I said I wasn’t going to play Xenonauts 2 in Early Access (Experimental) anymore, yet, here I am. Milestone 3 was recently released, which increased the playable days from 180 to 260. However, I didn’t experience too much new stuff, unfortunately. What I did get to experience though, was the improved AI. And well…
It’s much welcomed. The AI is much better at attacking and avoiding the highly deadly trap that we in the X-com business call smoke grenades. Now they go around the smoke instead of slowly suffocating, and the alien snipers often try to find openings to get a potshot in if you try to conceal your men. Overall, the aliens are much more aggressive. No more waiting behind locked doors in safety! They will now burst through and viciously claw your men to ribbons, if they have claws that is – which some of them actually do. The Sebillian (giant space lizards) have gone from cuddly giant amphibians to a serious scary threat that might require trouser change if encountered in close quarters. The same goes for the Reapers. Man, these guys are no joke! They will turn everyone they can see into zombies in a heartbeat. On one alien base mission, I even got to meet an overgrown one that absorbed a hell of a lot of damage before succumbing to its wounds. Terrifying. It makes me wonder what the game has in store for us later on.
Anyway, that is mostly it. There is a big UFO (Cruiser) now too that you can shoot down, but I never got the chance. However, I was reminded that the war against the aliens will be won in the skies. Around day 200 or so, the aliens showed up in force – way too well-equipped for my interceptors. With that I mean, that air superiority must be established fast through money and research. The grunts on the ground just will have to wait for those fancy laser weapons! See you in Milestone 4… perhaps. Or maybe I will skip that one, and wait for the full game not to ruin all the surprises. Time (& willpower) will tell.
Thanks for reading.
/Thomas
Tom's Gaming Blog 