XCOM 2 review - best strategy game ever? The truth is in here

A brilliant concept coupled with smart design choices results in a hugely rewarding game that over-delivers in almost every area

Among XCOM's distinctions is that it is a difficult game, so the sequel's concept is quite brilliant: the first time around, you lost. Firaxis' 2012 strategy title was a remake of a 1994 original, UFO: Enemy Unknown, which cast you as the commander charged with responding to an alien invasion of Earth - building up the eponymous organisation, responding to attacks across the globe, and hunting down alien operating bases. Chances are if you played it, you also failed to save humanity. And this is where XCOM 2 kicks off.

Twenty years have passed since the original game's events, with Earth now ruled by an alien-human dictatorship known as Advent. It's a clean and organised dystopia, with people efficiently marched through weapons scanners and dispatched for any infractions real or perceived by Advent's troopers. This staple enemy type, though humanoid in appearance, is an unholy genetic hybrid - and just the tip of the iceberg you'll eventually uncover.