10 Behind-The-Scenes Facts You Never Knew About The XCOM Franchise

Why You Should Play It: The first game from new developer Campo Santo Games, Firewatch is most concerned with telling a compelling yet grounded story. It has layers of mystery, some unique mechanics, and a gorgeous art style, but where the game really shines is in its writing and acting. When we talk about titles blurring the line between film and video game Firewatch stands out as one of the best examples. It’s the perfect game to sit down and immerse yourself in for a few ho

The Spark class suffers because they cost way too much compared to human soldiers. Resources used for Sparks can be better put into other, more important projects. The game is also designed in a way that makes tanks unnecessary. Most classes can take some punishment, and even get abilities that negate damage in late g

Beyond this, players can bolster their own forces with a few clever additions to the original formula. Soldiers can now gain ability points for performing tactical moves, like flank shots or ambush kills, and spend them on additional skills to use in battle. While the original menu of two skill options still exists, a few seemingly random third skill slots are available for purchase now, making each soldier’s respective skill tree even more unique. Soldiers can also bond with squadmates they spend time on the battlefield with (a la Fire Emblem ), and commanders will even be able to rank up these skills so that bonded soldiers can utilize unique combat moves in battle. Soldiers also require rest after each mission lest they become fatigued and more susceptible to developing fears that can impact them in bat

The Mutons are some of the most difficult enemies to defeat in every XCom SLG game news. Muton Elites are enhanced to make them even more formidable. They have some of the heaviest armor in the game, and a very high health rating. Muton Elites are armed with heavy plasma cannons; which can kill even a heavily armored soldier with one shot. Elites are also armed with explosive grenades which can negate the cover the player’s soldiers are using. They also have a suppression ability which can gives them an attack of opportunity during the player’s turn. Sometimes it seems like Muton Elites are invulnerable; which not only affects the morale of the player’s soldiers, but the morale of the pla

All the classes are mostly balanced, and they all have a spot in the squad. There’s never a time when a player would want to take just one class since they wouldn’t be able to cover the jobs the other classes fill. Still, some classes are stronger than others and cover a wider net of utility than others. Since they are not a separate class, Psi Operatives from Enemy Unknown will not be inclu

Why You Should Play It: Movie tie-in games are notorious for feeling like shameless cash grabs, but Ratchet and Clank bucks the trend by sticking to what the franchise has always done well. Better looking, more refined, and as entertaining as ever, this rebooted Ratchet and Clank origin story is pure platforming goodness. Don’t let the look fool you, Ratchet and Clank packs a lot more action and excitement than many of the other 2016 releases out th

These alien menaces never get easy to defeat, no matter how well-equipped of a squad the player has. Chryssalids are four-legged insectoid creatures that have several vicious, and unique abilities. First off, Chryssalids are extremely fast; most players encountering them for the first time might be shocked how far they can travel in a turn. To make it worse, they can use their leap ability to get to a higher elevation. The ability that makes them particularly dangerous is their ability to implant a Chryssalid embryo into their victims. This turns the victim into a mindless zombie that attacks the player’s squad and civilians. After only a few turns a Chryssalid, at full strength, emerges from the zom

What We Said: «At the end of the day, XCOM 2 is the poster boy of the modern turn-based strategy game. The game can feel unfair at times, but Firaxis has crafted a dynamic experience with virtually limitless replay value and a constant level of challenge. Fans of the series will find plenty of enjoyment watching the XCOM troops struggle to protect mankind once again, and Firaxis can pat themselves on the back for making one of the most addictive and rewarding strategy games of all ti

We’ll start with namesake of the entire expansion, The Chosen. The three unique champions of the ADVENT forces spend the entire game trying to track down the player and blow the Avenger out of the sky (which is a thing that can absolutely happen), and have a tendency to show up during difficult missions and make things twice as difficult. If players are in a pickle trying to survive a particularly tedious mission, imagine how things go if a Chosen arrives and starts spawning down more enemies and taking powerful sniper shots from across the

Why You Should Play It: Considering the game received a rare 5/5 score from Game Rant it should come at no surprise that Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End leads the pack for the best games of 2016 so far. What developer Naughty Dog has been able to do on a technical and narrative level is second to none, and has set a new bar for visuals in gaming and character development. Moreover, the game ends a hugely popular series by sticking the landing and giving as much closure as possible. Put simply: if there is one game to play this year, we’d give Uncharted 4 first hon