xcom: EW takes the goodness of EU's tactical gameplay and applies a bunch of cartoonishly bizarre shit to it, the highlights being MECs and gene mods.
the result is a game that is still as intricate as the original, but far more fun. this game is at its absolute best when you're still learning the ropes: every mission is super tense and you can feel the weight of each one of your decisions almost immediately. thankfully, by thinking carefully about your squad's composition, positioning, loadouts and abilities, you can succeed in every possible situation, because there are always so many options to deal with everything. figuring out the best options to use in each one of those scenarios and making the most out of what you have to either squeeze through a tough spot or completely crush your enemies is so pleasant, i love this gameplay loop.
that level of quality remains until somewhere around mid-late game. unfortunately, when you near the final stretch, you're much stronger and smarter than the aliens, to the point where all of that aforementioned tension is lost and you just kinda have to go through the motions while doing the necessary procedures to unlock the final mission. (MINOR SPOILER WARNING I GUESS??) and the final mission has awful, jarring level design. it's nothing like the rest of the game.
despite that though, i'd definitely recommend this game to anybody that might be interested in the xcom series. EU was great when it came out but this expansion is just.. the better version, and xcom 2 feels more like a challenge designed for veterans of this genre/series
the result is a game that is still as intricate as the original, but far more fun. this game is at its absolute best when you're still learning the ropes: every mission is super tense and you can feel the weight of each one of your decisions almost immediately. thankfully, by thinking carefully about your squad's composition, positioning, loadouts and abilities, you can succeed in every possible situation, because there are always so many options to deal with everything. figuring out the best options to use in each one of those scenarios and making the most out of what you have to either squeeze through a tough spot or completely crush your enemies is so pleasant, i love this gameplay loop.
that level of quality remains until somewhere around mid-late game. unfortunately, when you near the final stretch, you're much stronger and smarter than the aliens, to the point where all of that aforementioned tension is lost and you just kinda have to go through the motions while doing the necessary procedures to unlock the final mission. (MINOR SPOILER WARNING I GUESS??) and the final mission has awful, jarring level design. it's nothing like the rest of the game.
despite that though, i'd definitely recommend this game to anybody that might be interested in the xcom series. EU was great when it came out but this expansion is just.. the better version, and xcom 2 feels more like a challenge designed for veterans of this genre/series