XCOM 2 Has me All Aflutter

There have been very few games that have been so frustratingly difficult but so enjoyable that I've actually pushed through to finish them.  XCOM:  Enemy Unknown is one of those few games that has managed to force me to obsessively save my game, fearing that every move would be a dumb one resulting in the catastrophic destruction of my entire squad.  I wish I could brag about how I played it on the highest difficulty and aced it all.  That would be a bald-faced lie.  I felt really proud when I finished my one torturous playthrough on "classic" difficulty.  In preparation for the February 5th released of XCOM 2 I've been reading a few early previews.  Reviewers seem positive, but the difficulty sounds much tougher than Enemy Unknown...and I'm actually excited about it.

XCOM 2 promises to bring new enemies and new tactics.  One preview I read (PC Gamer) mentioned the addition of loot drops but that it adds a whole new tactical aspect to each map.  Now you have to make the decision about whether it's feasible to chase after a piece of loot that might be located in a dangerous place.  This sounds akin to the decisions from the expansion Enemy Within where you often had to make tactical decisions based on the countdown timer on canisters of meld.  Do you rush ahead towards a canister with a low timer or do you just abandon it in the name of caution?  I can't even remember how many canisters I lost or how many frustrating times that I ran my scout ahead of the team...right into a mass of oncoming aliens.

In a different preview (Rock, Paper, Shotgun) the difficulty of the upcoming game was the big focus.  The author mentions that the whole "save everyone" concept is almost unrealistic.  A new set of maps means that you won't see the same repetitious set of maps like in Enemy Unknown.  Beside the number of new maps there are also supposed to be a number of differing mission objectives.  I never really found EU or EW stale, but there wasn't a lot of variety when it came to differing mission objectives.  Increased difficulty could make XCOM 2 a long haul with even more saving and re-saving.  I would much rather be pushed than simply cruise through the game.

A plethora of soldier customization options.

The character creation system also seems to have gotten much bulkier and now you can individualize your squads beyond just their hairstyles.  It also sounds like unlockable cosmetic features will be part of the mission system and it seems like there are a ton--eyepatches, facial tattoos, scars, helmets, piercings....  Making your squad much more individualized will be considerable easier than in EU.  I hope they continue the trend of having soldiers from different countries speak the language of their home country.  This was one of the small changes added into Enemy Within but it made the experience feel much more authentic.

XCOM 2 is the first game in 2016 that I'm really excited for.  I was very surprised that I enjoyed Enemy Unknown/Within as much as I did.  I don't usually play strategy games and am usually kind of bad at them.  Squad-based games have always fascinated me and I loved Fallout:  Tactics and it's focus on strategy and squad building (it's an older game, but still really fun).  If you're on the fence about strategy games I would encourage you to check out Enemy Unknown/Within.  Don't be put off by the initial difficulty--it gets easier as your squad develops and you learn basic strategies.

I will be blasting aliens on February 5th with the rest of the XCOM 2 people.  So far I've managed to restrain myself from pre-ordering (it's my sort of New Year's resolution).