XCOM 2 News

XCOM 2 is the greatest strategy game I've ever played, and this is why

If you give me the choice between a game that offers me freedom, and the opportunity to shape the story and the direction with my own choices, versus a game that limits my freedom, and insists that I play and behave in a certain way, I'm always going to pick the latter. I like direction. I like vision. Fallout, Grand Theft Auto, and Red Dead Redemption 2 might be some of my favorite games of all time, but if I had to choose a side - if I had to belong to one kind of 'church' of videogame structure - then I'd be an acolyte of shorter, more linear, and more organized and governed games where my own agency is sacrificed for greater thematic cohesion. I'll take the original Metal Gear Solid over Metal Gear Solid 5. The narrow corridors of the first Half-Life are more impactful to me than the gorgeous, wide-open world of No Man's Sky.

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Get most of the XCOM series at up to 92% off

Do you love all things mech? What about XCOM? If you've answered yes to one or both of those questions, don't sleep on Humble Bundle's latest sale. The Robots, Mechs, and Machines sale offers big discounts on a range of great games featuring (you guessed it!) robots, mechs, and machines. This includes huge discounts on XCOM and XCOM 2 collections and their respective expansion packs. So, if you're an XCOM fan looking to add to your collection or you want to dive into the series for the first time, this is the perfect opportunity to do so - for less.

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XCOM is "the one thing that works" in tactical games, Paradox executive says

Turn-based strategy games and tactical RPGs come and go, but XCOM is forever. At least, it can certainly feel that way. It's been more than eight years since Firaxis unleashed XCOM 2 on the world, and almost six since the arrival of its masterful War of the Chosen expansion. Since then, we've seen some excellent contenders in the space - the likes of Gears Tactics, Battletech, and Warhammer 40k Battlesector come to mind - but none have become quite the cultural phenomenon that XCOM is. In the wake of its own attempt, I asked Paradox deputy CEO Mattias Lilja about trying to compete with such established titans.

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XCOM 2 is just $3 on Steam for a day—cheaper than the bus I took into work this morning, or 1/5th of a World of Warcraft subscription

XCOM 2 is such a good game that I feel strange doing my due diligence to explain it to the unfamiliar—but in case you've not heard of Firaxis' turn-based tactics masterpiece, let me lay the grid out for you...
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I love that Jake Solomon is following his life sim passions, but just give me a minute to mourn XCOM

Jake Solomon is one of those developers you just jump at the chance to interview. He's so full of passion for the work he does that you can't help but walk away just as jazzed as he is. Especially because you know it isn't all talk—that same passion shines through in the games he's taken the lead on...
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