With an abundance of missions with strict turn-limits, and the Avatar project progress bar looming above the map, XCOM 2 kept up the tension while you desperately waited research new gear, let troops recover from injuries, or established radio contact with rebel groups. You now had to juggle intelligence and resource gathering, required to unlock missions in new regions that would stall, and ultimately dismantle, an alien doomsday device. XCOM 2 immediately upped the stakes as we discovered XCOM lost the war and was reduced to a resistance force, fighting against well-entrenched occupiers. It was tough but still manageable and missions were again interspersed with periods of anxious waiting. When I returned for the sizeable expansion, Enemy Within, there was even more research and tech to juggle, alongside a new threat in the form of EXALT, human forces with their own agenda, and the potential for assaults on the XCOM base. I had missions to complete, satellites to launch and UFOs to intercept, but always had to wait for more resources from the fickle council or I was stalling until my science division could research better armour and weapons that would keep my soldiers alive. I still remember dreading the passing of days in XCOM: Enemy Unknown. If not, give Lynley's review a read here. Note: I'm assuming readers are familiar with the basic XCOM 2 mechanics.

Avatar project xcom 2