# iOS (Android?) release of XCOM: ENEMY UNKNOWN. Good grief. Also, Warhammer.



## mrs quoad (Jun 20, 2013)

A 3.5gb great big lump of a stunning port of an, IMO excellent, game. I've put in about an hour so far, and it seems astoundingly comprehensive. Has both the turn-based strategy and base-based strategic / resource management components. Utterly stunning, and a real revolution in terms of the quality of iOS (at least) games. I'm finding that touch screen controls work better than game pad or keyboard / mouse, too. I'm not aware of any current-ish, major games that've received this treatment... The closest (in terms of console / desktop ports) might be something like final fantasy 4, ffs. 

Price to match, though! £14ish. Well worth it, given what it is (IMO) but quite a break from most mobile games. At least one reviewer thought more top games / studios might explore this model... Hmmm. Interesting, not sure how likely, tho. 

Also, Warhammer Quest out a week or three ago. Lovely adaptation of Rodeo's Hunters engine / mechanics. I bought all the DLC because, dammit, I wanted a troll hunter and arch mage. And the additional campaign. Suffers from hunters-itis after a bit (ie repetitive, slightly pointless, very similar levels that can be kinda bodged through) but one of (IMO) the better games so far this year. 

And warhammer! Obv.


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## editor (Jun 20, 2013)

3.5GB? £14?! Blimey.
It's a CPU intensive game too:


> On an iPad mini, XCOM: Enemy Unknown is roughly in line with an above-average PlayStation 2 game running at high definition. 2K does, however, say that a fourth-generation iPad will give the best visual results, and recommends quitting other apps before playing.
> 
> We'd go further than that — even after manually closing every app on the iPad, we weren't able to load a mission in XCOM without getting booted back to the homescreen. Restarting the iPad mini itself fixed the issue. It's also worth noting that XCOM is a hefty 1.86GB download, and we needed to clear around 4GB of space before the app would install.
> http://www.theverge.com/2013/6/20/4447802/xcom-enemy-unknown-ipad-iphone-hands-on


Oh, and welcome back!


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## Callum91 (Jun 21, 2013)

The Warhammer quest game is lovely albeit rather short so far, managed to complete all the quests in an afternoon and get all 7 characters to level 6. Fantastic whilst it lasted though.


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## tommers (Jun 21, 2013)

XCom is decent, and good they've ported it to iPad (and a bit amazing cos it's a massive file.)

There's a thread about it in the games section...

http://www.urban75.net/forums/threads/x-com.286798/


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## Chz (Jun 22, 2013)

How the fuck is it 3.5GB?

Mind you, there's nothing in the PC version that should make that one 15GB either.


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## spacemonkey (Jun 22, 2013)

I love X:com, not sure I can drop £14 on a game for my phone though. 

Any idea how it runs on an iPhone 5?


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## mrs quoad (Jun 22, 2013)

spacemonkey said:


> I love X:com, not sure I can drop £14 on a game for my phone though.
> 
> Any idea how it runs on an iPhone 5?


Flawlessly. Near enough. I've had 1 crash over, erm, several hours of play. 

And, tbf, you're getting the full game for £14. IMO that's what's exceptional / groundbreaking about this. I don't mind paying £14 bc it's just streets ahead of owt else I've played on a mobile. It's got the progression / full campaign of the original, it's not a one-trick pony (like a racer / infinity blade), it's full, rich & miles ahead (IMO) of the latest two-dimensional Gameloft engine knock off. 

I've also progressed further than I ever did on xcom on my MBP - because it's so much more easy to pick up and play on a mobile, whilst I always struggle to "carve out" the time I'd need to sit down and play on a lappy.


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## mrs quoad (Jun 22, 2013)

Eats the battery a bit, mind.


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## Callum91 (Jun 23, 2013)

mrs quoad said:


> Flawlessly. Near enough. I've had 1 crash over, erm, several hours of play.
> 
> And, tbf, you're getting the full game for £14. IMO that's what's exceptional / groundbreaking about this. I don't mind paying £14 bc it's just streets ahead of owt else I've played on a mobile. It's got the progression / full campaign of the original, it's not a one-trick pony (like a racer / infinity blade), it's full, rich & miles ahead (IMO) of the latest two-dimensional Gameloft engine knock off.
> 
> I've also progressed further than I ever did on xcom on my MBP - because it's so much more easy to pick up and play on a mobile, whilst I always struggle to "carve out" the time I'd need to sit down and play on a lappy.


 
You've sold it to me. Also, I've been watching a Let's play of it on YouTube (the PC version) and it looks fantastic. £14 isn't so expensive.


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## Kid_Eternity (Jun 24, 2013)

Yep games are a big reason why you need a lot of storage on your tablet these days...huge files...


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## Kid_Eternity (Jun 24, 2013)

Btw aint this in the wrong forum?


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## Kid_Eternity (Oct 15, 2013)

Think I'll have to check out Warhammer Quest as it's got some good reviews and aint too pricey.


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## Callum91 (Oct 16, 2013)

Kid_Eternity said:


> Think I'll have to check out Warhammer Quest as it's got some good reviews and aint too pricey.


Don't be fooled by the low price, to enjoy it properly you have to buy other characters/new areas to explore. If you don't it's awfully short and unsatisfying. If the price isn't an issue though I'd totally recommend it!


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## Kid_Eternity (Oct 16, 2013)

Callum91 said:


> Don't be fooled by the low price, to enjoy it properly you have to buy other characters/new areas to explore. If you don't it's awfully short and unsatisfying. If the price isn't an issue though I'd totally recommend it!



Ah bollox to that, I can't stand that type of in all purchase!


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## Callum91 (Oct 16, 2013)

Kid_Eternity said:


> Ah bollox to that, I can't stand that type of in all purchase!


I didn't mind the first one, but there's been another and it's like... err no thanks, not again, I can see where this is going. Guess they have to make their money somehow.


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## Kid_Eternity (Oct 16, 2013)

Callum91 said:


> I didn't mind the first one, but there's been another and it's like... err no thanks, not again, I can see where this is going. Guess they have to make their money somehow.



They could just make great games and have a higher upfront price...


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## mrs quoad (Oct 19, 2013)

Callum91 said:


> I didn't mind the first one, but there's been another and it's like... err no thanks, not again, I can see where this is going. Guess they have to make their money somehow.


Tbf, no-one's forcing anyone to buy any expansions. I greatly enjoyed the first world enough to pay out for the 1st / shaven expansion, and for the three additional characters. The joy is partly in the grinding, so new characters also expand the game. IMO.

And when this update was released, I gladly opted for it, too. And after some hesitation, got the three additional characters a week or so later.

All in, I think I've spent c.£21 on Quest. But then again, I've played it more than any other game on my phone. Several characters are still short of level 8 (and some of the original ones are still l6). And there's still a fair way to go before this "expansion" is "complete." And I still find it really... hard... to change the balance of a strong, functional team so I can grind another character up. I've become surprisingly fond of the intricacies of some characters - even relatively shit ones.

This isn't something like real racing, where IAPs are all-pervasive and never-ending. It's optional, additional, full content. Far closer to DLC than anything freemium.

(Quests can also be reset. Most of them throughout the game are basically similar plots / one of three scenarios (rescue / kill / loot) on moderately random, but very similar, maps. All you gain with the expansions are new storylines, new enemies (with skaven) and new towns, with new markets holding different specialist focuses (dwarf goods / magical goods / eleven goods / potions / rings....). Tbh, I'm not sure anyone would lose much by ignoring them completely, and just going with random / non-story quests or resetting the quests from the first two episodes. If they so fancied.)

It's worth a punt, IMO. But I can understand why someone might not like it. It works well if you like grinding and character development (and a quirky sense of humour that often punishes "good" moral choices) and don't mind pretty repetitive "random" maps.


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## Callum91 (Oct 19, 2013)

mrs quoad said:


> Tbf, no-one's forcing anyone to buy any expansions. I greatly enjoyed the first world enough to pay out for the 1st / shaven expansion, and for the three additional characters. The joy is partly in the grinding, so new characters also expand the game. IMO.
> 
> And when this update was released, I gladly opted for it, too. And after some hesitation, got the three additional characters a week or so later.
> 
> ...



Nobody may be forcing me to buy the expansions, but it's pretty shit/pointless without them. The characters feel too samey. The Slayer is rubbish. The Elf mage is rubbish. The Ironbreaker/Thane/whatever the other Dwarf is is also rubbish. The game itself is quite good, don't get me wrong, I've sunk a fair few hours into it. But I can't shake the feeling I should have spent my money elsewhere.


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## Kid_Eternity (Oct 19, 2013)

Must admit as much as I prefer upfront rather than in app 14 quid for an iPad game *feels* very expensive!


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## mrs quoad (Oct 19, 2013)

And I guess that's a discussion that's still playing out. £14 is a great deal for a game, compared to most ios comparators. It's half the price of the PC game with identical game dynamics, plot, script, options, etc.

And I'm unsure if £2-3 is much for DLC. Quite a few games are effectively serially re-released. The first "new" angry birds caused a furore bc previous "updates" had been free. Flick kick whatever is basically the same game released time and time again, wit a new price tag. Sorcery! is about to release Sorcery! 2 as a completely new game. I can understand devs going down all those routes, and tbh have no beef with any of those models. The ones that piss me off are freemium games that are designed to be endless money pits - witness D&D arena of war, released this week.

Wrt Quest, I wouldn't try to talk anyone out of their opinions. I do get the impression it's a marmite game. Most of the characters you dislike, Callum, are pretty kick ass for me ATM - with decent, rare (non IAP) weaponry. And well leveled up. (The waywatcher is shit, mind. I can only get her to level up by weakening enemies with decent characters, then getting her to shoot them.) My marauder currently has 6 melee attacks. + hunters eye + bracelet of wrath (*2 attacks) = 12 ranged shots, 1 turn per dungeon.

There are tonnes of similar character quirks and, tbh, I enjoy characters' shitness, too. I like the fact that a chunk of game bonuses carry (eg) a 15% chance of thwarting yourself / your team. And that there are some right bell ends, for gaming purposes, who need to be very well-protected. And who might die suddenly.

It's the only game I've still been regularly playing some months on. I enjoy grinding for experience and gold. And I even enjoy the frustration (and occasional joy!) of seeing a shit increase in pointless stats having just spent a tonne on leveling (eg why the fuck has my ironbreaker's ballistic skill gone up one between l6 & l7 when the fucker has no available ballistic weapons?!) And I guess I'm likely to still be looking forward to the next DLC..... If it was straightforward and the characters were all good, IMO there'd be far less joy.....

E2a: this morning, I foolishly gave my enraged ironbreaker (6 attacks) an elixir of strength (either +6 or +9 strength) before activating the bracelet of wrath (*2 attacks). This was in a very tricky final room in a time-limited (one turn to go before the roof collapsed) L7 quest. And the 15% chance he'd batter the crap out of a team mate was activated, and he walked across half the room to panel the living shit out of my bright wizard. Which was awesome, tbh. Even if he did take quite a few misses / goes to finish the job.

It's that "OHHHHhhhhh you TOTAL effing twat of a bracelet / sword / ring / dwarf" aspect of 85%-functional characters and equipment that really lifts it into something different. IMO.


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## mrs quoad (Oct 26, 2013)

53hrs, £21 of DLC. 

Compared with Rage (£28, 10.5hrs TOTAL FUCKING GAMEPLAY) that's pretty awesome value, IMO. I think the only other game I have that's come close is Borderlands. (In the last decade / post-Goldfinger on n64, that is.....)


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