Cover art for video games has had a tough time getting the recognition it deserves over the last ten years. This is predominantly due to the gaming industry's continued transition into the digital world, as gamers have been spending less time browsing their local game shop and more time using online stores from the comfort of their own h

XCOM 2 is an almost infinitely replayable game, especially with mods. However, some things in the game proper just suck up too much time. Action cutscenes — a plague on some otherwise good games — have been viewed countless times. Scanning resource caches in the Avenger takes forever. Some battle animations take up half of any encounter. Why is there a 30-second animation every time a grenade is thr

However, the cover art for The Last of Us has had the opposite effect in some ways. Because of how accustomed gamers are to The Last of Us ' post-apocalyptic world and the characters Joel and Ellie, it's easy to forget how striking the SLG Game rankings's cover art is, with a young girl carrying a large rifle and a man with a gas mask seemingly unfazed by the car next to them with a dead body ins

Domination will permanently mind control one enemy for the rest of the mission, which is a stronger skill than the mind control aliens get. As long as your will is high enough, you can mind control any organic being from Sectoids to the terrifying Andromedons . No other skill in XCOM 2 can change a fight in your favor so quickly and grant a plethora of new skills at the same time. The alien you control can use all of their abilities that infamously give you trou

Thanks to their shotguns and melee weapons, Rangers do best when in the middle of the action. Run and Gun allows them to dash, moving twice as far as normal which normally costs two actions. This can be great for flanking an enemy or catching a retreating enemy to finish the

Since the aliens and Advent soldiers in XCOM 2 can pack quite a punch, it's only fair that your soldiers can return the favor. Unique weapons, armor, and abilities can be earned to take back Earth. Skills, in particular, massively impact the game. The skills your soldiers can learn are based on their class, meaning having varied classes in a squad is essential. Here are the best skills you need in your team in XCOM

Regardless of these occurrences, Firaxis has done a great deal to enhance the overall XCOM experience by adding variety to its combat. For example, melee is a new feature to the XCOM universe, dealing massive damage to enemies at the risk of having a character exposed out in the open. This generally does significant damage in comparison to standard projectiles, which adds a new layer of strategy outside of hunkering down or providing cover fire. This also ties somewhat into the improved character class system that allows for additional customization outside of the rather robust selection of aesthetics. Just as Enemy Unknown contained, each character has their own class tree that will be accessible based on promotions on the battlefield. The higher a character traverses in their class, the more powerful and capable they become, learning additional traits and abilities. There are some deviations from the traditional format in that the classes are specialized, and their traits feel like they provide far more assistance than ever before. For example, the new Ranger class that can wield a sword can pick up a skill that ensure concealment even after your party initiates a battle, or straight up do greater damage. Depending on their skillset, they can be completely different from a character in the same class, which can lead to some interesting pairings, especially later in the game when more party slots open up.

The story takes place decades after the XCOM: Enemy Unknown with the cannon conclusion being the so called "bad" ending. Humanity, as one would expect, suffered an unmeasurable loss being that it was unable to stop the alien invasion and has since been taken over, but not necessarily to the degree a lot of fiction tends to lean towards. This isn’t aliens downright enslaving humanity, but instead helping it off the ground by introducing new and improved technology, among other things. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows, though, as there are always conspiracies, and being an alien force, their intentions aren’t entirely for humanity’s sake. We liken them towards Nazis in that it’s a far more controlled and brutal way of ruling where, if someone steps out of line, they won’t hesitate to end them, whereas if you’re contributing member of society, they will leave you alone for the most part. They also don’t really have much of a regard for human rights or casualties where they’re willing to experiment on people without any regard for their wellbeing. Because of this new line of dictatorship from the alien invaders, there is a rebellion that has formed. Unfortunately, the sect you become a part of is small, very small, so it’s difficult to make a meaningful impact like you did in the original game. Your resources are limited, your time is short and your man power is usually understaffed. It’s a grueling situation, and for that, the story feels far more intriguing as you progress.