from an alien faction not yet seen. Three new resistance groups with unique classes to unlock. Reapers look like FO: NV Rangers with their gas masks and long coats, the Templars seem to be a psionics coven, and the Skirmishers are bon-a-fide ADVENT rebels.
New ADVENT and the 'Lost' seem to tie into one of the dangling plot threads from the novel: Flamethrower teams being deployed in the wilderness to purge -something-. While out in the wilderness in the book, the main character observed wildlife gathering at the edge of the forest, seemingly to stand and watch them... It seems that was a reference to the 'Lost', the never-ending tide of zombie analogues that the majority of humanity (and wildlife, presumably) became after the invasion.
Also, I'm hearing rumors that the new alien elites are a persistent threat throughout the course of the game, and might hint to something like the the Nemesis system.
Oooo. I'm excited. XCom 2 surprised me with how good it was. And I say that having loved the first 1.
this seems amazing.
Hilariously I mentioned this in your last blog post... wasn't expecting them to announce it TODAY lol.
Wonder if the season pass covers it. Doubt it. Still, if the reviews are good and the mod support continues, I shall get it! Long war 2 for the win!
So many fun things to keep me from writing....
Swarm enemy's? Don't change tactics, spam grenade luancher.
Looks interesting.
4569158
Or, sniper team who can keep firing as long g as they hit targets.
Well, glad they're looking to include one of the few interesting points of that messy book. The story's pacing and characters were all over the place, making it hard to connect with what was happening, much less care about the resistance members' fates. It also doesn't help that the book's depictions of the first invasion don't match up with the game's version. Bradford's description early in the book paint the first invasion as similar to Vanilla EU/EW, while the in-game lore and DLC additions make it clear it was more like late-game Impossible Long War from the start. Fact-checking and continuity in expanded materials (or lack thereof) will never fail at setting off my inner fanboy.
Opinionated grumbling aside, I'm intrigued by the premise. We've seen character mods that give us S.T.A.L.K.E.R-esque gear and Alien-Human hybrid reject faces. Now we're getting official factions with in-game backstories to go with them. That, and more story elements that might provide insight to the game's vaguer plot points (i.e. what the hell is the Commander, because the answer isn't human.)
Overall though, I'm a little underwhelmed with this announcement in comparison to the reveal of the EW expansion. Back in 2013 we were being teased with cybernetic battlesuits, gene-spliced soldiers and a dark mirror to the XCOM project that had this interesting Illuminati vibe. It offered new gameplay mechanics that also expanded the world's lore in ways that fit thematically. Something about the look and behavior of the Lost and these Chosen adversaries make them feel out-of-place, like they were let go from a World of Warcraft expansion and got picked up by XCOM 2 because they liked their resumes.
Sorry if I sound salty. I still have high hopes for this expansion. It'll be nice to play the Vanilla campaign with mods again after months slogging through Long War 2. The overhaul from that mod has its fun moments, but the new gameplay mechanics and difficulty swerves make it somewhat tedious. One early in-game month you're getting your ass kicked and the next few are laughably easy even on higher difficulties thanks to XCOM's tech ramping up quickly while new enemy types are delayed with successful missions.
Looks interesting... if sadly not the massive change-up Enemy Within was.
Still, I'll gladly eat those words later once more info is out. Firaxis has a great track-record with expansions, after all.
THE HYPE
IT IS REAL
I had honestly thought that the XCOM 2 DLC stopped with Shen's Last Gift.
wwwalecsphotoshop.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/xcom-hype-train.jpg
Considering I'm getting a new pc soon, not even this picture can express my excitement.
Oh snap, this are about to get hard (er)
Remember Enemy Within?
Yeah, well now it's THREE times the enemies within!
4569149
XCOM 2 expansion, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, South Park The Fractured But Whole, Shadow of War, Assassin's Creed Origins, Cuphead....
... oh heck, I'm gonna be busy too it seems.
More X-Com is always welcome in my book.
I wonder if its not the Wargots redone from the not-talked about series. Or the Starghosts. Or the Biomass mechanics from the series no one talks about in series.
I have a suspicion this is something along the lines of Aftermath, Aftershock, and Afterlight and their little things.
Anyone saw the Mario-Rabbid game? It's Literally XCOM!
Looks very, very exciting. I do hope this expansion continues where the base game story's ended, where the battle was won, but the war continues. Balancing dealing with the splintering Advent factions, old human grievances rising again, and defending against the threat that the Elders were so terrified of seem like a wonderful hook to pull me back in. Plus, even more unique characters characters to get attatched to is always great.
So they promised to 'fix' the Ruler Reaction by limiting it to movement and attacks done in LOS of the ruler (similar to an approach taken by mods), put every Ruler behind an optional mission rather than just the first (if you consider ADVENT facilities optional, that is), and give XCOM its own Ruler-like ability on one of the new units. And that's just the changes related to one DLC! This is definitely shaping up to be Enemy Within 2.
I'm interested in the Lost as a novel tie-in, but I worry they will mean I have to evac from map types you used to be able to clear fully.
Read all about it: http://www.ign.com/g00/articles/2017/06/14/e3-2017-extensive-details-on-xcom-2-war-of-the-chosen