This is the second part of IGN UK's XCOM Ironman diaries. You can check out part 1 here.

Engineers. That's my problem: not enough Scotties. I've found the Alien Base, and know how to access it by building a skeleton key – but building it requires 15 engineers, and I've got 12. It gets even more infuriating. The easiest way to acquire more engineers is to build Workshops, but they also require 15 engineers to construct.

Every month I'll acquire more from the countries I'm protecting, and there's a chance to get them as rewards, but at the minute we're all dressed up with no place to go – and the aliens aren't waiting around. At this stage in XCOM they begin escalating and going directly for civilians. The alerts flood in. We're going to have to risk everything to save civvies. Nobody said this would be easy.

Civilian missions are a delicate balancing act – under normal circumstances, I'd move a squad forward slowly, and let the aliens break on a mighty wall of IGN gunfire. But saving civilians isn't a moral issue, it's a practical one. A new enemy, Chryssalids, runs around and implants them with eggs. This turns civvies into zombies, which are relatively easily killed, but if they live for two turns a new Chryssalid bursts out. So save civilians, or you'll get overwhelmed.

The first mission goes wrong immediately: Stuart Reid takes point, and runs straight into a Chryssalid. He fires, and hits, but it's not enough – and the rest of the squad's potshots fly wide. The alien immediately skewers Reid and implants him. Yeurgh!

Chris Tilly, seeing this, panics like a big jessie – and there's another Chryssalid bearing down on him! It's Luke Karmali to the rescue, who steams in with a big gun and rescues his companion at the last second. Tilly just keeps on blubbering, but at least he's alive.

Stuart Reid's zombie form rises, advancing towards his former companions. There is no mercy from IGN, and he's shredded. From here we get things under control, though sadly Floaters take out plenty of civilians from a distance. But as long as they aren't turning into zombies, it's not a disaster.

We clear up the remaining aliens, and return having saved 10 of 18 civilians – R.I.P. Stuart Reid. He won't be the last. I'm hoping to get through the remainder of the month without any problems, but the aliens have other ideas. The blighters go for my hometown of Glasgow, so we're off again. Operation Rotting Fog. Good name.

A key tactic in XCOM, especially on this difficulty level, is moving slowly. Your first operative's move should be the one that explores the furthest – because finding enemies on your last move hands them the initiative and is asking for trouble.

Eager to prove something, Chris Tilly dashes forwards into the construction site, and immediately aggros three enemy mobs. The aliens in XCOM tend not to attack until you've actually spotted them (though there are exceptions), and I've just made the biggest error possible. Multiple groups are now on Tilly, who's exposed on both sides.

The IGN squad take up positions, and cover Tilly with smoke in an effort to save him – smoke reduces the accuracy of incoming fire. But he's too exposed. Tilly goes down under a salvo of plasma blasts, and the nine Floaters begin flanking the remaining squad.

The brave and noble IGN crew shoot at what they can see, but despite a few hits only one Floater goes down. Everything goes wrong. What I should have done was abandon Tilly and fall back to a defensible position. Instead I tried to save him, and in the process left everyone exposed. Including my hero, Tom Butler.

Over the next turn the aliens destroy IGN. Luke Karmali's the first to go under a hail of plasma shots. Tom Butler takes a withering round of fire, and because he's mighty barely survives – but is bleeding out, and will die in three turns. Two random rookies I brought along are panicking, and quickly picked off. It's all on Peer Schneider, IGN's longest-serving staff member. And his gun needs reloading.

'Tectonic' Schneider gives it a go, but there's no chance – the aliens suppress him, meaning he can't move without being shot at, and suffers an aim penalty. Butler's almost dead, hanging on for grim life. And with no fanfare to speak of, two Sectoids turn up. This is insult to injury. The aliens don't even bother with cover now, advancing openly on Schneider, who takes out one with his final move but is destroyed. Butler is left for dead, and I weep.

Losing the entire IGN UK squad caused mass panic in the UK, France and Germany – we're in severe danger of losing all three from the Council. We were coasting, but basically it's hit the fan. I've still got Daniel Krupa, though! Things might just – ALERT. The world's on the edge. We have to respond.

VIP mission. Krupa goes down on the second turn thanks to a ridiculous critical shot from distance. Every single IGN squad member is now dead. The VIP's poisoned, panics, runs out of cover, and gets shot. The rookies panic en masse, and are quickly picked off. Two missions in a row have been failed. We've gone from sitting pretty, waiting to assault the alien base, to losing twelve troops in one week and leaving the world on the brink.

These are dark days. In our hour of need, it's time to turn to the fresh-faced IGN freelancers. Can they somehow reverse things in part 3? No comment.

Rich Stanton is a Terran freelancer who spends most of his free time in Lordran. Check him out on IGN or Twitter for all of your sun-praising and Zerg-smashing needs.

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