
MECs-Build the Cybernetics Lab to enable the construction of the new Mechanized Exoskeletal Cybersuit, or MEC.
New Soldier Abilities: Research a new alien technology to advance the capabilities of your operatives: Gene Mods-Construct the Genetics Lab to physically enhance your operatives' abilities, including augmentations to the chest, brain, eyes, skin, and legs. Chinese and Japanese are noticeably absent, and every English accent is American, so the British and Australian contingent feels vocally out of place. It's a nice touch, but I feel like at least every country on the XCOM Council should have been given a voice. Most European vocals, from German, French, Spanish, and even Polish can be found. Firaxis has also taken strides to allow many of your recruits to speak the native language of their homeland. In between missions, the tracks are subdued back at HQ, but still provide a sense of the burden you bear as the commander of XCOM. The musical score keeps in line with the intensity of the global threat, with heightened moments as enemies are spotted and engaged. Firaxis also hasn't corrected the many instances of characters being lost in walls and shooting directly through obstacles. However, there are a whole bunch of new color combinations, armor deco, hairstyles, and helmets to give your troops a more personalized look. There are some smoother environmental textures and better application of lighting and shaders, but the character models still look fairly rough and lack detail. The quality of the visuals is something that hasn't changed much from the original remake. It's nothing too complex, but it’s always a new challenge playing against another human rather than an AI, with a leaderboard that tracks wins, losses, and disconnects.
Also, you now have the ability to custom build troop loadouts offline, allowing you to load your team and get right into the action. A 1-on-1 skirmish is yet again the only mode, but at least this time, there are thirteen maps in total to choose from, instead of the paltry five from before. Of course, custom, unranked sessions can have options like turn time limit and point allocation adjusted. It's still the same task of choosing a team of up to six using a point system to keep matches even. Multiplayer has also received a much-needed upgrade from what was widely criticized as one of the weaker elements of XCOM: Enemy Unknown. Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Violence