I'm rather hoping these will get modded out.

I think you should keep an open mind and not have a knee-jerk reaction against them because they are different. They're clearly a key mechanic, and not one Firaxis have added lightly.

Rookie Bajirao Singham is "shaken" and has reduced Will. FFS XCOM, don't you know who this is?

It's also made him a Specialist which is also rubbish.

Now he's losing his MIND!

although the complexity of the new Geoscape is going to take a bit of getting used to, seems like there's about three million different things I need to pay attention to this time around!

...you recently researched armor that will hopefully keep your low level troops from getting one-shotted by The Big Shapeshifting Assholes, The Robot Assholes, and The Assholes Who Can Fucking Teleport Are You Fucking Kidding Me.

http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/the-brilliant-new-strategy-game-xcom-2-turns-time-itself-against-the-player-745

Vice love the time limits

Play different games that don't have time limits

Indeed.

Look at how much I've played XCOM 2.

XCOM 2 is challenging, but for the wrong reasons. Most of it comes from the randomness that exists as its core mechanic, from the level design (procedural), to hit chances, to turn limit sizes, to world map events. Whether you'll like it or not depends on what you want out of it.

Personally, I'd prefer a more tightly designed game that is harder than this (more enemies in maps +bigger maps +more "puzzle-y" encounters), but without the timers and stress and RNG everywhere. I'd rather have developer-designed maps and missions with tough encounters where you need to utilize the terrain and your equipment in the right way, rather than proceduraly generated missions with a turn limit that is barely enough for you to sprint to the objective and destroy it, and then pray as the 4 pods that you aggroed along the way rain down on you from the ceilings and wipe out your entire squad while your overwatches miss. Only to go back to the world map and see the Avatar gaining its 3rd ping in the same week due to RNG dark events.

XCOM 2 is overwhelming in a way that makes you feel helpless. Because you are. Better read some Reddit threads and restart the whole thing, doing only the absolutely most optimal things. Why do the rest of the options exist again?

You can mod out all the crazy 8 turn limits and massive random spikes in Avatar progress though. Great. What you are left with then is an extremely easy game. Guess why. Because that's what it is. An extremely easy game, made hard only through RNG rigged to screw you as a core design philosophy. The encounters themselves are easy and the maps are poorly designed, like everything procedural. There's no actual depth. There are no "damn, I'm a genious" moments as you lure an overwhelming force back to a well fortified position with half of your squad lying in the perfect ambush. The game gives you no time to think. No time to strategize. No time to have fun.

Personally, I'd prefer a more tightly designed game that is harder than this (more enemies in maps +bigger maps +more "puzzle-y" encounters), but without the timers and stress and RNG everywhere. I'd rather have developer-designed maps and missions with tough encounters where you need to utilize the terrain and your equipment in the right way

I'd concur. I generally don't like being rushed in games anything.

Indeed.

Look at how much I've played XCOM 2.

It's the definitive example of a videogame with a timer. It's literally all timers all the way down.

It's the definitive example of a videogame with a timer. It's literally all timers all the way down.

But the penalty for missing them was slight.

Can the same be said for this?

Umm, it meant you couldn't actually get the proper endings.

Escapist review not exactly in full-bummage mode.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/ ... M-2-Review

Escapist review not exactly in full-bummage mode.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/ ... M-2-Review

But sometimes he well bums things though.

RE: fixed link; that link is genuinely the URL for the second page of their review so it's a bit weird it doesn't work.

You put "here" as the URL and the URL as the text to display.

Also I do know how ZERO PUNCTUATION works (apart from, like, getting the name right), and I've been watching him for years, so whilst I appreciate he does do 'comedy slagging off' a lot of the time, you can still basically determine if a game is a 'thumbs up' or a 'thumbs down' - and in X-Com2's case, it feels very much like the latter.