XCOM 2: War of the Chosen Review

XCOM 2: War of the Chosen reviewed by Dan Stapleton on PC.
XCOM 2 Review:
• XCOM 2 Review
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[@awashington8447]

"the missions get boring after 100 hours or so...." ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?!? THAT'S your complaint?!?!

[@VicRaptor2589]

I think Dan always have that complaint...

[@seandennis8911]

I think that was meant as a joke

[@carloscotrinadavila1041]

It was a joke.

[@lunabaphomet]

exactly..most games i beat are from 3 to 6 hours long and gets boring MUCH much faster...IGN score are a joke.. specially when isnt a trendy or overhyped popular game

[@sympadm3742]

Can't you spot a JOKE when you see one?

[@IntroVault]

Nice to hear you can push back the timer pretty much indefinitely now. Always felt like the game was a rush having to get to your next objective. This sounds like it might be worth picking up again.

[@michael305schn]

IntroVault so now it has no timer

[@gabrielandy9272]

the best thing about the gamae is the timer, wahts the point in playing if the alien is not trying to beat you?

[@asteng454]

Score: 0/10 Too much content and variety

[@williamg4029]

can't wait to get back to the glories of save scuming

[@farmsalot1233]

William G Me too !!!

[@bloodnivel70]

only tryhard take that forced term seriously

[@AdmiralBison]

William G I use to do that, at first but it sort of just ruined the game for me. After trying Ironman (the ways it's meant to be played) I couldn't go back and it forced me to really utilize strategy, soldier movement, placements, research/buy/sell/hold off and "invest" in veteran soldiers. Play/complete the game first without Ironman, but I believe the second play through with Ironman you get more value/intensity and enjoyment out of it.

[@AdriansCorner]

In the words of some First Lady: Just say no (to save scumming!)

[@emmathepony1992]

lol "the game gets boring after 100 hours"

[@KaitoGillscale]

The cohesion system is not super confusing. It's really simple. Characters who work together and share similarities gain bonds that can be strengthened off the field for a bonus when they are together.

[@nassi9093]

XCOM is love, XCOM is life.

[@Enlightened_SpursFan]

Still playing?

[@5964lego]

can someone tell me what makes a 8.8 insted of an 8.7

[@SwobyJ]

Advertisers.

[@nicocajiao8856]

0.1

[@jordanoats3120]

Got boring after 100 hours 🤣

[@DarkSun123456789]

How is the AP and Bond system confusing, you read it once and it's understood.

[@tbone9474]

DarkSun IGN was never particularly smart

[@SultanOfAwesomeness]

Just give it a 9 wtf

[@danstapleton2373]

9 means "Amazing." Due to the balance issues and somewhat messy systems I mentioned, I did not feel that score was warranted, and decided instead to go with one on the high-end of "Great."

[@SultanOfAwesomeness]

+Dan Stapleton fair enough. Glad you enjoyed it nonetheless.

[@GameHunterDeathhunter]

Dan Stapleton why not just put it as a 8.5 then lol 8.8 really just sounds like a 9 but at the same time not a 9

[@danstapleton2373]

Game Hunter Yes, it sounds very close to a 9 but isn't quite a 9. That's exactly the point.

[@OsirisLord]

I really wish people would accept the idea that review scores represent opinions and not facts.

[@Revz8bit]

A game that can take 100hrs to learn/ complete with a ton of depth gets a 4 minute review. Seems legit

[@cato_heresy]

I've got 600 hours and Legendary still punishes mistakes for me. Mind is whirling with the new possibilities with this DLC - hopefully the Avatar Doomsday countdown is slightly more sane now.

[@jordanintheflesh2589]

It isn't. If you hit the timer it will stay at where you left of if you hit it again

[@ehoffart529]

Revz8bit Yeah it took me forever to gut gud enough to beat Commander and I'm moving on to Legendary.

[@Tkn25]

looking at their other reviews 4 min is about the average length of their reviews, considering it's a review of a DLC that's pretty good.

[@reignman4]

Dont forget MODDDDS

[@Saniss48]

Score: 8.8

[@jordanintheflesh2589]

Saniss48 Hell yeah deserves better

[@Buraunia]

Saniss48 I think its the correct score :0

[@Medivhmen]

Saniss48 gr8 b8 m8 I r8 8/8

[@theodorehodbor5080]

I am in firm belief that the people at IGN give out this score as a joke now.

[@Cilverkid456]

Damn this and Mario+Rabbids you strategists should be happy as hell right now.

[@VicRaptor2589]

I am actually considering getting a fking switch just because of that game.... but 1st xcom2 WotC

[@Kytota]

Mario+Rabbids would be fun for sure. But Xcom 2 WotC is going to make you cry as somehow four of your guys miss in a row and then get blown up by some lucky shot from the enemy. That's where the save-scumming comes in.

[@Flashboy284]

oh my copy of xcom 2 has ways to mess with me for save scumming(this is on xbox one)m, I beat the advent blacksite mission and played really well, as I was loading back onto the avenger the game crashed.

[@ABlackPatriot]

KahunaCilver520 We are lol. I'm very happy. Can't wait to get both.

[@ehoffart529]

Flashboy284 Yeah I only savescum for hacking now since the game started messing with me for savescumming to save people.

[@aidanm8009]

Xcom 2 WotC is my 2nd favorite game. If you become committed to beating it on Legend Ironman, you’ll never get bored of it until you beat it.

[@JM_Traslo]

Should have a counter for how many times the guy said "new [insert] system"

[@Neurotripsicks]

Whoever added the Chosen during missions should be set on fire.

[@taradile3821]

Anybody like Jazz?

[@AdriansCorner]

Jazz Jackrabbit? 90s Call back man!

[@grapeshott]

May be a scoring system of 0.5 scale will make the angry viewers satisfied.

[@HunkMine]

I've played this 79 hours I though I was ok, but the depth is crazy now. That's pretty impressive to have a game longer than I am able to have time to play

[@TheRoguePrince0]

can't wait to destroy the reapers

[@brodieo7690]

Lol

[@AdriansCorner]

Despite the strange 8.8 rating, this is definitely an expansion worth buying. BUY IT!!

[@apirexia]

3:18 that depends on the level of difficulty you choose, ahead from normal is not quite easy as you say

[@Autistic_King_]

They really making this game harder I LOVE IT

[@the_dropbear4392]

How did this get less than Black ops 3, Advanced Warfare and get the same as Ghosts

[@TheOneWhoShallAsk]

Iron Wolf Money, dude. Money

[@unforgivensnake]

6/10 too many aliens

[@jaggedmancentral6072]

8.8?? You on drugs what happened to 8, 9, 10 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@Komomo69]

The reviewer's comments sounded much more negative than the 8.8 score.

[@AdriansCorner]

But, but... the .8 should convince you otherwise!

[@designationzero9979]

They didn't mention it's constant crashes, and lockups. It's load time is really long too. So, having to restart often coupled with a long load time definitely detracts from a very good game.

[@uasugi29]

So is this dlc going to be hard af? Kind of thought the rulers in the hunt were op

[@taylorgreniger5961]

I've read that this expansion actually modifies the Rulers to not be as BS. They won't react to inane things like reloads and will only react when movements or specific actions are taken in their line of sight. Also they don't show up in whatever month they want now since you have to go after them to take them on at your leisure. If you want to you can overlevel a squad or two then go after them and trash them on the first try.

[@Barely_Edited]

Correct, Rulers react only to actions in their line of sight, and even then it's only shots, movement, non-passive actions, that sort of thing. They'll defend facilities now. You'll see when you go to select it: "A rare and powerful alien is defending this facility," that's your Ruler. To clarify: this means you can't quite go at your leisure because you might need to attack the facility. By the way, you could hold off on the Rulers before, just turn on the Nest mission and don't do it until you want to.

[@AdriansCorner]

Late game gets a lot easier (outside of perhaps Ironmode). Worth getting though, the expansion breaths new life into this title.

[@TheRyderShotgunn]

yeah, the relationships between the 3 other factions arent represented all that well in story or gameplay(ive been watching a youtuber play a preview for a while). one moment they are just about to kill each other for saying mean things, the next theyre holding hands while skipping through a meadow that's on fire and peppered with dead aliens

[@CatAtomic99]

You don't have to use the characters from the story mission. Those intro missions are like all the others-- you can turn them off and you'll get a randomly generated faction character.

[@guillermo5971]

All i wanna know is, have they fixed the extra random skill you get from the Advanced Warfare Center? I thought that was a very stupid mechanic. I would get my top Colonel ranked soldier with a shitty skill, that hurt so much when my number 1 sniper got Salvo ....the horror.

[@BoydofZINJ]

...After about a 100 hour or so.... you need more DLC that adds more content. Cha Ching.

[@AdmiralBison]

I've actually figured out ways to take on Rulers with out soldier losses (Except for the last archon ruler has always managed to indirectly kill one of my veterans) Though admittedly I always came into a mission expecting to take on a ruler. -turtle hop my squad - half set to over watch and move my ranger(s) forward with a frost grenade ready to go so when the ruler charges in they get some overwatch shots on them and I can freeze it and reposition the remaining squad spread out. -always bring a grenadier for armour shredding and if possible get them to shoot first/ handy if they also have holo targeting for the rest of the squad to soften up the ruler. when the ruler is about to escape - I Actually don't shoot it. This prolongs the time for the third and last ruler to appear and give me more time to level up and give me squad the best gear. Before the ruler nerf updates I managed to just have only one soldier casualty to the last ruler all on Ironman. Still very sad to have my. Veteran soldier die though.

[@gwmufasa]

I don't think you can be semi-immortal. Either you're immortal or you're not.

[@MrNationalWonder]

Geraint Williams Ugh? Superman is like that.

[@gwmufasa]

Superman is either immortal or he's not. There's no in-between. You can either live forever or you can't. It's not hard to understand.

[@MrNationalWonder]

He can live forever and he can also be killed by something called Kyptonight and Magic but those are the only things. Other than those two things he can live forever and not die.

[@gwmufasa]

If he can be killed he's not immortal.

[@MrNationalWonder]

He is semi-immortal cause he cannot die to anything other than what is presented.

[@lewis9950]

I'm ready for Mario + Rabbids next week!

[@farmsalot1233]

Rukia Husbando Me too!!!

[@ABlackPatriot]

Rukia Husbando YES!

[@delinquencypunch9905]

Marty "Beard" Sliva. lol

[@memator1996]

I'll be honest guys the game is easier than before. When the chosen show up it freezes mission timers until you kill them. None of them do that much damage and mostly try to daze your units but they usually only daze 1 person at a time so as long as your soldiers are close they can be gotten up with the revive ability which is a free action. The assassin is the only real threat she kinda gets a free hit from cloaking that will do damage. The hunter uses a tracking shot that is so dumb because you can almost away just move out the way .... so you can kill the hunter sometimes without ever getting hit... and the last guy just raises psi zombies and gives him self a shield until you kill them all. If you face him just by himself with no other advent groups he's also a push over.... I know that the chosen are meant to be killed as they give you 5 xcom points each time but the story of them being super incredible monsters is a little silly when they are sent ragdolling from a shot gun blast only to poof out by a little later.

[@danstapleton2373]

Mehmet Erdem The Warlock is also a mind control unit who you can't kill quickly, so that makes him pretty damn dangerous if you're caught without a lot of flash bangs. It's definitely true that the Chosen aren't making things much harder, but the point isn't always to make it hard. You want difficulty, you can play on Legend. The point is variety, throwing different kinds of fights at you- and they do that well. I certainly wouldn't call War of The Chosen any easier than the base game, other than how it makes it easier to extend the Avatar clock at the end.

[@Maluson]

Just play it on Impossible Ironman then. It should be "less" easy for you.

[@tobiasskorupa1649]

Activate Beta Strike and get get stomped from the chosen. I have seen the first encounter with Beta Strike on and it was the hunter. He killed the whole squad and had half of his HP left. The Hunter just moved from his spawn OVER xcom and flankted them. Spawned an ADVENT trooper with 8 or was it 10 HP? Can't wait to get stomped on rookie with Beta Strike :D And that is harder than normal legend. I say Sectoids with about 20 HP in the second mission isn't easy. I still wonder if the Alien rulers have more HP, because this would be insane.

[@andreworders7305]

They didn’t do any relation management with the rebel factions?

[@10414037]

Vox talla for 8.8 -ign

[@DerSchakkalakkaTyp]

So there is a bunch of new machanics and enemys BUT no more stroy elements? So this makes no sense to play again if i already played the story before. I hoped for a new campain and not to play everything all over again.

[@gizzad]

It pretty much makes it XCOM 3. It feels like a new story

[@WayOfTheLost]

I notice the squad mates are all based of real life IGN staff, Marty 'the beardy' Sliva etc 👍🏻

[@AdriansCorner]

That's cause he secretly hates them all, and purposely gets them killed! :((

[@wiiblii8584]

Everything In WOTC is amazing, my only problem is that it's very anticlimactic when you kill all the Chosen

[@aidanhughes6188]

What about the buffed Spark Unit!? It seems that none of the the youtubers doing a play-through of this expansion even realise that the Spark is even a thing in the game :/ disappointing to say the least as I love using the Spark in my campaign :)

[@mhfufan1312]

why no work on xbone? delayed again?

[@umbranoctis945]

8/10 too much aliens

[@tylerr3670]

IGN Rating: 1.11111111111

[@maximsin66]

Love this game good job Dan Stapleton

[@danstapleton2373]

Maxim Sinner Thank you!

[@shotgunreaper]

Does IGN understand this game at least?

[@danstapleton2373]

IGN isn't a person. IGN is many people, some of whom understand certain games others do not, but those others understand a different set of games better. I, the person who reviewed this game, had over 300 hours in XCOM 2 and had beaten it on Commander+Iron Man before I put another 50 hours into War of the Chosen for this review.

[@samsquanch4201]

love this franchise and cant wait to play ;)

[@alpiugurlu3217]

İs it deleyed on ps4?

[@xtojump1468]

Do I get this for free if I buy the deluxe digital edition for the PS4?

[@michaeljoshua5801]

J. Michael no it costs 40 dollars

[@VicRaptor2589]

BRUH!....

[@xtojump1468]

Michael Joshua I don't understand, is this a DLC?? if so why does it cost so much? Sorry, I never played xcom before but I'm planning to get the deluxe edition for the PS4, since I heard good things about the game.

[@titanspirit7238]

J. Michael nope. That edition comes with the things listed in the description. It's not a season pass or anything. It's on sale atm on Playstation, at least in Europe anyways.

[@aviolentpurple9925]

Why aren't XCOM 2 DLC available for PS4???

[@sausage4049]

Jimmy Jacksonian it is

[@aviolentpurple9925]

a slippery sausage that isn't quite too slippery oh, I never saw it. Thanks man!

[@AstaIsAMonster]

3:30-3:34 WTF are talking about 🤦🏽‍♂️

[@dmoneybay]

is this a long expansion for one playthrough?

[@BoydofZINJ]

it adds content to the game - which makes the game have more options and diversity. It makes the game wider not necessarily longer.

[@doyouevenpraise189]

So this wont be a separate game mod? if i start a new game this expasion pack will be activated while I progress in vanilla game?

[@BoydofZINJ]

@do you even praise I am pretty sure you have to start a new game for this DLC to work

[@dmoneybay]

Thanks for the answer

[@mypeteskimo5307]

So far amazing But just got a huge crash that I can't even load Wasted 10 hours

[@user-bs9yz2vq7e]

8.8

[@gameovercharly]

Who came here because of Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle ? :P

[@williamssecond6008]

Is this game even out yet for PS4?

[@Hanariel]

yes it is

[@seandennis8911]

Xcom 2 is, war of the chosen isn't

[@Mustistics]

XCOM2 is insanely hard game. I couldn't even play it on easy.

[@guillermo5971]

Just learn 1 key trick... when you move your squad, NEVER, EVER move them into the yellow area when positioning, always in the blue , especially when doing the missions when you need to safe civillians. Try that and it will get better, trust me.

[@AdriansCorner]

Insanely awesome you mean!

[@VeganCheeseburger]

Same for me. Could never beat it even on easy. Too punishingly hard.

[@msggood4me]

A big part of it is also threat assessment/prioritizing.

[@tbone9474]

GoldBallsOfSteel then you have no strategy bone in your body. Sorry

[@SilverMoon1134]

Instant Buy

[@AdriansCorner]

YES!

[@SilverMoon1134]

Hell YES!

[@FeelFree2RateMyENG]

DLC of the year??

[@AdriansCorner]

Yes!

[@prestongarvey9328]

Guys, at least this game isn't going near fortnite or fallout 76. A 8.8 is better than what 76 got

[@johnlemieux2226]

Amazing game, bad review

[@quadabyte8933]

Cross it over with rabbids and then I'll get it.

[@AurioDK]

4 days till release .... and already a review.

[@capsortee]

+The Spark is it releasing for ps4 on the same day?

[@sunnyshah922]

cap sortee Nope... 29th on PC. console release has been delayed to 12th September

[@Hannibal457]

Are you sure about the delay? I just checked multiple sites and they all confirm that it releases on all platforms on the 31st.

[@AurioDK]

Sortee: I have no idea, 29th on PC .. thats all I know.

[@TheFlyingAttackDogg]

ive already watch someone play halfway through it, lots of youtubers got it early

[@Ilnath]

can i keep my old squad from xcom 2

[@danstapleton2373]

Ilnath Yup! You can import them into your new game just like before. You do have to start a new game, though.

[@lilflipy2536]

Can I keep them maxed promoted and have the same armor and weapons too

[@shoti1111]

nice review thx

[@switch3]

Does it have the super duper excitingly enjoyable timer based mission?

[@AdriansCorner]

Turn timer, yes!

[@Juyblue]

Mods still working?

[@SultanOfAwesomeness]

My guess is they may not effect mods, but probably will, unless they're cosmetic ones.

[@pyromancingking]

The previous dlcs that weren't just cosmetics (Ruler and Shen dlcs) actually broke several mods including some cosmetic ones (I could be wrong about that part).

[@danstapleton2373]

None of the ones I tried, including purely cosmetic ones like Capnbubs Accessories, worked correctly. Most crashed it outright. I'd advise waiting for the mod authors to update them.

[@cato_heresy]

Voicepacks should be ok. Cosmetics and Gameplay changes = incompatible until modders update, because the core engine files are different for the new systems and menus.

[@9deekay]

Xcom 2 2

[@triplehhh8777]

Too much xcom 8.8

[@Arsenal751]

100/100

[@abahces]

so XCOM 3...

[@skullthunder3181]

" missions get stale" HAHAHA HAHAHA HAHAHA

[@RobDaKid87]

Haven't even played it and I can say for a fact the fatigue thing is gonna piss me off. Why can't games be fun, every game now seems to have at least one thing that's there just to be annoying. Time limits AND fatigue, oh joy.

[@BlackAus07]

Robert Haskell Precisely why I'm going to edit that time to 0, someone will probably even make a mod to remove fatigue. So glad long war 2 didn't have fatigue like longwar 1.

[@jeanwes9187]

Thats why mods exist

[@Yellowjack17]

I have played every X-com in existence including the Long War mods (which has fatigue)... And I would like to tell you that fatigue makes the game so much more fun! For me, it gives a reason to use dedicated "Squads" or "Teams" just like a 'real' elite global force. So I have Squad 1 "the Gatecrashers" (Led by Jane Kelly from the 1st mission - my nickname for her was Cutlass -- she cuts and she's a lass, get it?) doing one mission (team specialized for urban infiltration). Then while squad 1 rests, I deploy my Squad 2: "Rainbow Siege" (team consist of Rainbow Six Siege Characters through mods) for then next mission, then Squad 3: Death's Hand (All members use the bloody hand shoulder patch and are guerrilla fighters led by Danny 'Machete' Trejo himself - also through mods). For me, one of the best thing about X-Com is customizing your soldiers, and giving them fatigue gives a reason for you to have even more soldiers.

[@exploderman2501]

Robert Haskell thats xcom for ya......

[@GameHunterDeathhunter]

It's call balance. The devs can tell which tactics makes the game too easy. I.e the slow turtle method makes XCOM 1 almost a joke to win (finished iron Man on commander difficulty) so they add the timers which was a awesome idea and fun idea but bunch of noobs complain and had to mod it out and the devs also allows you to double or remove counters too now. fatigue just prevents you from using the same high level troops to steam roll the game as well keep things fresh. Besides I pretty sure you see your troops hurt more than fatigue

[@matthewevans3543]

Dat console delay though

[@MrDurcon]

It's too much.

[@meechieboy4902]

This game may have a lot of content, but it was NOT designed for you to enjoy. Cant do a supply run without being nagged to death with mission here mission there.

[@gizzad]

This review was weak. This is an entire overhaul of the game, and my favorite game of all time. It's pretty much XCOM 3. Oh and also, the voices. RIKER, Q, TROY, YAR, AND WORF!!!! This expansion solidified XCOM 2 War of the Chosen as the best game ever.

[@oceantaylor3881]

Gg

[@kingmihaiking7987]

7th

[@mihirchitnis905]

The reaper is the most useless class in this expansion, it's damage is insanely low to take out a lot of enemy times especially with armour, the stealth system for the reaper is pointless in the grand scheme of things. Subbing out a sniper for a reaper for a mission doesn't make sense. I usually use my reaper for the covert missions only.

[@kanewilliams3613]

criticism criticism criticismcriticismcirtmcism 8.8 ok

[@Barely_Edited]

Pretty sure most of that was praising the new variety and interesting gameplay.

[@AdriansCorner]

You know you want to believe! (Spoiler alert though: TOTALLY WORTH IT)

[@pascaleb6188]

Yay first comment

[@mindfulselfindulgence]

I got first tho lol

[@billywingrove27]

Dan is the worst reviewer at IGN.

[@AdriansCorner]

I've seen worse. =((

[@cheshire_skatkat9093]

I don't like it. It's all over the place and you are bombarded by too many little things that overwhelm and distract you constantly. Taken from another poster on Reddit about the game. This statement sums up all my aggravation about WOTC. "Last, it just feels overstuffed. A lot of new mechanics make it feel like they just threw every idea they had in the game, making for a million interruptions on the boring strategy layer, where choice is an illusion. The game throws so many new features at you, from bonds, to covert missions, to resistance orders, to fatigue and negative traits, only for you to realize most of them are meaningless and can be either given cursory attention or ignored altogether. They really should have taken a less is more approach, as they stuffed so much in the game, that almost none of it feels, or actually is, necessary or important. All in all, War of the Chosen has some good ideas, but like an overstuffed novel spends way too much time on time consuming fluff and it desperately needed an editor. A huge misstep from a developer that usually knocks it out of the park. I hope going forward, if they plan on making a third game, they abandon both the overstuffed approach, and the canon they have created as some kind of terror from the deep or trans dimensional threat seems like it's either just a shitty scenario (TftD) or too far away from what makes XCOM, XCOM."

[@merochicago77]

On sale on Xbox $90 off completel edition