the Avenger , not only are you able to stay on the move and avoid being detected by the aliens , but you can rapidly redeploy to anywhere on the planet your presence is required . Managing the daily operations of the Avenger represents one half of the game . It ’ s where you employ scientists and engineers to research new technologies and manufacture new items , weapons and armour that ’ ll aid you in surviving skirmishes with the aliens . New facilities can be built on the ship , and doing so provides bonuses like increasing the size of your squads and unlocking new research options . You decide where and when to move the Avenger between the world ’ s continents , scanning for useful resources and making contact with the scattered human resistance forces . Every so often , missions appear – some tied to the story , some not . And it ’ s
these missions that are the driving force of XCOM .
Before every excursion , you select a squad of XCOM operatives to send into battle , outfitting them with any gear you think will better your chances on the ground . Missions play out in turn-based fashion , which some people may immediately balk at – but trust me when I say that XCOM 2 is far more immediately exciting and dramatically intense than your average turn-based game . It ’ s a game of balancing risk and reward . The success or failure of every action you take ( save for movement ) is dependent on a certain amount of luck . Every shot fired , every thrown grenade , every attempted hack of mechanical foes has an element of randomness associated with it in addition to taking into account factors like your positioning and the skill modifiers of the troop performing the action .
The trick is to ensure that you maximise your chances wherever possible – and this naturally breeds some extremely dramatic moments . You ’ ll look on in terror when a shot that had a 92 % chance to hit misses completely and your operatives suddenly find themselves in a dangerous situation that should ’ ve been easily avoided . You ’ ll cheer your troops on as a single sniper takes out three powerful foes charging to flank you .
In action , it ’ s nothing short of riveting . Every moment within every mission holds the potential to become a self-contained tale of nail-biting victories and sudden , crushing defeats . My favourite new mission mechanic in XCOM 2 is Concealment . At the start of most missions , all your operatives are concealed , hidden from enemy view unless they ’ re spotted or they do something noisy . During this
46 The OverClocker Issue 38 | 2016