XCOM 2 Catch-All

Dan Stapleton at IGN must be throwing a party right now.

Also, $10 is a no brainer. Purchased

On Dan's Twitter feed:
I’m definitely exited to play, since I will always be into more XCOM. And the Breaxh Mode thing looks like it could be really cool! That said, this more story-focused, no-permadeath style is kind of the opposite of what I personally want out of XCOM 3.

I agree, since this seems like a mix of XCOM2 and the original Rainbow 6, but hey more XCOM, and at $10 (50% off) I'm willing to take the risk and support FIraxis, especially (and coincidentally) I'm in the middle of yet another XCOM2 campaign right now.

I bought it. Can't afford not to for $10.

This has got to be a little gap-filler between XCOM 2 & 3. Probably see it on mobile or Switch soon, too.

Creating your own squad and trying not to get them killed is at the core of an XCOM game, though. This seems to be a pre-built unit, so it'll lose that. That's the main thing I'm worried about with Gears Tactics. That you have an "end game" scenario when a character gets killed off.

We'll see, I guess. Only a week or so to wait for both. Just gotta finish this current campaign of XCOM 2, first. ha.

I really hope there is a button to shout commands.
Drop the weapon!
Police!

Also we need flares to mark cleared rooms.

I mean if we can't get tactical breach wizards yet this will scratch that itch right?

I'm guessing they will use this as a test for some new potential systems for XCOM 3. A big part of games like these is valuable information on figuring out what are the absolute key elements of XCOM. Can it still be XCOM without a randomized squad? Do both teams need to go separately? Important questions when approaching the third in a reboot series.

More detailed look at it.

Vector wrote:

Can it still be XCOM without a randomized squad?

Dangerously reckless speculation here, but if they are toying around with predefined characters in an XCOM game, I wonder if that could lead to some sort of Fire Emblem style characterization and support system in the future? The bonding mechanics from WOTC was a small step in that direction, and if they do more to define characters in future iterations, that could be a way to make each death feel more weighty, and to bring in some more of the RPG crowd.

And for $10, sure, I'll take it for a spin.

Judging by my Steam activity stream, buying Chimera is a popular thing to do.

Hell, if Firaxis put up a new Steam store page that literally said just give $10 to the XCOM developers, I'd be tempted to do it.

Are we having a new thread? Love to hear impressions next week but I'll probably buy while the sale is in either way.

Well this definitely came out of nowhere. Pre-ordered and hope it's good. I mean it's Xcom, so really it's an easy bet.

Superheroism was always a strong trend of the Firaxis XCOM titles and even the original games, so I'm glad they're leaning into it. Set squaddies can up the narrative and visual novel aspect so I'm interested in how they'll handle that.

I'd like for a title like this to have visual novel choices and moments embedded into combat, so you make your narrative choices with combat mechanics.

Death mechanics can be hard, but titles like Me and DA handled it. I hope death can be more thought out and a stronger narrative option in other XCOM titles. Rather than promoting squad death, I'd like for there to be interesting choices and options that only happen when members of your team die, so a death on the field isn't an auto-reload.

With my PC currently dead, I guess I'll just wait. GeForce Now has allowed me to keep playing a bunch of my PC games, but nothing from 2k, which is a bummer, as I'd love to pick this up next week.

Stele wrote:

Are we having a new thread? Love to hear impressions next week but I'll probably buy while the sale is in either way.

I vote for a new thread, yes. You want to start it?

I'm about to say something you probably already suspect but definitely won't be able to unhear: Verge is Mordin.

Gotta say, characterization has not been XCOM's strong suit to date. I mean, I've already pre-ordered, but I would rather they not tack towards established characters.

SallyNasty wrote:

Tkyl, any chance this will ever see its way over to console?

I was actually not on the development team for this project, so I do not know if it will be coming to consoles or not.

Really love the idea that you can play as the aliens as well after the events that took place! Looking forward to diving into this one.

A good chunk of this looks like it's Firaxis' direct reaction to Mario + Rabbids. That's a good thing. My guess is they're using this title to see how much they can push in that direction and still be XCOM.

I wonder if this is a playable version of test mission types that the devs ran internally?

In WOTC they added ambush, rescue, and resource missions that changed your objective in a given mission. But they didn't dramatically change how the game mechanics worked.

I'm wondering if this is the result of internal experimentation to see how they change missions at a tactical level through gameplay mechanic changes.

What would a per unit turn order look like? Can we simulate tactical breaching? Can we granulate ambush from stealth? Etc.

Tkyl wrote:
SallyNasty wrote:

Tkyl, any chance this will ever see its way over to console?

I was actually not on the development team for this project, so I do not know if it will be coming to consoles or not. :(

Let's hope so! A Switch version of this might be the thing to get my wife addicted to XCOM.

With Interleaved turns and powers-based squad tactics (and action economy!), this looks more and more like that alien-themed 5e D&D video game we never had. If they're leaning in that direction, I hope they can tap into the RPG world for authors and resources they can use for future products.

Bought it within hours of it being announced. Looking forward to firing it up next Friday.

Godzilla Blitz wrote:
Stele wrote:

Are we having a new thread? Love to hear impressions next week but I'll probably buy while the sale is in either way.

I vote for a new thread, yes. You want to start it?

New Catch-All is here!

Cheers!

I’m curious, in addition to Chimera, any of you also getting Gears Tactics? Both seem similar but yet have differences enough to warrant interest.

whispa wrote:

I’m curious, in addition to Chimera, any of you also getting Gears Tactics? Both seem similar but yet have differences enough to warrant interest.

I certainly am, but largely cos it's on Game Pass, so I may as well.

Hmm, no death of agents. If an agent bleeds out then you fail the mission. That seems wrong somehow.

I'm sure it's like a 5-10 mission campaign that's more storytelling and light new feature experimentation than anything, don't expect too much from a surprise ten dollar release.

polypusher wrote:

I'm sure it's like a 5-10 mission campaign that's more storytelling and light new feature experimentation than anything, don't expect too much from a surprise ten dollar release.

On the one hand, yeah, probably. On the other, the tactical legacy pack had more content than that and it was free.

I just learned of this tactical pack! I apparently own it.

Prepare to have your eardrums blown away by the retro-inspired TLP soundtrack.

You can play it in OG WotC as well.