You forgot to say they added a suppresion mechanic. When there are enough bulets flying around soldiers become suppressed and can't reaction fire. On top of that they get a large AP penalty next turn.
I did forget that. Also, you no longer have to worry about strategic ammo management (tactical is still in). The point is: they really polished up the basic X-Com formula, but then forgot to make any meaningful progression (it has the 'better stick, different colored monster' approach that is so prevalent in cheap RPGs.)
Also, what's up with all vehicle weapons being explosive? That makes them really bad for any role except cover and path clearing(like in the original, explosions destroy loot).
You really don't get that much loot from dead aliens. The first version of a weapon gives you the opportunity to research it, but after that you only get one or two thousand dollars at most from an intact weapon, and they destroy the bodies. You also do have the options of non explosive vehicle weapons. The laser turret and machien gun turret are both non explosive, even thou that makes them less effective.
The blaster launcher is still kind of there, but it is a very late game weapon that is hard to use. The aliens don't get it, and to make it you have to assault a battleship that has an intact singularity core thing. Then, to wield it, your soldier has to be using a specific kind of power armor that has a limited cone of vision, and even then they can only carry one or two extra shots. I've never used it, so I can't say how effective it is, but its nothing like the original, where it served as cheap en masse artillery for both sides. Another thing is that you can use the singularity core instead to build a
Interceptor that can go around the world almost instantly, and is able to one shot any craft it spots. They don't even bother creating a combat screen for it. Unfortunately you can't recover the wreckage, due to it destroying the craft with a launched singularity, but it serves well for thinning out the horde of battleships.
You also get more options for taking aliens prisoner, such as gas grenades, electroshock grenades, and gas rockets. So it is perfectly viable to have a soldier who carries an RPG as a primary weapon. Breaching UFOs is still dangerous, but you can easily have soldiers with riot shields gas the whole inside of it early on.
I do disagree about how the enemies are all just number and color changes.
Caesen are enemies you don't want to be in a conventional firefight in, as they will wreck you at range. Sebillians are annoying to take down in close combat. At range they can't hit a barn door, but if they get away they will regenerate health. Androns will just walk towards your position, firing at you the whole time and absorbing any conventional weapons you throw at them. However, once you get a good technological foothold they can be easily destroyed with electroshocks. Other enemies also have special abilities, like flying or the ability to teleport into the middle of your squad, that keeps you on your toes.
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Topic: Recommend (free?) tactical rpgs (Read 6222 times)