Story wise what do i need to know?

[Mightynubnub]

okay so i've played but didn't beat Xcom EU, didn't try enemy within.... do i need to know how the story pans out in those games before playing xcom 2? or can i go into it some what blind?

[Apeironic_Entelechy]

Nothing, Aliens conquered Earth and the XCOM project is trying to re-conquer it.

[Arcanum Elite]

The story from the first game doesnt matter... essentially the story this time around is that Xcom lost during the first game almost immediately after the first mission and was no match for the invading alien forces... so no the storyline doesnt matter one bit.

[Fuzzyballs01 ꦙ]

aliens conquered Earth 20 years ago
you, the commander, were captured then, and are now freed by the resistance, being led, up until now, by Bradford, basically your second in command

now, you are the leader of the ground forces, the tactical genius, and it is up to you to defeat the aliens, and that's where the story for XCOM 2 starts

[HoroSaga]

Twenty years ago, the earth was invaded by unknown invaders. The Council of Nations approved the activation of XCOM, an organization intended to fight the aliens. It was well-funded with international support and top-of-the-line equipment, as well as talented personnel including you as the Commander, John Bradford as Central Officer, Doctor Raymond Shen as Lead Engineer, and Doctor Vahlen as Chief Scientist.

While XCOM was able to successfully shoot down two of the alien ships that were invading Earth, their efforts were ultimately futile. Every major XCOM facility was destroyed within three months, and the Council of Nations ultimately withdrew their support.

Minor spoilers from the novel:
In the end, the Commander (you) was captured by the invaders, Doctor Shen died, and Doctor Vahlen went MIA (presumed dead). John Bradford was the only person to somehow evade capture or death, and he has been trying to rebuild the organization since, using whatever resources he can get his hands on.

As of the beginning of XCOM 2, Bradford has acquired the services of a captured alien transport ship (The Avenger), Raymond Shen's daughter (An-Yi "Lily" Shen), a rogue Advent scientist (Doctor Richard Tygen) who used to work for the aliens, and a small handful of soldiers.

This information will also likely be repeated in the "Commander's Archives", a series of files that you can access in XCOM 2.

[Doctor Tiki]

Originally posted by Mightynubnub:

okay so i've played but didn't beat Xcom EU, didn't try enemy within.... do i need to know how the story pans out in those games before playing xcom 2? or can i go into it some what blind?

Story wise you basically just need to know that aliens are bad. All caught up!

[子雉]

Seems the story countinues after the Bad Ending in EU,THAT commander didn't done the work very well(Major countries leaved the project in first three month..),which makes the Aliens successfully conquered the earth.20 years later,residual XCOM members take you out of the jail,then you have to lead the Project again.