It was around the 20-hour mark that I realized I had been playing XCOM 2: War of the Chosen completely wrong.

You see, when youre playing a game for review theres an urge to see everything. Not in a completionist sort of way, mind you. But you want to make sure that you follow the game around all its twists and turns, scooping all of those nutty experiences out of the bottom of the jar. So in reviewing XCOM 2 two years ago I resorted to save-scumming meticulously saving my game before every battle and painstakingly retracing my steps when something went wrong on a mission.

Not only is that the wrong way to play War of the Chosen, but it very nearly spoiled the game for me. Thats because this time around the team at Firaxis is leaning into the pain and the hardship inherent in their game.

Im not saying that waging a guerilla war against a superior foe from the bowels of a beat up old airship was easy the first time around. But War of the Chosen has transformed XCOM 2 into a taught, nearly roguelike experience. Its simply not the same game anymore.

In War of the Chosen, death is not the end. I know that now, and thats why Im starting over from beginning.

[EDITORS NOTE: This is a review-in-progress highlighting Charlies thoughts on his first 20 or so hours with XCOM 2: War of the Chosen. That opinion and this text are not final and do not represent our final review. Well update this page with further thoughts as Charlie plays more of War of the Chosen and will add a score at that time.]

War of the Chosen is effectively a total conversion for XCOM 2, but the core of the original game is still there. This is clear from the opening cinematic, which leads into the games original opening CGI sequence and tutorial battle. What Firaxis has done is grafted a number of key additions onto an already excellent experience. The DLC fully delivers on its promise with new mechanics to learn, new factions to befriend and deadly new enemies to fight against.

There are the Reapers, a friendly group of ranged fighters that are focused on stealth. The starting character, named Elena Dragunova, comes equipped with a scoped carbine. Shes just as deadly as any Sharpshooter and stealthier by half. Shes able to take one or more actions, including shooting at and killing aliens, before she leaves concealment. Out of the box she is instantly the best recon fighter that XCOM has ever had. And thats before you get to level her up and gain new powers over time.

War of the Chosen boasts performances from no fewer than five members of the original cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Another new face is Pratal Mox. Hes the first member of the friendly Skirmisher faction that youll meet. The Skirmishers are genetically engineered humans, members of the Advent military that have defected and thrown in their lot with XCOM. Mox has a grapple that he can use to reach high places, or to pull enemies toward him for a vicious melee strike. His bullpup rifle is also able to fire twice in one round, making him a nimble flanker.

Over and above these new factions, where War of the Chosen excels is in bringing characters to the fore. Dragunova is voiced by Marina Sirtis, who played Counsellor Troi on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Performing Mox is Michael Dorn, who played Lieutenant Commander Worf. In fact, War of the Chosen boasts performances from no fewer than five members of the original cast of TNG including Jonathan Frakes (Commander William T. Riker), John de Lancie (Q) and Denise Crosby (Security Chief Tasha Yar).

This isnt just a sentimental reunion for reunions sake. All of the actors do an excellent job of pushing the storyline forward.

Oh, by the way ... theres a much meatier story now.

The original XCOM 2 was a sort of race against the clock to prevent the Advent project from getting off the ground. But, truth be told, it never felt like all that much of a threat. Sure, the Avatar projects progress meter would move along every once in awhile, but it didnt feel like anything was really happening when it did.

This time, sitting on your heels is simply not an option. Every mission is important, and every mission has the risk of being especially deadly thanks to The Chosen.

In the Alien Hunters DLC, Firaxis dreamed up a set of powerful boss aliens that would harass players across multiple missions. In War of the Chosen, theyve amped that idea up a notch by borrowing from Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordors Nemesis system.

As you do battle against The Chosen their skills improve, making them more and more dangerous over time. The result is that there are now four different timers ticking down, one for the Avatar project and one for each of the Chosen left alive. They are as aggressive as they are cunning, and I have absolutely grown to hate them, and thats something that I love.

War of the Chosen also introduces Bonds. When XCOM operatives go on missions together they grow closer, and formal Bonds allow them to grant each other perks during a mission. Of course, should a bondmate die or get captured (which is also a thing that can happen now, necessitating rescue missions) the survivor will receive an emotional scar that will decrease their combat effectiveness in the future.

As if that werent enough, theres also a new enemy type: The Lost, a zombie-like race of mutated humans that crop up in certain areas around the map. Some missions focus on The Lost, with Left 4 Dead-style last-ditch standoffs and running gun battles through the streets. At other times The Lost just get tossed into the mix randomly. Youll be trying to destroy an objective as quietly as possible to keep them from streaming onto the map, where they cause chaos by attacking Advent and XCOM forces alike.

All of these factors the new factions, the excellent voice acting, the soldier Bonds, The Lost and the new and dynamic mission types combine to create more drama than ever before.

But you wont see that drama if you coddle your soldiers with save-scumming, like I did. This time around, the games Iron Man mode which literally prevents you from saving the game on your own is absolutely necessary. Its the only way to be sure that theres the opportunity to lose the game.

I call it an opportunity because in XCOM 2: War of the Chosen, fighting a losing battle might be just as much fun as fighting and winning. It will hurt and my favorite soldiers will die. But when Im done Ill have a much, much more interesting story to tell.

Follow this link:

XCOM 2: War of the Chosen review-in-progress - Polygon - Polygon