XCOM 2 Notebook Benchmarks

For the original German article, see here.

Graphics

When the writer responsible for a benchmark article is inclined to play a game for hours rather than search for a fitting test sequence, the developers must have done a lot right. Like the precursor released in 2012 (XCOM Enemy Unknown), XCOM 2 proves to be an exciting and individually tailored mix of action, strategy and tactics -- very addictive. Yes, the missions and their sequences do repeat after a while, but the fundamental gaming principle with base building, research, character customization and turn-based battles certainly doesn't get old quickly.

The only thing that bothered us is that most of the missions only allow the player a certain amount of time. As a result, the gamer only has a few rounds to escort a VIP or obtain a particular object. Yes, on the one hand this mechanic provides a flush of excitement, but the pressure may scare off fans of calmer tactics. Additionally, during the course of some missions the player is confronted with sudden, unexpected events (example: a new kind of enemy spawns abruptly). This damages the gamer's sense of fairness and balance -- and that at the very beginning of the single-player campaign.

Firaxis Games could put a little more work into the controls as well. While operation is fundamentally simple and intuitive, in practice it's often a bit choppy, especially when objects in the way aren't hidden. But these things don't change the fact that we had a ton of fun in our trial run. Thanks to the well-executed video sequences and smart close-ups, XCOM 2 has simply got flair. Other crudely-staged tactical games don't hold a candle to this title.

The primary realm in which XCOM 2 deserves some critique is graphics. Cons include the rather long load times and the poor performance. Both at the base and on the missions, tracking shots and menu changes often lead to bothersome stuttering -- no matter how strong the computer's components are. In general, XCOM 2 demands a whole lot of a system's hardware. Without a quick GPU, the title won't be much fun.

On the other hand, the developers deserve hearty congratulations for the well deliberated settings options. As in the Rise of the Tomb Raider game we recently reviewed, the graphics options are divided into two menus. In sum, XCOM 2 offers about 20 settings -- which is more than respectable for a PC game (though unfortunately the options aren't explained). We especially liked the five presets that enable the player to quickly adjust the overall graphics quality. With a few exceptions, these presets are cleverly tuned. Since all of the settings are immediately adopted, there's no need to restart the game.

Visually, even at the Low preset XCOM 2 is reasonably attractive; from the High preset upwards, the game looks amazing. Only the "Minimum" preset strikes us as disappointing. When everything is activated, the title impresses with its crisp textures, excellent lighting and cool effects. Additionally, many maps are bursting with little ornamental objects, which does a lot to enhance the atmosphere. We didn't experience any crashes, image errors or significant bugs during our test. Only the Schenker W504 had problems when we connected a UHD display (no 4K resolution available).

Update from February 10th 2016: During further gaming sessions we did in fact encounter graphics errors and crashes. Tip: Those who are quickly frustrated should definitely select the lowest difficulty level. Even medium proves to be extremely challenging.