XCOM 2: ESCALATION

I just started reading the book the other night. And I was hooked. I took some of the characters out the book and put them in my game. Please continue to write more about Xcom. If it ever gets turned into a movies or tv series Netflix should get the first crack at it....

The author did an excellent job of connecting me to the characters. It was jarring to share the same sense of empathy for them as I do my own troops in my personal XCOM 2 campaign. When I finished the book, I wanted more. This isn't necessarily a complaint considering the nature of the story. It is supposed to supplement the game, I imagine. Regardless, I wanted MORE. MINUS HALF A STAR FOR FLARING A NICHE CRAVING.

I am a big fan of the two recent x-com games, and I feel this story adds on to a rich world full of lore. i may work on an x-com story of my own because of this story. I found it to be a good read.

While is was a very decent book, it was too short. I was able to read it in a couple of hours. It did manage to connect you to the characters, even those that died(this is com) in a very short time and connects you to them

This book isn’t bad, and builds the XCOM Universe. However, the book tends to contradict lore established in XCOM 2 and some from Resurrection. It offers insights into how the resistance groups operate, and for this part, the lore is strong. If you can get over the breaches in life, this will be an enjoyable book.

XCOM2: Escalation By Rick Barba is a video game tie-novel based on the “XCOM video game franchise”.In the world of XCOM2, Earth’s various governments facing an unknown extraterrestrial onslaught, surrendered to the alien invasion force. XCOM, the elite paramilitary unit created to defend the planet, was betrayed and forced underground. As Earth’s survivors poured into the eerily clean and perfect New Cities, XCOM began to secretly rebuild and retool for the right moment.Twenty years later, XCOM has emerged from the shadows, and has taken the fight to the alien invaders. But it isn’t just XCOM fighting this war of liberation. New factions of homegrown pockets of human resistance have sprouted in the Colorado hinterlands. Gritty bands of Reapers, expert marksmen and fearsome cannibalistic hunters of alien flesh operate in the high-country wilderness. Tribal enclaves of former ADVENT Soldiers powerful human-alien clone hybrids called Skirmishers roam the alpine passes of the Continental Divide, wreaking havoc on their former alien overlords. Other factions operate more overtly, some with mysterious and unsettling capabilities.In response, the alien overlords the Elders have unleashed a lethal and terrifying new force called The Chosen. One of these alien commandos called the Assassin and the Hunter has begun slaughtering various resistance cells. It will be up to XCOM to unite these two resistance factions under its direction in hopes of countering this new deadly alien threat.The story of simple and relies on your knowledge of the games to care about certain characters and the significance of seeing particular aliens which is probably fair since no one will read this who isn't a fan already. Unlike the previous book author Barba does a good job with the various different resistance fighter characters, and exploring the new factions. Barbra’s various action seuences were also well done. The firefights struck a strong balance between realism and staying true to the quirks of the RTS gameplay and mechanics. I also enjoyed the use of familiar characters well used and not over done. The book doesn't spoil any major storylines from ‘XCOM2: War for The Chosen’ expansion. I don't think anyway and while the book wrapped nicely it still teased some things to come.As an XCOM fan, I loved the book. It’s got all those elements that players enjoy — random encounters, uneven combat (human weapons versus alien tech), scientists and engineers doing their best to try and close the gap in tech, and a squad that the reader will come to know just as they do with their own squad in the game. It’s well-done and stands on its own, with only a causal experience with the games needed.All in all, XCOM 2: Escalation managed to give me just what I needed. Author Rick Barba has done his homework with the XCOM universe and delivered an origin-story that provides a good back story story to the ‘XCOM2: War for The Chosen’ DLC expansion.

If you a fan, read. But be advised -- it's a lazy book with lazy characters with no development and boring plot.If you want something good in this genre read 'Gaunt's Ghosts' instead (Warhammer 40K).

"XCOM 2: Escalation" es un libro escrito por Rick Barba que se basa en el genial videojuego de estrategia XCOM 2. Este libro es una continuación de la historia del juego, y está diseñado para ampliar y profundizar el universo del juego. A lo largo de sus páginas, los lectores encontrarán una emocionante historia llena de acción y suspense, que los transportará al mundo futurista de XCOM 2.La trama de esta obra gira en torno a la organización XCOM, que lucha por la supervivencia de la humanidad en un mundo invadido por alienígenas. El libro comienza justo después de los eventos del juego, en los que XCOM ha logrado liberar la Tierra de la ocupación alienígena. Sin embargo, su victoria es efímera, ya que las fuerzas alienígenas están comenzando a recuperar el control del planeta. La organización se enfrenta a nuevas amenazas, como la aparición de un grupo de humanos llamados ADVENT, que parece estar trabajando con los alienígenas.A lo largo de "XCOM 2: Escalation", los personajes de la historia deben luchar por su supervivencia en un mundo cada vez más peligroso. La trama está llena de giros y sorpresas, y mantiene a los lectores en vilo hasta el final. Además de la emocionante historia, el libro también ofrece un vistazo más profundo a la historia y el universo de XCOM 2, lo que lo convierte en una lectura obligada para los fans del juego.En definitiva, "XCOM 2: Escalation" es una emocionante continuación de la historia del juego, que expande el universo del juego de una manera fascinante. Los personajes son atractivos y la trama está llena de acción y suspense, por lo que es ideal para cualquier fan de la ciencia ficción. Con su combinación de aventura y profundidad temática, este libro es una excelente opción para aquellos que buscan una historia emocionante y bien escrita en el universo de XCOM 2.

O livro segue a narrativa e o clima imposto pelo jogo XCOM2, criando uma atmosfera tão boa quanto a campanha eletrônica.

Some day we will see this on the big screen. Couldn't stop reading this one. Really nice story with the elements we love from the game.

As a great fan of the modern XCOM series, and especially XCOM 2, it's sad to me that none of the books really lived up to their potential yet.Nontheless I can safely say that this one is better then the previous book, with more fleshed out characters, interesting information about the factions and how they work and a pacing that doesn't pass by so fast that fightscenes start without one realizing it (a big issue for me in the previous book).But still, there just is an overall lack of details, making all information one get's feel somewhat shallow, and the characters of the Chosen feel almost wasted with them barely being in it and having only a few lines to say compared to their presence and interesting personalities shown in War of the Chosen.So overall a decent enough story for curious fans, which could have been more.

This book is ok and it touches on introduction of the 3 new antagonists of the xcom expansion. I wish that the book had more chapters so it could focus more on the factions introduced.