XCOM 2 isn’t all urban warfare in new wilderness levels

February is filled with game releases to take up all your time and money. XCOM 2 is hitting PC on 5 February and everything we’ve seen about it is looking slick and evolved from previous XCOM games. The AI seems improved, overwatch is fixed in a big way and there are procedural levels to keep the game feeling fresh. Thus far, we’ve only seen the city tile sets which are clean and polished to the point of being sinister. But there is more to XCOM 2 than urban warfare.

Outside the ADVENT-controlled cities, there are wilderness levels including temperate, arid and snowy terrains. These include abandoned and overgrown structures and plenty of flora to use for cover. Just take a look at these new images courtesy of VG247:

I always find it so amazing in games and movies when they show how quickly the environment reclaims areas previously tamed and inhabited by humans. 20 years isn’t really all that long a time, and yet it’s long enough for these areas to return to wilderness. It’s a stark contrast to the civilization of the cities, and will definitely offer some variation in gameplay aesthetics.

I like seeing a variety of terrain, and it certainly looks intriguing based on these images. However, there’s something about snow or ice levels that feels unrealistic for me. Perhaps it’s because I’ve spent enough time stomping around in snow and ice to know it’s not as pretty or majestic as it’s shown in games, or maybe it’s just my natural preference for more temperate environments for my bloody shootouts. Still, it will be nice to traipse around a range of places while fighting the alien menace – the cities look awesome, but I’m sure they would wear thing after a while without the variety of the wilderness to mix things up.

Last Updated: November 23, 2015