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'XCOM: Enemy Unknown' Now Available in the App Store

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Apr 12, 2001
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Firaxis and 2K Games' XCOM: Enemy Unknown is already available in several App Stores around the world and will hit the U.S. App Store later tonight. The game, which was first released for the Mac in April, is a re-imagined version of the classic 1994 title X-Com: UFO Defense.

xcom2.jpg
The iOS version of XCOM: Enemy Unknown is a port of the full game that was originally designed for consoles and computers, with a few minor interface tweaks to make it suitable for a touchscreen. Essentially, it's a complete console game at fraction of the price. Our sister site TouchArcade has posted a full review of XCOM, noting that the controls are intuitive and well-suited to the game.
You can break down Enemy Unknown into two distinct parts, the latter of which would make a great iPad game all on its own. There's the tactical, turn-based shooter part that has you assigning a group of marines to, most of the time, engage alien activity. With touch gestures, taps, and clicks on the UI, you command each marine in battle, slowly creeping into a fog of war that veils the alien threat. There's several different classes of dude and all have their own unique abilities.

Snipers, for instance, can fire from a distance that a basic bullet-spewing Heavy would have a zero percent change of hitting from. Most fights boil down to insanely tactical skirmishes, which hinge on your ability to set up, and bunker down into, smart firing positions with each dude covering the other. As alien bad guys lumber or scuttle into the picture, your commander-ness will be tested; enemies are smart and lethal: you will lose guys. This is just the harsh reality of XCOM.
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TouchArcade's full review is well worth checking out, and the site has also provided a TA Plays hands-on video of the gameplay.


XCOM: Enemy Unknown can be downloaded from the App Store for $19.99. [Direct Link]


Article Link: 'XCOM: Enemy Unknown' Now Available in the App Store
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2013/06/19/xcom-enemy-unknown-available-in-the-app-store-tonight/
Moorepheus

Moorepheus

macrumors 6502
Sep 13, 2012
461
375
Niagara Falls, NY
Renzatic said:
It's a port of a 2012 semi-sequel/remake of a game that came out in 1994. At 20 bucks, the thing is a flat out steal.
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Thought I heard something about it a few years ago, coming to the PC/Console world in Game Informer, or something like that, but I never knew it came out.

I guess $20 is not bad, if you are putting it on an iPad, but since I don't own one of those, I don't think I will spend $20 for the iPhone, though it does look interesting.
 
A

amfek

macrumors newbie
Jun 19, 2013
1
0
Moorepheus said:
Did I read that right, this is a RE-IMAGED game from 1994???? They want $20 for it. Something isn't right here...
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Someone replied to you and said this is a steal at $20 because it's such a great game. The only problem I have with that is that the Mac App Store version is around 14gb whereas the iOS app store version is less than 2gb.

Aside from the different UI and gameplay mechanics, I wonder if this game is shortened in some way from the original. If the same content is all there from the original then I would agree that $20 is a fine price.
 
Renzatic

Renzatic

Suspended
Aug 3, 2011
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Gramps, what the hell am I paying you for?
amfek said:
Someone replied to you and said this is a steal at $20 because it's such a great game. The only problem I have with that is that the Mac App Store version is around 14gb whereas the iOS app store version is less than 2gb.

Aside from the different UI and gameplay mechanics, I wonder if this game is shortened in some way from the original. If the same content is all there from the original then I would agree that $20 is a fine price.
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Regular XCOM by itself, which is what you're getting on the iPad, is just 9GB. The one you're getting on the Mac app store comes with all the DLC.

Beyond that, I think most of the cuts came from lowering the quality of the video clips, using lower res textures, and removing some of the random encounter maps (though there are apparently still tons in there). Nothing that directly effects the game itself, but it does make for a slightly less pretty experience.

Oh, and I'm downloading it now. :D
 
Renzatic

Renzatic

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Aug 3, 2011
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Gramps, what the hell am I paying you for?
igazza said:
Good luck selling a game at that price.
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This is the problem with the App Store right here. Back when it first came out, and the iDevices weren't all that powerful, apps just being .99-$5 was completely understandable. They had a bunch of neat apps back then, made by tons of talented developers, sure. No one's denying that. But there wasn't anything out there that you could justify spending any more than that on. I mean you wouldn't want to spend more than $5 for a Yellow Pages app, more than .99 for a glorified browser game.

Things have obviously changed since then. The iDevices are finally getting some beefy hardware behind them, and are able to offer up apps that are coming dangerously close to matching their more expensive desktop counterparts. If you could get a perfect touch enabled port of Photoshop that's feature parity with the desktop version, would you scoff at it being more than $5? If you could get a game that's just as good as what you'd get on the PS Vita? Would you get pissed if you had to pay more than 99 cents for it?

As long as people keep this attitude going on, no one's gonna want to make any serious apps for the iPad or iPhone. Not when everyone gets all whiny when something up for more than 10 bucks.
 
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Yield85

macrumors newbie
Dec 30, 2011
17
0
I don't understand people complaining about the price. I would rather drop $20 on a full, console quality game that spend on free to play rubbish.

I'm trying to make my ipad2 last until the next ipad so if anybody with an ipad2 or mini takes the plunge could you let me know if it runs ok?
 
Renzatic

Renzatic

Suspended
Aug 3, 2011
9,561
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Gramps, what the hell am I paying you for?
Yield85 said:
I'm trying to make my ipad2 last until the next ipad so if anybody with an ipad2 or mini takes the plunge could you let me know if it runs ok?
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It's a little chunkity on my iPad 3. It's not flat out terrible, but there is some occasional framerate stutter and input lag.

Then again, the game is running at full on retina resolution. You might have a better experience with the iPad2, since it'll be chugging along at half the res.
 
Nightarchaon

Nightarchaon

macrumors 65816
Sep 1, 2010
1,393
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Everyone should buy this, Baulders gate, and Kotor on the iPad, and i mean EVERYONE !! this is the quality of game we want, and ill happily pay $20 for a game ill play for months, rather than $0.99 for something ill have forgotten ive installed by next week (Or worse, pay nothing for a game that wants me to spend $100s to play it over time)

We need to support this level of quality, and the only way to do that is to pay them what they are worth, and its not 99cents, $20 is, i feel, a fair asking price for a game that was $60+ on all other formats with the depth and longevity that this has.
 
PBG4 Dude

PBG4 Dude

macrumors 601
Jul 6, 2007
4,268
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Renzatic said:
Image

You know, this really makes me feel like I'm living in the future. It is...so rad. :D

edit: I should also add it turns your iPad into a very cozy space heater. This game does EVERYTHING!
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Know how you feel, man. First time I picked up an iPad I felt like I had been fast-forwarded into the future. :D

Between this and CivRev, I'll be able to conquer the universe forever! Mu ha ha ha hahahahahaaaaaaa *cough cough*.
 
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