XCOM 2’s War of the Chosen will keep you warm with anxiety till spring
It’s February and that’s not love in the air. It’s more like rain and discord mixed with a slight breeze of despair from the recent electric bill and the plethora of school shut downs from the Mega-Flu.
I’m not sure if anyone wants to see the sickening crimson and pink of cellophane-adorned aisles at the Walgreens or Walmart because of the latest marketing grab for candy sales. Let’s be honest: true love this year may come in the form of a candy gram with an assortment of Alka-Seltzer, Emergent-C, and cough drops.
Between Mega-Flu and rent, it’s hard for me to shake that end of the world feeling 98 percent of the time. Which is a perfect reason to dig into some of the discounts and back catalogs for gaming gems that have missed my radar.
Because there is nothing like dealing with real global annihilation than finding escape in the bits and pixels of a fictional one. This escapism eventually enticed me to bench test the latest alien slayer from developer Firaxis.
XCOM 2 War of the Chosen, which was released last August, expands on XCOM 2 from 2016. Both of these stewed on my back burners until I cleared out some of the laundry list of things I foolishly considered priority. Needless to say I’ve all but kicked myself for not getting these games initially.
Firaxis is best known for the Civilization games and also for game design choices that lead to cultish longevity and that infamous “one-more-turn” addiction for which the re-boot of the XCOM franchise has offered since day one. This time around the tactical turn-based resource management alien blaster carries the weight of total defeat at the slimy hands of the xenos threat by every decision and tactical blunder.
Players will find themselves in command of a human resistance on the run from the world dominating Advent. A collective of intergalactic gene stealing neo Nazis hell bent on using humanity’s DNA for nefarious purposes. The main plot you must uncover through the use of black market trading, clandestine autopsy research, and guerilla hit-and-run missions. All the while being chased by UFO’s and foiled periodically by three alien bounty hunters. These freak shows ratchet up the anxiety by dropping in to teaching you the true meaning of mission FUBAR.
The Warlock, Assassin, and Hunter will abduct your troops, raid your enclaves and generally grief you at every turn. As terrifying as that sounds, there are zombie hordes, the readiness reducing battle fatigue of your commandos, and the dwindling supplies that you desperately scratch for every minute.
Oh, did I mention the overhead doomsday clock that ticks away at the alien’s final solution for the entire human race? The ultimate goal of which is for your ragtag resistance on a budget to beat back by firebombing black sites and stealing vital intelligence.
XCOM 2 War of the Chosen is a thrilling beast reminiscent of its classic PC ancestors that share the name and premise. These days you are hard pressed to find a game that don’t cater to the participation trophy consumer with games that are designed to kick their players’ teeth in while keeping them in a full figure eight choke hold.
Not that XCOM 2’s expansion is for elite gamers, there are no real learning curves or hard mechanics to figure out, but forward thinking and tactical planning are skillsets that will separate usual trophy clowns from an exalted Mousepad Mattis.
I recommend this title on PC for the Steam Workshop with all the community mods that I believe are mandatory to enhance gameplay and aesthetics. It’s great fun to recruit a grenadier that sounds like Carl from Aqua Teen Hunger Force or a sniper that speaks in the icy cool bass of Richard B. Riddick as they vaporize alien dirt bags in a hail of bullets.
The colorful selection of voice mods make me simultaneously laugh and cry as I lead Deadpool, Carl, and Riddick from suicide mission to suicide mission simultaneously breaking their spirits and building their bonds.
There are mods that increase the length of the doomsday clock and scale up enemies for the true gaming masochist but these are mere seasonings to an already flavorful game.
I can’t offer much hope for the future and neither can War of the Chosen. Yet if you’re recovering from the latest bouts of fear and existential dread that insidious February harbors then splitting alien brains may get yours feeling right by spring time.
When not vaporizing zombies or leading space marines as a mousepad Mattis, Brandon Watson is making gourmet pancakes and promoting local artists.