The game is also not entirely clear in its moment to moment combat. An ambush, for example, never felt quite as вЂoh shit!вЂ™ as I hoped it might. I think this is partly due to a lack of any real voice over from base command (again, XCOM 2 is coming back to haunt this game by virtue of it being so similar) but certain objectives just didnвЂ™t have the gravitas I thought they might. That said, I did find some of the missions a bit flat. The missions and locations you visit are varied, and while repetition does set in вЂ“В these types of games are designed to be played for dozens of hours, and thereвЂ™s only so much variation one team can make вЂ“В I never got bored. Sometimes youвЂ™re simply defending cargo from alien forces with a view to claim it for yourself other times youвЂ™re in the midst of repelling Pandorans from attacking haven cities then youвЂ™re deep underground in a Pandoran lair, attempting to destroy the spawnery that is increasing the spread of the mist. Missions are usually short вЂ“В 15 - 30 minutes for standard fare, perhaps longer if you encounter a particularly tricky boss or objective вЂ“В but the pace is always high once the boots hit the ground. Like XCOM, the missions you embark on take the form of tight-knit tactical excursions with a squad of up to eight soldiers вЂ“В all of which are customisable and upgradeable by you. ThereвЂ™s just a bit too much freedom, and it takes away from the focus. Ultimately, I donвЂ™t think itвЂ™s as good a design choice as what XCOM does вЂ“В I loved the sense of micromanagement with the Avenger, but the micromanagement here is a little overwhelming. This gives you the chance to specialise bases, sort of. Unlike XCOM, these bases are numerous instead of being one single location that you operate out of. Everything from power generators to training facilities are up to you to control and maintain, and make all the difference to failure or success. This means upgrading multiple Phoenix bases across the globe, which you tidy up back into shape by repairing broken facilities and building new ones. As the new incumbent of the Phoenix Project, your job is to mount a defence against the Pandoran mist that threatens to engulf the rest of the surface of Earth. Like XCOM, the resistance force you end up taking over is in a sorry state. Still, itвЂ™s cool when one of the gameвЂ™s big enemies shows up to decimate your squad. Here, thatвЂ™s not so much the case, and instead, I just see enemies as fodder.

In XCOM, things were much more limited, but it felt like you were fighting this regimented force and you had a real vendetta with individual enemy types. But it also devolves the identity of the force youвЂ™re fighting. For one, it creates a whole host of different mutations in the enemies you face. The Pandora idea is an interesting setup. Much like NetflixвЂ™s Annihilation, the mist that carries the disease has the capability to biologically mutate anything it touches. Here, itвЂ™s a little more subtle and less like Independence Day вЂ“В a permafrost melt has caused the release of a deadly, transformative airborne bacteria called the Pandoravirus. In XCOM this was an invasion force come to enslave the human race via mind control while killing off any resistance. Like XCOM, Phoenix PointвЂ™s central conceit concerns an extraterrestrial takeover of Earth.

It borrows вЂ“В or reclaims, depending on your perspective вЂ“В a lot of the ideas that make modern XCOM excellent and augments and changes bits as it sees fit.ДЇair warning, IвЂ™m going to be saying вЂlike XCOMвЂ™ a lot in this review. It can be exhilarating, it can be vague, and itвЂ™s sometimes borderline anxiety-inducing. ItвЂ™s tense, fraught and frequently frustrating. So much so that deja vu is impossible to ignore.ДЄnd yet, much like XCOM, Phoenix Point manages to get its hooks into you. Phoenix Point, the long-awaited, twice-delayed game from Julian Gollop, creator of the seminal turn-based tactics series, is more like an expansion than a revolution.

Phoenix point ps4 review