Xcom in-universe stories and lore? Yes, please! Xcom 2: Resurrection is a prequel to the fabulous Xcom 2, set between the two games, Xcom: Enemy Unknown and Xcom 2. While it’s an okay story, and expands on the world-building in the compelling existence of a post-alien invasion earth, it has a couple of issues. Now, I don’t expect a mesmerizing writing style in any of these kinds of books, and I would say it’s adequate in this one. However, the plot feels pretty hacked up, as locations shift way too often, with the main characters coming off as pretty one-note.
The resistance
Regardless, the plot is acceptable and slightly engaging still, since it’s consistent with the story of Xcom 2. Nothing felt like it broke the lore (almost, kinda), or the general time-line. For example, the stronger, and creepier aliens don’t show up early before their reveal in Xcom 2, as most of the fighting will be against Advent soldiers. The plot involves the Shen’s (father and daughter), Dr. Moira Vahlen, and a few others that make a minor appearance. This is probably one of the more interesting aspects of the book, since finding out more about these legendary characters is fun. However, I’m not totally sure about the elder Shen, if you reflect on the DLC Shen’s Last Gift. You get told in Xcom 2 that the elder Shen died a while back (spoiler: in which he does in the novel), but the story of this DLC does not make fully sense in the context of the book. That’s because what you get in the DLC is kept hidden by the elder Shen, until after his own death. So the question remains: why would he keep this a secret from his daughter for this long when humanity is desperate for any kind of help, especially when it comes to combat prowess? I get the feeling that this idea was not fleshed out when the book was written. Yet, it’s not something that breaks the reading experience.
In the actual plot of the novel, you get to follow Amar, a resistance fighter in a world without much hope. All this changes when his squad gets contacted for a special and very important mission that is shrouded in secrecy. This eventually leads down the road of finding and capturing the alien ship Avenger (the HQ in Xcom 2) that crash-landed during the first alien war against humanity (that we lost, by the way). This is a mission that takes place over the whole world, hence the somewhat choppy nature of this tale, as you never stay long in any one location for long. Also, it gives the impression that traveling around the world isn’t that dangerous either, seeing as the team zip across the globe on the regular. This is something I would think would be almost impossible after the first war, but I guess not. To be fair, there are some explanations to the fact. Yet, it does not reduce the feeling of choppiness, and a lack of peril when traveling long distances.
In a minor narrative segment, you also get to follow Amar’s reluctance to lead a squad, to finally becoming a true battle commander. Amar’s progress, or the general plot of finding the Avenger is not that captivating, seeing as you know how it ends, but the world-building in between is good. You get to experience how it is to live outside and inside the alien created cities for the remaining humans. How the people fare, and what kind of propaganda they are exposed to on a regular basis.
Land of bland
All this is interesting, and while the main story is not overly striking, it works. Otherwise, I would never have stomached the whole book. But in the grand scheme of things when it comes to the world of the modern Xcom games, it’s still rather bland, sadly. The good tidbits to pick up are rare to the more meandering nature of the main plot. There are awesome pauses of combat, doing clandestine stuff and sacrifices by brave soldiers, but it never felt that impactful or exciting. The new characters to Xcom are lacking, with the book never making me care for them much. And even for 300 pages, it felt short for the tale it wanted to tell. It’s unfortunate, because some stuff stands out, but it makes the book not that important or interesting, even for the most hellbent Xcom aficionados.
Conclusion
Xcom 2: Resurrection is not a bad book, and it’s fairly good at times, especially the lore bits providing insight into the world of Xcom. Yet, it’s rather disappointing that the story of how Xcom got the Avenger turned out to be this bland, and in the end, not having much of an impact on the bigger narrative of the alien invasion. I think following the aftermath of the first war would have been a much better choice. Telling the story of how Bradford and his men got out, to finally reestablish the resistance again. Instead, it starts in the middle of the two games, with the only bridge-building between them being the Avenger. It is what it is, though, and while it could have been a lot better, it’s okay as a time-waster, something to read when in the bathroom. Do I recommend it? Only to the biggest of fans (and I mean big) that really must know how the Avenger was acquired. Otherwise, it probably won’t do much for you.
Thanks for reading.
/Thomas
Tom's Gaming Vault 